9496. 'And you shall make poles of shittim wood' means power derived from this. This is clear from the meaning of 'poles' as the power which truth from good possesses, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'shittim wood' as the good of merit that is the Lord's alone, dealt with above in 9472, 9486. Here it must now be stated what it was that enabled the ark and the dwelling-place to represent heaven, and at the same time the rim of the ark to represent a border, the corners firmness, the rings the joining of good to truth, and the poles power. It has been shown that the whole natural system, thus every single thing existing in true order there, is representative of the Lord's kingdom, that is, of heaven and heavenly realities present there, 9280. It has also been shown that the whole of heaven resembles a human being, and that for this reason heaven has been called the Grand Man, 9276 (end). From this it now follows that all objects which serve to represent heavenly realities correlate with the human form, and that they carry spiritual meanings according to their similarity to that form.

[2] From this it is now evident how the ark can come to mean heaven where the Lord is, the rim on it to mean a border, the sides to mean good to which truth must be joined, the corners to mean firmness, the rings to mean the actual joining together, and the poles to mean power. For the poles resemble a person's arms and therefore also have a similar meaning to the arms; the rings resemble the ginglymi or sockets where the arms are linked to the breast; the corners resemble the actual protrusions where that link is made; the sides resemble the chest cavity or thorax, and the rim resembles the [shoulder-]girdle which forms a border for it. From this it becomes clear that power is meant by 'poles', as it is by 'arms' (for the meaning of 'arms' and 'hands' as power, see 878, 4931-4937, 5327, 5328, 6292, 6947, 7188, 7189, 7205, 7518, 7673, 8050, 8153, 8281, 9025, 9133); and that the same thing is meant by 'the sides' as by the chest or thorax of the body, namely good, since the chest contains the heart and lungs, and 'the heart' means celestial good and 'the lungs' spiritual good, 3883-3896, 9300. From all this it is evident that by 'rings' the same thing is meant as by ginglymi or joints which join the chest to the shoulders, and the shoulders to the arms, namely the joining of good to truth, and that firmness is meant by 'the corners', for the strength of the body is exerted there, and the body is equipped with strength and power through the arms. From all this one may recognize how it comes about that natural objects which are inanimate can represent the same realities as ones that are animate, that is, as parts of the human body. That is to say, it comes about because heaven resembles a human being, and the things present in heaven resemble those that exist in the human being, as may be seen from what has been shown at great length regarding the correspondence of the human being with the Grand Man or heaven. See the places referred to in 9276 (end).

[3] Just as the poles which were used to carry the ark meant power, so did the poles or bars which were used to secure the gates of cities, as is clear from the following places: In Hosea,

The sword falls on its cities, and consumes its bars. Hosea 11:6.

'The sword' stands for truth battling against falsity, 'cities' for matters of doctrine, and 'bars' for power. In Isaiah,

For your sake I have sent to Babel, and I will break down all the bars. Isaiah 43:14.

In Jeremiah,

The mighty ones of Babel are seated in strongholds; their power has been destroyed. ¹ Its bars have been broken. Jeremiah 51:30.

In Amos,

I will break the bar of Damascus. Amos 1:5.

In Isaiah,

I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut asunder the bars of iron. Isaiah 45:2.

Similar words occur in David, Psalms 107:16. In Jeremiah,

It has no gates or bars; they dwell alone. Jeremiah 49:31.

In Ezekiel,

They all dwell without a wall; ² they do not have bars and gates. Ezekiel 38:11.

In Jeremiah,

Her gates have sunk into the earth, He has destroyed and broken in pieces her bars. Lamentations 2:9.

In David,

Praise your God, O Zion! For He strengthens the bars of your gates. Psalms 147:12-13.

In these places matters of doctrine are meant by 'cities', 2449, 2712, 3216, 4492, 4493, firmness and protection by 'gates', and the power which belongs to truth derived from good by 'bars'. The fact that all power belongs to truth, but to truth that is derived from good, see 6344, 6423, 8200, 8304, 9133, 9327, 9410.

Fußnoten:

2568. It was stated above in this chapter that doctrine would be brought to ruin if the rational were consulted, 2516, 2538, and that it was not consulted, 2519, 2531; but here it is said that the doctrine of faith was enriched with both rational and natural goods and truths. At first glance these statements seem to express two conflicting and contrary ideas, but they do not in fact do so. It has been told how it was with the Lord, now it must be told how it is with man.

[2] With man it is one thing for him to regard the doctrine of faith from rational ideas but quite another to regard rational ideas from the doctrine of faith. Regarding the doctrine of faith from rational ideas occurs when someone does not believe in the Word, that is, in doctrine drawn from it, until he is persuaded on rational grounds that the thing is so. But regarding rational ideas from the doctrine of faith occurs when someone first of all believes in the Word or doctrine drawn from it and then confirms the same by rational ideas. The first approach is an inversion of order and leads to belief in nothing, whereas the second is genuine order and leads to greater belief. It is the first that is expressed by 'you will die on account of the woman', meaning that the doctrine of faith would be brought to ruin if the rational were consulted, 2516, 2538, but the second by 'Abimelech gave flocks and herds, and men servants and women servants', meaning that the doctrine of faith was enriched with rational and natural goods and truths.

[3] These matters receive considerable treatment in the Word in its internal sense, especially when Asshur and Egypt are referred to, the reason being that when the doctrine of faith is regarded from rational ideas, that is, when someone does not believe until he is persuaded on rational grounds that the thing is so, it is not only in that case brought to ruin but also whatever is contained within it is denied. But when rational ideas are regarded from the doctrine of faith, that is, when he believes the Word and after that confirms the same things by means of rational ideas, doctrine is in that case living and whatever is contained within it is regarded affirmatively.

[4] There are therefore two basic attitudes of mind, the first leading to utter stupidity and insanity, the second to perfect intelligence and wisdom. The first occurs when someone denies everything, that is, says in his heart that he is unable to believe those things until he is convinced by things which he can grasp in his mind and perceive with his senses. This is an attitude which leads to utter stupidity and insanity and must be termed the negative attitude. The second occurs when someone regards affirmatively the things which comprise doctrine drawn from the Word, that is, when he thinks within himself and believes that those things are true because the Lord has spoken them. This is an attitude that leads to perfect intelligence and wisdom, and must be termed the affirmative attitude.

[5] The more those who think from the negative attitude consult rational ideas and the more they consult factual knowledge and the more they consult philosophical concepts, the more they pitch themselves headlong into darkness, till at length they deny everything. The reasons for this are that nobody is able from things that are lower to grasp with his mind those that are higher, that is, from those that are lower to grasp those that are spiritual and celestial, still less those that are Divine, since these go above and beyond his entire understanding. And what is more, when this is the case everything is regarded from a basically negative attitude of mind. On the other hand, however, people who think from the affirmative attitude are able to confirm themselves by whatever rational ideas, and by whatever factual knowledge, indeed by any philosophical concepts, which they are able in any way to make use of, for to them all these matters are confirmatory and enable them to have a fuller idea of the matter.

[6] In addition there are those who are in doubt before they deny, and there are those who are in doubt before they accept affirmatively. Those in doubt before denying are people who are disposed towards a life of evil; and when carried away by that life, then insofar as they think about those matters they deny them. Those however in doubt before accepting affirmatively are people who are disposed towards a life of good; and when they allow themselves to be turned to that life by the Lord, then insofar as they think about those matters they accept them affirmatively. Since this subject is taken further in the verses that follow this, let them in the Lord's Divine mercy be illustrated more fully at that point; see 2588.