585. And against His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. This symbolizes scandalous assertions against the Lord's celestial church and against heaven.

The Tabernacle has almost the same symbolic meaning as the Temple, namely, in the highest sense, the Lord's Divine humanity, and in a relative sense, heaven and the church (nos. 191, 529). But in the latter sense the Tabernacle symbolizes the celestial church, which is impelled by the goodness of love toward the Lord received from the Lord; and the Temple symbolizes the spiritual church, which is impelled by truths of wisdom received from the Lord. Those who dwell in heaven symbolize heaven.

The Tabernacle symbolizes the celestial church because the Most Ancient Church, being impelled by love toward the Lord, was a celestial church and held sacred worship in tents. And the Ancient Church was a spiritual church and held sacred worship in temples.

Tents used wood in their construction, while temples used stone, and wood symbolizes goodness, and stone truth.

[2] That the Tabernacle symbolizes the Lord's Divine humanity in respect to Divine love, and a heaven and a church that is impelled by love toward the Lord, can be seen from the following passages:

Jehovah, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy mountain? He who walks uprightly, and practices righteousness, and speaks the truth... (Psalms 15:1-2)

(Jehovah) shall hide me in His tabernacle; in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall conceal me; He shall set me high... (Psalms 27:4-5)

I will abide in Your tabernacle forever. (Psalms 61:4)

Look upon Zion...; let your eyes behold Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that will not be dispelled... (Isaiah 33:20)

(Jehovah) who... spreads (the heavens) out like a tent to dwell in. (Isaiah 40:22)

...you have made Jehovah..., the Most High, your dwelling place..., no plague shall come near your tent. (Psalms 91:9-10)

(Jehovah) set (His) tabernacle among (them).... (He) will walk among (them).... (Leviticus 26:11-12)

(Jehovah) forsook the tent of Shiloh, the tabernacle in which He dwelled among men. (Psalms 78:60)

I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them...." (Revelation 21:3)

...My tabernacle has been laid waste... (Jeremiah 4:20; 10:20)

He shall... pluck you out of your tent, and uproot you from the land of the living. (Psalms 52:5)

And so on elsewhere, as in Isaiah 16:5; 54:2, Jeremiah 30:18, Lamentations 2:4, Hosea 9:6; 12:9, Zechariah 12:7.

[3] Since the Most Ancient Church, which was a celestial church, being impelled by love toward the Lord and being thus in conjunction with Him, held sacred worship in tents, therefore by the Lord's command Moses erected a tent or tabernacle, in which everything relating to heaven and the church was represented. And it was so holy that no one was permitted to enter except Moses, Aaron, and Aaron's sons; and if any of the people were to do so, they would die (Numbers 17:12-13; 18:1, 22-23; 19:14-19).

Inmostly in that tabernacle, containing the two tables of the Decalogue, was the Ark, on which was the mercy seat and over it the cherubim. And outside the veil was the table holding the showbread, the altar of incense, and the lampstand having seven lamps. All of these things were representative objects relating to heaven and the church. The tabernacle itself is described in Exodus 26:7-16; 36:8-37.

We also read that the design of the Tabernacle was shown to Moses upon Mount Sinai (Exodus 25:9; 26:30); and whatever he was given to see from heaven is a representation relating to heaven and the church.

In memory of the most ancient people's sacred worship of the Lord in tents, and of their conjunction with Him through love, Israel was commanded to observe the Feast of Tabernacles, as recorded in Leviticus 23:39-44, Deuteronomy 16:13-14.

529. Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. (11:19) This symbolizes the New Heaven, in which the Lord is worshiped in His Divine humanity, and where people live in accordance with the Ten Commandments, which constitute the two essential elements of the New Church that are the means of conjunction.

The temple of God symbolizes the Lord's Divine humanity, also heaven where angels dwell, and likewise the church on earth. To be shown that the temple of God has these three symbolic meanings, and that the three cannot be separated, see no. 191. Here, however, the temple of God symbolizes the Lord in His Divine humanity in heaven where angels dwell, because it is said to be the temple of God in heaven. The ark in the temple means the Ten Commandments, for the ark had as its sole contents the two tables on which the Ten Commandments were written. ¹ The temple's being opened means, symbolically, that these two, the Divine humanity and the Ten Commandments, which are the two essential elements of the New Church, are now visible, and that they became visible after the evil were cast into hell (no. 528). The ark is called the ark of His covenant in His temple because a covenant symbolizes conjunction, as we will see below. But first we must say something about the Ten Commandments.

[2] What nation in the entire world does not know that it is evil to kill, commit adultery, steal, and bear false witness? If nations did not know this and enact laws to keep people from doing these things, it would be all over with them. For society, the republic, or kingdom would collapse without these laws.

Who can suppose that the Israelite nation was so stupid in comparison to all other nations as not to know that such actions are evil? One may wonder, therefore, why these laws, being so universally known throughout the whole world, were promulgated by Jehovah Himself from Mount Sinai, attended by the great miracle they were, and written, moreover, with His finger.

But listen, they were promulgated by Jehovah with such a great miracle and written with His finger in order that people might know that these laws are not only civil and moral laws, but also spiritual laws, and that to disobey them is not only to do evil to one's fellow citizen and to society, but is also to sin against God. Their promulgation by Jehovah from Mount Sinai made them therefore laws of religion. For it is evident that whatever Jehovah God commands, He commands to make it a matter of religion, so that it must be obeyed for His sake, and for a person's own sake, that he may be saved.

[3] Because these laws were the first elements of the church to be established by the Lord with the Israelite nation, and because they embrace in brief summary everything having to do with religion which makes possible a conjunction of the Lord with a person and of a person with the Lord, therefore they were so holy that nothing was more holy.

That they were so very holy can be seen from the following: That Jehovah Himself, that is to say, the Lord, descended in fire; that the mountain then smoked and quaked; and that this was attended by thunderings, lightnings, a thick cloud, and the sound of a trumpet (Exodus 19:16, 18, Deuteronomy 5:22-26). That before Jehovah descended, the people readied themselves and sanctified themselves for three days (Exodus 19:10-11, 15). That in the Temple at Jerusalem the Ark constituted the inner sanctuary (1 Kings 6:19ff., 8:3-9). That the tablets on which the Law was written were called the tablets of the covenant, and because of them the Ark was called the ark of the covenant, with the Law itself being called the covenant (Numbers 10:33, Deuteronomy 4:13, 23; 5:2-3; 9:9, Joshua 3:11, 1 Kings 8:19, 21, and elsewhere).

The Law's being called a covenant symbolizes conjunction. The reason is that covenants are made for the sake of love, friendship, and association, thus for the sake of conjunction. That is why we find it said of the Lord that He will be "a covenant to the people" (Isaiah 42:6; 49:8), and He is called "the Messenger of the covenant" (Malachi 3:1). His blood also is called "the blood of the covenant" (Matthew 26:28, cf. Zechariah 9:11, Exodus 24:4-10). And therefore the Word is called the Old and New Testaments or Covenants.

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