10299. 'An ointment, the work of an ointment-maker' means as a result of the influx and operation of what is Divine and the Lord's within every single part. This is clear from the meaning of 'ointment', or perfume, as the kinds of truth within every single part of the worship, dealt with in 10264; and from the meaning of 'the work of an ointment-maker (or perfumer)' as the influx and operation of Divinity itself, dealt with in 10265.

[2] How to understand this, that the influx and operation must exist within every single part of the worship, must also be stated briefly. Those who have no knowledge of the arcana of heaven suppose that worship begins in the person himself since it flows from the thought and feelings within him. But worship that begins in the person is not true worship; consequently offerings of thanksgiving, adoration, and prayer which begin in the person are not the offerings of thanksgiving, adoration, and prayer that are heard and accepted by the Lord. They must begin in the Lord present with the person. The Church knows that this is so, for it teaches that no good thing emanates from man, but that everything good comes from heaven, that is, begins in God there; also that He is the source of all that is good within worship, and that worship devoid of what is good is not worship. The Church therefore, when engaged in anything holy, prays that God may be present, giving guidance to thought and speech. What happens in all this is that when a person is engaged in true worship the Lord flows into the forms of good and the truths present with the person, raises them towards Himself, and raises the person with them, in the measure and degree that they govern him. This raising is not apparent to the person if he does not have any real affection for truth and good, and does not know, acknowledge, and believe that everything good comes from above, beginning in the Lord.

[3] Even those who are knowledgeable about worldly things can grasp the truth of this, for they know from the learning they have received that there is no such thing as natural influx, or physical influx as they term it, only spiritual influx; that is, nothing can flow from the natural world into heaven, only from heaven into the natural world. All this goes to show how to understand the explanation that the influx and operation of what is Divine and the Lord's must exist in every single part of the worship. I have also been allowed to learn by much experience that it is so; for I have been allowed to feel the actual influx, the calling forth of the truths present within me, the linking of them to the objects of prayer, the accompanying affection for good, and the actual raising up.

[4] But though all this is so, a person ought not to let hands hang down and wait for influx to come, for that would be behaving like a lifeless statue. A person should think, will, and act as if doing so all by himself, yet should attribute to the Lord all his thought of what is true and endeavour towards what is good. When this happens the Lord implants within the person the ability to receive Him and influx from Him.

[5] For the human being was created with no other end in view than to be a receptacle of the Divine; and the ability to receive the Divine is formed within him in no other way. Once it has been formed in him he has no other wish than that the situation should be such, for he loves the influx from the Lord and loathes operating all by himself. This is because influx from the Lord is the influx of good, whereas operating all by oneself is the operation of evil. All the angels in heaven feel the same way, which is why in the Word truths and forms of good derived from the Lord are meant by angels; for they are recipients of them, see 1925, 3039, 4085, 4295, 8192.

10189. 'On its two ribs' means with truths lying in one direction, that is to say, a joining together with them and preservation by means of them. This is clear from the meaning of 'the ribs', when used to mean the sides, as truths; for the sides that are called 'the ribs' face the south and the north, and 'the south' means truth dwelling in light, 9642, while 'the north' means truth dwelling in shade, 3708. But by 'the sides' which are properly the sides good is meant since these face the east and the west, and 'the east' means good set in clearness and 'the west' good set in obscurity, 3708, 9653. Therefore it says here,

Two rings of gold you shall make for it under the rim; on its two ribs you shall make them, on its two sides.

The fact that the sides which are properly the sides face the east and the west, whereas the sides which are called 'the ribs' face the south and the north is evident in Exodus 26:13, 26-27, 35 ¹ . Furthermore since the ribs serve to reinforce the chest truths giving support to good are meant by them.

[2] In heaven however the layout is such that to the right there are those who dwell in the light of truth, thus who are in the south, but to the left those who dwell in the shade of truth, thus who are in the north. Before one's face there are those whose perception of good is clear, thus who are in the east, but behind one's back there are those whose perception of good is dim, thus who are in the west. These angels dwelling in the regions of good constitute the Lord's celestial kingdom, but the others dwelling in the regions of truth constitute the Lord's spiritual kingdom. This is how the angels there, whichever way they turn, see everything to be laid out; for angels have the Lord, who is the East, unceasingly in front of their face. But the contrary is so with those in hell, for they have the Lord unceasingly behind their back.

[3] In the next life the four quarters are not determined, as they are in the world, by where fixed regions lie, but by ruling loves that remain fixed.

[4] For his love makes an angel or a spirit what he is, and where that love is, in that direction he turns. Those in whom love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour reign, and therefore in whom faith is present, behold the Lord in front of themselves whichever way they turn their face and body. For the Lord turns them towards Himself; He enters them by the way from the east and keeps them fixed unceasingly on Himself. As a consequence - since their outward sight is under the control of the inward sight belonging to their understanding, and this inward sight is under the control of the love belonging to their will - their outward sight looks in the direction in which that love bears it. It is similar with people in the world so far as their interiors, which constitute their spirit, are concerned. Also, all in the next life are identified, every one, by the direction in which they turn.

As regards things of a spatial nature and locations in the next life, that they are of the same nature as those described above, and that they therefore mean states, see 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381, 9440, 9967, 10146.

Poznámky pod čarou: