9896. 'And they shall tie the breastplate from its rings to the rings of the ephod' means the joining to and preservation of everything in heaven by means of the sphere of Divine Good in the outermost parts of the spiritual kingdom. This is clear from the meaning of 'tying' as joining to and preserving, dealt with in the places above where the tying of the breastplate to the ephod has been the subject; from the meaning of 'the breastplate' as a representative sign of all things of heaven, dealt with in 9879, 9887; from the meaning of 'the rings' as a sphere of Divine Good by which the joining together is accomplished, dealt with in 9498, 9501, 9882; and from the meaning of 'the ephod' as Divine Truth in the spiritual kingdom in an outward form, in which inner things terminate, dealt with in 9824, thus the whole outermost part of that kingdom.