10033. As the subject treated of in this chapter is the sacrifice and the burnt-offering by which Aaron and his sons were to be inaugurated into the priesthood, a few more words shall be said about the blood and the fat. That all the blood of the sacrifice and of the burnt-offering was to be poured forth at the altar, and that all the fat was to be burned on the altar, is evident from the statutes and the laws concerning the burnt-offerings and the sacrifices in Leviticus. That it was so done was because the “blood” signified Divine truth, and the “fat” Divine good. (That “blood” had this signification is evident from what was shown concerning blood in n. 4735, 6378, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127, 9393; and that “fat” signified Divine good, from w hat was shown in n. 5943.)

[2] That by “blood” is signified Divine truth is evident in Ezekiel:

Gather yourselves from every side upon My sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, a great sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel, that ye may eat flesh and drink blood. Ye shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth; ye shall eat fat to satiety, and drink blood even to drunkenness, of My sacrifice which I will sacrifice for you; ye shall be sated upon My table with horse, with chariot, with the mighty man, and every man of war. Thus will I put My glory among the nations (Ezekiel 39:17-22);

everyone can see that by “blood” is not here meant blood, for it is said that they should “drink the blood of the princes of the earth, and this even to drunkenness;” and also that they should “eat fat even to satiety;” and then that they should be “sated with horse and with chariot.” From this it is plain that something else than blood is meant by “blood,” and something else than the princes of the earth by these “princes;” also something else than fat, and than horse and chariot, by “fat” and “horse” and “chariot;” but what is signified cannot be known except by means of the internal sense, which teaches that “blood” denotes Divine truth; “the princes of the earth,” the primary truths of the church; “fat,” Divine good; a “horse,” the internal sense of the Word; and a “chariot,” the very doctrine therefrom. That “blood” denotes Divine truth is evident from the passages above cited; also that “the princes of the earth” denote primary truths (n. 5044); “the earth,” the church (n. 9325); a “horse,” the internal sense of the Word (n. 2760-2762); and a “chariot,” doctrine (n. 5321, 8215).

[3] From all this it is now evident what is signified by the words of the Lord in John:

Jesus said, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye shall have no life in you. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood hath eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh and drinketh My blood, abideth in Me, and I in him (John 6:53-56).

(That “flesh” denotes Divine good, see n. 3813, 7850, 9127; and that “the Son of man whose flesh they were to eat and whose blood they were to drink” denotes the Lord as to Divine truth from Divine good, n. 9807)

[4] But that “fat,” or “fatness,” denotes Divine good, is evident in Isaiah:

In this mountain Jehovah shall make for all peoples a feast of fat things (Isaiah 25:6).

Attend unto Me, and eat ye good, and your soul shall be delighted in fatness (Isaiah 55:2).

I will fill the soul of the priests with fatness, and My people shall be sated with My good (Jeremiah 31:14).

From all this it can be seen why all the fat of the sacrifice was to be burnt upon the altar, and why all the blood was to be poured forth at its side.

[5] As “blood” and “fat” signified these Divine things, therefore the Israelitish people were wholly forbidden to eat fat and blood, as is evident in Moses:

It shall be a statute of eternity in your generations, that ye shall eat no fat and no blood (Leviticus 3:17).

Ye shall eat no fat, whether of ox, or sheep, or goat; everyone who shall eat the fat of the beast of which an offering is made by fire unto Jehovah, the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his peoples (Leviticus 7:23, 25).

Whosoever shall eat any blood, I will set My faces against the soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from the midst of his people (Leviticus 17:10-14; also Deuteronomy 12:23-25).

[6] The reason why to eat fat and blood was so severely forbidden, was because by it was represented the profanation of Divine truth and Divine good; for the Israelitish and Jewish nation was in external things separate from internal, thus in no Divine truth and in no Divine good in respect to faith and love; but was in external worship without these; for they were in the love of self and of the world more than other nations, consequently in the evils that spring from this love, which are contempt for others, enmity, hatred, revenge, ferocity, and cruelty. Hence also it was that internal truths were not revealed to them, for if they had been revealed, they could not but have profaned them. (That such was the character of that nation, see the places cited in n. 9320, 9380.) Therefore they would have represented profanation if they had eaten blood and fat, for whatever was instituted among them was representative of the interior things of the church and of heaven.

