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Deuteronomy 1

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1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah over against Suph, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

2 It is eleven days' [journey] from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea.

3 It happened in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that Yahweh had given him in commandment to them;

4 after he had struck Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei.

5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,

6 "Yahweh our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying, You have lived long enough in this mountain:

7 turn, and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all [the places] near there, in the Arabah, in the hill country, and in the lowland, and in the South, and by the seashore, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates.

8 Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their seed after them."

9 I spoke to you at that time, saying, "I am not able to bear you myself alone:

10 Yahweh your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day as the stars of the sky for multitude.

11 Yahweh, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are, and bless you, as he has promised you!

12 How can I myself alone bear your encumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?

13 Take wise men of understanding and well known according to your tribes, and I will make them heads over you."

14 You answered me, and said, "The thing which you have spoken is good [for us] to do."

15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers, according to your tribes.

16 I commanded your judges at that time, saying, Hear [the causes] between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the foreigner who is living with him.

17 You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike; you shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's: and the cause that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.

18 I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.

19 We traveled from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw, by the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as Yahweh our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh Barnea.

20 I said to you, "You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which Yahweh our God gives to us.

21 Behold, Yahweh your God has set the land before you: go up, take possession, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you; don't be afraid, neither be dismayed."

22 You came near to me everyone of you, and said, "Let us send men before us, that they may search the land for us, and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up, and the cities to which we shall come."

23 The thing pleased me well; and I took twelve men of you, one man for every tribe:

24 and they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the valley of Eshcol, and spied it out.

25 They took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down to us, and brought us word again, and said, "It is a good land which Yahweh our God gives to us."

26 Yet you wouldn't go up, but rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God:

27 and you murmured in your tents, and said, "Because Yahweh hated us, he has brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.

28 Where are we going up? our brothers have made our heart to melt, saying, 'The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to the sky; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.'"

29 Then I said to you, "Don't dread, neither be afraid of them.

30 Yahweh your God who goes before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes,

31 and in the wilderness, where you have seen how that Yahweh your God bore you, as a man does bear his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place."

32 Yet in this thing you didn't believe Yahweh your God,

33 who went before you in the way, to seek you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day.

34 Yahweh heard the voice of your words, and was angry, and swore, saying,

35 "Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land, which I swore to give to your fathers,

36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh: he shall see it; and to him will I give the land that he has trodden on, and to his children, because he has wholly followed Yahweh."

37 Also Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes, saying, "You also shall not go in there:

38 Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall go in there: encourage you him; for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.

39 Moreover your little ones, whom you said should be a prey, and your children, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there, and to them will I give it, and they shall possess it.

40 But as for you, turn, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea."

41 Then you answered and said to me, "We have sinned against Yahweh, we will go up and fight, according to all that Yahweh our God commanded us." Every man of you put on his weapons of war, and presumed to go up into the hill country.

42 Yahweh said to me, "Tell them, 'Don't go up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest you be struck before your enemies.'"

43 So I spoke to you, and you didn't listen; but you rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh, and were presumptuous, and went up into the hill country.

44 The Amorites, who lived in that hill country, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and beat you down in Seir, even to Hormah.

45 You returned and wept before Yahweh; but Yahweh didn't listen to your voice, nor gave ear to you.

46 So you stayed in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you stayed [there].

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Apocalypse Explained #577

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577. And the heads of the horses as the heads of lions, signifies knowledge (scientia) and thought therefrom destructive of truth. This is evident from the signification of "the heads of horses," as being knowledge [scientia] and thought therefrom (of which presently); and from the signification of "the heads of lions," as being the consequent destruction of truth. "The heads of lions" signify here the destruction of truth, because a "lion" in the highest sense signifies Divine truth in respect to power, and in the contrary sense falsity destroying truth, consequently the destruction of truth, and "the head of a lion" signifies the powers of the mind through which it destroys, which are reasonings from falsities. (That a "lion" signifies Divine truth in respect to power, and in the contrary sense falsity destroying truth, may be seen above, n. 278.) The "heads of horses" signify knowledge [scientia] and thought therefrom, because "head" signifies intelligence, and "the horse" the understanding; and as the sensual man and here his reasoning from falsities are treated of, and the sensual man who reasons from falsities has no intelligence, but only knowledge [scientia] and thought therefrom, therefore these are here signified by "the heads of the horses." (That those who are in falsities have no intelligence, but instead of intelligence only knowledge, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 33.)

