9400. 'And said, Behold the blood of the covenant' means that by means of this truth the Lord's Divine Human is joined to heaven and to earth. This is clear from the meaning of 'the blood' as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Human, dealt with above in 9393, 9399; and from the meaning of 'the covenant' as a joining together, also dealt with above, in 9396. The reason why it is a joining to heaven and to earth is that the Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord's Divine Human passes through the heavens, right on to mankind in the world; and on the way down it is adapted to suit each heaven, and ultimately mankind itself. Divine Truth on our planet is the Word, 9350-9362, which is composed in such a way that it has, in every detail, an inward sense intended for the heavens, and finally an outward sense, which is the literal sense, intended for mankind. From this it is evident that through the Word the Lord is joined to the heavens and to the world, 2143, 7153, 7381, 8920, 9094 (end), 9212 (end), 9216 (end), 9357, 9396.

[2] All this leads to the definite conclusion that without the Word on this planet heaven would not be joined to mankind, and neither therefore would the Lord, and if that conjunction did not exist the human race on this planet would entirely perish. For what composes a person's interior life is God's truth flowing in from the Lord. This truth is light itself, enlightening the person's inner sight, that is, his understanding; it is also the heavenly heat, held within that light, which is love, warming and bringing life to the will part in the internal man. Left without this light and heat therefore the inner being of a person would become blind and cold and it would die, in the same way that a person's outward being would if left without the heat and light of the worldly sun. But all this will seem to be absurd to those who do not believe that the Word is of such a nature, also to those who believe that life in a person is intrinsically his own and not something flowing in unceasingly from the Lord by way of heaven.

The life within a person is not intrinsically his but flows in from the Lord, see 4249, 4882, 5147, 5150, 5986, 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7147, 7270, 7343, 8685, 8701, 8717, 8728, 9110, 9111, 9223, 9276.

Before the Lord's eyes His Church, spread throughout the world, is like one human being, 9276, in the same way as heaven is, which is consequently called the Grand Man. The Church, where the Word exists, is like the heart and lungs in that human being, and all outside the Church receive life from it, even as the members, viscera, and all other organs of the body receive life from the heart and lungs, 2054, 2853, 7396.

8707. 'And make known to them the way in which they must go' means the light of intelligence and the life led as a result of it. This is clear from the meaning of 'the way' as that which has reference to the understanding of truth, dealt with in 627, 2333, in this instance on a more internal level since it has reference to the understanding of truth which a member of the spiritual Church possesses as a result of the direct influx of truth from the Lord, an influx which does not bring a person any actual discernment of truth, only the light that enables him to use his understanding (the situation with this light is as it is with the light which the sight of the eye depends on. In order that the eye may see objects light is necessary, providing illumination all around; in this light the eye sees and discerns objects, and is struck by their beauty and delightfulness because of their accord with true order. The situation is similar with the sight of the inner eye which is the understanding, in order that this may see, light is again necessary, providing illumination all around, in which objects that are matters of intelligence and wisdom may manifest themselves. The source of this light is Divine Truth which goes forth directly from the Lord, see 8644 (end); and objects in that light appear beautiful and delightful to the extent that they accord with the good anyone possesses); and from the meaning of 'in which (light) they must go' as the life led as a result. For the meaning of 'going' in the internal sense as life, see 3335, 4882, 5493, 5605, 8417, 8420.