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Leviticus 16

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1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, in their drawing near before Jehovah, and they die;

2 yea, Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Speak unto Aaron thy brother, and he cometh not in at all times unto the sanctuary within the vail, unto the front of the mercy-seat, which [is] upon the ark, and he dieth not, for in a cloud I am seen upon the mercy-seat.

3 `With this doth Aaron come in unto the sanctuary; with a bullock, a son of the herd, for a sin-offering, and a ram for a burnt-offering;

4 a holy linen coat he putteth on, and linen trousers are on his flesh, and with a linen girdle he girdeth himself, and with a linen mitre he wrappeth himself up; they [are] holy garments; and he hath bathed with water his flesh, and hath put them on.

5 `And from the company of the sons of Israel he taketh two kids of the goats for a sin-offering, and one ram for a burnt-offering;

6 and Aaron hath brought near the bullock of the sin-offering which is his own, and hath made atonement for himself, and for his house;

7 and he hath taken the two goats, and hath caused them to stand before Jehovah, at the opening of the tent of meeting.

8 `And Aaron hath given lots over the two goats, one lot for Jehovah, and one lot for a goat of departure;

9 and Aaron hath brought near the goat on which the lot for Jehovah hath gone up, and hath made it a sin-offering.

10 `And the goat on which the lot for a goat of departure hath gone up is caused to stand living before Jehovah to make atonement by it, to send it away for a goat of departure into the wilderness.

11 `And Aaron hath brought near the bullock of the sin-offering which is his own, and hath made atonement for himself, and for his house, and hath slaughtered the bullock of the sin-offering which [is] his own,

12 and hath taken the fulness of the censer of burning coals of fire from off the altar, from before Jehovah, and the fulness of his hands of thin spice-perfume, and hath brought [it] within the vail;

13 and he hath put the perfume on the fire before Jehovah, and the cloud of the perfume hath covered the mercy-seat which [is] on the testimony, and he dieth not.

14 `And he hath taken of the blood of the bullock, and hath sprinkled with his finger on the front of the mercy-seat eastward; even at the front of the mercy-seat he doth sprinkle seven times of the blood with his finger.

15 `And he hath slaughtered the goat of the sin-offering which [is] the people's, and hath brought in its blood unto the inside of the vail, and hath done with its blood as he hath done with the blood of the bullock, and hath sprinkled it on the mercy-seat, and at the front of the mercy-seat,

16 and he hath made atonement for the sanctuary because of the uncleanness of the sons of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins; and so he doth for the tent of meeting which is tabernacling with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.

17 `And no man is in the tent of meeting in his going in to make atonement in the sanctuary, till his coming out; and he hath made atonement for himself, and for his house, and for all the assembly of Israel.

18 `And he hath gone out unto the altar which [is] before Jehovah, and hath made atonement for it; and he hath taken of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and hath put on the horns of the altar round about;

19 and he hath sprinkled on it of the blood with his finger seven times, and hath cleansed it, and hath hallowed it from the uncleannesses of the sons of Israel.

20 `And he hath ceased from making atonement [for] the sanctuary, and the tent of meeting, and the altar, and hath brought near the living goat;

21 and Aaron hath laid his two hands on the head of the living goat, and hath confessed over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, and hath put them on the head of the goat, and hath sent [it] away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness;

22 and the goat hath borne on him all their iniquities unto a land of separation. `And he hath sent the goat away into the wilderness,

23 and Aaron hath come in unto the tent of meeting, and hath stripped off the linen garments which he had put on in his going in unto the sanctuary, and hath placed them there;

24 and he hath bathed his flesh with water in the holy place, and hath put on his garments, and hath come out, and hath made his burnt-offering, and the burnt-offering of the people, and hath made atonement for himself and for the people;

25 and with the fat of the sin-offering he doth make perfume on the altar.

26 `And he who is sending away the goat for a goat of departure doth wash his garments, and hath bathed his flesh with water, and afterwards he cometh in unto the camp.

