10261. 'And olive oil' means the Lord's celestial Divine Good. This is clear from the meaning of 'oil' as good, both celestial and spiritual, dealt with in 886, 4582, 9780; and from the meaning of 'olive' as celestial love, dealt with below, so that 'olive oil' means the good of celestial love, or what amounts to the same thing, celestial good. The expression 'the Lord's celestial Divine Good' is used because the origin of all good that really is good and exists in the heavens lies in what is Divine and the Lord's.

[2] But it should be remembered that in itself the Lord's Divine Good is a single whole; for it is infinite and contains infinite characteristics. What is infinite is a single whole, because the infinite characteristics it contains make one. But the distinguishing of that Good into celestial and spiritual is due to the different ways in which angels in heaven and people on earth receive it. That received by angels and people belonging to the Lord's celestial kingdom is called celestial Divine Good, whereas that received by angels and people belonging to the Lord's spiritual kingdom is called spiritual Divine Good. For all angels in heaven and people on earth receive the Lord's Good, which is a single whole, in various or dissimilar ways. This may be compared to the heat and light from the sun in the world. Though these regarded in themselves are a single whole, they nevertheless vary according to the seasons of the year and times of the day, and are also different in each region of the planet. Such variations of heat and light are due not to the sun but to the changing conditions on the planet brought about by variations as it orbits round the sun and revolves on its axis, so that again the reception is the determining factor. The variations of the one same light as it falls on individual objects, producing different colours, is also attributable to the ways in which it is received. From all this it may now be recognized why it is that the Lord's Divine Good, which is a single whole because it is infinite, is called celestial and spiritual.

[3] The meaning of 'oil' as good, both celestial and spiritual, is clear in the places referred to above. But the fact that 'olive' means celestial love, and 'olive tree' the perception and affection belonging to that love, is clear from the places in the Word where 'olive tree' and 'olive' are mentioned, as in the following: In Zechariah,

The prophet saw a lampstand all of gold. It had seven lamps on it, [and had] two olive trees beside it, one on the right of the bowl, and one on the left of it. He said to the angel, What are these two olive trees, and what are the two olive berries which are in the spouts ¹ of the two tubes of gold? He said, These are the two sons of olives, standing beside the Lord of the whole earth. Zechariah 4:2-3, 11-12, 14.

[4] What these prophetic utterances imply none can know unless they know from the internal sense what 'a lampstand' means and what 'an olive tree' means. 'A lampstand' means the spiritual heaven, and its 'lamps' the holy truths there, see 9548, 9551, 9555, 9558, 9561, 9684. From these meanings it is clear that 'an olive tree' means the celestial kingdom born from the perception of and affection for good, and 'olive berries' the holy forms of good there, their truths being meant by 'the sons of olives'. 'Two' means the internal and the external parts of that kingdom, and a joining together.

[5] 'Oil' and 'lampstand' are used with similar meanings in John,

I will give [power] to My two witnesses, that they may prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. Revelation 11:3-4.

In Isaiah,

I will plant ² in the wilderness the cedar of shittah, and the myrtle, and olive wood ³ . Isaiah 41:19.

'The cedar' and 'olive wood' are mentioned because 'the cedar' means spiritual good and 'olive wood' celestial good, spiritual good being charity towards the neighbour and celestial good being love to the Lord. 'Planting them in the wilderness' means doing so in lands outside the Church, thus among gentile nations.

[6] In Hosea,

His branches will go out and his beauty will be like that of the olive, and his smell like Lebanon. Hosea 14:6.

Here also 'the olive' means celestial good, and 'Lebanon' means spiritual good, so that 'Lebanon' is similar in meaning to 'the cedar'; for Lebanon was a forest consisting of cedars.

[7] In Isaiah,

Thus will it be in the midst of the earth, in the midst of the peoples, like the stripping of the olive tree, like the gleaning of grapes when the harvesting of them has finished. Isaiah 24:13.

