6804. 'And God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob' means on account of being joined to the Church through the Lord's Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of 'the covenant' as a joining together, dealt with below; and from the representation of 'Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob', with whom a covenant had been made, as the Lord's Divine Human. 'Abraham' represents the Lord in respect of the Divine itself, 'Isaac' in respect of the Divine Rational, and 'Jacob' in respect of the Divine Natural, see 1893, 2011, 2066, 2072, 2083, 2630, 3194, 3210, 3245, 3251, 3305 (end), 3439, 4538, 4570, 4615, 6098, 6185, 6276, 6425. When Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are mentioned in the Word those patriarchs are not meant in the spiritual sense, as may be recognized from the consideration that names never pass through into heaven. Only what is really meant by the people who are referred to - real things, the essential nature of real things, and the states of real things, that is to say, aspects of the Church, of the Lord's kingdom, and of the Lord Himself - passes through.

[2] But in addition to this the angels in heaven never fix their thoughts on specific persons; that would restrict their thoughts and remove them from that all-inclusive perception of real things that lies behind angelic speech. This explains why the things that the angels in heaven say are indescribable, far surpassing human thought, whose range does not extend to seeing things in their totality but is restricted to particular aspects. When one reads therefore in Matthew 8:11 that many will come from the east and the west and recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, the angels perceive the Lord's presence and the way people make the truth and goodness emanating from His Divine Human their own. Also when one reads in Luke 16:22 that Lazarus was carried into Abraham's bosom, the angels perceive that he was carried into heaven, where the Lord is present. This too goes to show that 'a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob' means in the internal sense being joined through the Lord's Divine Human.

[3] The fact that the Divine Human is 'a covenant', that is, the actual joining together, may be seen from many places in the Word, as in Isaiah,

I will give You as a covenant of the people', a light of the nations. Isaiah 42:6.

In the same prophet,

I have given You as a covenant of the people, ¹ to restore the land, to share out the devastated inheritances. Isaiah 49:8.

In the same prophet,

Incline your ear and come to Me; hear, and let your soul live. So will I make with you an eternal covenant, even the sure mercies of David. Lo, I have given Him as a witness to the peoples, a prince and lawgiver to the peoples. ² Isaiah 55:3-4.

In Malachi,

Suddenly there comes to His temple the Lord whom you seek, and the angel of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming. Malachi 3:1

In the second Book of Samuel,

He has established an eternal covenant for Me, to be set in order for all and to be kept safe. 2 Samuel 23:5.

[4] These places plainly refer to the Lord and to the joining of the human race to the Lord's Divine Being itself through His Divine Human. In respect of His Divine Human the Lord is the Mediator, and no one can come to the Divine Being itself within the Lord, called the Father, except through the Son, that is, the Divine Human, as is well known in the Church. Thus the Lord in respect of His Divine Human is the actual joining together. Can anyone in his thought begin to comprehend the Divine Being itself? And if he cannot do this in thought how can he be joined to the Divine itself in love? But the Divine Human anyone can comprehend in thought and be joined to in love.

[5] The meaning of 'a covenant' as a joining together may be seen in the fact that covenants between countries join them together. They are bargains made by both parties which must be kept if their alliance is to remain intact. These bargains or agreements are also called a covenant. On man's side the bargains or agreements that are called 'a covenant' in the Word are in a restricted sense the ten commandments or the Decalogue. In a wider sense they are all the statutes, orders, laws, testimonies, and commandments that the Lord decreed from Mount Sinai through Moses; and in an even wider sense they are the Books of Moses. The contents of these books were what the children of Israel were required on their side to carry out. On the Lord's side it is mercy and election.

[6] The ten commandments or the Decalogue are a covenant.

This is clear from the following places: In Moses,

Jehovah declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the ten words which He wrote on two tablets of stone. Deuteronomy 4:13, 23.

And since the two tablets of stone on which the ten commandments had been written were placed in the ark, Exodus 25:16, 21, 22, 31:18; 32:15, 16, 19; 40:20, the ark was called the ark of the covenant, Deuteronomy 31:9, 24-26; Joshua 3:3, 6, 14; 4:7; Judges 20:27; 2 Samuel 15:24; 1 Kings 8:21. In the last of these references Solomon says,

I have made a place there for the ark, where there is the covenant of Jehovah which He made with our fathers.

