9547. Verses 31-39 And you shall make a lampstand from pure gold; solid shall the lampstand be made. ¹ Its shaft and its branch, its cups, its pomegranates, and its flowers shall be of one piece with it. ² And there shall be six branches going out of its sides, three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it. There shall be three almond-shaped cups on one branch, a pomegranate and a flower, and three almond-shaped cups on one branch, ³ a pomegranate and a flower - thus for the six branches going out of the lampstand. And on [the shaft of] the lampstand there shall be four almond-shaped cups, its pomegranates and its flowers. And there shall be a pomegranate under [the first] two branches out of it, and a pomegranate under [the second] two branches out of it, and a pomegranate under [the third] two branches out of it - for the six branches going out of the lampstand. Their pomegranates and their branches shall be of one piece with it, ¹ all [shall be part] of it - one solid [piece made] from pure gold. And you shall make its seven lamps; and let it cause its lamps to go up and give light before its faces. ⁴ And its tongs and its trowels ⁵ [shall be made] from pure gold. A talent of pure gold shall [be used to] make it, together with all these vessels.

'And you shall make a lampstand' means the spiritual heaven. 'From pure gold' means that it must spring from celestial good. 'Solid shall the lampstand be made' means that all of it must spring from good. 'Its shaft and its branch, its cups' means the spiritual entities within the natural. 'Its pomegranates' means factual knowledge of good. 'And its flowers' means factual knowledge of truth. 'Shall be of one piece with it' means that both must form part of the spiritual springing from celestial good. 'And there shall be six branches going out of its sides' means all the capacities of truth derived from good in their entirety. 'Three branches of the lampstand out of one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand out of the other side of it' means completeness so far as good and truth are concerned. 'There shall be three almond-shaped cups' means completeness so far as factual knowledge derived from good is concerned. 'On one branch' means the power of truth derived from good. 'A pomegranate and a flower' means a known fact about good and a known fact about truth. 'And three almond-shaped cups on one branch, a pomegranate and a flower' has the same meaning. 'Thus for the six branches going out of the lampstand' means the power of truth derived from good so far as all things in the spiritual heaven are concerned. 'And on [the shaft of] the lampstand' means the middle of it, by means of which everything is brought together, and from which powers are derived. 'There shall be four almond-shaped cups' means factual knowledge of truth derived from good. 'Its pomegranates and its flowers' means factual knowledge of good and truth. 'And there shall be a pomegranate under [the first] two branches out of it, and a pomegranate under [the second] two branches out of it, and a pomegranate under [the third] two branches out of it' means factual knowledge of good for every single truth. 'For the six branches going out of the lampstand' means the power of truth derived from good so far as all things in the spiritual heaven are concerned. 'Their pomegranates and their branches shall be of one piece with it, all [shall be part] of it' means that the factual knowledge of good and the powers must spring from the Divine Spiritual, which comes from the Lord. 'One solid [piece made] from pure gold' means unblemished and perfect because it all consists of the same good. 'And you shall make its seven lamps' means the holy spiritual things from it. 'And let it cause its lamps to go up' means the light of the spiritual heaven. 'And give light before its faces' means from the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Human. 'And its tongs and its trowels' means things in the natural that serve to purify and clean out. '[Shall be made] from pure gold' means that these too must consist of good. 'A talent of pure gold shall [be used to] make it, together with all these vessels' means celestial good from which spiritual good together with its factual knowledge springs.

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4180. 'Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Dread of Isaac, had been with me' means but for the Divine and the Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of 'the God of my father' when used in reference to the Lord, as the Divine as regards Good - 'Father' meaning Divine Good, and 'Son' Divine Truth, see 2803, 3704, in this case the Divine Good of each Essence; from the meaning of 'the God of Abraham' as the Divine itself which is called the Divine Essence - 'Abraham' representing the Lord as regards the Divine itself, 2011, 3439; and from the meaning of 'the Dread of Isaac' as the Divine Human. The expression 'the Dread' is used because it is Divine Truth that is meant by it. For among people who are not governed by good Divine Truth holds fear, dread, and terror within it, unlike Divine Good which does not strike fear into anyone. The same expression and meaning occur later on in this chapter,

Jacob swore by the Dread of Isaac his father. Verse 53.

Because he had been separated from Jacob by now, that is, because intermediate good had been separated from Divine good, Laban's state was such that he wished to do harm, as is evident from the things that are mentioned regarding Laban. It is because his state was such that the expression 'the Dread of Isaac' is used. Anyone can see that 'the Dread of Isaac' means the God of Isaac, and also that Laban's state was such. For 'Isaac' represents the Lord's Divine Human, in particular as regards the Divine Rational, see 1893, 2066, 2072, 2083, 2630, 3012, 3194, 3210, 3704.

