9670. And thou shalt make a veil. That this signifies the intermediate which unites this heaven and the inmost heaven, thus spiritual good with celestial good, is evident from the signification of the “veil,” which made a division between the Habitation where was the ark of the Testimony, and the place where were the lampstand and the table on which were the breads of faces, as being the intermediate which unites the middle heaven and the inmost heaven; for by the ark in which was the Testimony was represented the inmost heaven, where the Lord is (see n. 9457, 9481, 9485), and by the Habitation outside the veil was represented the middle heaven (n. 9594). And as the good of love to the Lord makes the inmost heaven, and the good of charity toward the neighbor makes the middle heaven, therefore by the “veil” is also signified the intermediate which unites spiritual good and celestial good. Spiritual good is the good of charity toward the neighbor, and celestial good is the good of love to the Lord (that the heavens are distinguished according to these goods, may be seen f rom the citations given above n. 9277). From all this it is now evident what is signified by the “veil,” both in the tabernacle and in the temple.

[2] These two heavens, namely the inmost and the middle, are so distinct that there is no entrance from the one into the other. But still they constitute one heaven by means of intermediate angelic societies, which are of such a genius that they can accede to the good of both heavens. These societies are what constitute the uniting intermediate which was represented by the veil. It has also been sometimes granted me to speak with angels from these societies. The quality of the angels of the inmost heaven, and the relative quality of the angels of the middle heaven, can be seen from correspondence. To the angels of the inmost heaven correspond those things in man which belong to the province of the heart, and to that of the cerebellum; but to the angels of the middle heaven correspond those things in man which belong to the province of the lungs, and to that of the cerebrum. The things that belong to the heart and the cerebellum are called involuntary and spontaneous, because they so appear; but those which belong to the lungs and the cerebrum are called voluntary. From this can in some measure be seen the nature of the perfection of the one heaven over the other, and also the nature of the difference between them. But to the intermediate angels who accede to both heavens, and conjoin them, correspond the cardiac and pulmonary networks of blood vessels by means of which is effected the conjunction of the heart with the lungs; and also the medulla oblongata, in which the fiber of the cerebellum is conjoined with the fiber of the cerebrum.

[3] (That the angels who are of the Lord’s celestial kingdom, that is, who are in the inmost heaven, constitute the province of the heart in the Grand Man; and that the angels who are of the Lord’s spiritual kingdom, that is, who are in the middle heaven, constitute the province of the lungs, see n. 3635, 3886-3890; also that from this comes the correspondence of the heart and of the lungs in man, n. 3883-3896.) It is the same with the correspondence of the cerebrum and the cerebellum. The quality of the celestial, or of those who are in the inmost heaven, and the quality of the spiritual, or of those who are in the middle heaven; and the difference between them, may be seen above (n. 2046, 2227, 2669, 2708, 2715, 2718, 2935, 2937, 2954, 3166, 3235-3236, 3240, 3246, 3374, 3833, 3887, 3969, 4138, 4286, 4493, 4585, 4938, 5113, 5150, 5922, 6289, 6296, 6366, 6427, 6435, 6500, 6647, 6648, 7091, 7233, 7877, 7977, 7992, 8042, 8152, 8234, 8521). From this it can be seen what is the quality of the intermediate angels who constitute the uniting intermediate which was represented by the veil.

[4] That the veil of the temple was rent in twain when the Lord suffered the cross (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45) signified His glorification; for when the Lord was in the world, He made His Human Divine truth; but when He departed out of the world, He made His Human Divine good, from which the Divine truth now proceeds (see the citations in n. 9199, 9315). Divine good is the holy of holies.

[5] The glorification of the Lord’s Human even to the Divine good which is “Jehovah,” is also described in the internal sense by the process of expiation, when Aaron entered into the holy of holies within the veil (Leviticus 16); and in the relative sense by the same process is described the regeneration of man even to celestial good, which is the good of the inmost heaven. The process referred to was as follows. Aaron was to take a bullock for a sacrifice, and a ram for a burnt-offering, for himself and his house; and he was to put on the garments of holiness, which were a tunic of linen, breeches of linen, a belt of linen, and a miter of linen, and to wash his flesh in water. And he was to take two he-goats, and cast lots upon them; and one of these was to be offered to Jehovah, and the other to be sent forth into the wilderness; the latter for the assembly of the sons of Israel. When he sacrificed the bullock he was to bring incense within the veil and to sprinkle of the blood of the bullock and of the he-goat seven times upon the propitiatory [mercy seat] eastward, and also to put blood upon the horns of the altar.