And in John,

The temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. Revelation 11:19.

[7] All the judgements and statutes which the Lord commanded the people of Israel through Moses are called a covenant; so too are the actual Books of Moses. In Moses,

According to the tenor ³ of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. Exodus 34:27.

What are called a covenant here were many regulations regarding sacrifices, feasts, and unleavened bread. In the same author,

Moses took the book of the covenant, and read it in the ears of the people, who said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do and hear. Exodus 24:7-8.

In the second Book of Kings,

Josiah the king of Judah read before them all in the house of Jehovah the words of the book of the covenant which had been found in the house of Jehovah. And he made a covenant before Jehovah, to establish the words of the covenant that were written in that book. And all the people took a stand on the covenant. The king commanded all the people to keep the Passover to Jehovah their God, in accordance with what was written in the book of the covenant. 2 Kings 23:2-3, 21.

In David,

If your sons keep My covenant and My testimony which I have taught them, their sons also will sit even forever on your throne. Psalms 132:12.

[8] A covenant is a joining together through love and faith.

In Jeremiah,

Behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, in which I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers, for they made My covenant invalid. But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days: I will put My law in the midst of them, and will write it on their heart, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Jeremiah 31:31-33.

'Putting the law in their midst, and writing it on their heart' is endowing with faith and charity, faith and charity being the means by which the joining together described by 'I will be their God, and they will be My people' is effected. In the same prophet,

I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not any more turn away from them, and I will do good to them. But I will put My fear into their heart so that they do not depart from Me. Jeremiah 32:40.

A joining together through love, which is a covenant, is meant by 'I will put My fear into their heart so that they do not depart from Me'.

[9] In Ezekiel,

I will make with them a covenant of peace; it will be an eternal covenant with them. And I will bless ⁴ them and will multiply them, and I will set a sanctuary in their midst, and it will be My dwelling-place among them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Ezekiel 37:26-27.

Here a joining together through love and faith, which are a covenant, is described by 'a sanctuary in their midst' and 'dwelling-place among them', and by 'I will be their God, and they will be My people'. In the same prophet,

When I passed by you and saw you, behold, it was your time, the time of love; ⁵ and I entered into a covenant with you, so that you would be Mine. Ezekiel 16:8.

This refers to Jerusalem, by which the Ancient Church is meant, 'entering into a covenant, so that you would be Mine' plainly being a marriage or spiritual joining together. Since 'a covenant' means a joining together a wife is also called in Malachi 2:14 the wife of a covenant, while a joining together that exists among brothers is called in Amos 1:9 a covenant of brothers. 'A covenant' is also used in David to mean a joining together,

I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David My servant. Psalms 89:3.

[10] The agreement in a covenant on the Lord's side is mercy and election. This is clear in David,

All the ways of Jehovah are mercy and truth to those keeping His covenant and His testimonies. Psalms 25:10.

In Isaiah,

The mountains will depart and the hills be removed, but My mercy will not depart from you, nor the covenant of My peace be removed, said Jehovah, who has mercy on you. Isaiah 54:10.

In Moses,

Jehovah your God, He is God, the faithful God keeping covenant and mercy with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to the thousandth generation. Deuteronomy 7:9, 11.

In the same author,

If you keep My covenant, you will be to Me a peculiar treasure from among all peoples. Exodus 19:5.

In the same author,

I will have regard for you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and confirm My covenant with you. Leviticus 26:9.

'Having regard for them' is viewing with mercy. 'Making them fruitful and multiplying them' is endowing with charity and faith, and those endowed with them are called 'the elect'. Thus the words used here have to do with election and so do those which say that they will be 'a peculiar treasure'.

[11] In the representative Church they also had signs of the covenant. These served to remind people of the joining together. Circumcision was one such sign, Genesis 17:11; for circumcision was a sign meaning purification from filthy loves. After these loves are removed, heavenly love is introduced, through which a joining together is effected. The sabbath too is called an eternal covenant, Exodus 31:16; and of the loaves of the presence it is said that to the children of Israel they should be for an eternal covenant, Leviticus 24:8-9. Blood in particular was a sign, as is clear in Moses,

Moses took the book of the covenant, and read it in the ears of the people, who said, All that Jehovah has spoken we will do and hear. Then Moses took the blood of the sacrifice of a peace-offering and sprinkled it over the people, and said, Behold, the blood of the covenant which Jehovah has made with you, upon all these words. Exodus 24:7-8.