[2] As regards what is said above, that Divine Truth coming from the Lord, unlike Divine Good, holds dread within it so far as those not governed by good are concerned, the position is this: The holiness which radiates from the Lord has Divine Good and Divine Truth within it. These go forth from the Lord unceasingly and are the source of the light which shines in the heavens and the source of the light which shines in human minds. Consequently they are the source of wisdom and intelligence, for these are present within that light. But the way in which anyone is affected by that light, or wisdom and intelligence, depends on how he receives it. Those who are governed by evil do not receive Divine Good since they possess no love or charity, for everything good is a manifestation of love and charity. But Divine Truth is able to be received even by the evil, though only by their external man, not by their internal.

[3] It is like the warmth and light which come from the sun. Spiritual warmth is love, and so good, whereas spiritual light is faith, and so truth. When warmth from the sun is being received, trees and flowers grow, producing leaves and blossom and fruit, or seeds. This occurs in spring and summer-time. But when warmth from the sun is not received, only light, nothing grows. All vegetation then becomes inactive, as it does in autumn and winter-time. The same also applies to spiritual warmth and spiritual light which come from the Lord. If a person is spring-like or summer-like he receives the good which flows from love and charity and produces fruit; but if he is autumn-like or winter-like he does not receive that good and therefore does not produce any fruit. Yet he is still able to receive light, that is, he is able to know things that are matters of faith or truth. The effect of the light of winter is similar to that of summer, in that it too produces colourful and beautiful sights and enables them to be seen. But it is different in that it does not penetrate beneath the surface because it has no warmth in it, and as a consequence nothing can grow.

[4] The reception of light alone therefore and not of good is as when objects do not receive any warmth. Merely the outward form and the beauty of that form is received from the light, so that they are cold within; and when they are cold within they are all inactive, looking so to speak like something wrinkled with its hairs standing on end when the light meets it. And these are the conditions which produce fear, dread, and terror in living creatures. This comparison enables one to comprehend to some extent the nature of the fear, dread, and terror experienced by the evil. That is to say, such feelings are not the product of Divine Good but of Divine Truth; and they occur when people do not receive Divine Good yet do receive Divine Truth. The comparison also enables one to comprehend that Divine Truth devoid of Good cannot penetrate beneath the surface but stays in the outermost parts, that is, in the external man, and mainly in the area of sensory awareness belonging to the external man. More than this it enables one to comprehend that a person may sometimes look beautiful in outward form and yet in inward form be detestable. From all this one may also see the nature of the faith with very many - faith which, they say, saves without good works, that is, without goodwill and good actions.

[5] It being the Divine Human, and not the Divine itself, from which Divine Truth proceeds, it is the Divine Human therefore which is meant here by 'the Dread of Isaac'. For as has been stated, it is Divine Truth which strikes fear into someone, not Divine Good. That it is the Lord's Divine Human, and not the Divine itself, from which Divine Truth proceeds is an arcanum that has not been disclosed up to now. The implications of the arcanum are as follows: Before the Lord came into the world the Divine itself flowed into the whole of heaven; and because heaven at that time consisted for the most part of those who were celestial, that is, who were governed by the good of love, that influx of God's Almighty power furnished the light which shone in the heavens, and with that light wisdom and intelligence. But when the human race departed from the good of love and charity it was no longer possible for that light to be provided by way of heaven, nor consequently for the wisdom and intelligence to come through to the human race. For this reason, so that the human race might be saved, the Lord out of necessity came into the world and made Divine the Human within Himself in order that as to that Divine Human He might become Divine Light, and in so doing might bring light to the whole of heaven and to the whole world. He had been from eternity Light itself, for the Divine itself passing through the heavens was the source of that Light. And it was the Divine itself which took on the Human and made this Human Divine; and once that Human had been made Divine He was then able to bring light not only to the celestial heaven itself but also to the spiritual heaven, and to the human race too, which received and receives Divine Truth within good, that is, within love to Him and within charity towards the neighbour, as is evident in John,

As many as received Him, to them He gave power to be sons of God, to those believing in His name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13.

[6] The things that have now been stated make clear the meaning of the following in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. He was the true Light that enlightens every man coming into the world. John 1:1-4, 9.

Here 'the Word' means Divine Truth. Yet as to both Essences the Lord is Divine Good, whereas Divine Truth is that which proceeds from Him, see 3704. For Divine Good cannot be received by any man, nor even by any angel, but only by the Lord's Divine Human, which is what the following words in John are used to mean,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.

Man is however able to receive Divine Truth, though only in a form possible for it to exist with the recipient. And within that Truth, Divine Good is able to dwell, but in differing ways according to the kind of reception it is given.

[7] Such are the arcana which come to mind among the angels when man reads the words 'Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Dread of Isaac, had been with me'. It shows how heavenly in content the Word is, and every detail of it, although nothing of that content is visible in the sense of the letter. It also shows how superior angelic wisdom is to human wisdom, and that angels are aware of the deepest arcana while man does not even know that the Word contains any arcanum at all. Those which have been mentioned are only a very few, for within these arcana angels see and perceive countless details. Indeed, compared with those few arcana an infinity of details are seen by angels which cannot possibly be made known here because human language is inadequate to express what they are. Nor is the human mind capable of receiving them.