9873. All this now makes clear what the twelve precious stones in the breastplate of judgement served to mean, namely all the kinds of good and truth of heaven in their proper order. Heaven is divided into two kingdoms, the celestial and the spiritual. The good of the celestial kingdom was represented by the first two rows, which were on the right side of the breastplate, and the good of the spiritual kingdom by the next two rows, which were on the left side. The internal good of the celestial kingdom is the good of love to the Lord; this is the good that is meant by the celestial love of good. The external good of the celestial kingdom however is the good of mutual love; this is the good that is meant by the celestial love of truth. But the internal good of the spiritual kingdom is the good of charity towards the neighbour; this is the good that is meant by the spiritual love of good. And the external good of the spiritual kingdom is the good of faith; this is the good that is meant by the spiritual love of truth. These kinds of good and truth in this order constitute the heavens, see 9468, 9473, 9680, 9683, 9780.

[2] From this it is now evident what the twelve stones, which were called the Urim and Thummim, represented. But in what way the Divine Truths which were answers were made known by means of them will be stated below in 9905. The fact that the good of love occupied the first place there and the truth of faith the last is clear from the first stone's being a ruby and the last's being a jasper, thus from the first stone's being red in colour, and the last's being white, both of them translucent. For the meaning of 'red' as the good of love, see 3300, 9467; and for that of 'white' as the truth of faith, 3301, 3993, 4007, 5319.

[3] Much the same as is meant by the stones in the breastplate was also meant by the materials used in weaving the ephod. The ephod was woven from violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and fine linen, as is evident from verse 6 of the present chapter, and 'violet' meant the truth of celestial love, 'purple' the good of celestial love, 'twice-dyed scarlet' the good of spiritual love, and 'fine linen' the truth of spiritual love, 9833. The reason why much the same was meant is that 'the ephod' meant heaven on last and outermost levels, in the same way as 'the breastplate' does, 9824. But the kinds of good and truth are listed in a different order there, because 'the ephod' meant the spiritual heaven, whereas 'the breastplate' means all heaven from first to last. And since the dwelling-place along with the tent also represented heaven, 9457, 9481, 9485, 9615, the material from which its curtains and veils were woven were likewise violet, purple, double-dyed scarlet, and fine twined linen, see the previous Chapters, 26:1, 31, 36; 27:16, and 9466-9469.

[4] In addition it should be recognized that in the general sense SAPPHIRE means the external part of the celestial kingdom and SHOHAM the external part of the spiritual kingdom. And because these two stones had this meaning they were the middle stones belonging to the secondary rows, that is to say, the sapphire was the middle stone in the second row, and the shoham the middle stone in the fourth row. The stones belonging to the second row meant the external good of the celestial kingdom, which has been called the celestial love of truth, and the stones belonging to the fourth row meant the external good of the spiritual kingdom, which has been called the spiritual love of truth, see what has been stated about them above in this paragraph 9873.

[5] The fact that 'sapphire' means the external part of the celestial kingdom is evident from places in the Word where it is mentioned, such as in the Book of Exodus,

Seventy of the elders saw the God of Israel, and under His feet there was so to speak a work of sapphire, and it was like the substance of the sky for clearness. Exodus 24:10.

The external part of the celestial kingdom is so described, because the words 'under His feet', meaning what is external, are used, and where 'the God of Israel', who is the Lord, is, there heaven is. In Isaiah,

O afflicted one and storm-tossed, and receiving no comfort! Behold, I am arranging your stones with antimony, and will lay your foundations in sapphires. Isaiah 54:11.

The subject in this chapter is the celestial kingdom. The foundations which will be laid in sapphires, are the external things there; for foundations lie underneath.

[6] In Jeremiah,

Her Nazirites were brighter than snow, they were whiter than milk. Their bones ¹ were ruddier than pearls, ² polished like sapphires. ³ Lamentations 4:7.

Nazirites represented the celestial man, which is why it says 'polished like sapphires', 'polished' referring to what is external. In Ezekiel,

Above the expanse that was above the heads of the cherubs, in appearance like a sapphire stone, there was the likeness of a throne, and above the likeness of a throne there was the appearance of a man (homo) sitting upon it. Ezekiel 1:26; 10:1.

Here also 'sapphire' is used to describe the external part of the celestial kingdom; for what is above the expanse or round about is outside, that which is inmost being the one 'sitting upon a throne'.

[7] Just as sapphire stone means the external part of the celestial kingdom, so shoham stone means the external part of the spiritual kingdom. Therefore also this was the stone which was placed on the two shoulder-pieces of the ephod with the names of the sons of Israel inscribed on them, which are dealt with in verses 9-14 of the present chapter; for the ephod represented the external part of the spiritual kingdom, 9824. Since shoham and sapphire in the general sense meant the external parts of two heavens, they were placed in the middle of the sets of three stones forming the second and fourth rows, as stated above. For the middle includes the whole, as is also true of the robe, which in the general sense has represented the spiritual kingdom, because it comes in the middle, as shown above in 9825. Because those two stones include everything meant by all the other stones in those rows, it says in Job,

Wisdom cannot be compared with the gold of Ophir, with the precious shoham and the sapphire. Job 28:16.