[2] The "head" signifies intelligence, because the understanding and the will of man have their seat in the interiors of his head; consequently in the front part of the head, which is the face, are the senses of sight, hearing, smell, and taste, into which the understanding and the will flow from the interior and vivify them, and also cause them to enjoy their sensations; this is why the "head" signifies in the Word intelligence. But as those only who receive influx from heaven are intelligent, for all intelligence and wisdom flow in out of heaven from the Lord, it follows that they who are in the falsities of evil have no intelligence; for in them the higher and spiritual mind is closed, and only the lower mind, which is called the natural mind, is opened; and when the higher mind is closed the lower receives nothing of truth and good, consequently no intelligence from heaven, but only from the world. Such, therefore, in place of intelligence have mere knowledge [scientia] and thought from it, and from this proceeds reasoning, and by means of it the confirmation of falsity and evil against truth and good.

[3] That the "head" signifies in the Word intelligence and wisdom, and in the contrary sense knowledge [scientia] and fatuous thought therefrom, can be seen from the following passages in the Word. In Ezekiel:

I put a jewel upon thy nose, and ear-rings in thine ears, and a crown of adorning upon thy head (Ezekiel 16:12).

This is said of Jerusalem, which signifies the church, here such as it was in the beginning; "a jewel upon the nose" signifies the perception of truth from good; "the ear-rings in the ears" signify hearkening and obedience, and "a crown upon the head" signifies wisdom; for intelligence, which is from Divine truth, becomes wisdom from the good of love, and this is signified by "a crown of gold."

[4] In Revelation:

A woman encompassed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (Revelation 12:1).

The "head" upon which was a crown of twelve stars, signifies intelligence, as will be seen in the explanation hereafter.

That the Jews placed a crown of thorns upon the Lord's head, and that they smote His head (Matthew 27:29, 30; Mark 15:17, 19; John 19:2);

signifies that they treated with such contumely Divine truth itself and Divine wisdom; for they falsified the Word, which is Divine truth and in which is Divine wisdom, and adulterated it by their traditions and by applying it to themselves; thus they desired a king who would exalt them over all in the whole earth. And as the Lord's kingdom was not earthly but heavenly, they perverted everything that was said respecting Him in the Word, and mocked at what was foretold of Him. This is what was represented by "their placing a crown of thorns upon His head, and smiting His head."

[5] Where the statue of Nebuchadnezzar seen in a dream is described, it is said in Daniel:

Its head was of pure gold, its breast and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of brass, its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay (Daniel 2:32, 33).

That statue represented the successive states of the church; "the head of gold" represented and signified the Most Ancient Church, which was in celestial wisdom, and thus in intelligence above the churches that followed; this wisdom and its intelligence are meant by the "head of gold." That the other parts of that statue signified the states of subsequent churches may be seen above (176, 411).

In David:

Thou hast brought us into the net; thou hast laid oppressions 1 upon our loins. Thou hast caused man to ride over our head (Psalms 66:11, 12).

"To cause man to ride over our head" signifies that there is no intelligence (See above, n. 355), where this is more fully explained).

[6] In Moses:

These blessings shall come upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the head of the Nazirite of his brethren (Genesis 49:26; Deuteronomy 33:13-16).

That "blessings shall come upon the head of Joseph" signifies that all the things that had just been mentioned, that are blessings of heaven, should take place in the interiors of his mind, which are the lives of the understanding and will, for these are the interiors of the mind. That they shall come upon "the crown of the head of the Nazirite of his brethren" signifies that they should also take place in the exteriors of his natural mind, for the "Naziriteship" signifies the exteriors of the natural mind, since it means the hairs, or the hair of the head. (But these words may be seen further explained above, n. 448; and in (Arcana Coelestia 6437, 6435) the Arcana Coelestia 6437, 6438.) In the same:

Take you wise men and intelligent, and I will put them as your heads (Deuteronomy 1:13).

