567. And I heard one voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God.- That this signifies revelation from the Lord out of the spiritual heaven, is evident from the signification of hearing a voice, as denoting revelation, because what was revealed by that voice follows; and from the signification of the golden altar which is before God, as denoting the spiritual Divine of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of the four horns of the altar, as denoting the spiritual Divine in its ultimates. For the horns were in the ultimates of both altars, as well the altar of burnt-offering, as the altar of incense which is the golden altar; and because the horns were the ultimates of those altars, therefore they signified the Divine as to power, for all power is in ultimates, and for this reason the horns of the altars signified the Divine as to omnipotence; concerning the signification of these, see above (n. 316). That the altar of burnt-offering signified the celestial Divine, which is the Divine Good, may be seen above (n. 391:1-21, 490, 496). But that the altar of incense, or the golden altar, represented and thence signified the spiritual Divine, which is the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, is evident from its description to be dealt with below.

[2] It shall be first explained here why the voice was heard from the four horns of the altar. The horns, which projected and stood out from the altars above mentioned, signified every thing belonging to them as to power, as is evident from what has been said and shown above (n. 346, 417), and also from what has been said and shown concerning ultimates in the Arcana Coelestia, as, that interiors flow in successively into externals, even into the extremes or ultimates, and that there also they exist and subsist (n. 624, 6239, 6465, 9215, 9216); that they not only flow in successively, but also form in the ultimate what is simultaneous (in what order, n. 5897, 6451, 8603, 10099); that therefore strength and power are in ultimates (n. 9836); that therefore responses and revelations were given in ultimates (n. 9905, 10548). Since responses and revelations were given in ultimates, it is evident that the reason, why the voice was heard from the four horns of the golden altar, is that the golden altar signifies the spiritual Divine, which is the Divine Truth that reveals, and that the horns signify the ultimates thereof, by means of which revelation is made. The golden altar, upon which they offered incense, signifies the spiritual Divine, which is Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, because the offerings of incense which were offered upon that altar, signified worship from spiritual good, and the hearing and reception thereof by the Lord; see above (n. 324, 491, 492, 494).

[3] That the altar of incense signified the spiritual Divine, and that the offerings of incense upon it signified worship from spiritual good, and the favourable hearing and reception of it by the Lord, is evident from the construction of that altar, the details of which represented and signified those things. The construction of the altar of incense is thus described in Moses:

"Thou shalt make an altar of the offering of incense; of Shittim wood, shalt thou make it. A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be; and two cubits shall be the height thereof; the horns thereof shall be out of it. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the walls thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a border of gold round about. And two golden rings shalt thou make to it, under the border of it, upon the two ribs thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal. And thou shalt make the staves of Shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put it before the veil that is over the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron shall burn thereon incense of spices in the morning; in the morning, when he dresseth the lamps he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lighteth the lamps between the evenings, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before Jehovah throughout your generations. Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt-sacrifice, nor meal-offering; neither shall ye pour drink-offering thereon. And Aaron shall make an expiation upon the horns of it once in a year of the blood of the expiations of sin; once in the year shall he make expiation upon it throughout your generations; this is the holy of holies unto Jehovah" (Exodus 30:1-10).

That these details concerning that altar, signify, in the internal sense, worship from spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour, and also the favourable hearing and reception of it by the Lord, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia, (n. 10176-10213), where they are explained in their series.

9548. 'And you shall make a lampstand' means the spiritual heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'a lampstand' as the Divine Spiritual from the Lord in heaven and in the Church. The reason why 'a lampstand' means the Divine Spiritual is that 'the table' on which the loaves of the Presence were laid means the Divine Celestial, as has been shown in what has gone before. The Divine Celestial is the good of love, and the Divine Spiritual the truth of faith derived from that good; and both of these emanate from the Lord, 9227. The lampstand is the Divine Spiritual on account of the light it sheds; for Divine Truth which emanates from the Lord's Divine Good is what shines in heaven. There is no other source from which angels receive light. This is why in the Word the Lord is called the Light, and why 'light' means faith, also an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good, which come from the Lord alone, see 1053, 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 2776, 3094, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3337, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643, 3862, 3993, 4060, 4180, 4302, 4408, 4414, 4415, 4419, 4527, 4598, 5400, 6032, 6313, 6315, 6608, 6907, 7174, 8644, 8707, 8861, 9399, 9407.