Poznámky pod čarou:

110. Which is in the midst of the paradise of God, signifies that all the knowledges of good and truth in heaven and in the church look thereto and proceed therefrom. This is evident from the signification of "the midst," as being the center to which all things that are round about look and from which they proceed (of which above, n. 97 [1-2]) and from the signification of "paradise," as being the knowledges of good and truth and intelligence therefrom (Arcana Coelestia 100, 108, 1588, 2702, 3220); and because these are signified by "paradise," therefore by the "paradise of God" heaven is signified, and as heaven, so also the church is signified, for the church is the Lord's heaven on the earth. Heaven and the church are called the "paradise of God," because the Lord is in the midst of them, and from Him is all intelligence and wisdom. Since it has not been known heretofore that all things in the Word are written by correspondences, consequently that there are spiritual things in every particular that is mentioned therein, it is believed that by the "paradise" treated of in the second chapter of Genesis, a paradisal garden is meant. But no earthly paradise is there meant, but the heavenly paradise which those possess who are in intelligence and wisdom from the knowledges of good and truth (See above, n. 109); and in the work on Heaven and Hell 176, 185).

[2] From this it can be seen not only what is signified by the "paradise" or "garden in Eden," but also by the "paradises" or "gardens of God" elsewhere in the Word, as in Isaiah:

Jehovah shall comfort Zion, He will comfort all her waste places, even that He may make her wilderness into Eden, and her desert into a garden of Jehovah; joy and gladness shall be found therein (Isaiah 51:3).

In Ezekiel:

Thou hast been in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering (Ezekiel 28:13).

These things are said of Tyre, because by "Tyre" in the Word a church that is in the knowledges of truth and good and in intelligence therefrom is signified (See Arcana Coelestia 1201); its intelligence therefrom is "Eden, the garden of God," likewise "the precious stone" from which is its "covering" (See n. 114, 9863, 9865, 9868, 9873). In the same:

Behold Asshur a cedar in Lebanon. The cedars have not hid it in the garden of God; nor was any tree in the garden of God equal to it in beauty. I have made it beautiful by the multitude of its branches; and all the trees of Eden in the garden of God envied it (Ezekiel 31:3, 8, 31:8-9).

By "Asshur" in the Word those who have become rational by the knowledges of good and truth, thus whose minds are illustrated from heaven, are meant. (That "Asshur" is the rational of man, see Arcana Coelestia 119, 1186.)

[3] Something shall now be said to explain how it is to be understood that all knowledges of good and truth look to the good of love to the Lord and proceed therefrom, which is the significance of these words: "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of God." The good of love to the Lord is the Lord Himself, since the Lord is in the good of His love with man, spirit, and angel. That all knowledges of good and truth look thereto, or to the Lord, is known in the Christian church; for the doctrine of the church teaches that there is no salvation apart from the Lord, and also that all salvation is in the Lord.

The knowledges of good and truth, or doctrinals from the Word, teach how man can come to God and be conjoined to Him. (That no one can be conjoined to God except from the Lord and in the Lord, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 283, 296.) From this it can be seen that all things taught by the church from the Word look to the Lord and to love to Him, as the end to which [ad quem]. That all knowledges of good and truth, or all doctrinals from the Word, proceed from the Lord is also known in the church, for it is there taught that everything of love and everything of faith is from heaven, and that nothing is from man; and that no one can love God and believe in Him from himself. To love God and to believe in Him involve all things that the church teaches, called doctrinals and knowledges, since from these is God loved and believed in. There is no love and faith without previous knowledges; for without knowledges man would be empty.

[4] From this it follows that as everything of love and of faith proceeds from the Lord, so do all knowledges of good and truth which make and form love and faith. Because all knowledges of good and truth look to the Lord, and proceed from Him, and this is what is signified by "the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God," therefore all the trees in paradise are called "trees of life" and "trees of Jehovah;" in Revelation "trees of life":

In the midst of the street and of the river (flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb) on this side and on that was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits (Revelation 22:2).

In David they are called "trees of Jehovah":

The trees of Jehovah are satisfied, the cedars of Lebanon which He hath planted (Psalms 104:16).

From this also it is clear that by the "tree of life in the midst of paradise" is meant every tree there, in other words, every man in the midst of whom, that is, in whom is the Lord. From what has been shown here and in the preceding article, what is signified by the words, "The Lord will give to him that overcometh to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God," may be learned.