Afterward he was to confess the sins of the sons of Israel, which he was to put upon the he-goat, and this was to be sent forth into the wilderness. Lastly he was to put off the garments of linen, and to put on his own, and to make a burnt-offering for himself and for the people. The sacrifices that were not to be offered are stated. This was to be done every year, when Aaron entered into the holy of holies within the veil. The priesthood which Aaron administered represented the Lord as to Divine good, even as the regal office which was afterward vested in the kings represented the Lord as to Divine truth (n. 6148). The process of the glorification of the Lord’s Human even to Divine good is here described in the internal sense. This process was exhibited to the angels when Aaron performed these things and entered within the veil, and it is also now exhibited to them when this portion of the Word is read.

[6] By “the bullock for the sin-offering,” and by “the ram for a burnt-offering,” is signified the purification of good from evils in the external and in the internal man; by “the tunic of linen, the breeches of linen, the belt of linen, and the miter of linen,” which he was to put on when he entered in, and by “the washing of his flesh,” is signified that the purification was effected by means of truths from good; by “the two he-goats of the goats for a sin-offering,” and by “the ram for a burnt-offering,” and by “the he-goat which was offered,” and by the other one that was “sent forth,” is signified the purification of truth from falsities in the external man; by “the incense which he was to bring within the veil,” is signified adaptation; by “the blood of the bullock; and the blood of the he-goat which was to be sprinkled seven times upon the propitiatory [mercy seat] eastward and afterward upon the horns of the altar,” is signified Divine truth from Divine good; by “the confession of sins over the living goat, which was to be sent forth into the wilderness,” is signified a complete separation and casting out of evil from good; by his “putting off the garments of linen, and putting on his own garments,” when he was to offer the burnt-offerings, also by “the bringing forth of the flesh, the skin, and the dung of the sacrifices outside the camp and burning them,” is signified the putting on of celestial good with a regenerate person, and the glorification in the Lord of the Human even to Divine good, after all those things had been rejected which were of the human derived from the mother, even until He was no longer her son (see the citations in n. 9315). These are the things which are signified by this process of purification, when Aaron entered into the holy of holies within the veil; for after these things had been performed, Aaron represented the Lord as to Divine good. From all this it can be seen that by “the veil between the holy and the holy of holies” is also signified the intermediate uniting the Divine truth and the Divine good in the Lord.

2708. And he dwelt in the wilderness. That this signifies in what is relatively obscure, is evident from the signification of “dwelling,” as being to live (see n. 2451); and from the signification of “wilderness,” as being that which has little vitality (see n. 1927); here what is obscure, but relatively. By what is relatively obscure is meant the state of the spiritual church relatively to the state of the celestial church, or the state of those who are spiritual relatively to that of those who are celestial. The celestial are in the affection of good, the spiritual in the affection of truth; the celestial have perception, but the spiritual a dictate of conscience; to the celestial the Lord appears as a Sun, but to the spiritual as a Moon (n. 1521, 1530, 1531, 2495). The former have light from the Lord, but giving both sight and the perception of good and truth, like the light of day from the sun; but the latter have light from the Lord like the light of night from the moon, and thus they are in relative obscurity. The reason is that the celestial are in love to the Lord, and thus in the Lord’s life itself; but the spiritual are in charity toward the neighbor and in faith, and thus in the Lord’s life indeed, but more obscurely. Hence it is that the celestial never reason about faith and its truths, but being in perception of truth from good, they say that it is so; whereas the spiritual speak and reason concerning the truths of faith, because they are in the conscience of good from truth; and also because with the celestial the good of love has been implanted in their will part, wherein is the chief life of man, but with the spiritual in their intellectual part, wherein is the secondary life of man; this is the reason why the spiritual are in what is relatively obscure (see n. 81, 202, 337, 765, 784, 895, 1114-1125, 1155, 1577, 1824, 2048, 2088, 2227, 2454, 2507).

