10239. 'And Aaron and his sons shall wash in it' means a representative sign of the purification and regeneration of a person by the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'washing' as purification, dealt with above in 10237; from the representation of 'Aaron' as the Lord in respect of Divine Celestial Good, dealt with in 9806, 10068; and from the representation of 'Aaron's sons' as the Lord in respect of Divine Spiritual Good, dealt with in 9807, 10068. From these places it is evident that 'Aaron and his sons shall wash in it' means a representative sign of the purification of a person by the Lord. The reason why a representative sign of regeneration as well is meant is that regeneration as well was represented by washing, that is to say, washing the whole body, which was called baptizing. And baptizing or baptism is the sign of regeneration, see 4255, 9088.

[2] But regeneration is different from purification in that regeneration comes first and purification afterwards. None can be purified from evils and falsities except those who are undergoing regeneration and after they have been regenerated. One who has not been regenerated is, it is true, led away from evils so far as he allows, but he is not purified from them; he is all the time impure. The person who has been regenerated is different; day by day he is being made purer. This is how the Lord's words addressed to Peter should be understood,

He who has been washed has no need except to wash his feet, so that the whole person is clean. John 13:10.

'He who has been washed' means one who has been regenerated.

[3] The fact that the word 'baptizing' was used to denote the total washing of things is clear in Mark 7:4 ¹ , and to denote washing the whole body, in Matthew 3:13-16; Mark 1:9-10; and also 2 Kings 5:10, 14. The Jordan - in which washings, which were baptizings, took place, Matthew 3:6, 13; Mark 1:5; 2 Kings 5:10, 14 - meant the natural, 1585, 4255. Baptismal washing also means temptation, Matthew 20:22-23; it does so because all regeneration is accomplished by means of temptations, 5036, 5773, 8351, 8958, 8959ff.

[4] It must also be stated briefly here why it was that the Lord, when He was in the world, was Himself willing to be baptized, when yet baptism is the sign of a person's regeneration by Him. The reason was that the baptizing of the Lord Himself was a sign of the glorification of His Humanity. Anything in the Word that means a person's regeneration also means the glorification of the Human within the Lord; for a person's regeneration is an image of the Lord's glorification, 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490, 4402, 5688. This is why the Lord, when He allowed John to baptize Him, said,

Thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all the righteousness of God ² . Matthew 3:15.

'Fulfilling all the righteousness of God' means subduing the hells, restoring them and the heavens to order, by His own power, and at the same time glorifying His Human. All this was accomplished by means of the temptations which the Lord allowed Himself to undergo, thus by means of the conflicts with the hells which He underwent repeatedly, even to the last on the Cross. These things constituted the righteousness which the Lord fulfilled, see 9486, 9715, 9809, 10019, 10152. The like is also meant by references to the fulfillment of all things written in the Law and the Prophets concerning the Lord, Luke 18:31; 22:37; 24:44, and by the Lord's declaration that He had come to fulfill all of the law, Matthew 5:17-18.

[5] A person unacquainted with the arcana within the Word thinks that the Lord became righteousness through His fulfillment of everything in the law, and that by this fulfillment He freed the human race from the yoke of the law, and so from damnation. But that is not what these words mean. Rather their meaning is that He became righteousness through His subduing of the hells, restoration of the heavens to order, and glorification of His Human. For by this glorification He filled Himself with power, in order that by His Divine Human He could keep the hells in subjection forever, maintain the heavens in order, and so regenerate a person, that is, deliver him from the hells and save him.

Fußnoten:

9684. 'And the lampstand across from the table, at the side of the dwelling-place towards the south' means the enlightenment of the spiritual kingdom by means of the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Human to those who are governed by good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the lampstand' as the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, thus as Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Human, and the enlightenment given to His spiritual kingdom, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'the table', on which the loaves of the Presence were laid and which the lampstand was 'across from', as the Lord in respect of celestial good, thus that very good from which and through which the Lord flows into the spiritual kingdom or middle heaven, also dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'at the side of the dwelling-place towards the south' as in the heaven where the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Human dwells in the greatest light. For the dwelling-place outside the veil, where the lampstand was, is the middle heaven, 9594, and 'the south' is where Divine Truth dwells in its own light, 9642. The instructions that the lampstand in the dwelling-place, and also the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid, were to be positioned close to the veil, the lampstand however at the side of the dwelling-place towards the south, but the table at the side towards the north, are arcana of heaven which cannot be properly brought to light unless it is known that the dwelling-place represented heaven, and the objects in the dwelling-place the celestial and spiritual realities which exist in heaven. What the lampstand represented has been shown already in 9548, and what the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid represented in 9527, 9545. What 'the south' means has been shown in 9642, and what 'the north' in 3708. From all this it becomes clear that 'the lampstand at the side of the dwelling-place towards the south' means the enlightenment of the spiritual kingdom by means of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Human.