It is said "as your heads" because wisdom and intelligence, in which they should excel all others, are meant; therefore it is said, "Take you wise men and intelligent."

[7] In Isaiah:

Jehovah hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes, the prophets; and your heads, the seers, hath He covered (Isaiah 29:10).

"Prophets" signify those who teach truths and are intelligent, and in an abstract sense, the doctrine of truth and intelligence; therefore it is said, "Jehovah hath closed your eyes, the prophets, and your heads, the seers," where the prophets are called "eyes," and the seers "heads," because "eyes" signify the understanding of truth in respect to doctrine, and "seers" like as "heads" signify intelligence.

[8] In the same:

Jehovah will cut off from Israel 2 head and tail, branch and rush. The old man and the honorable will make the head, and the prophet, the teacher of lies the tail (Isaiah 9:14, 15).

In the same:

Neither shall there be for Egypt any work which will make the head or tail, branch or rush (19 Isaiah 19:15).

"He will cut off from Israel head and tail," and "neither shall there be for Egypt head or tail," signify that all the intelligence and knowledge [scientia] of truth they have shall perish (as may be seen above, n. 559, where these passages are more fully explained). In the same:

In that day shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired in the crossings of the river, by the king of Assyria, the head and the hairs of the feet; and shall also consume the beard (Isaiah 7:20).

That this signifies that reasonings from falsities will deprive the men of the church of all wisdom and spiritual intelligence, may be seen above n. 569, where this is explained in particular; it is said "in the crossings of the river," because "the river Euphrates" signifies the reasonings from falsities, therefore here attack by these upon the truths of the church which are destroyed by reasoning from falsities.

[9] In Ezekiel:

Son of man, take thee a sharp sword, a barber's razor, and cause it to pass over 3 the head and over the beard; a third part thou shalt burn with fire, a third part thou shalt smite with the sword, and a third part thou shalt disperse in the wind (Ezekiel 5:1, 2).

Here also "to cause a razor to pass over the head" signifies to deprive of all intelligence of truth; for the reason that intelligence perishes when there are no ultimates of intelligence, which are signified by "the hairs of the head, which should be shaved with a razor by causing it to pass over the head;" for when ultimates are taken away it is as when the base is taken away from a column, or the foundation from a house. This is why it was unlawful in the Jewish Church, which was a representative church, to shave the hairs of the head and induce baldness, in like manner the beard; so also those who are without intelligence appear bald in the spiritual world.

[10] From all this the signification of "a bald head" and "baldness" in the following passages can be seen. In Isaiah:

On all their heads is baldness, every beard is cut off (Isaiah 15:2);

in other words, there is no intelligence. In Ezekiel:

Shame shall be upon all faces, and baldness upon all heads (7 Ezekiel 7:18).

In the same:

Every head was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled (2 Ezekiel 29:18).

These words have a similar meaning. So Aaron and his sons were forbidden to shave their heads and the corner of the beard, of which it is said in Moses:

That Aaron and his sons shall not shave their heads nor rend their clothes, lest they die, and lest Jehovah be angry in consequence with the whole congregation (Leviticus 10:6).

And in the same:

That the sons of Aaron should not make baldness upon their head, nor shave the corner of the beard (Leviticus 21:5).

The "beard" signifies the ultimate of the rational man, and "not shaving the beard" signifies not to be deprived of the rational, by taking away its ultimate; for, as was said above, when the ultimate is taken away the interior also perishes. What is meant by:

When a woman taken captive from the enemy is desired for a wife she must shave her head and pare her nails (Deuteronomy 21:11, 12);

may be seen explained above n. 555.

[11] Because shame was represented by the hands upon the head, it is said in Jeremiah:

Thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt also, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. From her also thou shalt go forth with thy hands upon thy head (Jeremiah 2:36, 37).

And in the same:

They were ashamed and put to confusion and covered their heads (Jeremiah 14:3-4).

