9229. And ye shall be men of holiness to Me. That this signifies the state of life then from good, is evident from the signification of “men of holiness,” as being those who are led by the Lord; for the Divine which proceeds from the Lord is holiness itself (see n. 6788, 7499, 8127, 8302, 8806), consequently those who receive it in faith and also in love are called “holy.” He who believes that a man is holy from any other source, and that anything else with him is holy than that which is from the Lord and is received, is very much mistaken. For that which is of man and is called his own, is evil. (That man’s own is nothing but evil, see n. 210, 215, 694, 874-876, 987, 1047, 4328, 5660, 5786, 8480, 8944; and that insofar as a man can be withheld from his own, so far the Lord can he present, thus that so far the man has holiness, n. 1023, 1044, 1581, 2256, 2388, 2406, 2411, 8206, 8393, 8988, 9014)

[2] That the Lord alone is holy, and that that alone is holy which proceeds from the Lord, thus that which man receives from the Lord, is plain from the Word throughout; as in John:

I sanctify Myself that they also may be sanctified in the truth (John 17:19);

“to sanctify Himself” denotes to make Himself Divine by His own power; and those are said to be “sanctified in the truth” who in faith and life receive the Divine truth proceeding from Him.

[3] Therefore also the Lord after His resurrection, speaking with the disciples, “breathed on them” and said unto them, “Receive ye the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22); the breathing upon them was representative of making them alive by faith and love, as also in the second chapter of Genesis: “Jehovah breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives, and man became a living soul” (verse 7); in like manner in other passages (Psalms 33:6; 104:29-30; Job 32:8; 33:4; John 3:8). From this also the Word is said to be inspired, because it is from the Lord, and they who wrote the Word are said to have been inspired. (That breathing, and thus inspiration, corresponds to the life of faith, see n. 97, 1119, 1120, 3883-3896.) From this it is that in the Word “spirit” is so called from “wind” or “breath,” and that what is holy from the Lord is called “the wind or breath of Jehovah” (n. 8286); also that the Holy Spirit is the holy proceeding from the the Lord, (n. 3704, 4673, 5307, 6788, 6982, 6993, 8127, 8302, 9199).

[4] So also it is said in John that the Lord “baptizeth with the Holy Spirit” (John 1:33); and in Luke that “He baptizeth with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (John 3:16). In the internal sense “to baptize” signifies to regenerate (n. 4255, 5120, 9088); “to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire” signifies to regenerate by the good of love. (That “fire” denotes the good of love, see n. 934, 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324) In John:

Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou only art holy (Revelation 15:4).

In Luke it is said by the angel concerning the Lord: “The holy thing that shall be born of thee” (Luke 1:35); and in Daniel, “I saw in the visions of my head upon my bed, and, behold a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven” (Daniel 4:13). In these passages “the holy thing” and “the holy one” denote the Lord.

[5] As the Lord alone is holy, He is called in the Old Testament the “Holy One of Israel,” the “Redeemer,” the “Preserver,” the “Regenerator” (Isaiah 1:4; 5:19, 24; 10:20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19; 30:11-12, 15; 31:1; 37:23 41:14, 16, 20; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 5 4:5; 55:5; 60:9, 14; Jeremiah 50:29; 51:5; Ezekiel 39:7; Psalms 71:22; 78:41; 89:18). And therefore the Lord in heaven, and consequently heaven itself, is called “the habitation of holiness” (Jeremiah 31:23; Isaiah 63:15; Jeremiah 25:30); also a “sanctuary” (Ezekiel 11:16; 24:21); and “the mountain of holiness” (Psalms 48:1). For the same reason the middle of the tent, where was the ark containing the Law, was called the “Holy of Holies (Exodus 26:33-34); for by the Law in the ark in the middle of the tent was represented the Lord as to the Word, because “the Law” denotes the Word (n. 6752, 7463).