[2] This comparative obscurity is here called a “wilderness.” In the Word a “wilderness” signifies what is little inhabited and cultivated, and also signifies what is not at all inhabited and cultivated, and is thus used in a twofold sense. Where it signifies what is little inhabited and cultivated, or where there are few habitations, folds of flocks, pastures, and waters, it signifies what has relatively little life and light-as what is spiritual, or those who are spiritual, in comparison with what is celestial, or those who are celestial. But where it signifies what is not inhabited or cultivated at all, or where there are no habitations, folds of flocks, pastures, or waters, it signifies those who are in vastation as to good and in desolation as to truth.

[3] That a “wilderness” signifies what is comparatively little inhabited and cultivated, or where there are few habitations, folds of flocks, pastures, and waters, is evident from the following passages.

In Isaiah:

Sing unto Jehovah a new song and His praise from the end of the earth; ye that go down to the sea, and the fullness thereof, the isles and the inhabitants thereof; let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up, the villages ¹ that Kedar doth inhabit; let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains (Isaiah 42:10-11).

In Ezekiel:

I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil wild beast to cease out of the land, and they shall dwell securely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods; and I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; the tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield her fruit (Ezekiel 34:25-27);

here the spiritual are treated of.

In Hosea:

I will bring her into the wilderness, and will speak to her heart; and I will give her her vineyards from thence (Hos. 2:14-15); where the desolation of truth, and consolation afterwards, are treated of.

In David:

The folds of the wilderness do drop, and the hills are girded with rejoicing; the pastures are clothed with flocks, the valleys also are covered over with corn (Psalms 65:12-13).

[4] In Isaiah:

I will make the wilderness a pool of waters, and the dry land springs of waters. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar of Shittim, and the myrtle, and the oil-tree; I will set in the desert the fir-tree; that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of Jehovah hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it (Isaiah 41:18-20); where the regeneration of those who are in ignorance of truth, or the Gentiles, and the enlightenment and instruction of those who are in desolation, are treated of; the “wilderness” is predicated of these; the “cedar, myrtle, and oil-tree” denote the truths and goods of the interior man; the “fir-tree” denotes those of the exterior.

In David:

Jehovah maketh rivers into a wilderness, and watersprings into dry ground; He maketh a wilderness into a pool of waters, and a dry land into watersprings (Psalms 107:33, 35); where the meaning is the same.

In Isaiah:

The wilderness and the parched land shall be glad for them, and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose; budding it shall bud; in the wilderness shall waters break out, ² and streams in the desert (Isaiah 35:1-2, 6).

In the same:

Thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail; and they that be of thee shall build the deserts of old (Isaiah 58:11-12).

In the same:

Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness become Carmel, and Carmel be counted for a forest; and judgment shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness in Carmel (Isaiah 32:15-16); where the spiritual church is treated of, which though inhabited and cultivated is called relatively a “wilderness;” for it is said, “judgment shall dwell in the wilderness and righteousness in Carmel.” That a “wilderness” denotes a comparatively obscure state, is plain from these passages by its being called a “wilderness” and also a “forest;” and very evidently so in Jeremiah:

O generation, see ye the Word of Jehovah. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? or a land of darkness? (Jeremiah 2:31).

[5] That a “wilderness” signifies what is not at all inhabited or cultivated, or where there are no habitations, folds of flocks, pastures, and waters, and thus those who are in vastation as to good and in desolation as to truth, is also evident from the Word. This kind of “wilderness” is predicated in a double sense, namely, of those who are afterwards reformed, and of those who cannot be reformed. Concerning those who are afterwards reformed (as here in regard to Hagar and her son) we read in Jeremiah:

Thus saith Jehovah, I remember for thee the mercy of thy youth, thy going after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown (Jeremiah 2:2); where Jerusalem is treated of, which here is the Ancient Church that was spiritual.

In Moses:

Jehovah’s portion is His people, Jacob is the line of His inheritance; He found him in a desert land, and in a waste howling wilderness; He led him about, He made him understand, He kept him as the pupil of His eye (Deuteronomy 32:9-10).

In David:

They wandered in the wilderness in a solitary way, they found no city of habitation (Psalms 107:4); where those who have been in desolation of truth and are being reformed are treated of.

In Ezekiel:

I will bring you to the wilderness of the peoples, and I will judge with you there, as I judged with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt (Ezekiel 20:35-36); where in like manner the vastation and desolation of those who are being reformed are treated of.

