9714. 'And you shall make the altar' means that which was representative of the Lord and of the worship of Him. This is clear from the meaning of 'the altar' - the one to be used for burnt offerings and sacrifices - as that which was representative of the Lord; and since the burnt offerings and sacrifices were the signs of all that constituted worship of the Lord, the altar was also representative of the worship of Him. Not that the Lord is worshipped with burnt offerings and sacrifices but with what they represented, namely the celestial things of love and the spiritual things of faith, 922, 923, 1823, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519, 6905, 8680, 8936.

[2] There were two objects which served to represent the Lord's Divine Human - the temple and the altar. That the temple did so He Himself teaches in John,

Jesus said, Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again. He was speaking of the temple of His body. John 2:19-21.

That the altar did so is likewise made clear by the Lord's own words, where He speaks in Matthew about the temple and at the same time the altar,

Fools and blind! For you say, Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is guilty. Which of the two is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold holy? In the same way, Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is guilty. Fools and blind! Which of the two is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift holy? He who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything that is on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by Him who sits on it. Matthew 23:16-22.

From this it is evident that just as the temple was representative of the Lord's Divine Human, so too was the altar; for something similar is stated regarding the altar as is stated regarding the temple, namely that the altar is what makes the gift on it holy. This shows that the altar was a channel through which other things were rendered holy, and for this reason was also representative of the Lord's Divine Human, the Source of all holiness. But the altar was representative of the Lord in respect of His Divine Good, whereas the temple was representative of Him in respect of His Divine Truth, thus in respect of heaven since Divine Truth emanating from the Lord makes heaven. This explains why the Lord says in regard to the temple that he who swears by the temple swears by it and by Him who dwells in it, and goes on to say that he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by Him who sits on it. 'God's throne' is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, and so is heaven, while 'He who sits on it' is the Lord, 5313. Much the same as was represented by the temple was represented also by the dwelling-place; the Lord in respect of Divine Truth there is the Testimony which was within the ark, 9503.

[3] Since the altar represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good it was the real holy of holies, making everything that touched it holy, as is made clear later on in this Book of Exodus, where it says,

Seven days you shall make expiation on the altar and sanctify it, that the altar may be most holy, ¹ and all that touches it may be made holy. Exodus 29:37.

This was the reason why fire burned unceasingly on the altar and was never put out, Leviticus 6:12-13; and from this fire and no other source the incense-fire was taken, Leviticus 10:1-6. For the fire on the altar was a sign of the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love, 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849.

[4] As regards the altar and its being representative of the Lord, this is evident from the following words in David,

Let Your light and truth lead me to Your holy mountain and to Your dwellings, that I may go in to the altar of God, to God ... Psalms 43:3-4.

And in the same author,

I wash my hands in innocence, and I go around Your altar, O Jehovah. Psalms 26:6-7.

[5] But as regards the altar and its being representative of worship of the Lord, this may be seen in Isaiah,

All the cattle of Arabia will be gathered to You, the rams of Nebaioth will minister to You; they will come up with acceptance on My altar. Isaiah 60:7.

In Jeremiah,

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

'Abandoning the altar' stands for doing away with what was representative of worshipping the Lord from the good of love, 'abominating the sanctuary' stands for doing away with what was representative of worshipping the Lord from the truths of faith.

[6] In Ezekiel,

Your altars will be destroyed, I will scatter your bones around your altars. Your altars will be laid waste and made desolate, and your idols will be broken and cease to be. Ezekiel 6:4-6.

'Altars being destroyed, laid waste, and made desolate' stands for the ruination of that which belongs to representative worship. In Isaiah,

The iniquity of Jacob will be expiated, when He makes all the stones of the altar like chalk-stones scattered about. Isaiah 27:9.

'The stones of the altar scattered about' stands for all the truths of worship.

[7] In the same prophet,

On that day a person will regard his Maker, and his eyes [will regard] the Holy One of Israel. But he will not regard the altars, the work of his hands, and what his fingers have made. Isaiah 17:7-8.

'Altars, the work of hands, and what fingers have made' stands for worship that is the product of self-intelligence.

[8] In Hosea,

Ephraim has multiplied altars for sinning. Hosea 8:11.

'Multiplying altars for sinning' stands for devising meaningless forms of worship. In the same prophet,

Thistle and thorn will grow up on their altars. Hosea 10:8.

This describes how evils and falsities will come in and compose worship.

[9] In Isaiah,

On that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of Egypt. Isaiah 19:19.

