10360. 'And you shall keep the sabbath' means that the Lord's Divine Human is to be worshipped. This is clear from the meaning of 'keeping', when it refers to what is Divine, as worshipping; and from the meaning of 'the sabbath' in the highest sense as the union of the Divine, called the Father, and the Divine Human, called the Son, thus the Divine Human in which that union exists. The reason why 'the sabbath' means this union is that by the six days of labour which come before the seventh every state of conflict is meant; for in the spiritual sense 'labour' does not mean the kind of labour that people go out to in the world but the kind that those in the Church experience before they enter and become the Church, that is, labour that involves them in conflict with evils and the falsities of evil. Labour such as this that is meant in the spiritual sense was experienced by the Lord when He was in the world; for He engaged in conflict then against the hells, and restored them, and the heavens as well, to a state of order. At the same time He glorified His Human, that is, united it to the Divine itself that was His from conception, see 9715, 9809.

[2] The time and state when the Lord was engaged in conflicts is meant by the six days of labour; but the state when the union had been accomplished is meant by the seventh day, which is called the sabbath on account of the rest it brings, because then the Lord had rest. Consequently 'the sabbath' also means the joining together of the Lord with heaven, with the Church, with the angels of heaven, and with members of the Church. The reason for this is that all who will come into heaven must first engage in conflicts against evils and the falsities of evil; and when these have been separated those people enter heaven and are joined to the Lord, and then they have rest. The like applies to people in the world. It is well known that they must engage in conflicts or undergo temptations before they become the Church, that is, before the goodness and truth which constitute the Church have been implanted in them, thus before they have been joined to the Lord, consequently before they have rest. From all this it is evident why it is that a state of conflict is meant by six days of labour, and rest as well as a joining together by the seventh day or the sabbath.

[3] The reason why the joining together of goodness and truth is also meant by 'the sabbath' is that while a person is engaged in conflicts truths play the leading role within him; but when the truths have been joined to good, thus when good plays the leading role within that person, he has rest. This is similar to how it was with the Lord. While He was in the world and was engaged in conflict with the hells He was, in respect of His Human, Divine Truth; but when He had united His Human to the Divine itself He became also, in respect of His Human, Divine Good or Jehovah.

[4] The six days which come before the sabbath mean the conflicts that come before and are preparatory to the heavenly marriage, which is the joining together of goodness and truth, see 8510, 8888, 9431.

Regarding the former state - when truths play the leading role within a person and he is engaged in conflicts against evils and the falsities of evil, that is, the state meant by six days of labour - and regarding the latter state, when good plays the leading role within him and he is led by the Lord, meant by 'the sabbath', see 7923, 7992, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701, 8772, 9139, 9224, 9227, 9230, 9274, 9832.

First of all the Lord made His Human, when He was in the world, Divine Truth, and afterwards Divine Good, see in the places referred to in 9199(end), 9315(end).

He achieved this through conflicts brought about by temptations, see in the places referred to in 9528(end).

[5] A person therefore who knows that 'the sabbath' serves in the highest sense to mean the union of the Divine itself within the Lord's Divine Human can recognize the meaning of statements made so many times in the Word regarding the sabbath, such as the following in Isaiah,

If you turn your foot away from the sabbath, so that you do not do your own will on My holy day, but call the sabbath delights honourable to the Holiness of Jehovah, and honour it, so that you do not do your own ways, nor find your own desire or speak [your own] words, then you will take delight in Jehovah, and I will convey you into the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. Isaiah 58:13-14.

Anyone who is acquainted with the internal sense of the Word can see plainly that 'the sabbath' here is used to mean a state in which a person is joined to the Lord, thus a state when the person is led by the Lord and not by self, that is, a state which exists when good resides in him. For being led by the Lord and not by self is meant by 'turning one's foot away from the sabbath', 'not doing one's own will', 'not doing one's own ways', 'not finding one's own desire', and 'not speaking [one's own] words'. The presence of the Church and of heaven in that person is meant by the promise that he will be conveyed into the high places of the earth and will be fed with the heritage of Jacob. And the truth that the sabbath denotes the Divine Human in which there was a union is meant by the sabbath being called 'My holy day' and 'delights [honourable] to the Holiness of Jehovah'.

[6] And in Jeremiah,

If you keep the sabbath day holy, kings and princes will enter through the gates of this city, sitting on the throne of David, riding in a chariot and on horses. Jeremiah 17:24-25.

A person who has no knowledge of the internal sense of the Word will suppose that these words must be understood according to their literal meaning, which is that if people kept the sabbath holy kings and princes would enter through the gates of the city Jerusalem, riding in a chariot and on horses. But this is not how they should be understood. Rather they mean that those who worship the Lord's Divine Human in a holy manner must be governed by the Divine Truths of heaven and the Church. For 'Jerusalem' is used to mean the Church, 'kings and princes' its Divine Truths, 'the throne of David' heaven where the Lord is, 'a chariot' teachings that convey what is good and true, and 'horses' an enlightened power of understanding.

'Jerusalem' means the Church, see 2117, 3654.

'Kings' means Divine Truths, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148.

'Princes' means primary truths, 1482, 2089, 5044.

'David' means the Lord, 1888, 9954.

'The throne' means heaven, 5313.

'A chariot' means teachings conveying what is good and true, 5321, 8215.

'Horses' means a power of understanding that receives enlightenment, 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6534.

[7] Because 'the sabbath' meant the Lord in respect of the Divine Human, in which there was a union, it was decreed that the loaves of the Presence should be set in order on the table every sabbath, Leviticus 24:8. (It is well known in the Church that the Lord's Divine Human should be understood by 'bread'.) For the same reason the Lord, when in the world, calls Himself the Lord of the sabbath, Matthew 12:7, 8; Mark 2:27-28; Luke 6:1-5.

