Apocalypse Explained # 491
491. Having a golden censer, signifies the conjunction of celestial good with spiritual good, and thus the conjunction of the higher heavens. This is evident from the signification of a "censer," as being worship from spiritual good, for such worship was represented by incense from the censers (See above, n. 324). "Having a golden censer" signifies the conjunction of celestial good with spiritual good, because the angel standing at the altar had a censer, and the "altar" signifies worship from celestial good, and "a golden censer" spiritual good from celestial good, "gold" signifying celestial good. The censers that were in use with the Jewish and Israelitish nation were of brass; and the offerings of incense from those censers represented worship from spiritual good, and conjunction at the same time with natural good, for "brass" signifies natural good; so here "a golden censer" signifies the conjunction of celestial good with spiritual good. It also signifies the conjunction of the two higher heavens, because the good of the inmost heaven is celestial good, and the good of the middle heaven is spiritual good; when therefore the conjunction of these goods is mentioned, the conjunction of the heavens is also meant, because the good is what constitutes the heaven. Celestial good is the good of love to the Lord, and it constitutes the highest or inmost heaven; and spiritual good is the good of love towards the neighbor, and it constitutes the heaven next below, which is called the second or middle heaven.
[2] "Frankincense" in the Word signifies spiritual good, the same as the censer that contained it (where the containant is taken for the content), as can be seen in the following passages. In Isaiah:
I have not made thee to serve by a meal-offering, nor wearied thee by frankincense (Isaiah 43:23).
"A meal-offering and frankincense" are mentioned, because the "meal-offering," which was made of fine flour and was therefore bread, signifies celestial good, consequently "frankincense" signifies spiritual good. Both are mentioned because in every part of the Word there is a marriage of good and truth, that is, where it treats of good it also treats of truth, and spiritual good in its essence is truth; this shows that "frankincense" means spiritual good, or the truth of celestial good. This can be seen further from other passages in which "meal-offering" and "frankincense" are mentioned together. Thus in Isaiah:
Causing the meal-offering to ascend, offering frankincense (6 Isaiah 66:3).
[3] In Jeremiah:
They shall offer the whole burnt-offering and the sacrifice, the meal-offering and frankincense (Jeremiah 17:26).
"Burnt-offering" also signifies worship from the good of celestial love, and "sacrifice" worship from the good of spiritual love; these two goods are signified also by "meal-offering and frankincense." The like is true of "meal-offering and incense-offering," for the incense-offering was chiefly of frankincense. In Malachi:
In every place incense is offered to My name, and a clean meal-offering (Malachi 1:11).
In David:
My prayers are accepted as incense before Thee; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening meal-offering (Psalms 141:2).
Therefore:
Oil was poured upon the meal-offering, and frankincense put on it (Leviticus 2:1, 2, 15).
This was done that the meal-offering might represent the conjunction of celestial good and spiritual good, for "oil" signified celestial good, and "frankincense" spiritual good.
[4] So again:
Frankincense was put upon the bread of faces in the tabernacle (Leviticus 24:7);
and this was done on account of the conjunction of the two kinds of good, for the "bread" signified celestial good, and "frankincense" spiritual good; so when the frankincense was put upon the bread the conjunction of the two goods was represented. For the sake of representing the conjunction of celestial good and spiritual good, a table for the bread was placed in the tabernacle, and on the other side an altar for incense offerings was placed.
[5] Where "meal-offering and frankincense" are not mentioned, "oil and frankincense" are mentioned, and "gold and frankincense," since "oil" and "gold," in like manner as "meal-offering," signify celestial good. "Oil and incense" are mentioned in Ezekiel:
Thou hast taken my oil and my incense and hast set them before them (Ezekiel 16:18).
"Gold and frankincense" are mentioned in Isaiah:
All they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and they shall proclaim the praises of Jehovah (Isaiah 60:6).
And in Matthew:
The wise men from the east who came to the newborn Christ opened their treasures, and offered unto Him gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11);
"gold" signifying celestial good, "frankincense" spiritual good, and "myrrh" natural good therefrom, thus the three goods of the three heavens. This makes evident the signification of the angel that was seen at the altar having a golden censer, for the "altar" was representative of celestial good, and the censer was representative of spiritual good, and the two together were representative of the conjunction of celestial good with spiritual good, or what is the same, of the conjunction of the higher heavens, or of the heaven where celestial angels are with the heaven where the spiritual angels are.
Leviticus 24
1
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2
"Command the children of Israel, that they bring to you pure olive oil beaten for the light, to cause a lamp to burn continually.
3
Outside of the veil of the Testimony, in the Tent of Meeting, shall Aaron keep it in order from evening to morning before Yahweh continually: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.
4
He shall keep in order the lamps on the pure gold lampstand before Yahweh continually.
5
"You shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes of it: two tenth parts of an ephah shall be in one cake.
6
You shall set them in two rows, six on a row, on the pure gold table before Yahweh.
7
You shall put pure frankincense on each row, that it may be to the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire to Yahweh.
8
Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before Yahweh continually. It is on the behalf of the children of Israel an everlasting covenant.
9
It shall be for Aaron and his sons; and they shall eat it in a holy place: for it is most holy to him of the offerings of Yahweh made by fire by a perpetual statute."
10
The son of an Israelite woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and the son of the Israelite woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp.
11
The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name, and cursed; and they brought him to Moses. His mother's Name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.
12
They put him in custody, until the will of Yahweh should be declared to them.
13
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
14
"Bring out of the camp him who cursed; and let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and let all the congregation stone him.
15
You shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin.
16
He who blasphemes the name of Yahweh, he shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him: the foreigner as well as the native-born, when he blasphemes the name, shall be put to death.
17
"'He who strikes any man mortally shall surely be put to death.
18
He who strikes an animal mortally shall make it good, life for life.
19
If anyone injures his neighbor; as he has done, so shall it be done to him:
20
fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; as he has injured someone, so shall it be done to him.
21
He who kills an animal shall make it good; and he who kills a man shall be put to death.
22
You shall have one kind of law, for the foreigner as well as the native-born: for I am Yahweh your God.'"
23
Moses spoke to the children of Israel; and they brought forth him who had cursed out of the camp, and stoned him with stones. The children of Israel did as Yahweh commanded Moses.