27 `And the bullock of the sin-offering, and the goat of the sin-offering, whose blood hath been brought in to make atonement in the sanctuary, doth [one] bring out unto the outside of the camp, and they have burnt with fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung;

28 and he who is burning them doth wash his garments, and hath bathed his flesh with water, and afterwards he cometh in unto the camp.

29 `And it hath been to you for a statute age-during, in the seventh month, in the tenth of the month, ye humble yourselves, and do no work -- the native, and the sojourner who is sojourning in your midst;

30 for on this day he maketh atonement for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins before Jehovah ye are clean;

31 it [is] to you a sabbath of rest, and ye have humbled yourselves -- a statute age-during.

32 `And the priest whom he doth anoint, and whose hand he doth consecrate to act as priest instead of his father, hath made atonement, and hath put on the linen garments, the holy garments;

33 and he hath made atonement [for] the holy sanctuary; and [for] the tent of meeting, even [for] the altar he doth make atonement; yea, for the priests, and for all the people of the assembly he maketh atonement.

34 `And this hath been to you for a statute age-during, to make atonement for the sons of Israel, because of all their sins, once in a year;' and he doth as Jehovah hath commanded Moses.

   

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Apocalypse Explained # 257

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257. Because in this prophetical book numbers are often mentioned; and as no one can know the spiritual sense of what is contained in those numbers unless he knows what the particular numbers signify; for all numbers in the Word, as well as all names, signify spiritual things; and because the number seven is often mentioned amongst others, I am desirous here of showing that seven signifies all, and all things, also what is full and complete for that which signifies all, and all things, signifies also what is full and complete. For what is full and complete is said of the magnitude of a thing, and all and all things of multitude.

That the number seven has such a signification is evident from the following passages. In Ezekiel:

"The inhabitants of the cities of Israel shall set fire to and burn the arms, the shield also and the buckler, with the bow and the arrows, and with the hand-staff, and with the spear; and they shall kindle a fire with them seven years; and they shall bury Gog and all his multitude, and they shall cleanse the land seven months" (39:9, 11, 12).

The subject here treated of is the desolation of all things in the church. The inhabitants of the cities of Israel signify all the goods of truth, to set on fire and burn signifies to consume by evils. The arms, the shield, the buckler, the bows, the arrows, the hand-staff, the spear, denote everything pertaining to doctrine; to kindle fire with them seven years denotes to consume them all and fully by evils. Gog signifies those who are in external worship, and in no internal worship; to bury them and cleanse the land denotes to destroy them all, and completely to purge the church of them.

[2] In Jeremiah:

"Their widows shall be multiplied more than the sand of the seas, and I will bring to them upon the mother of the youths the waster at noon-day. She who hath borne seven shall languish, she shall breathe out her soul" (15:8, 9).

By the widows which will be multiplied are signified those who are in good and desire truths, and, in the opposite sense, as in the present case, those who are in evil and desire falsities. By the mother of the youths is signified the church; by the waster at noon-day is signified the vastation of that church, however much they may be in truths from the Word. By she that hath borne seven shall languish, she shall breathe out her soul, is signified that the church, to which all truths were given because the Word was given them, should perish; for she that hath borne seven signifies those to whom all truths were given. This is specifically said concerning the Jews.

[3] Similarly, in the first book of Samuel:

"They that were hungry ceased, so that the barren hath borne seven, and she that hath many children hath failed" (2:5).

The hungry who ceased denote those who desire the goods and truths of the church; the barren who hath borne seven signifies those who are outside the church and are ignorant of truths because they have not the Word, as the Gentiles, to whom all things will be given; she that hath many children failing signifies those who have truths, from whom they will be taken away. Again, in David:

"Render unto our neighbours sevenfold into their bosom" (79:12).

And in Moses,

That the Jews should be punished seven times for their sins (Leviticus 26:18, 21, 24, 28);

seven times here signifying fully.

[4] In Luke:

"And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him" (17:4).

