9955. 'And fill their hand' means a representative sign of the Lord in respect of the truth of faith. This is clear from the meaning of 'filling the hand' of Aaron and his sons as consecrating to serve as a representative sign of the Lord in respect of Divine Truth that constitutes faith. For 'the hand' means the power that truth from good possesses, and therefore the hand is spoken of in reference to truth, see 3091, 3387, 4931-4937, 7518, 8281, 9025. Consequently, then, just as anointing served to represent the Lord in respect of Divine Good, so the filling of hands represented the Lord in respect of Divine Truth. For everything throughout creation has connection with goodness or truth, or both if it is to have any real existence. In the Word therefore wherever the subject has to do with good, it has to do also with truth, see the places referred to in 9263, 9314. In what way the filling of hands was carried out is described in the next chapter; therefore what needs to be said about it will in the Lord's Divine mercy appear there.

8888. 'Six days you shall labour and do all your work' means the conflict which comes before and is preparatory to that marriage. This is clear from the meaning of 'six days' as states of conflict, conflict being meant by 'six', see 720, 737, 900, and states by 'days', 23, 487, 488, 493, 2788, 4850, 5672, 5962, 6110, 8426; and from the meaning of 'labouring and doing one's work' as attending to the necessary things of life, here those of spiritual life, which is life in heaven.

[2] Furthermore by the conflict which comes before and is preparatory to the heavenly marriage one should understand spiritual conflict or temptation. For before a person enters into the heavenly marriage, that is, before being regenerated, he is involved in conflict with the evils and falsities residing with him; these have to be removed before truth and good from the Lord can be received. They are removed - those evils and falsities - by means of the truths of faith; for a person not only learns through those truths what good is, but is also led to good by means of them. This state is the first that a person who is being regenerated passes through; and it is called the state which comes before and is preparatory to the heavenly marriage. But when the person is governed by good and is led by the Lord by means of good, he has entered into the heavenly marriage, and so is in heaven since the heavenly marriage is heaven. The first state is what is meant by the six days that come before the seventh, the second is what is meant by the seventh day. Regarding these two states with a person, see 7923, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701, 8722.

[3] Since the heavenly marriage, which is heaven, is meant by 'the sabbath', the Lord's kingdom in the heavens is called an everlasting sabbath, that is, everlasting rest and peace; and there the six days of labour are no more.