[6] The journeyings and wanderings of the people of Israel in the wilderness represented nothing but the vastation and desolation of believers before reformation; consequently their temptation, if indeed they are in vastation and desolation when they are in spiritual temptations; as may also be seen from the following passages in Moses:

Jehovah bare them in the wilderness as a man beareth his son, in the way, even unto this place (Deuteronomy 1:31).

And in another place:

Thou shalt remember all the way which Jehovah thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to afflict thee, to tempt thee, and to know what is in thy heart; whether thou wouldest keep His commandments or no. He afflicted thee, He suffered thee to hunger, He made thee to eat manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that thou mightiest know that man doth not live by bread only, but by everything that proceedeth out of the mouth of Jehovah doth man live (Deuteronomy 8:2-3).

And again in the same chapter:

Lest thou forget that Jehovah led thee in the great and terrible wilderness, where were serpents, fiery serpents, and scorpions; a thirsty land where was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; He fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that He might afflict thee, and might tempt thee, to do thee good at thy latter end (Deuteronomy 8:15-16).

Here the “wilderness” denotes vastation and desolation, such as those are in who are in temptations. By their journeyings and wanderings in the wilderness forty years, all the state of the combating church is described-how of itself it yields, but conquers from the Lord.

[7] By the “woman who fled into the wilderness,” in John, nothing else is signified than the temptation of the church, thus described:

The woman who brought forth a son, a man child, fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God; there were given unto the woman two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place; and the serpent cast out of his mouth after the woman water as a flood, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. But the earth helped the woman; for the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth (Revelation 12:6, 14-16).

[8] That “wilderness” is predicated of a church altogether vastated, and of those who are altogether vastated as to good and truth, who cannot be reformed, is thus shown in Isaiah:

I make the rivers a wilderness; their fish stink because there is no water, and die for thirst; I clothe the heavens with thick darkness (Isaiah 50:2-3).

In the same:

Thy holy cities were become a wilderness, Zion was become a wilderness, Jerusalem a desolation (Isaiah 64:10).

In Jeremiah:

I beheld and lo Carmel was a wilderness, and all her cities were broken down at the presence of Jehovah (Jeremiah 4:26).

In the same:

Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard, they have trodden My portion under foot; they have made My pleasant portion a wilderness of desolation, they have made it a desolation, it hath mourned unto Me, being desolate; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart. Spoilers are come upon all the hillsides in the wilderness (Jeremiah 12:10-12).

In Joel:

The fire hath devoured the folds of the wilderness, and the flame hath burned all the trees of the field, the water brooks are dried up, the fire hath devoured the folds of the wilderness (Joel 1:19-20).

In Isaiah:

He made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof (Isaiah 14:17); where Lucifer is spoken of. In the same:

The prophecy of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south, it cometh from the wilderness, from a terrible land (Isaiah 21:1).

The “wilderness of the sea” denotes truth vastated by memory-knowledges and the reasonings from them.

[9] From all this it may be seen what is signified by the following concerning John the Baptist:

It was said by Isaiah, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way for the Lord, make His paths straight (Matthew 3:3; Mark 1:3; Luke 3:4; John 1:23; Isaiah 40:3);

which means that the church was then altogether vastated, so that there was no longer any good, nor any truth; which is plainly manifest from the fact, that then no one knew that man had any internal, nor that there was any internal in the Word, and thus that no one knew that the Messiah or Christ was to come to eternally save them. Hence it is also manifest what is signified by John being in the wilderness until the days of his appearing to Israel (Luke 1:80); and by his preaching in the wilderness of Judea (Matthew 3:1-17 and following verses); and by his baptizing in the wilderness (Mark 1:4); for by that he also represented the state of the church. From the signification of a “wilderness” it may also be seen why the Lord so often withdrew into the wilderness (see for examples Matthew 4:1; 15:32 to the end; Mark 1:12-13, 35-40, 45; 6:31-36; Luke 4:1; 5:16; 9:10, John 11:54, and the following verses). From the signification of a “mountain” also it is manifest why the Lord withdrew into the mountains (as in Matthew 14:23; 15:29-31; 17:1; 28:16-17; Mark 3:13-14; 6:46; 9:2-9; Luke 6:12-13; 9:28; John 6:15).

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