[2] 'A lampstand' means the spiritual heaven by virtue of Divine Truth which is present there from the Lord, and therefore also means the Church; and 'a lamp' means faith, also an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good, which come from the Lord alone. This is clear from places in the Word where 'lampstand' and 'lamp' are mentioned, as in John,

I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like the Son of Man. The seven lampstands are the seven Churches. Revelation 1:12-13, 20.

And in the same book,

I will remove your lampstand from its place if you do not repent. Revelation 2:5.

A Church is called 'a lampstand' in these places by virtue of Divine Truth which is present there from the Lord. The fact that 'a lampstand' means a Church is self-evident, for it says, 'The seven lampstands are the seven Churches'. The fact that a Church is called such on account of Divine Truth is evident from the statement, 'I will remove your lampstand if you do not repent'. And the fact that this Truth comes from the Lord [is also self-evident], for it says, 'In the midst of the lampstands one like the Son of Man'; and the Lord is called the Son of Man by virtue of His Divine Truth, see 2803, 2813, 3704.

[3] In the same book,

I will grant My two witnesses to prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. Revelation 11:3-10.

'The two witnesses' are the Word in both Testaments, in that they bear witness to the Lord. It is called 'an olive tree' by virtue of the Divine Good and 'a lampstand' by virtue of the Divine Truth which come from the Lord.

[4] In Zechariah, when the angel who was speaking said to the prophet,

What do you see? I said to him, I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold; its bowl is on top of it, ¹ and its seven lamps are on it with seven pipes to the lamps. Two olive trees are beside it, one on the right of the bowl and one on the left of it. Zechariah 4:2-3.

This refers to Zerubbabel, who was about to lay a foundation for God's house and bring it to completion. He represents the Lord, in that He was about to come and to re-establish the spiritual heaven and the Church, these being what is meant by 'a lampstand', and the holy truths there what is meant by 'seven lamps'.

[5] The fact that 'a lamp' means faith, also an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good, which come from the Lord alone, is clear in John,

The holy Jerusalem has no need of the sun or of the moon to shed light in it. The glory of God will give it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations that are saved will walk in His light. Revelation 21:23-24.

And further on,

There will be no night there, nor do they need a lamp or light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. Revelation 22:5.

'Lamp' in the first quotation stands for Divine Truth that comes from the Lord, and 'light' for faith, and so also for intelligence and wisdom. In the same book,

The light of a lamp will not shine in you any more, and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride will not be heard in you any more. Revelation 18:23.

[6] And in Jeremiah,

I will take away the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of mills, and the light of the lamp, that the whole land may be a desolation and devastation. Jeremiah 25:10-11.

This refers to the elimination of faith and consequently of intelligence in spiritual matters meant here by the lamp which will no longer be there and by 'the light of the lamp' which will be taken away.

[7] The like occurs in Job,

How often is the lamp of the wicked put out and [how often] does destruction come upon them? Job 21:17.

In David,

You light my lamp; Jehovah my God makes my darkness bright. Psalms 18:28; 2 Samuel 22:29.

In the same author,

By Your commands I have been made intelligent. Your Word is a lamp to my foot, and a light to my path. Psalms 119:104-105.

In Job,

When God causes a lamp to shine over my head I would walk in darkness towards His light. Job 29:3.

In Matthew,

The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is evil your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matthew 6:22-23; Luke 8:16; 11:33-36.

'The eye' is used here to mean faith and consequent intelligence - the fact that these are meant in the internal sense by 'the eye', see 4403-4421, 4523-4534, 9051. And from this the meaning of the words, 'If your eye is good your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is evil your whole body will be full of darkness' is self-evident. Since faith and consequent intelligence and wisdom is meant by 'a lamp' the kings of Judah are called lamps to David, 1 Kings 11:36; 15:4; 2 Kings 8:19; and David himself is called the lamp of Israel, 2 Samuel 21:16-17. Not that the kings of Judah were lamps; nor was David. Rather they were called such because 'a king' means Divine Truth that comes from the Lord, 6148, and 'David' the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, the source of faith, intelligence, and wisdom, 1888.

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