9496. 'And you shall make poles of shittim wood' means power derived from this. This is clear from the meaning of 'poles' as the power which truth from good possesses, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'shittim wood' as the good of merit that is the Lord's alone, dealt with above in 9472, 9486. Here it must now be stated what it was that enabled the ark and the dwelling-place to represent heaven, and at the same time the rim of the ark to represent a border, the corners firmness, the rings the joining of good to truth, and the poles power. It has been shown that the whole natural system, thus every single thing existing in true order there, is representative of the Lord's kingdom, that is, of heaven and heavenly realities present there, 9280. It has also been shown that the whole of heaven resembles a human being, and that for this reason heaven has been called the Grand Man, 9276 (end). From this it now follows that all objects which serve to represent heavenly realities correlate with the human form, and that they carry spiritual meanings according to their similarity to that form.

[2] From this it is now evident how the ark can come to mean heaven where the Lord is, the rim on it to mean a border, the sides to mean good to which truth must be joined, the corners to mean firmness, the rings to mean the actual joining together, and the poles to mean power. For the poles resemble a person's arms and therefore also have a similar meaning to the arms; the rings resemble the ginglymi or sockets where the arms are linked to the breast; the corners resemble the actual protrusions where that link is made; the sides resemble the chest cavity or thorax, and the rim resembles the [shoulder-]girdle which forms a border for it. From this it becomes clear that power is meant by 'poles', as it is by 'arms' (for the meaning of 'arms' and 'hands' as power, see 878, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 6292, 6947, 7188, 7189, 7205, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8153, 8281, 9025, 9133); and that the same thing is meant by 'the sides' as by the chest or thorax of the body, namely good, since the chest contains the heart and lungs, and 'the heart' means celestial good and 'the lungs' spiritual good, 3883-3896, 9300. From all this it is evident that by 'rings' the same thing is meant as by ginglymi or joints which join the chest to the shoulders, and the shoulders to the arms, namely the joining of good to truth, and that firmness is meant by 'the corners', for the strength of the body is exerted there, and the body is equipped with strength and power through the arms. From all this one may recognize how it comes about that natural objects which are inanimate can represent the same realities as ones that are animate, that is, as parts of the human body. That is to say, it comes about because heaven resembles a human being, and the things present in heaven resemble those that exist in the human being, as may be seen from what has been shown at great length regarding the correspondence of the human being with the Grand Man or heaven. See the places referred to in 9276 (end).

[3] Just as the poles which were used to carry the ark meant power, so did the poles or bars which were used to secure the gates of cities, as is clear from the following places: In Hosea,

The sword falls on its cities, and consumes its bars. Hosea 11:6.

'The sword' stands for truth battling against falsity, 'cities' for matters of doctrine, and 'bars' for power. In Isaiah,

For your sake I have sent to Babel, and I will break down all the bars. Isaiah 43:14.

In Jeremiah,

The mighty ones of Babel are seated in strongholds; their power has been destroyed. ¹ Its bars have been broken. Jeremiah 51:30.

In Amos,

I will break the bar of Damascus. Amos 1:5.

In Isaiah,

I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut asunder the bars of iron. Isaiah 45:2.

Similar words occur in David, Psalms 107:16. In Jeremiah,

It has no gates or bars; they dwell alone. Jeremiah 49:31.

In Ezekiel,

They all dwell without a wall; ² they do not have bars and gates. Ezekiel 38:11.

In Jeremiah,

Her gates have sunk into the earth, He has destroyed and broken in pieces her bars. Lamentations 2:9.

In David,

Praise your God, O Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates. Psalms 147:12-13.

In these places matters of doctrine are meant by 'cities', 2449, 2712, 3216, 4492, 4493, firmness and protection by 'gates', and the power which belongs to truth derived from good by 'bars'. The fact that all power belongs to truth, but to truth that is derived from good, see 6344, 6423, 8200, 8304, 9133, 9327, 9410.

Poznámky pod čarou:

5427. 'And Joseph recognized his brothers' means that the truths of the Church were visible to the celestial of the spiritual in the light that this possessed. This is clear from the meaning of 'recognizing' as perceiving, seeing, and so being visible; from the representation of 'Joseph' as the celestial of the spiritual, dealt with already; and from the meaning of 'his brothers' as the general truths known to the Church, dealt with above in 5409, 5419. And Since 'Joseph recognized his brothers' means that those truths - the general truths known to the Church - were visible to the celestial of the spiritual, it follows that they were seen by the light in which the celestial of the spiritual dwells and so by the light which the celestial of the spiritual possesses. In this light, which is truth from the Divine, 5417, every single truth below - that is, within the natural - is visible. But the reverse is not possible if no intermediary is present, still less if no agreement between the two sides exists, no agreement enabling the two to be joined together. This becomes quite clear from the consideration that angels dwelling in the heavens, and so in the light of heaven, can see every single thing that happens in the world of spirits, which is immediately below the heavens, as well as every single thing that happens on the earth of the lower ones, and indeed that happens in the hells. But the reverse is not possible.

[2] It is also the case that the angels of a higher heaven can see everything that is happening in the heaven beneath them, but the reverse is not so unless an intermediary exists. Intermediary spirits also serve as the means by which communication forward and back takes place. When therefore those who are in a lower position and have no intermediary, and more particularly those who are not in agreement with the ones above them, look at the light of heaven, they see absolutely nothing at all; everything there appears to them to dwell in total obscurity. But in fact those in the place where they look dwell in the brightest light. This may be illustrated by the following unique experience: A large city once appeared in front of me, where there were thousands of different, delightful and beautiful sights. I saw these because an intermediary had been provided; yet the spirits present with me could not see a single thing because they had no intermediary. I was told that even though they are present in that place those who are not in agreement with the ones above them discern nothing whatever of the things existing there.

[3] The same is similarly true of a person's interior man or spirit, which is also called his soul. The interior man can see every single thing present and taking place in the exterior man; but the reverse is not possible unless the two are in agreement and an intermediary is present. To the exterior man therefore, when it is not in agreement with the interior man, the interior man does not appear to have any existence. It appears to be so completely non-existent that when anything is said about the interior man, it seems to the exterior man either to be so obscure that it is unwilling even to contemplate it or to be nothing it can believe in. But when agreement between the two does exist, the exterior man sees, with the help of the intermediary, what is going on in the interior man. For then the light which the interior man possesses enters into the light which the exterior or natural man possesses; that is, heavenly light passes into natural light and brightens it, and in this brighter light what is happening to the interior man is made visible. This is the origin of the intelligence and wisdom which the exterior man possesses. But if no intermediary is present, and especially if no agreement exists, the interior man sees and perceives what is going on in the exterior man and also to some extent guides it; the reverse however does not happen. More than that, if contrariety exists - that is to say, if the exterior man completely perverts or snuffs out what comes in by way of the interior man - the interior man is deprived of the light it receives from heaven, heaven is inaccessible to it, and a communication from hell with the exterior man is opened up. You may see more about these matters in what now follows below.