Also Isaiah 17:6. Comparison is made with 'the stripping of the olive tree' and 'the gleaning of grapes after the harvesting has finished' because 'the olive tree' means a Church that is governed by celestial good, and 'the vine' a Church that is governed by spiritual good. For in the Word wherever good is the subject, truth is also, on account of the marriage of them. In like manner wherever the celestial is the subject, the spiritual is also. Furthermore the term 'celestial' is used in reference to good, and 'spiritual' to truth, see in the places referred to in 9263, 9314; therefore the terms are also used in reference to the vine and the olive tree. As regards 'the vine', that it means the spiritual Church, and its goodness and truth, see 1069, 5113, 6376, 9277.

[8] Here also is the reason why elsewhere the vine and the olive tree are spoken of together, as in David,

[Your] wife will be like a fruitful vine on the sides of your house, your sons will be like olive shoots, round about your table. Psalms 128:3-4.

In Habakkuk,

The fig tree will not blossom, neither will there be any produce on the vines; the olive crop will fail ⁴ . Habakkuk 3:17.

In Amos,

Your very many gardens, and your vineyards, and your fig trees, and your olive trees the caterpillar devoured. Amos 4:9.

The fig tree as well is mentioned, because 'the fig' means the external Church's good, 5113, whereas 'the vine' means the good of the internal spiritual Church, and 'the olive tree' the good of the internal celestial Church. Similar instances occur elsewhere.

[9] Since 'olive wood' meant the good of celestial love the two cherubs which were in the sanctuary in the temple were made from pieces of olive wood, as were the double doors, lintel, and posts, 1 Kings 6:23, 31-32. For the sanctuary in the temple represented the inmost heaven, where celestial good is present, and therefore everything in the sanctuary was a sign of something celestial. The ark there, for the sake of which the sanctuary existed, was a sign of the inmost heaven, where the Lord is, see 9485.

[10] 'The Mount of Olives', which was opposite the temple, had a similar meaning to 'the olive tree', just as 'Lebanon' had to 'the cedar'. Therefore in order that all the things the Lord did when He was in the world, especially Divine celestial ones, might be represented in the heavens, the Lord was very often on the Mount of Olives when He was in Jerusalem, as is clear in Luke,

By day Jesus was teaching in the temple, but by night He went out and spent the night on the mountain which is called Olivet ⁵ . Luke 21:37.

And elsewhere,

Jesus came out and went away, as was His custom ⁶ , to the Mount of Olives. Luke 22:39.

Regarding this mountain, that it was opposite the temple, see Mark 13:3; Matthew 24:3.

[11] The fact that 'the Mount of Olives' was a sign of celestial Divine Good is clear in Zechariah, where it is stated,

Jehovah's feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives, which faces ⁷ Jerusalem; and there He will fight against the nations. And the mountain will be split, part towards the east and towards the sea ⁸ , with a large valley; and part of it will move away towards the north, and part towards the south. Zechariah 14:3-4.

This is a description of the state of heaven and the Church when the Lord was in the world, fighting against the hells, conquering them, and at the same time restoring the heavens to order. 'The nations' there which He fought against are the evils coming from hell; 'the Mount of Olives' on which His feet stood is the Divine Good of Divine Love, for by this Good He fought and conquered. 'The splitting of the mountain with a large valley, towards the east and towards the sea' means the separation of heaven and hell; and the like is meant by 'its moving away towards the north and the south'. Those living in the light of truth are said to be in the south, and those in the love of good to be in the east, whereas those immersed in evils are said to be towards the sea, and those in falsities towards the north.

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9594. 'And you shall make the dwelling-place' means the second or middle heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'the dwelling-place', when it refers to the Divine, as heaven - the middle or second heaven, strictly speaking. It is well known that there are three heavens, namely the inmost, middle, and lowest, or third, second, and first. All these heavens were represented by the tabernacle; the inmost or third heaven was represented by the ark where the Testimony was, the middle or second heaven by the dwelling-place where the table for the loaves of the Presence and the lampstand were, and the lowest or first heaven by the court. The reason why there are three heavens is that there are three degrees of life with the human being. (Human beings, who become angels after death, constitute heaven; angels have no other beginning, and the heavens spring from no other source.) The inmost degree of his life exists for the inmost heaven, the middle degree of life for the middle heaven, and the lowest for the lowest heaven. And because the human being is like this, or has been so formed, and heaven springs from the human race, there are three heavens.