[7] From this again it is plain what is signified by “eating fat to satiety,” and by “drinking blood, the blood of the princes of the earth, even to drunkenness,” in Ezekiel 39:17-22 (of which above); namely, that when interior things were opened, then to those who were in them, that is, in faith and in love to the Lord, would be appropriated Divine truth and Divine good, which was done among the nations when the Lord came into the world; wherefore also it is there said, “Thus will I put My glory among the nations” (Ezekiel 39:21). By “glory” is signified Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, such as it is in heaven (n. 9429); and by “nations” are signified all who are in good (n. 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849, 4574, 6005, 8771, 9256).

[8] This the Lord Himself confirms when He says that “His flesh is food indeed, and His blood is drink indeed,” and that “whoso eateth His flesh, and drinketh His blood, abideth in Him, and He in him” (John 6:55-56); and also in His instituting the Holy Supper, in which they were to “eat His flesh and drink His blood” (Matthew 26:27-28); by which is signified the appropriation of Divine good and Divine truth from Him; and the appropriation of Divine good and Divine truth from the Lord is possible with those only who acknowledge the Lord’s Divine, for this is the first and essential thing itself of all things of faith in the church. For heaven cannot be unclosed to others, because the whole heaven is in this faith; thus the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord’s Divine good, which is there meant by “blood,” cannot be communicated to others. Therefore let everyone within the church take heed to himself lest he deny the Lord, and also lest he deny His Divine, for heaven is closed to this denial, and hell is opened to it, all such being separated from heaven, where the Divine of the Lord is all in all, because it makes heaven. And when heaven has been closed, a memory-knowledge of the truths of faith from the Word and the doctrine of the church is indeed possible; but not any faith which is faith, for faith which is faith comes from above; that is, through heaven from the Lord.

[9] That the Lord so spoke, namely, that He called the Divine good that proceeds from Him His “flesh,” and the Divine truth that proceeds from His Divine good His “blood,” was because the Word, which is from Him, was the Divine that fills the universal heaven. Such a Word must exist by means of correspondences, consequently must be representative and significative in each and all things, for thus and no otherwise it conjoins the men of the church with the angels in the heavens. For when men perceive the Word according to the letter, the angels perceive it according to the internal sense; thus instead of the Lord’s “flesh” they perceive Divine good, and instead of His “blood,” Divine truth, both from the Lord. From this what is holy flows in through the Word.

9807. And his sons. That this signifies the Divine truth that proceeds from the Divine good, is evident from the signification of “sons,” as being truths (see n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 2803, 2813, 3373, 3704), here the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord’s Divine good, because they were the sons of Aaron, and by Aaron as high-priest was represented the Lord as to Divine good (as has been shown just above). That “sons” denote truths, is because all things in the internal sense of the Word are spiritual; and in the spiritual sense “sons” denote those who are born anew from the Lord, thus who are in truths from good, consequently abstractedly from persons, the truths themselves which are from good. These therefore are what are meant in the Word by “the sons of God,” “the sons of a king,” and “the sons of the kingdom.” They are also “the sons of the new birth,” or regeneration. Moreover, the truths and goods with a regenerated man, or one born anew from the Lord, are exactly like families in a large and long series from one father. There are those which bear relation to sons and daughters, to grandsons and granddaughters, to sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, and thus to relationships of many degrees, and therefore of many kinds. Truths and goods thus arranged are what in the spiritual sense are “sons,” “daughters,” “grandsons,” “granddaughters,” “sons-in-law,” “daughters-in-law,” in a word, relations of various degrees, and consequently of various kinds. That spiritual generations are in such an order has been shown by living experience, and at the same time it was said that the truths and goods with a regenerate man are in such an order for the reason that the angelic societies in heaven are in the same, and the truths and goods with man correspond to these societies; wherefore also the man whose truths and goods are in such a correspondence is a heaven in the least form.

