Verse 44. And the evils of self-love which lie latent in such a state rush out upon and overflow the soul with falses derived from evil, destroying all that was celestial and spiritual in the natural good in which it had trusted, so that the soul is reduced to despair. [Note.—There is an allusion here in the simile to wasps, which endeavour to take the honey from the hive and are chased and driven away by bees. So the natural unregenerate heart would desire the joys of heaven without the labours necessary to attain them, and finds that joy on such terms brings a sting with it.]

9946. 'And for Aaron's sons' means Divine Truths emanating in the heavens from the Lord's Divine Good. This is clear from the representation of 'Aaron's sons' as Divine Truths emanating from the Lord's Divine Good, dealt with in 9807, in the heavens being meant because that which is Divine and the Lord's in the heavens is what the priestly office of Aaron and his sons represents. Divine Good in the heavens is represented by Aaron's priestly office, and Divine Truth from Divine Good there by that of his sons. The words 'in the heavens' are used because the Lord Himself, being the Sun of heaven, is above the heavens, yet has a presence within the heavens, which is such that it seems as though He Himself were there. The Lord as He is in the heavens - that is, His Divine Good and Divine Truth there - is able to be represented, but not that which is Divine and His above the heavens, because this cannot fall within the range of what human minds or even angelic minds can grasp, since it is infinite. But what is Divine and emanates from it into the heavens is suited to reception there.