Here, to forgive seven times, if he shall return seven times, denotes to forgive as often as the offender should return, and thus at all times. But lest Peter should understand seven times to be meant by these words, the Lord explains His meaning to him, as recorded in Matthew:

"Peter said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times, but until seventy times seven " (18:21, 22).

Seventy times seven is always, without counting. In David:

"Seven times a day do I praise thee for the judgments of justice" (Psalms 119:164).

Seven times a day denotes always, or at all times.

[5] Again:

"The sayings of Jehovah are pure sayings, as silver refined in a furnace of earth, purified seven times" (Psalms 12:6).

Here silver signifies truth from the Divine: purified seven times denotes that it is altogether and fully pure.

[6] In Isaiah:

"The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days" (30:26).

The light of the sun signifies Divine truth from Divine good: and that this light should be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, signifies that the Divine truth in heaven should be without any falsity, thus that it should be altogether and fully pure.

[7] In Matthew,

The unclean spirit "shall take with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and he shall dwell there" (12:45; Luke 11:26).

Here profanation is treated of, and by the seven other spirits with which the unclean spirit is said to return are signified all falsities of evil, thus a plenary destruction of good and truth.

[8] Similar is the signification of the seven times which were to pass over the king of Babylon, in Daniel,

"His heart shall be changed from man, and the heart of a beast shall be given unto him; while seven times shall pass over him" (4:16, 25, 32).

By the king of Babylon are signified those who profane the goods and truths of the Word. By his heart being changed from that of a man to that of a beast is meant that nothing spiritual, that is, truly human, should remain with him, but that instead there should be everything diabolical. By the seven times which were to pass over him is meant profanation, which is a complete destruction of truth and good.

[9] Because the terms seven, and seven times, signified all things, and also what is full, the following commands were given to the children of Israel:

Seven days their hands should be filled (Exodus 29:35).

Seven days they should be sanctified (Exodus 29:37).

Seven days Aaron should put on the garments when he was being initiated (Exodus 29:30).

Seven days they should not go out of the tabernacle when they were being initiated into the priesthood (Leviticus 8:33, 34).

Seven times expiation should be made upon the horns of the altar (Leviticus 16:18, 19).

Seven times should the altar be sanctified with oil (Leviticus 8:11).

Seven times should the blood be sprinkled before the veil (Leviticus 4:16, 17).

Seven times should the blood be sprinkled with the finger towards the east, when Aaron went in to the mercy seat (Leviticus 16:12-15).

Seven times should the water of separation be sprinkled towards the tabernacle (Num. 19:4).

Seven times should blood be sprinkled for the cleansing of leprosy (Leviticus 14:7, 8, 27, 38, 51).

The lampstand had seven lamps (Exodus 25:32, 37; 37:18-25).

Feasts should be celebrated for seven days (Exodus 34:18; Leviticus 23:4-9, 39-44; Deuteronomy 16:3, 4, 8).

Seven days of the feast there should be a burnt offering of seven bullocks and seven rams daily (Ezekiel 45:23).

Baalam built seven altars, and sacrificed seven oxen and seven rams (Num. 23:1-7, 15-18, 29, 30).

They numbered seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, and then should cause the trumpet of the jubilee to be sounded in the seventh month (Leviticus 25:8, 9).

From the signification of the number seven, it is evident what is signified

By the seven days of creation (Genesis 1).

Also by four thousand men being filled from seven loaves, and that seven basketsful of fragments remained over (Matthew 15:34-37; Mark 8:5-9).

Hence now it is clear what is signified in the Apocalypse,

By the seven churches (1:4, 11).

By the seven golden lampstands, in the midst of which was the Son of man (1:13).

By the seven stars in His right hand (1:16, 20).

By the seven spirits of God (3:1).

By the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne (4:5).

By the book sealed with seven seals (5:1).

By the seven angels to whom were given seven trumpets (8:2).

By the seven thunders which uttered their voices (10:3, 4).

By the seven angels having the seven last plagues, (15:1, 6).

By seven vials full of the seven last plagues (16:1; 21:9)

and elsewhere in the Word, where seven is mentioned.

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.