[2] But to lay bare those actual arcana, something must be stated about the whole situation in heaven. The Lord appears to those who belong to the celestial kingdom as the Sun, but to those who belong to the spiritual kingdom as the Moon. The Lord as the Sun appears mid-way above the horizon, before the right eye, and as the Moon also mid-way above the horizon, before the left eye. It is from the Lord as the Sun that angels in His celestial kingdom derive their light, and from the Lord as the Moon that those in the spiritual kingdom derive theirs; regarding those two kingdoms, see the places referred to in 9277. The light in the heavens is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Human; and when that truth has been received by angels belonging to the spiritual kingdom it is called the truth of faith springing from the good of charity towards the neighbour. This good together with that truth constitute the middle heaven, called the spiritual heaven. The lampstand in the dwelling-place represented the Moon from which those belonging to the spiritual kingdom derive their light; it accordingly represented the Lord's presence there as Divine Truth, since, as has been stated, the Lord appears to those who belong to that kingdom as the Moon. From all this it now becomes clear why the lampstand was placed 'towards the south', for the south is where Divine Truth dwells in light, 9642; also why the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid was placed 'towards the north', for the north is where Divine Truth dwells in obscurity, 3708, as at the same time does Divine Good, meant by 'the loaves' laid on that table. That good becomes spiritual good through the reception of Divine Truth, like the reception of light from the moon. These are the arcana that are meant by the lampstand and its position 'towards the south', and by the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid and its position 'towards the north'.

[3] The fact that 'the lampstand' means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Human is clear from the Book of Revelation,

I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe, and surrounded by a golden girdle around the breasts. Revelation 1:12-14.

'The Son of Man' is the Lord in respect of Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Human, 2803, 2813, 3704. And elsewhere in the same book,

The glory of God will give light to the holy city Jerusalem, and its lamp is the Lamb. Revelation 21:23.

'The glory of God' is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, 9429. 'The lamp' which is 'the Lamb', that is, the Lord, is the faith and consequently the intelligent understanding of truth and wise discernment of good which come from the Lord alone, 9548. The new Jerusalem is the Lord's New Church, 2117.

[4] The Lord is the Sun to those who are in the celestial kingdom and appears as the Moon to those who are in the spiritual kingdom, see 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 3636, 3643, 5097, 7083, 7173, 7270, 8644, 8812. Consequently in the Word the Lord in respect of celestial good is meant by 'the sun', and the Lord in respect of spiritual good by 'the moon', 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495, 4060, 4696, 7083, 8644. The Lord as the Sun appears mid-way above the horizon, before the right eye, and as the Moon also mid-way above the horizon, before the left eye, 1531, 4321 (end), 7078, 7171.

So it is that the east in heaven is where the Lord appears as the Sun, and the south where the Lord appears as the Moon.

The light from the Lord as the Sun and Moon is Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Human, 1053, 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 2776, 3094, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3337, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643, 3862, 3993, 4060, 4180, 4302, 4408, 4414, 4415, 4419, 4527, 4598, 5400, 6032, 6313, 6315, 6608, 6907, 7174, 8644, 8707, 8861, 9399, 9407.

Since the light from the Lord as the Sun and the Moon is Divine Truth emanating from Him, the heat from the Lord as the Sun there is the Divine Good of His Divine Love, 3338, 3339, 3636, 3643, 5215, 6032.

[5] All this goes to show the nature of the difference between the Lord's celestial kingdom and His spiritual kingdom so far as the reception of Divine Truth is concerned. That is to say, it is like the difference between light from the sun and light from the moon.

Those in the spiritual kingdom, in comparison with the others, dwell in obscurity so far as the truth of faith and the good of charity are concerned, 2708, 2715, 2718, 2831, 2849, 2935, 2937, 3241, 3833, 6289, 6500, 6945, 7233. These primarily are the ones to have been saved by the Lord's Coming into the world, 2661, 2716, 3969, 6372, 6854, 6914, 7035, 7091, 7828, 7932, 8018, 8054, 8159, 8321, 9596; and the enlightenment they have is in the Lord's Divine Human, 2716, 2833, 2834.

But those belonging to the spiritual Church are saved who lead a good life based on the truths of faith, 2954, 6435, 6647, 6648, 7977, 7992, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701.