[6] All this shows why the angels are called “holy” (Matthew 25:31; Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; Psalms 149:1; Daniel 8:13); also the prophets (Luke 1:70); and likewise the apostles (Revelation 18:20); not that they are holy from themselves, but from the Lord, who alone is holy, and from whom alone proceeds what is holy; for by “angels” are signified truths, because they are receptions of truth from the the Lord, (n. 1925, 4085, 4295, 4402, 7268, 7873, 8192, 8301); by “prophets” is signified the doctrine of truth which comes through the Word from the the Lord, (n. 2534, 7269); and by “apostles” are signified in their complex all the truths and goods of faith which are from the the Lord, (n. 3488, 3858, 6397).

[7] The sanctifications among the Israelitish and Jewish people were for the purpose of representing the Lord who alone is holy, and the holiness which is from Him alone. This was the purpose of the sanctification of Aaron and his sons (Exodus 29:1, etc.; Leviticus 8:10-11, 13, 30); of the sanctification of their garments (Exodus 29:21, etc.); of the sanctification of the altar, that it might be a holy of holies (Exodus 29:37, etc.); of the sanctification of the tent of the assembly, of the ark of the testimony, of the table, of all the vessels, of the altar of incense, of the altar of burnt-offering, and of the vessels thereof, and of the laver and the base thereof (Exodus 30:26, etc.).

[8] That the Lord is the holiness itself that was represented, is also plain from His words in Matthew, as viewed in the internal sense:

Ye fools and blind! Whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? (Matthew 23:17, 19);

by the temple was represented the Lord Himself, and also by the altar; and by the “gold” was signified the good which is from the Lord; and by the “gift” or sacrifice, were signified the things that belong to faith and charity from the Lord. (That the Lord was represented by the temple, see n. 2777, 3720; also that He was represented by the altar, n. 2777, 2811, 4489, 8935, 8940 and that by “gold” was signified good from the Lord, n. 1551, 1552, 5658; and by a “sacrifice” worship from the faith and charity which are from the Lord, n. 922, 923, 2805, 2807, 2830, 6905, 8680, 8682, 8936)

[9] In view of all this it is evident why the sons of Israel were called a “holy people” (Deuteronomy 26:19, and elsewhere); and in the words before us “men of holiness;” namely, from the fact that in every detail of their worship were represented the Divine things of the Lord, and the celestial and spiritual things of His kingdom and church. They were therefore called “holy” in a representative sense. They themselves were not holy on this account, because the representatives had regard to the holy things that were represented, and not to the person who represented them (n. 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4307, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806).

[10] Hence also it is that Jerusalem was called “holy;” and Zion, “the mountain of holiness” (Zech. 8:3, and elsewhere). Also in Matthew:

And the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints that were dead were raised; and coming forth out of their tombs after the Lord’s resurrection, they entered into the holy city, and appeared unto many (Matthew 27:52-53);

Jerusalem is here called “the holy city,” although it was rather profane than holy, for the Lord had then been crucified in it, and it is therefore called “Sodom and Egypt” in John:

Their bodies shall lie on the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified (Revelation 11:8).

But it is called “holy” from the fact that it signifies the Lord’s kingdom and church (n. 402, 2117, 3654). The “saints that were dead” appearing there, which happened to some in vision, signified the salvation of those who were of the spiritual church, and the elevation into the Holy Jerusalem, which is heaven, of those who until that time had been detained in the lower earth (of which above, n. 6854, 6914, 7090, 7828, 7932, 8049, 8054, 8159, 8321).

8988. Then his master shall bring him unto God. That this signifies a state into which he then enters according to Divine order, is evident from the signification of “bringing unto God,” when those are treated of who are in truths and cannot be in good, as being to cause them to enter into a state according to Divine order; for by “bringing unto” is signified to enter; and by “God” is signified Divine order (of which in what follows). That these things are signified is plain from what follows in this verse, in which is described the state of those who are in truths and not in the corresponding good, namely, that it is a state of perpetual obedience. For they who are in this state are in servitude relatively to those who are in good that corresponds with truths; because as these latter act from good, they act from affection; and they who act from affection, act from the will, thus of themselves; for whatsoever is of the will with man is his own, seeing that the being of man’s life is his will. But they who act merely from obedience do not act from their will, but from the will of their master; thus not from themselves, but from another; and therefore they are relatively in servitude. To act from truths, and not from good, is to act solely from the intellectual part; for truths bear relation to the intellectual part, and goods to the will part; and to act from the intellectual part, and not from the will part, is to act from that which stands without and serves, because the understanding has been given to man to receive truths, and to introduce them into the will, that they may become goods; for truths are called goods when they become of the will.