In Zechariah,

Through the blood of your covenant I will let out the bound ones from the pit in which there is no water. Zechariah 9:11.

'The blood' was the covenant or sign of the covenant because it meant a joining together through spiritual love, that is, through charity towards the neighbour. This was why, when the Lord instituted the Holy Supper, He called His blood 'the blood of the new covenant', Matthew 26:28. From all this one may now see what 'the covenant' is used to mean in the internal sense of the Word.

Poznámky pod čarou:

9670. 'And you shall make a veil' means the intermediary uniting this heaven and the inmost heaven, thus spiritual good to celestial good. This is clear from the meaning of 'a veil' - which served to divide the dwelling-place where the ark of the Testimony was from the part where the lampstand was and the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid was - as the intermediary uniting the middle heaven to the inmost heaven. For the ark containing the Testimony represented the inmost heaven, where the Lord was, 9457, 9481, 9485, and the dwelling-place outside the veil represented the middle heaven, 9594. And since the good of love to the Lord composes the inmost heaven and the good of charity towards the neighbour composes the middle heaven, 'the veil' also means the intermediary uniting spiritual good to celestial good, spiritual good being the good of charity towards the neighbour, and celestial good being the good of love to the Lord. For more about those heavens, about their distinctions in accordance with those kinds of good, see the places referred to in 9277. From all this it is now evident what the veil was a sign of in both the tabernacle and the temple.

[2] These two heavens, the inmost and the middle, are so distinct and separate that there can be no entering from one into the other. Yet they constitute one heaven through intermediate angelic communities, whose disposition is such that they are able to be next door to the good of both heavens. These communities are the ones which constitute the uniting intermediary that was represented by the veil. I have also been allowed to speak on several occasions to angels from those communities. What the angels of the inmost heaven are like, and what the angels of the middle heaven in comparison are like can be demonstrated from correspondence. The angels of the inmost heaven correspond to those powers with a person which belong to the provinces of the heart and the cerebellum, whereas the angels of the middle heaven correspond to those powers with a person which belong to the provinces of the lungs and the cerebrum. The powers belonging to the heart and cerebellum are called involuntary and spontaneous, because that is what they are seen as being; but those belonging to the lungs and cerebrum are called voluntary. This to some extent demonstrates how superior the perfection of the one heaven is to that of the other, and how they differ from each other. But as for the intermediate angels next door to both heavens and linking them together, it is the networks extending from the heart and lungs, which serve to interconnect the heart and lungs, that correspond to them, and also the medulla oblongata, where the fibres of the cerebellum are joined to the fibres of the cerebrum.

[3] Angels who belong to the Lord's celestial kingdom, that is, who are in the inmost heaven, constitute the province of the heart in the Grand Man, while angels who belong to the Lord's spiritual kingdom, that is, who are in the middle heaven, constitute the province of the lungs there, see 3635, 3886-3890. This is the origin of the correspondence of the human heart and lungs, 3883-3896, and the correspondence of the cerebrum and cerebellum is much the same. What celestial angels or those who are in the inmost heaven are like, and what spiritual angels or those who are in the middle heaven are like, and what the difference is, see 2046, 2227, 2669, 2708, 2715, 2718, 2935, 2937, 2954, 3166, 3235, 3236, 3240, 3246, 3374, 3833, 3887, 3969, 4138, 4286, 4493, 4585, 4938, 5113, 5150, 5922, 6289, 6296, 6366, 6427, 6435, 6500, 6647, 6648, 7091, 7233, 7474, 7977, 7992, 8042, 8152, 8234, 8521. From this it may be evident what the intermediate angels who constitute the uniting intermediary, which was represented by the veil, are like.

[4] The tearing of the veil of the temple into two parts when the Lord endured the Cross, Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45, was a sign of the glorification of the Lord. For when the Lord was in the world He made the Human He had assumed Divine Truth; but when He left the world He made this Human Divine Good, from which Divine Truth has since emanated, see the places referred to at the ends of 9199, 9315, Divine Good being meant by 'the holy of holies'.