Because this was a representative of shame:

Tamar, after she had been ravished by her brother Amnon, put her hand on her head, and went weeping 4 and crying (2 Samuel 13:19).

To "put the hand upon the head" signified that no intelligence remained. Also grief for sin in having acted insanely and foolishly was represented by sprinkling dust upon the head, and by bowing the head down even to the earth; and by this cursing also was signified. As in Ezekiel:

They shall cast up dust upon thy head, they shall roll thee in ashes (Ezekiel 27:30).

In Lamentations:

The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the earth, they keep silence; they have cast up dust upon their head; they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the virgins of Jerusalem have made their head to hang down to the ground (Lamentations 2:10).

[12] But in the contrary sense the "head" signifies the craftiness that those have who are in the love of ruling. This is meant by the "head" in Moses:

The seed of the woman shall trample upon the head of the serpent, and the serpent shall hurt the heel (Genesis 3:15).

In David:

The Lord at thy right hand hath stricken through kings in the day of His anger; He hath judged among the nations; He hath filled with dead bodies; He hath stricken through the head over many a land; He shall drink out of the brook in the way; therefore shall He exalt the head (Psalms 110:5-7).

(This passage may be seen explained above, n. 518.) In the same:

God shall strike through the head of His enemies, the hairy scalp of such as go on in guilt (Psalms 68:21).

That the craftiness by which they purpose and contrive evil against others returns upon themselves is signified by:

Bringing their way upon their own head (Ezekiel 9:10; 11:21; 16:43; 17:19; 22:31; Joel 3:4, 7).

What is signified in Revelation by:

The seven heads upon which were seven diadems (Revelation 12:3; 13:1, 3; 17:3, 7, 9);

will be seen hereafter. Moreover, the "head," as what is highest and primary in man, has also many other meanings; as the peak of a mountain, the top of anything, what is primary, the beginning of a way, of a street, of a month, and the like.

Notes de bas de page:

1. Latin has "oppressions," the Hebrew "oppression," as found in AE 355.

2. Latin has "Abraham," the passage quoted just before has "Israel," as in AE 559, 624.

3. Latin has "through," the passage, as cited before, has "over," with the Hebrew.

4. Latin has "weeping," the Hebrew "going."

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.

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Apocalypse Explained #392

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392. The souls of those slain because of the Word of God, and because of the testimony that they held, signifies those who were rejected and concealed because of Divine truth and because of their confession of the Lord. This is evident from the signification of "those slain," as being those who were rejected by the evil and concealed by the Lord (of whom presently); also from the signification of "the Word of God," as being Divine truth. What the Lord speaks is called the Word of God, and that is Divine truth. The Word or the Sacred Scripture is nothing else; for in it all Divine truth is contained, but it is only before the angels that the truth itself in its glory is manifest in it, because to them the interior things of the Word, which are spiritual and celestial, become manifest and also constitute their wisdom. "The Word of God," therefore, signifies in the genuine sense Divine truth, and in the highest sense the Lord Himself who spoke it, for He spoke from Himself, or from His Divine, and what proceeds from Him that also is Himself.

[2] That the Divine proceeding is the Lord may be illustrated by this: About every angel there is a sphere that is called the sphere of his life; this spreads abroad to a great distance from him. This sphere flows out or proceeds from the life of his affection or love; it is therefore an extension outside of him of such life as is in him. This extension is effected by means of the spiritual atmosphere or aura, which is the aura of heaven. By means of that sphere the quality of an angel in respect to affection is perceived at a distance by others; this has been granted me sometimes to perceive. But about the Lord there is a Divine sphere, which near Him appears as a sun, which is His Divine love, and from this that sphere proceeds into the whole heaven and fills it and constitutes the light that is there; this sphere is the Divine proceeding from the Lord, which in its essence is Divine truth. This comparison with angels is made as an illustration, to show that the Divine proceeding from the Lord is the Lord Himself, because it is a proceeding of His love, and the proceeding is Himself outside of Himself. The above is further evident from the signification of "testimony," as being the confession of the Lord, and the Lord Himself (of which presently).

