The first altar mentioned in the Word was the one built by Noah after he came out of the ark, after being saved from the great flood. On that altar, he sacrificed clean animals to the Lord.

Mountains represent the Lord because of their height; we need to raise our thoughts above worldly things when "talking" with the Lord. An altar is a small artificial mountain. When it's used in worship, it can call to mind this raising of thought. The fire and smoke that rise from an altar are symbolically being sent to the Lord.

Most altars were made from unhewn stones. Stones represent truths. Unhewn stones - ones that have not been shaped by men - represent truths from the Word, truths that have not been adulterated.

The clean beasts to be sacrificed represent good things, charitable acts done because they are right. The clean birds represent thoughts about doctrine and actions, and about what is right. Presenting these things is an acknowledgment that we have them from the Lord, and a giving thanks to Him for them.

In the Israelitish Tabernacle, the altar of burnt offering represented the acknowledgment of good and the altar of incense that of truth. For this reason this larger altar, which was outside by the door, was made of brass which signifies natural good, while the altar of incense was made of gold, which signifies love to the Lord from whom comes truth.

78. IT IS FROM THE LORD'S DIVINE HUMAN THAT HEAVEN AS A WHOLE AND IN PART RESEMBLES A MAN

That it is from the Lord's Divine Human that heaven as a whole and in part resembles a man, follows as a conclusion from all that has been stated and shown in the preceding sections, for in them it has been shown,

(1) That the Lord is the God of heaven.

(2) That it is the Divine of the Lord that makes heaven.

(3) That heaven consists of innumerable societies, and that any one society is a heaven in lesser form, and each angel in the least form.

(4) That the entire heaven, as one whole, resembles one man.

(5) That each society in the heavens also resembles one man.

(6) That therefore each angel is in a complete human form.

All this leads to the conclusion that the Divine because It makes heaven is Human in form. That this Divine is the Divine Human of the Lord can be seen still more clearly, because in a compendium, from passages from ARCANA CAELESTIA which have been brought together and added as a corollary [to this section]. That the Lord's Human is Divine, and that it is not true that His Human is not Divine as is believed within the Church, may be seen from the same extracts, and also from the DOCTRINE ¹ OF THE HOLY JERUSALEM towards the end where it treats of the Lord.

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