[2] But to serve the Lord, by doing according to His commandments, and thus by obeying Him, is not to be a servant, but is to be free, for the veriest freedom of man consists in being led of the the Lord, (n. 892, 905, 2870, 2872), because the Lord inspires into the very will of man the good from which he is to act, and though it is from the Lord, still it is perceived as if it were from self, thus from freedom. This freedom is possessed by all who are in the Lord, and it is conjoined with inexpressible happiness.

[3] The term “God” here denotes Divine order, because in the Word “God” is named where truth is treated of, and “Jehovah” where good is treated of (n. 2769, 2807, 2822, 3921, 4402, 7010, 7268, 8867); and therefore in the supreme sense the Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good of the Lord is “God,” and His Divine good from which the Divine truth proceeds is “Jehovah.” The reason is that the Divine good is Being itself, and the Divine truth is the derivative Coming-forth; for that which proceeds comes forth by so doing. The case is similar with good and truth in heaven, or with the angels, and also in the church with men. The good there is being itself, and the truth is the derivative coming-forth; or what is the same, love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor are the very being of heaven and of the church, but faith is the derivative coming-forth. From this it is clear whence it is that “God” denotes also Divine order, for it is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord which makes order in heaven, insomuch that Divine truth is order itself. (That Divine truth is order, see n. 1728, 1919, 7995, 8700.) And therefore when a man or an angel receives Divine truth from the Lord in good, there is with him the order which is in the heavens, consequently he is a heaven or kingdom of the Lord in particular; and this in the degree in which he is in good from truths, and afterward in the degree in which he is in truths from good; and-what is a secret-the angels themselves appear in a human form in the heavens absolutely according to the truths which pertain to them in good, with a beauty and brightness according to the quality of the good from truths. As to their souls so also do the men of the church appear in heaven. It is the Divine truth itself proceeding from the Lord that leads to this, as can be seen from what has been shown about heaven as the Grand Man, and about its correspondence with everything in man, at the end of many chapters.

[4] This secret is what is meant by these words of John in Revelation:

He measured the wall of the holy Jerusalem, a hundred and forty and four cubits, which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel (Revelation 21:17).

Who can possibly understand these words that does not know what is signified by “the holy Jerusalem;” what by “the wall” thereof; what by a “measure;” what by “the number one hundred and forty and four;” and thus what by “a man, that is, an angel?” By “the new and holy Jerusalem” is signified the New Church of the Lord which is at this day about to succeed the Christian Church (n. 2117); by “the wall” are signified the truths of faith which will defend that church (n. 6419); by “measuring” and “the measure” is signified its state as to truth (n. 3104); by the number “one hundred and forty and four” is signified the like as by “twelve,” for one hundred and forty-four is a number compounded of twelve multiplied into twelve. (That by these numbers are signified all truths in the complex, see n. 7973). From this it is clear what is signified by “the measure of a man, that is, of an angel,” namely, truth itself proceeding from the Lord in its own form, which as before said is the form of an angel man in heaven. All this makes clear the secret involved in the above words, namely, that by them are described the truths of that Church which is to succeed the Christian Church existing at this day.

[5] That these are truths from good is described in the next following verse in these words:

The building of the wall thereof was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like to pure glass (Revelation 21:18).

By “jasper” is signified truth such as will be the truth of that church, for by stones in general are signified truths (n. 1298, 3720, 6426), and by “precious stones,” truths which are from the the Lord, (n. 643); by “gold” is signified the good of love and of wisdom (n. 113, 1551, 1552, 5658). Who could ever foresee that such things are involved in the above words? and who cannot see from this that innumerable arcana lie hidden in the Word, which in no wise appear to anyone except through the internal sense? and that by this sense, as by a key, are opened truths Divine such as are in heaven, consequently heaven and the Lord Himself, who, in the inmost sense, is the all in all of the Word.