[8] For the same reason also the Lord, when He was in the world and united His Human to the Divine itself, did away with the sabbath as an occasion on which representative worship or the kind of worship established among the Israelite people took place, and made the sabbath day a day for instruction in teachings about faith and love. This is what the following words in John imply,

Jesus healing a certain man on the sabbath day said to him, Take up your bed and walk. And he took up the bed and walked. The Jews said that he ought not to carry a bed on the sabbath day. And they sought to kill the Lord, because He broke the sabbath. John 5:8-11, 18.

'The healing of one who is sick' means the purification of a person from evils and the falsities of evil; his 'bed' means religious teachings; and 'walking' means 'life'.

[9] Every healing from sickness carried out by the Lord implies purification from evils and falsities, or restoration of spiritual life, see 8364(end), 9031(end), 9086.

'Walking' means life, 519, 1794, 8417, 8420.

The fact that 'bed' means religious teachings is clear from places in the Word where a bed is mentioned, and also from representatives in the next life. When a bed is seen there and someone is lying on it, the teachings on which that person relies are meant. Consequently beds which are most highly adorned are seen there; these belong to those who rely on truths springing from good. Yet the fact that things such as these are meant by the Lord's words no one can know without the aid of the internal sense; for when the Lord spoke He used correspondences and so images carrying a spiritual meaning, since the Divine was the Source of the things He said.

8215. 'And He took off the wheels of his chariots' means that the power to advance falsities was taken away. This is clear from the meaning of 'taking off' as taking away; from the meaning of 'wheel' as the power to go forward, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'Pharaoh's chariots' as doctrinal teachings that uphold falsity, dealt with in 8146, 8148, thus as falsities. What 'wheel' means in the genuine sense may be recognized from the meaning of 'chariot'. There were two kinds of chariots ¹ - those used to carry merchandise, and those used in battle. Chariots used for carrying merchandise served to mean doctrinal teachings that conveyed the truth, or in the contrary sense to mean those that conveyed falsity. Chariots used in battle likewise served to mean doctrinal teachings in either of those senses, but teachings involved in conflict. That is, they were used to mean actual truths or actual falsities lined up for conflict. From this one may see what 'a chariot wheel' is used to mean, namely the power to move forward, here to advance falsities and fight against truths. Since this power belongs to the understanding part of a person's mind, 'wheel' also means the understanding so far as matters of doctrine are concerned.

[2] In the next life chariots are frequently seen, laden with various kinds of merchandise; and these chariots differ from one another in outward appearance and size. When they are seen they serve to mean truths in their entirety, or doctrinal teachings, which are so to speak receptacles of truth, while their 'merchandise' serves to mean knowledge or cognitions that have different kinds of use. These things are seen in heaven when religious teachings are the object of conversation among angels. For since angels' conversation is incomprehensible to people who are below them, representatives are used to present it. To some it is presented, as has been stated, by means of chariots, which represent visually to them every single detail of the conversation; from that representation the contents of the conversation can be understood and seen in an instant. Some details are seen in the outward appearance of the chariot, some in its structure, some in its colour, some in its wheels, some in the horses pulling it, and others in the merchandise that the chariot is carrying. From these representatives springs the use of 'chariots' in the Word to mean doctrinal teachings.

[3] From all this one may in some measure be able to see that 'chariot wheels' means power that the understanding possesses; for just as a chariot is moved and sent forward by means of its wheels, so are the truths contained in doctrinal teachings sent into action by the power of understanding. This is also the meaning of 'wheels' in Isaiah,

Whose arrows are sharp, and all bows bent. His horses' hoofs are considered as flint, His wheels as the whirlwind. Isaiah 5:28.

This refers to one who lays truth waste, 'arrows' being falsities, and 'bows' false doctrine, 2686, 2709, while 'the hoofs' of the horses are the sensory knowledge belonging to perverted powers of understanding, 7729, 'wheels' powers to pervert and destroy truths, like a whirlwind.

[4] In Ezekiel,

I saw the living creatures, and behold, one wheel was on the earth with [each of] the living creatures, beside its four faces. The appearance of the wheels and their works were like a kind of tarshish, ² and the four had the same likeness. In addition the appearance of them, and their works, was like a wheel in the middle of a wheel. They went along on four sides in the direction they went; they did not turn aside as they went. Their rims were so high that they were awesome; ³ in addition their rims were full of eyes round about all four of them. Thus when the living creatures went, the wheels went along with them. The spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. Ezekiel 1:15-21; 10:9-14.

The Lord's providence is meant by 'the four living creatures', which were cherubs, 308, and Divine intelligence, or foresight, by 'the wheels'. This is why it says that the wheels went along together with the living creatures, that their rims were full of eyes, and also that the spirit of the living creatures, which was the truth of wisdom, was in them.

[5] In Daniel,

I saw, until thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days was seated His clothing was white as snow, the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was flames of fire; His wheels were burning fire. Daniel 7:9.

'The Ancient of Days' here is the Lord in respect of Divine Goodness; 'the thrones' that were placed are falsities; 'His clothing' is God's truth in its outward appearance; 'the hair of His head' is God's goodness in its outward appearance; 'His throne' is heaven and the Church; 'His wheels' are forms of wisdom and intelligence, that is, God's truths, and 'burning fire' the flames of love and charity. Under the ten lavers around Solomon's temple there were also

Wheels of bronze. The workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel; their axles, ⁴ and their rims ⁵ , and their tires, and their spokes were all of cast [bronze]. 1 Kings 7:30-33.

Those 'lavers' or stands served to mean the receptacles of truth by means of which a person is purified and regenerated. 'The wheels' served to mean the powers of understanding by means of which advances are made.

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