10177. 'And you shall make an altar for burning incense' means that which is representative of the Lord, of His hearing and receiving with pleasure everything of worship that springs from love and charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'an altar for burning incense' as that which is representative of such things of worship as are raised up to the Lord. The fact that they are things springing from love and charity will be evident from what follows below. 'An altar' has the same meaning as whatever is placed on it; and this is so because the altar is that which contains and whatever is placed on it is the contents, and container and contents make a single unit, like a table and the bread that is on it or a cup and the wine that is in it.

[2] The reason why an altar and not a table was made for burning incense was that among the Israelite nation altars were the chief representative signs of worship springing from love. For fire burned on them, and 'fire' means the love and charity from which worship springs. Regarding altars, that they were the chief representative signs of worship, see 4192, 4541, 8623, 8935, 8940, 9714.

[3] The reason why the altar of incense represented the hearing and receiving of everything of worship that springs from love and charity was that the creation of the cloud of smoke was a sign of that which is raised up on high, and the odour of the smoke was a sign of that which is pleasing, consequently of that which is heard and received by the Lord. And what springs from love and charity, this alone is pleasing to and received by the Lord. This also explains why that altar was overlaid with gold and was called the golden altar; for 'gold' means the good of love and charity, see the places referred to in 9874, and what has been stated in 9874, 9881.

[4] The reason why that alone which springs from love and charity is pleasing to the Lord, and is therefore heard and received by Him, is that love constitutes all that a person is; for a person is such as his love is. This explains why angels in heaven live as embodiments of love and charity. To them the form of love and charity is the human form, because the Lord, who is within them and gives them form, is - as to His Divine Human - Divine Love itself. From their faces therefore, from their speech, from their gestures, and especially from the spheres of their affections which flow out of them to a long way off, one can perceive clearly what kinds of love reign in them.

[5] And since love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour originate in the Lord, and since love is a spiritual bonding, whatever emanates from these is heard and received by the Lord. Any holy and religious respect paid to Him that does not spring from them is indeed heard but it is not received with pleasure. It is a hypocritical holiness and respect, something merely outward, devoid of anything inward. Outward holiness devoid of anything inward reaches no further than the outskirts of heaven and dwindles away there. But outward holiness springing from inward reaches right on into heaven, according to the essential nature of that inward holiness, thus reaches towards the Lord. For outward holiness devoid of that inward holiness is a product solely of the lips and movements of the body, whereas outward holiness springing from inward comes at the same time from the heart. Regarding these two kinds of holiness, see what has been stated and shown in 8252-8257.

[6] In the tent of meeting outside the veil there was the table on which the loaves of the presence were laid, also the lampstand with its lamps, and the altar of incense. The loaves of the presence represented love to the Lord, the lamps of the lampstand represented charity and faith, and the incense on the altar represented worship springing from them, which is why it was burned every morning and every evening, when the lamps were 'adorned'. From this as well it is evident that the burning of incense represented worship of the Lord which springs from love and charity. The actual tent in which those objects resided represented heaven, where all worship is such. The loaves represented celestial good, which is the good of love to the Lord, see 9545; the lampstand represented spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour and the good of faith, 9548-9561; and the tent represented heaven, 9457, 9481, 9485, 9784, 9963.

[7] When the word 'worship' is used the holiness which is expressed by means of prayers, adorations, thanksgivings, and similar acts of devotion that emanate from inward feelings of love and charity should be understood. These constituents of worship are what should be understood by 'the burning of incense', as may be recognized from the following places: In David,

My prayers are acceptable, [as] incense before You. Psalms 141:2.

In John,

The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. Revelation 5:8.

In the same book,

An angel holding a golden censer ... And much incense was given to him, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar which was before the throne. The smoke of the incense went up from the prayers of the saints. Revelation 8:3-4.