[3] That "those slain" here mean those who were rejected by evil spirits and concealed by the Lord, or removed from the eyes of others and preserved to the day of the Last Judgment, can be seen from what was said in the article above, also from what follows in the two verses in which they alone are described. In the article above it was said that "the former heaven" that passed away consisted of those who in externals lived a moral life, and yet were merely natural and not spiritual, or who lived a sort of spiritual life merely from the affection or love of fame, honor, glory, and gain, thus for the sake of appearance. Although these were inwardly evil, they, nevertheless, were tolerated, and constituted societies in the higher places in the spiritual world. These societies, taken together, were called a heaven, but "the former heaven" that afterwards passed away. From this it came to pass that all those who were spiritual, that is, who were inwardly as well as outwardly good, not being able to be with these, withdrew from them, either voluntarily or being driven away, and wherever found they were persecuted; on this account they were concealed by the Lord and preserved in their places until the day of judgment, that they might constitute "the new heaven." These therefore are those that are meant by "the souls of those slain seen under the altar." This makes clear that "those slain" signify those who were rejected and concealed, for they were hated by the others, because of Divine truth and because of their confession of the Lord; and those who are hated are called "those slain," because to hate is spiritually to slay. That such are meant by "the souls of those slain," can be seen further from what follows in the two verses where it is said of them, "And they cried out with a great voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on those that dwell on the earth? And there were given to every one of them white robes; and it was said unto them that they should rest yet a little time, until their fellow-servants, as well as their brethren, who were to be killed, as they also were, should be fulfilled." That those above described are meant by "those slain," no one can know but those to whom it has been revealed; for who can know, except by revelation, of whom "the former heaven" (Revelation 21:1) consisted, and of whom "the new heaven" was formed; and that those of whom the new heaven was to be formed, were in the meantime concealed and preserved by the Lord? And unless these things had been revealed to someone, all things contained in Revelation in its internal sense must have remained hidden; for in it such things as were to take place in the spiritual world before the Last Judgment, and while it was going on, and after it are chiefly treated of.

[4] That "testimony" signifies the confession of the Lord, and the Lord Himself, can be seen from the passages in the Word that follow. This signification has its origin from this, that the Word in each and every particular testifies respecting the Lord; for in its inmost sense it treats of the Lord alone, and in its internal sense of the celestial and spiritual things that proceed from the Lord, and in particular the Lord testifies respecting Himself in everyone who is in the life of love and charity; for the Lord flows into their heart and life and teaches them, especially respecting His Divine Human; for He grants to those who are in a life of love to think of God under the human form, and God under the human form is the Lord.

The simple in the Christian world so think, as also the heathen who live in charity according to their religious principle. Both these are astonished when they hear the learned speak of God as not to be perceived in any human form, for they know that thinking thus they could not see any God in thought, and therefore could have little belief in the existence of a God, since the faith which is the faith of charity wishes to comprehend in some way what is believed; for faith is of thought, and to think what is incomprehensible is not to think, but only to have knowledge and to speak from that without any idea. Angels, even the wisest, do not think of God otherwise than as in the human form; it is impossible for them to think otherwise, for the reason that their perceptions flow according to the form of heaven, which is the human form from the Lord's Divine Human (on which see Heaven and Hell 59-86); and for the reason that the affections from which are their thoughts, are from influx, and influx is from the Lord.

This has been said that it may be known why "testimony" signifies the Lord, namely, because the Lord testifies respecting Himself with all who accept His testimony, and these are such as live a life of love to the Lord, and a life of charity towards the neighbor. These receive His testimony and confess Him, because a life of love and charity opens the interior mind by the influx of light from heaven, for a life of love and charity is the Divine life itself; for the Lord loves everyone, and does good to everyone from love; consequently where that life is received the Lord is present and is conjoined to the man, and thus flows into his higher mind which is called the spiritual mind, and by light from himself opens it.