[5] The glorification of the Lord's Human all the way to Divine Good which is Jehovah is also described, in the internal sense, by the process of expiation when Aaron went into the holy of holies within the veil, which is the subject in the whole of Leviticus 16. In the relative sense the same process describes human regeneration all the way to celestial good, which is the good of the inmost heaven. The process was as follows: Aaron was required to take a young bull for a [sin] sacrifice, and a ram for a burnt offering for himself and his household. He also had to put on the holy garments, which were a linen tunic, linen stockings, ¹ a linen girdle, and a linen turban; and he had to bathe his flesh in water. He was then required to take two he-goats on which he cast lots, the first of which was to be offered to Jehovah and the second sent away into the wilderness, this being done on behalf of the assembly of the children of Israel. When he sacrificed the young bull he was required to take incense inside the veil and to sprinkle some of the blood of the young bull and of the he-goat seven times over the east side of the mercy-seat, and also to put blood onto the horns of the altar. After all this he was required to confess the sins of the children of Israel, which he placed on the he-goat that was to be sent away into the wilderness. Finally he had to take off the linen garments and put on his own, and to present a burnt offering for himself and for the people; and parts of the sacrifice that had not been burnt on the altar had to be taken away outside the camp and burned. This was what had to be done once a year, when Aaron went into the holy of holies within the veil. The priestly function which Aaron discharged represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good, just as the regal function, which in later times was performed by the kings, represented the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, 6148. The process of glorification of the Lord's Human all the way to Divine Good is described in the internal sense of that chapter in Leviticus. This process was revealed to angels whenever Aaron carried out those observances and went inside the veil; and it is also revealed to angels here and now when that chapter in the Word is read.

[6] A young bull for a sin sacrifice ² and a ram for a burnt offering mean the purification of good from evils in the external man and in the internal man. The linen tunic, linen stockings, linen girdle, and linen turban which Aaron had to put on whenever he went in, and the bathing of his flesh, mean that this purification was accomplished by means of truths springing from good. Two he-goats of the she-goats for a sin sacrifice ² and a ram for a burnt offering, and the he-goat which was offered and the other which was sent away, mean the purification of truth from falsities in the external man. The incense which he was required to take inside the veil means adaptation. The blood of the young bull and the blood of the he-goat which had to be sprinkled seven times over the east side of the mercy-seat and after this over the horns of the altar mean Divine Truth that emanates from Divine Good. The confession of sins over the living he-goat which was to be sent away into the wilderness means the casting away of evil after its total separation from good. Taking off the linen garments and putting on his own when he was about to present burnt offerings, also the taking away of the flesh, skin, and dung of sacrifices outside the camp, and the burning of them, mean putting on celestial good, in the case of one who has been regenerated, and in the Lord's case the glorification of His Human all the way to Divine Good. This stage was reached after He had cast aside everything belonging to the human from His mother, so completely that He was no longer her son, see the places referred to at the end of 9315. These are the realities that are meant by that process of purification when Aaron went into the holy of holies within the veil; for after he had carried out those observances Aaron represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good. From all this it becomes clear that the veil between the holy place and the holy of holies also means the intermediary uniting Divine Truth and Divine Good within the Lord.

Poznámky pod čarou:

2718. 'A wife from the land of Egypt' means the affection for knowledge, which the member of the spiritual Church possesses. This is clear from the meaning of 'a wife' as affection or good, dealt with in 915, 2517, and from the meaning of 'Egypt' as knowledge, dealt with in 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462. In this verse the member of the spiritual Church is described so far as the nature of his good, that is, the essence of his life, is concerned - that the good residing with him is obscure, but that it is brightened with light from the Lord's Divine Human. From that brightening of it the affection for truth arises in the rational part of his mind, and the affection for knowledge in the natural part. The reason the affection for good such as resides within the celestial man cannot arise in the spiritual man, but instead the affection for truth, is that the good residing with him is implanted in the understanding part of his mind, and is obscure compared with the celestial man's good, as shown in 2715. From this good no other type of affection can be generated and derived within his rational than the affection for truth, and through this affection for truth the affection for knowledge within the natural. No other truth is meant in this case than that which the person believes to be the truth, even though it may not in itself be the truth. Nor is knowledge used to mean such knowledge as the learned possess but all factual knowledge with which a person can be taught from what he experiences or hears in everyday life, from doctrine, and from the Word. It is the affection for such truth and knowledge that exists within the member of the spiritual Church.