[2] Anyone who knows that by “sons” are signified truths, and by “daughters” goods, can see many arcana in the Word, especially in the prophetic Word, that otherwise would be hidden; as also what is meant in particular by “the Son of man,” which the Lord often calls Himself in the Word. That the Divine truth which proceeds from His Divine Human is meant, is evident from the passages in which He is so named, and which may be here cited for the purpose of confirming at the same time that a “son” denotes truth; as in John:

The crowd said unto Jesus, How sayest Thou, the Son of man must be exalted? Who is this Son of man? Jesus answered them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness take you. While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be sons of light (John 12:34-36).

From these words it is evident that by “the Son of man” is signified the like as by “the light,” for when they inquired, Who is this Son of man? the Lord answered that He was the light in which they should believe (that this “light” denotes the Divine truth, see the places cited in n. 9548, 9684); thus it also denotes the Son of man.

[3] In Luke:

Blessed are ye when men shall hate you for the Son of man’s sake (Luke 6:22); where “for the Son of man’s sake” denotes for the sake of the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord; Divine truth is everything of faith in, and of love to, the Lord, and “being hated for the sake of this” is “blessedness.” Again:

The days will come when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, but ye shall not see it. Then they shall say unto you, Lo here! or Lo there! go not away, nor make search (Luke 17:22-23);

“to desire to see one of the days of the Son of man” denotes to see one of the states of Divine truth which is genuine. The subject here treated of is the end of the church, when there is no longer any faith, because no charity; at which time all genuine truth Divine will perish; and because truth Divine is signified by “the Son of man,” therefore it is said, “then they shall say, Lo here! or Lo there! search not,” which can be said of truth Divine from the Lord, but not of the Lord Himself.

[4] Again:

When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8).

That is, when truth Divine shall be revealed from heaven, it will not be believed. “The Son of man” here also denotes the Lord as to truth Divine, that is, the truth Divine which proceeds from the Lord. “The coming of the Lord” denotes the revelation of truth Divine at the end of the church.

[5] In Matthew:

As the lightning goeth forth from the east, and appeareth even unto the west, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. Then shall appear the sign, and then shall all the tribes of the earth wail, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and glory (Matthew 24:27, 30);

“the coming of the Son of man” denotes the revelation of truth Divine in the consummation of the age, that is, at the end of the church; “all the tribes of the earth which shall then wail,” denote all the truths and goods of faith and of love from the Lord, and thus to the Lord, in the complex; “the clouds of heaven in which He will come,” denote the literal sense of the Word; “power and glory” denote the internal sense, in the inmost of which the subject treated of is the Lord alone (see the further explication of these words in n. 4060).

[6] In like manner elsewhere:

I say unto you, Henceforth ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming upon the clouds of heaven (Matthew 26:64).

From henceforth shall the Son of man be sitting at the right hand of the power of God (Luke 22:69).

“The Son of man” denotes the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord; “sitting at the right hand of power” denotes that He has omnipotence, for Divine good has omnipotence by means of Divine truth; its being said that “from henceforth they shall see it” signifies that Divine truth was in its omnipotence after the Lord in the world had conquered the hells, and had reduced all things therein and in the heavens into order, and that in this way those could be saved who would receive Him in faith and love (see n. 9715). (That “sitting at the right hand” denotes omnipotence, see n. 3387, 4592, 4933, 7518, 8281, 9133; that good has all power through truth, see n. 6344, 6423, 8304, 9327, 9410, 9639, 9643; that the Divine power itself is Divine truth, n. 6948; that “the clouds in which the Son of man,” that is, Divine truth, “will come,” denote the Word in the letter, see the preface to Genesis 18 [in 2135]; and n. 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8443, 8781; and that “glory” denotes the Divine truth itself, such as it is in the internal sense of the Word, see the preface to Genesis 18;and n. 4809, 5922, 8267, 9429.)