[5] That "testimony" signifies the Lord, and with man the confession of the Lord from the heart, and in particular, the acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine in His Human, can be seen from this, that the law which was given on Mount Sinai and written upon two tables, and afterwards placed in the ark, is called the "Testimony;" whence also the ark was called "the ark of the Testimony," and the tables also were called "the tables of Testimony;" and because this was most holy, the mercy-seat was placed upon the ark, and over the mercy-seat were sculptured two cherubim, between which Jehovah, that is, the Lord, spoke with Moses and Aaron. This makes clear that "the Testimony" signifies the Lord Himself; otherwise the mercy-seat would not have been placed upon the ark, nor would the Lord have spoken with Moses and Aaron between the cherubim which were upon the mercy-seat. Moreover, when Aaron entered within the veil, which he did once every year, he was first sanctified, and afterwards he burnt incense till the smoke of the incense covered the mercy seat; it is said that unless he did this he would have died. From this it is clearly evident that the Testimony that was in the ark, and that was the law given on Mount Sinai and inscribed on two tables of stone, signified the Lord Himself.

[6] That the law is called "the Testimony" is evident in Moses:

Thou shalt put into the ark the Testimony which I shall give thee (Exodus 25:16).

He put the Testimony into the ark (Exodus 40:20).

The mercy-seat that is upon the Testimony (Leviticus 16:13).

Lay up the rods of the tribes before the Testimony (Numbers 17:4).

That the tables and the ark were therefore called the tables and the ark of the Testimony (Exodus 25:22; 31:7, 18; 32:15).

That the mercy-seat was placed upon it, and over the mercy-seat two sculptured cherubim (Exodus 25:17-22; 26:34).

That the Lord spoke with Moses and with Aaron between the two cherubim (Exodus 25:16, 21-22; Numbers 17:4 and elsewhere).

That they sanctified themselves before they entered thither, and that the smoke of the incense covered the mercy-seat lest they should die (Leviticus 16:1-34).

[7] That "the testimony" signifies the Lord is evident also from this, that what was upon the ark was called the mercy seat [propitiatorium], and the Lord is the propitiator; the ark also, from the testimony in it, was the holy of holies, both in the tabernacle and in the temple, and from this the tabernacle was holy, and also the temple. The tabernacle represented heaven, and also the temple, and heaven is heaven from the Lord's Divine Human; from this it follows that "testimony" signifies the Lord in respect to His Divine Human. (That "the tent of meeting" represented heaven, see Arcana Coelestia 9457, 9481, 9485, 10545; likewise the temple, see above, n. 220; and that heaven is heaven from the Lord's Divine Human, see Heaven and Hell, n. 59-86.) The law proclaimed from Mount Sinai is called "the Testimony" because that law, in a broad sense, signifies the whole Word, both historical and prophetical, and the Word is the Lord, according to these words in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word; and the Word was made flesh, (John 1:1) John 1:14).

The Word is the Lord because the Word signifies Divine truth, and all Divine truth proceeds from the Lord, for it is the light in heaven, that enlightens the minds of the angels and also the minds of men, and gives them wisdom; this light in its essence is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord as a sun (of which light, see Heaven and Hell 126-140); therefore it is afterwards said, "the Word was with God, and God was the Word." It is also said in John:

In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. That was the true Light, which lighteth every man coming into the world (John 1:4, 1:9).

[8] This makes clear that the Lord is meant by "the Testimony;" for the law written on the two tables, which was called the "Testimony," signifies the Word in the whole complex, and the Lord is the Word. (That "the law" in a broad sense signifies the Word in the whole complex, in a sense less broad the historical Word, and in a strict sense the ten commandments of the Decalogue, see Arcana Coelestia 6752.) This law was also called "a Covenant," and so the tables on which it was inscribed were called "the tables of the Covenant," and the ark was called "the ark of the Covenant" (See Exodus 34:28; Numbers 14:44; Deuteronomy 9:9, 15; Revelation 11:19; and elsewhere); and this because "Covenant" signifies conjunction, and the Word or Divine truth is what conjoins man with the Lord; from no other source is there any conjunction. (That "Covenant" signifies conjunction, see Arcana Coelestia 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804, 8767, 8778, 9396, 10632.)