[2] So that it may be known what is meant by the affection for truth existing with someone and what by the affection for good, let a brief statement be made regarding them. Those with the affection for truth think about, question, and discuss whether a thing is true, whether it is so. And when they are convinced it is true, or is so, they think about, question, and discuss what it is. Thus they remain rooted on the doorstep and cannot be admitted into wisdom until they no longer have any doubts. Those however with whom the affection for good exists know and perceive that the thing is so from the good itself governing them. Thus they do not remain on the doorstep but are in a room inside, having been admitted into wisdom.

[3] Take as an example the consideration that it is a celestial gift to think and to act from an affection for good, or from good. Those with whom the affection for truth exists discuss whether this is so, whether such a gift can exist, and what it may be. And so long as they are turning over doubts about it they are unable to be admitted. But those with the affection for good do not discuss or turn doubts over but assert that the thing is true and are for that reason admitted. For those with whom the affection for good exists, that is, those who are celestial, start off where those with the affection for truth, that is, those who are spiritual, come to a halt, so that the furthest point reached by the latter is the starting point for the former. That being so, those who are celestial are given to know, recognize, and perceive that affections for good are countless - as numerous as the communities in heaven - and that they are all joined together by the Lord into a heavenly form so as to constitute one human being so to speak. They are also given to define by perception the genus and species to which each affection belongs.

[4] Or take this example: All delight, blessedness, and happiness belong wholly to love, but the nature of the love determines that of the delight, blessedness, and happiness. The spiritual man fixes his mind on the question whether this is true and whether delight, blessedness, and happiness may not spring from some other source, such as from mixing with others, talking to others, meditation, or learning, and also whether they reside in possessions, position, reputation, and the glory resulting from these. As long as he is asking such questions he does not confirm himself in the truth that none of these accomplishes anything, only the affection born of love which is present within them and making them what they are. The celestial man however does not remain rooted in such preliminary questionings but immediately asserts that the thing is true. Consequently he is interested in the end in view and the realization of this, that is, he is governed by the very affections born of love which are countless, and in each one of which there are things beyond description, involving variations of delight, blessedness, and happiness that have no end.

[5] Take as a further example the consideration that the neighbour is to be loved for the good that resides with him. Those with whom the affection for truth exists think, question, and discuss whether this is true, that is, whether it is so. They ask what the neighbour is, what good is; but they go no further than this, and therefore they shut the door to wisdom against themselves. Those however with the affection for good assert that the thing is so and do not consequently shut the door against themselves but enter in and so come to know, recognize, and perceive from good who is pre-eminently the neighbour, also in what degree he is the neighbour, and that everyone in differing ways is the neighbour. Thus they perceive things beyond description, over and above what is known to those with the affection solely for truth.

[6] Take as yet another example the truth that a person who loves the neighbour for the good within him loves the Lord. Those with the affection for truth question whether this is so. And if they are told that anyone who loves the neighbour for the good within him loves the good, and that - since all good comes from the Lord and the Lord is present in good - when anyone loves good he also loves the Lord from whom that good comes and in which He is present, they then question whether that too is so. They also ask what loving good is, as well as what good is, and whether the Lord is present more so in good than in truth. As long as they remain rooted in such questionings they cannot get even a distant view of wisdom. But those with the affection for good know from perception that the thing is so and immediately behold the whole field of wisdom leading right on to the Lord.

[7] From these examples it may become clear why in comparison with those who have the affection for good, that is, with those who are celestial, obscurity exists with those who have the affection for truth, that is, with those who are spiritual Nevertheless the latter are able to pass from obscurity into light, provided that they are willing to adopt the affirmative attitude that all good belongs to love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour; also that love and charity constitute spiritual conjunction, and that these are the source of all blessedness and happiness, thus that heavenly life consists in the good belonging to love received from the Lord, but not in the truth of faith separated from it.