'An altar to Jehovah' stands for worship of the Lord.

[10] Because the altar that is the subject here was portable it was made from shittim wood and overlaid with bronze. But an altar that was to remain permanently in the same place was built either from soil or from unhewn stones. An altar of soil was the chief representative sign of worship of the Lord that springs from the good of love, whereas an altar of unhewn stones was the representative sign of worship springing from forms of the good and of the truth of faith, 8935, 8940. The portable altar however that is the subject here was representative of worship of the Lord that springs from the good of love; and this was why it was made from shittim wood and overlaid with bronze.

Poznámky pod čarou:

9503. 'And you shall put into the ark the Testimony' means Divine Truth, which is the Lord in heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'the ark' as heaven, dealt with above; and from the meaning of 'the Testimony' as Divine Truth, thus the Lord in heaven, dealt with below. The reason why Divine Truth is the Lord in heaven is that the Lord is Goodness itself and Truth itself, for both emanate from Him and He Himself composes what emanates from Him. So it is that the Lord is heaven, for Divine Truth which emanates from Him and is received by the angels makes heaven. Consequently the more perfect the manner in which angels receive Divine Truth that comes from the Lord and accordingly receive the Lord, the more perfect the human forms they possess. Eventually they become so perfect that their beauty surpasses belief; anyone who sees them, as I have done, will be dumbfounded. For in their outward form angels are manifestations of heavenly love and charity, and that is the truly human form. The reason why angels possess human forms is that the Divine in heaven is the Lord, and those who receive Divine Truth within good from Him are images of Him.

[2] As regards the meaning of 'the Testimony', a distinction is drawn in the Word between laws, statutes, judgements, commandments, testimonies, words, commands, truths, and covenants, as may be recognized from a number of places, especially in David's Psalms 119, where all these terms occur, testimonies doing so in verses 2, 14, 31, 46, 59, 88, 99, 111, 119, 125, 138, 144, 168. A like distinction occurs elsewhere in the same author,

The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple; the commands of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes; the judgements of Jehovah are truth, they are righteous altogether. Psalms 19:7-9.

The like occurs in Moses, at Deuteronomy 4:45; 6:17, 20; also in Jeremiah 44:23; and many times elsewhere. From all this it may be recognized that 'the Testimony' means Divine Truth, which testifies of the Lord, and so means the Word. For in the highest sense of the Word the only subject is the Lord, and this is why the internal sense testifies of Him, that is, contains teachings about Him and about the truths of faith and forms of the good of love which He is the source of. 'Testimony' is again used with this meaning in the Book of Revelation,

... those who had been killed on account of the Word of God and on account of the testimony which they had. Revelation 6:9.

And elsewhere,

They conquered the dragon by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony. Revelation 12:11.

'The blood of the Lamb' is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, 7846, 7877, 9127, 9393, while 'the word of their testimony' is Divine Truth received by man. 'Testimony' is used with the same meaning at Revelation 12:17; 19:10.

[3] The fact that Divine Truth emanating from the Lord is called 'the Testimony' because it testifies of the Lord is clear from the Lord's own words in John,

He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has seen and heard, that He testifies. He who receives His testimony has set his seal [to this], that God is truthful. John 3:31-33.

In the same gospel,

I am One who testifies of Myself; and He, the Father, who sent Me testifies of Me. John 8:18.

In the same gospel,

Search the Scriptures; and it is they that testify of Me. John 5:39.

And in the same gospel,

The Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, He will testify of Me. John 15:26-27.

From all this it is clear that Divine Truth is called the Testimony because it testifies of the Lord. This Divine Truth is the Word, for as stated above, the only subject in the highest sense of the Word is the Lord; this is what makes the Word Divine and therefore what makes it holy. Furthermore the Ten Words or the Law which were declared from Mount Sinai, inscribed on two tablets [of stone], and stored in the ark, is what is here called the Testimony. For that Law means the Word or Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, in its entirety, see 9416. It is evident from the Lord's own words to Pilate that He is the One from whom Divine Truth comes,

Pilate said, Are you a king? Jesus answered, You say [it, because] I am a King. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, that I may bear testimony to the truth. John 18:37.

'A king' in the internal sense means Divine Truth, see 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148. This was why the Lord said, 'I am a King' and, 'For this I was born, that I may bear testimony to the truth', that is, that He Himself is Divine Truth. From all this it is now evident that 'the Testimony' in the ark means Divine Truth and so the Lord in heaven.