This law is called both "a Covenant" and "a Testimony," because when called "a Covenant" it means the Word by which there is conjunction; and when called "a Testimony" it means the Lord Himself who conjoins; and on man's part, the confession of the Lord and the acknowledgment of His Divine in His Human, which conjoin. From this it can be seen why the Word is called in the church "a Covenant," the Word before the Lord's coming "the Old Covenant," and that after His coming "the New Covenant;" it is called also "the Old and the New Testament," but it is to be called "the Testimony."

[9] That "Testimony" signifies the Lord, and on man's part the confession of the Lord and the acknowledgment of His Divine in His Human, is evident also from these passages in the Word. In Revelation:

They overcame the dragon by the blood of the Lamb, and by the Word of the testimony. And the dragon was angry, and went away to make war with the remnant of her seed, that keep the commandment of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:11 17).

I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that hold the testimony of Jesus. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10).

"The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" signifies that the confession of the Lord and the acknowledgment of His Divine in His Human is the life of all truth, both in the Word and in doctrine from the Word.

[10] And elsewhere:

The souls of those slain with the axe for the testimony of Jesus, and for the Word of God, received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand (Revelation 20:4).

These passages will be explained in what follows. In David:

Jerusalem is builded as a city that is conjoined together; and thither the tribes go up, the tribes of Jah, a testimony to Israel, to confess to the name of Jehovah. For there are set thrones for judgment (Psalms 122:3-5).

"Jerusalem" signifies the church in relation to doctrine, which is said to be "builded" when it is established by the Lord; "as a city that is conjoined together" signifies doctrine in which all things are in order, "city" meaning doctrine; "thither the tribes go up, the tribes of Jah," signifies that in it are all truths and goods in the complex; "a testimony to Israel, to confess to the name of Jehovah," signifies the confession and acknowledgment of the Lord there; "for there are set thrones for judgment" signifies that Divine truth is there according to which judgment is executed. That this is what "thrones" signify, see above n. 253.

[11] In the same:

Jehovah hath set up a testimony in Jacob, and a law in Israel (Psalms 78:5).

"Jacob" and "Israel" signify the church, "Jacob" the external church, and "Israel" the internal church; and "testimony" and "law" signify the Word, "testimony" that in the Word which teaches the goods of life, and "the law" that in it which teaches the truths of doctrine. Because those who are in the external church are in the good of life according to the truths of doctrine, and those who are in the internal church are in the truths of doctrine according to which is the life, so "testimony" is predicated of Jacob, and "the law" of Israel.

[12] In the same:

If thy sons shall keep My covenant, and the testimony that I shall teach them, their 1 sons shall sit upon the throne for thee forevermore (Psalms 132:12).

This is said of David, but David here means the Lord; "his sons" mean those who do the Lord's commandments; of these it is said, "if thy sons shall have kept My covenant and My testimony," "covenant" meaning the like as "law" above, namely, the truth of doctrine, and "testimony" the like as "testimony" above, namely, the good of life according to the truths of doctrine. Like things are signified by "covenant" and "testimonies" in David (Psalms 25:10).

[13] "Testimonies" are mentioned in many passages in the Word, together with "law," "precepts," "commandments," "statutes," and "judgments;" and "testimonies and commandments" there signify such things as teach life, "law and precepts" such as teach doctrine, "statutes and judgments" such as teach rituals, as in the following passages in David:

The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple. The commandments of Jehovah are right, making glad the heart; the precept of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes; the judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are righteous altogether (Psalms 19:7-9).

In the same:

Blessed are the perfect in the way, who walk in the law of Jehovah. Blessed are they that observe His testimonies, that seek after Him with the whole heart. Thou hast enjoined Thy commandments to be strictly kept. O that my ways may be directed to keep Thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all Thy precepts. I will confess to thee in uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned the judgments of Thy righteousness (Psalms 119:1-7 manner in verses 12-15, 88-89, 151-156, etc.).

Notes de bas de page:

1. The photolithograph has "thy," but Hebrew has "their," as also AC 6804.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.