[8] Since incense was a sign of worship and of its being raised up, thus of its being heard and received by the Lord, Moses commanded [those who rebelled against him] to take censers with incense in them, and to burn it before Jehovah, in order that they might consequently know whom Jehovah would choose, thus whom He would hear, Numbers 16:1ff. And when the people grumbled Aaron ran with incense, into the midst of the congregation, when a plague began, and in so doing stopped it, Numbers 16:46-48. In Malachi,

From the rising of the sun even to its setting Jehovah's name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense has been offered to My name, and a pure minchah. Malachi 1:11.

'A pure minchah' is added because the good of love is meant by it, 10137. In Moses,

The sons of Levi will teach Jacob [Your] judgements and Israel Your law. They will put incense in Your nose, and burnt offering on Your altar. Deuteronomy 33:10.

The expression 'putting incense in the nose' is used because perception is meant by 'the nostrils', 4624-4634. 'Burnt offering' is added here because by this too that which springs from the good of love is meant.

[9] But in the contrary sense 'burning incense' means worship springing from contrary loves, namely self-love and love of the world, for example burning incense to other gods, Jeremiah 1:16; 44:3, 5; burning incense to idols, Ezekiel 8:11; 16:18; and burning incense to the baalim, Hosea 2:13.

[10] Because the burning of incense served to mean such things as rise upwards to and are accepted with pleasure by the Divine it was also one of the religious practices among gentiles. The use of frankincense, censers, and incense-boxes by the Romans and other nations is well known from historical evidence. That kind of religious practice was derived from the Ancient Church, which was spread through many regions of Asia, such as Syria, Arabia, Babylon, Egypt, and Canaan. That Church had been a representative Church, thus a Church consisting in outward forms that represented inner realities, that is, celestial and spiritual things. A large number of religious practices, one of which was the burning of incense, were passed on from that Church to surrounding nations, and from these through Greece into Italy. Another practice like this was the care of the perpetual fire entrusted to chaste virgins whom they called the Vestal Virgins.

[11] The incense that was burned in the Ancient Church, and consequently in the Israelite Church, was prepared from fragrant substances, such as stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense, because perception was meant by an odour, and delightful perception by a fragrant odour, see 925, 1514, 1517-1519, 3577, 4624-4634, 4748, 10054. But 'frankincense' in particular means the truth of faith, and therefore when frankincense is mentioned in the Word oil, bread, minchah, or else gold, by which the good of love is meant, is linked with it, as in Isaiah,

All those from Sheba will come. They will bring gold and frankincense, and will proclaim the praises of Jehovah. Isaiah 60:6.

Similarly those who came from the east, in Matthew,

Wise men from the east came, seeking the Lord who had then been born ... opening their treasures; and they presented gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:1-2, 11.

In the Word those who were from the east and were called 'sons of the east' mean people who possessed the cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, see 3249, 3762. 'Sheba' has the same meaning, 1171, 3240. And for the meaning of 'gold' as the good of love, see the places referred to in 9874 or 9881.

[12] In Jeremiah,

They will bring burnt offering and sacrifice, and minchah, and frankincense. Jeremiah 17:26.

'Minchah' in like manner means the good of love, 9992, 10137. From all this it is evident that in the Word 'frankincense' means truth that composes faith; for where good is spoken of in the Word, so too is truth, on account of the heavenly marriage, which is that of goodness and truth, in every single part of it, see the places referred to in 9263[end], 9314. For the same reason also oil as well as frankincense was placed on a minchah, Leviticus 2:1-2, 15, though not on a minchah required for a sin offering, Leviticus 5:11, nor on a minchah for jealousy, Numbers 5:15. The reason why they were not placed on these minchahs was that such minchahs were presented for expiation from evils, and as long as a person is at the stage of expiation he cannot receive the good of love or truth of faith, because evils stand in the way. It is different after they have been expiated or removed.

[13] The good of love cannot be imparted to anyone unless at the same time the truth of faith is as well. For good brings truth into being, and in that truth it acquires a particular quality and receives an outward form. This was why every minchah had frankincense on it, as did the loaves of the presence which were laid on the table in the tent of meeting, Leviticus 24:7, the good of love being meant by 'loaves', 3478, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 8410, 9323, 9545, 10040, 10137.

