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:

9301. 'You shall not cook a kid in its mother's milk' means that the good of innocence belonging to a later state must not be joined to the truth of innocence belonging to an earlier state. This is clear from the meaning of 'cooking' as joining together, dealt with in 8496; from the meaning of 'a kid' as the good of innocence, dealt with in 3519, 4871; and from the meaning of 'milk' as the truth of innocence, dealt with in 2184, 3183, so that 'mother's milk' is the truth of earlier innocence. From these meanings it is evident that 'you shall not cook a kid in its mother's milk' means that the good of innocence of a later state must not be joined to the truth of innocence of an earlier state. This is the heavenly arcanum from which that law springs; for all the laws and all the judgements and statutes which were given to the children of Israel contain heavenly arcana, to which they also correspond. But how this arcanum should be understood - that the good of innocence belonging to a later state must not be joined to the truth of innocence belonging to an earlier state - must be stated briefly. The innocence belonging to an earlier state is the innocence that exists with young children and older ones, but the innocence belonging to a later state is the innocence that exists with grown up and elderly people who are governed by the good of love to the Lord. The innocence that exists with young children and older ones is external and resides in thorough ignorance, whereas the innocence of elderly people is internal and resides in wisdom. Regarding the difference between the two, see 2305, 2306, 3183, 3494, ¹ 4797.

[2] The innocence which resides in wisdom consists in a person's knowing, acknowledging, and believing that all by himself he cannot understand anything at all or will anything at all, and therefore in his refusal to try and understand or will anything all by himself, only in the power of the Lord; and also this, that whatever he thinks he understands all by himself is false, and whatever he thinks he wills all by himself is evil. This state of life is that of the innocence of a later state, which is that of all in the third heaven, called the heaven of innocence. This is why they are filled with wisdom, for what they understand and what they will comes from the Lord. But the innocence which resides in ignorance, such as that present with young children and older ones, consists in believing that everything they know and think, and also everything they will, is theirs within them, and that therefore everything they say and do comes from themselves. They have no idea that these are illusions. The truths that go with this innocence are based for the most part on the illusions of the outward senses, which however must be dispelled as a person advances towards wisdom. From this brief explanation it may be recognized that the good of innocence belonging to a later state must not be joined to the truth of innocence belonging to an earlier state.

Fußnoten: