Apocalypse Explained # 1185
1185. Verse 22. And the voice of harpers and musicians and pipers and trumpeters shall not be heard in thee any more, signifies no more any interior or exterior joys. This is evident from the signification of the "voice or sound" of various instruments of music, as being joys from internal and external affections. They signify affections because of their harmony, for musical sounds express affections and produce them with joy. Stringed instruments signify spiritual things, and wind instruments celestial things, and that they correspond to affections may be seen (n. 323, 326). But what "the voice of the harp, the voice of the pipe, and the voice of the trumpet" signify in particular, can be seen only from the affections, which are of two kinds, spiritual and celestial; spiritual affections are from truths and celestial from goods; but they are of three degrees, inmost, middle, and ultimate; the inmost are such as are in the inmost heaven, the middle such as are in the middle heaven, and the ultimate such as are in the lowest heaven.
(Continuation)
[2] 10. The tenth law of the Divine providence is that man has led himself to eminence and riches by his own prudence, when these lead astray, for by the Divine providence man is led only to such things as do not lead astray and as are serviceable to eternal life; for all things of the Divine providence with man look to what is eternal, since the life which is God, from which man is man, is eternal. There are two things that especially influence the minds of men, eminence and riches; eminence relates to the love of glory and of honors, riches to the love of money and possessions. These especially influence men's minds because they belong to the natural man; consequently those who are merely natural have no other idea than that eminence and riches are real blessings that are from God, when in fact they may be curses, as may be clearly inferred from this, that they are the portion both of good men and of evil men. I have seen the eminent and the rich in the heavens and I have seen them in the hells; therefore, as has been said, when eminence and riches do not lead astray they are from God, but when they do they are from hell.
[3] In the world man does not distinguish between their being from God or from hell, because the natural man separated from the spiritual cannot perceive this distinction; but the distinction can be seen in the natural man that is from the spiritual, and yet with difficulty, because the natural man is taught from infancy to counterfeit the spiritual man; and in consequence when he performs uses to the church, to the country, to society and his fellow citizens, thus to the neighbor, he not only professes but also is able to persuade himself that he has done it for the sake of the church, the country, society, and his fellow citizens, and yet he may have done it for the sake of self and the world as ends. Man is in such blindness because he has not put away evils from himself by any combat; for so long as evils remain man can see nothing from the spiritual in his natural; he is like one in a dream who believes himself to be awake, or like a bird of night that sees the darkness as light. Such is the natural man when the gate of heavenly light is closed. Heavenly light is the spiritual that enlightens the natural man. Since, then, it is of the greatest importance to know whether eminence and riches, or the love of glory and honor, and the love of money and of possessions, are ends or are means, ends and means shall first be defined, for if these are ends they are curses, but if they are not ends, but means, they are blessings.
Exodus 26
1
Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them.
2
The length of one curtain shall be eight and twenty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and every one of the curtains shall have one measure.
3
The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another; and other five curtains shall be coupled one to another.
4
And thou shalt make loops of blue upon the edge of the one curtain from the selvedge in the coupling; and likewise shalt thou make in the uttermost edge of another curtain, in the coupling of the second.
5
Fifty loops shalt thou make in the one curtain, and Fifty loops shalt thou make in the edge of the curtain that is in the coupling of the second; that the loops may take hold one of another.
6
And thou shalt make fifty taches of gold, and couple the curtains together with the taches: and it shall be one tabernacle.
7
And thou shalt make curtains of goats' hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make.
8
The length of one curtain shall be thirty cubits, and the breadth of one curtain four cubits: and the eleven curtains shall be all of one measure.
9
And thou shalt couple five curtains by themselves, and six curtains by themselves, and shalt double the sixth curtain in the forefront of the tabernacle.
10
And thou shalt make fifty loops on the edge of the one curtain that is outmost in the coupling, and fifty loops in the edge of the curtain which coupleth the second.
11
And thou shalt make fifty taches of brass, and put the taches into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one.
12
And the remnant that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth, shall hang over the backside of the tabernacle.
13
And a cubit on the one side, and a cubit on the other side of that which remaineth in the length of the curtains of the tent, it shall hang over the sides of the tabernacle on this side and on that side, to cover it.
14
And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers' skins.
15
And thou shalt make boards for the tabernacle of shittim wood standing up.
16
Ten cubits shall be the length of a board, and a cubit and a half shall be the breadth of one board.
17
Two tenons shall there be in one board, set in order one against another: thus shalt thou make for all the boards of the tabernacle.
18
And thou shalt make the boards for the tabernacle, twenty boards on the south side southward.
19
And thou shalt make forty sockets of silver under the twenty boards; two sockets under one board for his two tenons, and two sockets under another board for his two tenons.
20
And for the second side of the tabernacle on the north side there shall be twenty boards:
21
And their forty sockets of silver; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.
22
And for the sides of the tabernacle westward thou shalt make six boards.
23
And two boards shalt thou make for the corners of the tabernacle in the two sides.
24
And they shall be coupled together beneath, and they shall be coupled together above the head of it unto one ring: thus shall it be for them both; they shall be for the two corners.
25
And they shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one board, and two sockets under another board.
26
And thou shalt make bars of shittim wood; five for the boards of the one side of the tabernacle,
27
And five bars for the boards of the other side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the boards of the side of the tabernacle, for the two sides westward.
28
And the middle bar in the midst of the boards shall reach from end to end.
29
And thou shalt overlay the boards with gold, and make their rings of gold for places for the bars: and thou shalt overlay the bars with gold.
30
And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was shewed thee in the mount.
31
And thou shalt make a vail of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:
32
And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver.
33
And thou shalt hang up the vail under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the vail the ark of the testimony: and the vail shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.
34
And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.
35
And thou shalt set the table without the vail, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side.
36
And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework.
37
And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.
