699. And the temple of God was opened in heaven.- That this signifies the manifestation of a new heaven and a new church, where is the worship of the Lord, is evident from the signification of the temple, as denoting heaven and the church, here, a new heaven and a new church; the manifestation of these is signified by the temple being opened. That temple, in the highest sense, signifies the Lord as to His Divine Human, and the Divine Truth proceeding from Him, and, in a relative sense, heaven and the church, may be seen above (n. 220, 391, 630). The temple here signifies a new heaven and a new church, where there is worship of the Lord, because this chapter treats of the changes of state which precede a last judgment, namely, the separation of the evil from the good, and the removal of them from the places where they were before. When this is accomplished, then a new heaven and a new church appear to those who are in the higher heavens. These could not be made manifest so long as they were conjoined with the evil, because their interiors were closed, lest they might suffer injury from the evil, with whom they had communication as to externals. But when the evil had been separated and removed, then the interiors in the good, which in themselves were heavenly, were opened, and these being opened, heaven and the church became manifest. For in the measure that the interiors, which are celestial and spiritual, are opened, so far the nature of heaven in regard to the church with those in whom heaven and the church are, becomes manifest.

[2] No one from [his] own intelligence could know that these things are so because they are arcana of heaven, which must be learned from revelation. For who could possibly know how the Last Judgment was accomplished, and also what changes preceded it in the spiritual world, and what followed? In order, however, that these things might be known, they have been disclosed to me, therefore I am allowed to describe them here from revelation. It is said, a new heaven and a new church, where the worship of the Lord is, because in the new heaven and in the New Church the Lord alone is worshipped; for the Divine is not there distinguished into three persons, but into a Trine in one person. Concerning this Trinity see what is written in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 280-310). This also is what is meant in the Apocalypse where the New Jerusalem is treated of, "And I saw no temple therein, because the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple thereof" (21:22). The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb mean the Lord as to the Divine itself and the Divine Human. No temple was seen there, because the temple, in the highest sense, signifies the Lord as to Divine Truth and as to worship, as shown above (n. 220, 391, 630); also because the New Jerusalem means the church as to doctrine, or the doctrine of the New Jerusalem. Nevertheless there are temples in heaven, in which the Lord is preached, and Divine truth taught.

9481. 'In accordance with all that I show you, the pattern of the dwelling-place' means a representative of heaven where the Lord is. This is clear from the meaning of 'the pattern of the dwelling-place' as a representative of heaven; for 'the pattern' means a representative, and 'the dwelling-place' means heaven. The reason why 'the pattern' means a representative is that Divine realities in heaven are also manifested in visible shapes, which are representatives. For the meaning of 'the dwelling-place' as heaven where the Lord is, see 8269, 8309. What the representatives that appear in heaven are like is clear in the prophets, for example in John's Book of Revelation, in which he describes lampstands, Chapter 1:12ff; a throne with twenty-four thrones around it, and four living creatures before the throne, Chapter 4:2ff; a book sealed with seven seals, Chapter 5; horses going out when the seals were opened, Chapter 6; angels who are clothed in various ways and have bowls, Chapters 9, 10, 15, 16; a white horse, Chapter 19; and at length a new Jerusalem, its walls, gates, foundations, height, breadth, and length, Chapters 21, 22. Similar sights are also described by other prophets.

[2] All those sights are representatives such as appear unceasingly in heaven before angels' eyes, manifesting in visible shapes the Divine celestial realities that belong to the good of love and the Divine spiritual realities that belong to the good of faith. Such realities taken all together were represented by the tabernacle and its contents, that is, the ark itself, the table on which loaves were laid, the altar of incense, the lampstand, and everything else. Therefore when these objects, being outward forms of Divine celestial and spiritual realities, were beheld by the people while they were engaged in holy acts of worship, such realities as were represented by those objects were brought to notice in heaven. These, as stated above, were the Divine celestial realities that belong to the good of love to the Lord and the Divine spiritual realities that belong to the good of faith in the Lord. All the representatives of that Church had that kind of effect in heaven. It should be realized that a person always has spirits and angels present with him and that a person cannot live without them. It should likewise be realized that through them the person is linked to the Lord, and that in this way the human race, and heaven too, is kept in being. From this one can see what purpose was served by the representatives and also the ritual observances of the Church established among the Israelite nation. One can also see what purpose is served by the Word, in which all things mentioned in the sense of the letter correspond to Divine realities that exist in heaven, thus in which all the objects mentioned are representative and all the words used carry a spiritual meaning. This is what brings about the linking of a person to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord. Without that link the person would have no life whatever, for without being linked to the actual Essential Being (Esse) of life, from which the Coming-into-Being (Existere) of life emanates, no one has life.

[3] But these considerations are unintelligible to those who think that life exists essentially in a person himself and that a person lives without spirits or angels, thus without influx from the Divine by way of heaven. But in actual fact anything that is not linked to the Divine perishes and ceases to exist. Indeed nothing can ever come into being without that which is prior to itself, thus without the Divine, who is the First and is self-existent Being (Esse) or Jehovah; nor consequently can it remain in being, for remaining in being is constant coming-into-being. Because 'the dwelling-place' means heaven where the Lord is, it also means the good of love and faith, since these compose heaven; and because all good comes from the Lord, and heaven is called heaven by virtue of its love to and faith in the Lord, 'the dwelling-place' also means in the highest sense the Lord, as is evident in Isaiah 63:15; Jeremiah 25:30; Ezekiel 37:26-27; Psalms 26:8; 43:3; 90:1; 91:9; Exodus 15:13; Deuteronomy 12:5, 11; and other places. From this it is clear that the tabernacle was called Jehovah's sanctuary and dwelling-place for the reason that it represented the realities mentioned above.