Arcana Coelestia #2357
2357. 'And shut the door behind him' means to prevent them doing violence to good that flows from charity and denying the Lord's Divine Human and His Holy proceeding. This is clear from what has been stated so far. 'Shutting the door' is preventing their entrance, in this case into good meant by 'the house', and so reaching the Lord's Divine Human and His Holy [proceeding].
[2] These words embody even deeper arcana, the meaning and conception of which angels enter into when these words are read. The deeper arcana are these: People who lead lives of evil are not allowed to go beyond the point of mere knowledge of good and of the Lord. They are not allowed to go on to genuine acknowledgement and faith itself, the reason being that as long as they are governed by evil they cannot at the same time be governed by good. Nobody can serve two masters simultaneously. Once a person acknowledges and believes, he profanes that which is good and holy if he goes back to a life of evil. But a person who does not acknowledge and believe is not able to profane. The Lord's Providence therefore guards against anyone being allowed to go on to acknowledge and have faith itself in the heart, except insofar as he can then be maintained in that acknowledgement and faith. And He does so on account of the punishment that goes with profanation, which in hell is most severe.
[3] This is the reason why at the present day so few people are allowed to believe from the heart that the good which flows from love and charity is heaven itself within man, and that the whole of the Divine is within the Lord, for they lead lives of evil. This then is the more interior meaning of the statement 'to shut the door behind him', for 'the door' (ostium) was an inner door leading into the house itself where the angels were, that is, into good which has the Lord within it.
Exodus 39
1
Of the blue, purple, and scarlet, they made finely worked garments, for ministering in the holy place, and made the holy garments for Aaron; as Yahweh commanded Moses.
2
He made the ephod of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen.
3
They beat the gold into thin plates, and cut it into wires, to work it in the blue, in the purple, in the scarlet, and in the fine linen, the work of the skillful workman.
4
They made shoulder straps for it, joined together. At the two ends it was joined together.
5
The skillfully woven band that was on it, with which to fasten it on, was of the same piece, like its work; of gold, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen; as Yahweh commanded Moses.
6
They worked the onyx stones, enclosed in settings of gold, engraved with the engravings of a signet, according to the names of the children of Israel.
7
He put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod, to be stones of memorial for the children of Israel, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
8
He made the breastplate, the work of a skillful workman, like the work of the ephod; of gold, of blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen.
9
It was square. They made the breastplate double. Its length was a span, and its breadth a span, being double.
10
They set in it four rows of stones. A row of ruby, topaz, and beryl was the first row;
11
and the second row, a turquoise, a sapphire, and an emerald;
12
and the third row, a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;
13
and the fourth row, a chrysolite, an onyx, and a jasper. They were enclosed in gold settings.
14
The stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names; like the engravings of a signet, everyone according to his name, for the twelve tribes.
15
They made on the breastplate chains like cords, of braided work of pure gold.
16
They made two settings of gold, and two gold rings, and put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
17
They put the two braided chains of gold in the two rings at the ends of the breastplate.
18
The other two ends of the two braided chains they put on the two settings, and put them on the shoulder straps of the ephod, in its front.
19
They made two rings of gold, and put them on the two ends of the breastplate, on its edge, which was toward the side of the ephod inward.
20
They made two rings of gold, and put them on the two shoulder straps of the ephod underneath, in its front, close by its coupling, above the skillfully woven band of the ephod.
21
They bound the breastplate by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it might be on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, and that the breastplate might not come loose from the ephod, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
22
He made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue.
23
The opening of the robe in its midst was like the opening of a coat of mail, with a binding around its opening, that it should not be torn.
24
They made on the skirts of the robe pomegranates of blue, purple, scarlet, and twined linen.
25
They made bells of pure gold, and put the bells between the pomegranates around the skirts of the robe, between the pomegranates;
26
a bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, around the skirts of the robe, to minister in, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
27
They made the coats of fine linen of woven work for Aaron, and for his sons,
28
and the turban of fine linen, and the linen headbands of fine linen, and the linen breeches of fine twined linen,
29
and the sash of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, the work of the embroiderer, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
30
They made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote on it a writing, like the engravings of a signet: "holy TO YAHWEH."
31
They tied to it a lace of blue, to fasten it on the turban above, as Yahweh commanded Moses.
32
Thus all the work of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting was finished. The children of Israel did according to all that Yahweh commanded Moses; so they did.
33
They brought the tabernacle to Moses, the tent, with all its furniture, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets,
34
the covering of rams' skins dyed red, the covering of sea cow hides, the veil of the screen,
35
the ark of the testimony with its poles, the mercy seat,
36
the table, all its vessels, the show bread,
37
the pure lampstand, its lamps, even the lamps to be set in order, all its vessels, the oil for the light,
38
the golden altar, the anointing oil, the sweet incense, the screen for the door of the Tent,
39
the bronze altar, its grating of brass, its poles, all of its vessels, the basin and its base,
40
the hangings of the court, its pillars, its sockets, the screen for the gate of the court, its cords, its pins, all the instruments of the service of the tabernacle, for the Tent of Meeting,
41
the finely worked garments for ministering in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest's office.
42
According to all that Yahweh commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work.
43
Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it as Yahweh had commanded, even so had they done it: and Moses blessed them.