9262. 'And do not kill the innocent and the righteous' means detesting the destruction of good, interior and exterior. This is clear from the meaning of 'the innocent' as a person governed by interior good, and so in the abstract sense as interior good, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'the righteous' as a person governed by exterior good, and in the abstract sense as exterior good, since 'righteous' has reference to the good of love towards the neighbour, but 'innocent' to the good of love to the Lord - the good of love towards the neighbour being exterior good, and the good of love to the Lord being interior good; and from the meaning of 'killing' as destroying. The fact that 'righteous' means the good of love towards the neighbour will also be seen below. But the reason why 'the innocent' means the good of love to the Lord is that people endowed with innocence are those who love the Lord; for innocence consists in the acknowledgement in a person's heart that left to himself he intends nothing but evil and perceives nothing but falsity, and that all good of love and all truth of faith come from the Lord alone. No others can acknowledge these things in their heart except those who have been joined to the Lord in love. Such people inhabit the inmost heaven, which is accordingly called the heaven of innocence. Therefore the good that is theirs is interior good; for the Divine Good of Love coming from the Lord is that which inhabitants of the heaven of innocence receive. Therefore also they appear naked and also look like young children. So it is that innocence is represented by nakedness and also by early childhood. For its representation by nakedness, see 165, 213, 214, 8375; and by early childhood, 430, 1616, 2280, 2305, 2306, 3183, 3494, 4563, 4797, 5608 (end).

[2] From all that has just been stated regarding innocence it may be seen that what is Divine and the Lord's cannot be received except within innocence. This being so, good is not good unless there is innocence within it, 2526, 2780, 3994, 6765, 7840, 7887, that is, unless there is the acknowledgement that from the self nothing but evil and falsity arises and that from the Lord comes all goodness and truth. Believing the former about the self, and believing the latter about the Lord and also desiring it to be so, are what constitutes innocence. Therefore the good of innocence is God's goodness itself coming from the Lord and residing with a person. So it is that 'the innocent' means a person governed by interior good and in the abstract sense means interior good.

[3] Because 'the innocent' or 'innocence' means Divine Good coming from the Lord, shedding innocent blood was a thoroughly atrocious crime. And when it had been committed the whole land was under damnation until the crime had been expiated, as becomes clear from the process of investigation and absolution from guilt if someone had been found slain in the land. That process is spoken of in Moses as follows,

When one is found slain in the land, lying in the field, and it is not known who smote him, then your elders and your judges shall come out and they shall measure [the distance] to the cities which are around the one slain. It shall be however, that in the city nearest to the one slain the elders of this city shall take an ox's heifer by means of which no work has been done, which has not pulled in the yoke; and the elders of this city shall bring the heifer down to a barren valley which is neither tilled nor sown, and there they shall break the heifer's neck in the valley. Then the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come near, and all the elders of this city standing by the one slain. They shall wash their hands over the heifer whose neck has been broken in the valley; and they shall answer and say, Our hands have not shed this blood, and our eyes have not seen it; expiate Your people Israel whom You have redeemed, O Jehovah, and do not set innocent blood in the midst of Your people Israel. In this way the blood will be expiated for them. But you shall put away the innocent blood from the midst of you, if you do what is right in the eyes of Jehovah. Deuteronomy 21:1-10.

Anyone can see that this process of investigation and absolution from guilt when innocent blood had been shed in the land holds within it the arcana of heaven, of which people cannot have any knowledge at all unless they know what is meant by 'one slain, [lying] in the field', by 'an ox's heifer by means of which no work has been done, and which has not pulled in the yoke', by 'a barren valley which is neither tilled nor sown', by 'breaking the neck of the heifer in the valley', by 'washing hands over the heifer', and by all the other details of the process. Unless everything laid down had meant those arcana it would have been totally unsuitable for the Word that has been dictated by God and inspired in every word and part of a letter. For without its deeper meaning such a process would have been an observance which had nothing holy about it, indeed which had scarcely any value.