[7] From all this it can now be seen what is signified by these words in the book of Revelation:

I saw and behold a white cloud; and on the cloud one sitting like, unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown (Revelation 14:14).

I saw in the night visions, and behold there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto the Son of man (Daniel 7:13).

The Father gave Him to execute judgment, because He is the Son of man (John 5:27).

As all judgment is effected from truth, it is said that it was “given to the Lord to execute judgment, because He is the Son of man;” “the Son of man,” as before said, denotes the Divine truth; the Father from whom it proceeds, denotes the Divine good (n. 2803, 3704, 7499, 8328, 8897). As it pertains to Divine truth to execute judgment, therefore it is said that “when He shall come, the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of His glory” (Matthew 1 9:28; 25:31); and that “the Son of man shall render to everyone according to his deeds” (Matthew 16:27).

[8] Further:

He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the seed are the sons of the kingdom; the tares are the sons of the evil one (Matthew 13:37-38);

“the good seed” denotes truth Divine, therefore it is said that “the Son of man soweth it;” “the sons of the kingdom” denote truths Divine in heaven and in the church, for a “son” denotes truth (see n. 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623), and in the opposite sense, falsity, which also is “the son of the evil one;” “the kingdom” denotes heaven, and likewise the church.

[9] In John:

No man hath ascended into heaven, but He that came down from heaven, the Son of man who is in the heavens (John 3:13);

from this it is evident that “the Son of man” denotes the Divine truth in the heavens; for this comes down, and therefore ascends, because no one can ascend into heaven unless Divine truth comes down into him from heaven, because the influx is Divine, and not the other way about. And because the Lord is this truth, therefore He calls Himself “the Son of man who is in the heavens.”

In Matthew:

The Son of man hath not where to lay His head (Matthew 8:20);

here “the Son of man” denotes the Divine truth; “not having where to lay His head,” means that Divine truth had no place anywhere, or with any man, at that time.

[10] That “the Son of man was to suffer, and to be put to death” (Matthew 17:12, 23; 20:18; 26:2, 24, 45; Mark 8:31; 9:12, 31elsewhere), involves that such was the treatment of Divine truth, and consequently of the Lord, who was the Divine truth itself, as also He Himself teaches in John:

I am the way, and the truth, and the life (John 14:6).

No man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man stay therein (Jeremiah 49:18, 33).

In the cities shall no man dwell, neither shall any son of man pass through them (Jeremiah 51:43).

Anyone not acquainted with the spiritual sense of the Word will believe that by “cities” are here meant cities, and that by “man” and “the son of man” are meant a man and a son; and that the cities would be so desolated that no one would dwell there; but it is the state of the church in respect to the doctrine of truth which is described by these words; for “cities” denote the doctrinal things of the church (n. 402, 2449, 3216, 4492, 4493); “a man,” the truth itself of the church conjoined with good (n. 3134, 7716, 9007); therefore “the son of man” denotes truth.

[11] As by “the Son of man” was signified the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord, therefore also the prophets, through whom it was revealed, were called “sons of man,” as in Daniel 8:17; in Ezekiel 2:1, 3, 6, 8; 3:1, 3-4, 10, 17, 25; 4:1, 16; 8:5-6, 8, 12, 15; 12:2-3, 9, 18, 22, 27; and in many other passages.

[12] As most expressions in the Word have also an opposite sense, it is the same with the signification of “the son of man,” which in this sense denotes the falsity that is opposite to truth, as in Isaiah:

Who art thou, that thou art afraid of man that dieth, and of the son of man who is given as grass? (Isaiah 51:12); where “the son of man given as grass” denotes the memory-knowledge through which falsity arises.

In David:

Put not your trust in princes, in the son of man, in whom there is no salvation (Psalms 146:3); where “princes” denote primary truths (n. 2089, 5044), thus in the opposite sense, primary falsities; and “the son of man” denotes the falsity itself.