[2] These degrees of life with a person are opened up in successive stages. The first degree is opened up by a life led in accord with what is right and fair, the second degree by a life in accord with the truths of faith drawn from the Word and with forms of the good of charity towards the neighbour that follow on from those truths, and the third degree by a life in accord with the good of mutual love and the good of love to the Lord. These virtues are the means by which those three degrees of life with a person, and so the three heavens with him, are opened up in successive stages. But it should be recognized that to the extent that a person departs from good in life and moves towards evil in life those degrees are closed, that is, the heavens with him are closed; for just as good in life opens them, so evil in life closes them. This being so, all who are steeped in evil are outside heaven, thus are in hell. It should also be recognized that with some people - since the heavens with a person are opened up in successive stages according to the good present in his life, as stated above - the first heaven and not the second is opened up; that with some others the second heaven and not the third is opened up; but that the third heaven is opened up solely with those governed by good in life springing from love to the Lord. For the human being is heaven in its smallest form, and has been created so as to conform to an image of heaven and of the world, see the places referred to in 9279.

[3] There is therefore an inmost heaven, represented by the ark of the Testimony, which was the subject in the previous chapter; a middle heaven, represented by the dwelling-place, which is the subject in the present chapter; and a lowest heaven, represented by the court, which is the subject in the next chapter. Heaven is called God's dwelling-place because what is Divine and the Lord's dwells there; for Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good is what makes heaven, indeed gives life to the angels there. And since the Lord dwells with angels in that which comes from Him, 9338 (end), heaven is called God's dwelling-place, and the actual Divine Truths emanating from Divine Good, which angels or angelic communities are recipients of, are called dwellings, as in David,

Send out Your light and Your truth; let them lead me, let them 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.

In the same author,

There is a river whose streams will make glad the city of God, the holy place of the dwellings of the Most High. Psalms 46:4.

In the same author,

Down to the ground ¹ they have profaned the dwelling-place of Your name. Psalms 74:7.

In the same author,

How lovely are Your dwellings, O Jehovah! Psalms 84:1.

[4] The fact that the Divine realities which emanate from the Lord's Divine Human are what are rightly called 'dwellings', as a result of which heaven itself is called 'the dwelling-place', is also clear in David,

He swore to Jehovah, he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob, Surely I will not give sleep to my eyes, until I find a place for Jehovah, the dwelling-places for the Mighty One of Jacob. Behold, we heard of Him in Ephrathah, we found Him in the fields of the wood. We will enter His dwelling-places. Psalms 132:2, 4-7.

'The Mighty One of Jacob' is the Lord's Divine Human, 6425. 'Ephrathah', where He was to be found, is Bethlehem where He was born, Genesis 35:19; 48:7; Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:5-6. 'The fields of the wood' are the forms of good composing the Church among gentiles.

[5] In Ezekiel,

They will dwell in the land which I gave to My servant Jacob. They will dwell in it, they [and their sons] and their sons' sons forever. And David My servant will be their prince forever. I will make with them a covenant of peace; it will be an eternal covenant with them. And I will set My sanctuary in their midst forever; so shall My dwelling-place be among them. Ezekiel 37:25-27.

'David, who will be their prince forever' stands for the Lord, 1888; 'the sanctuary' (sanctuarium) stands for the Lord's Divine Human, since He is the source of all holiness (sanctum), 3210, 9229, so that 'dwelling-place' stands for heaven and for the Church, where the Lord is.

[6] In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, Behold, I will bring back the captivity ² of the tents of Jacob, and will have compassion on his dwellings, that the city may be built upon its mound. Jeremiah 30:18.

'Bringing back the captivity of the tents of Jacob' stands for restoring the external Church's forms of good and truths which had been destroyed, 'having compassion on his dwellings' for restoring the internal Church's truths, 'the city which was to be built upon its mound' for doctrinal teachings about the truth, 2449, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493.

[7] How the Lord dwells in the heavens may be seen from what has been shown previously regarding the Lord, that is to say, where it has been shown that the Lord's Divine Human is the Sun, the source of heat and light in the heavens. The heat radiating from the Lord as the Sun is love, while the light is faith. The Lord therefore dwells with those who receive from Him the good of love and the truth of faith, which are the heat and light of life; and how fully He is present depends on their degree of receptivity.

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