[4] But exactly which arcana lie within it is nevertheless evident from the internal sense, that is, if it is known that 'one slain in the land, lying in the field' means truth and good wiped out in the Church where good exists; that 'the city nearest to the one slain' means the truth taught by the Church whose good has been wiped out; that 'an ox's heifer by means of which no work has been done, and which has not pulled in the yoke' means the good of the external or natural man, who has not as yet, through enslavement to evil desires, drawn falsities into his faith and evils into his life; that 'a barren valley which is neither tilled nor sown' means the natural mind that is not cultivated with truths or forms of the good of faith owing to lack of knowledge; that 'breaking its neck in the valley' means purification, on account of absence of blame because it was due to lack of knowledge; and that 'washing the hand' means being absolved from that atrocious crime. Once these things are known it is evident that 'shedding innocent blood' means wiping out Divine Truth and Good that come from the Lord, thus the Lord Himself as He exists with a member of the Church.

[5] It should be recognized that this entire process represented in heaven the kind of crime that had no blame attached to the commission of it because it was due to ignorance that had innocence within it and was therefore as something not evil. Each detail within that process, even the smallest, represented some essential aspect of the reality portrayed by the whole. But which aspect each one represented is clear from the internal sense.

'One who has been slain' is truth and good that have been wiped out, see 4503.

'The land' is the Church, 662, 1066, 1067, 1262, 1413, 1607, 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118 (end), 2928, 3355, 4447, 4535, 5577, 8011, 8732.

'The field' is the Church in respect of good, thus the Church's good, 2971, 3310, 3766, 4982, 7502, 7571, 9139.

'The city' is teachings presenting the truth, thus the truth taught by the Church, 402, 2268, 2449, 2712, 2943, 3216, 4492, 4493.

'Ox' is the good of the external or natural man, 2180, 2566, 2781, 9134, so that 'a heifer' is good in its infancy, 1824, 1825.

[6] 'No work had been done by it, and it had not pulled in the yoke', it is evident, means that up to then it had not, owing to lack of knowledge, served falsities and evils; for 'working' and 'pulling in the yoke' mean serving.

'A valley' is the lower mind, which is called the natural mind, 3417, 4715; 'a barren valley' is that mind when devoid of truths and forms of good, 3908; so that 'a valley which is neither tilled nor sown' is the natural mind not yet cultivated with truths and forms of good, thus which is still lacking in knowledge, 'the seed with which it is sown' being the truth of faith, 1025, 1447, 1610, 1940, 2848, 3038, 3373, 3671, 6158.

'Breaking the neck' is expiation, because the slaughter of various beasts, like the offering of sacrifice, meant expiation.

'Washing the hand' means purification from falsities and evils, 3147; here therefore it means purification from that atrocious crime; for 'shedding blood' in general means violence done to goodness and truth, 9127, so that 'shedding innocent blood' means wiping out what is Divine residing with a person and comes from the Lord, thus the Lord Himself residing with that person; for truth and good residing with a person are the Lord Himself since they come from Him.

[7] The like is meant by 'shedding innocent blood' in Deuteronomy 19:10; 27:25; Isaiah 59:3, 7; Jeremiah 2:34; 7:6; 19:4; 22:3, 17; Joel 3:19; Psalms 94:21. 'One who is innocent' means in the proximate sense someone who is blameless and also free from evil, to which people also bore witness in former times by washing their hands, Psalms 26:6; 73:13; Matthew 27:24; John 18:38; 19:4. The reason for this is that good which comes from the Lord and resides with a person is blameless and free from evil; this good is the good of innocence in the internal sense, as has been shown. But good that is blameless and free from evil as it exists in the external man, which is exterior good, is called 'righteous', as also in David,

The throne of perdition will not be linked to You - those who gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous and condemn innocent blood. Psalms 94:20-21.