10189. 'On its two ribs' means with truths lying in one direction, that is to say, a joining together with them and preservation by means of them. This is clear from the meaning of 'the ribs', when used to mean the sides, as truths; for the sides that are called 'the ribs' face the south and the north, and 'the south' means truth dwelling in light, 9642, while 'the north' means truth dwelling in shade, 3708. But by 'the sides' which are properly the sides good is meant since these face the east and the west, and 'the east' means good set in clearness and 'the west' good set in obscurity, 3708, 9653. Therefore it says here,

Two rings of gold you shall make for it under the rim; on its two ribs you shall make them, on its two sides.

The fact that the sides which are properly the sides face the east and the west, whereas the sides which are called 'the ribs' face the south and the north is evident in Exodus 26:13, 26-27, 35 ¹ . Furthermore since the ribs serve to reinforce the chest truths giving support to good are meant by them.

[2] In heaven however the layout is such that to the right there are those who dwell in the light of truth, thus who are in the south, but to the left those who dwell in the shade of truth, thus who are in the north. Before one's face there are those whose perception of good is clear, thus who are in the east, but behind one's back there are those whose perception of good is dim, thus who are in the west. These angels dwelling in the regions of good constitute the Lord's celestial kingdom, but the others dwelling in the regions of truth constitute the Lord's spiritual kingdom. This is how the angels there, whichever way they turn, see everything to be laid out; for angels have the Lord, who is the East, unceasingly in front of their face. But the contrary is so with those in hell, for they have the Lord unceasingly behind their back.

[3] In the next life the four quarters are not determined, as they are in the world, by where fixed regions lie, but by ruling loves that remain fixed.

[4] For his love makes an angel or a spirit what he is, and where that love is, in that direction he turns. Those in whom love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour reign, and therefore in whom faith is present, behold the Lord in front of themselves whichever way they turn their face and body. For the Lord turns them towards Himself; He enters them by the way from the east and keeps them fixed unceasingly on Himself. As a consequence - since their outward sight is under the control of the inward sight belonging to their understanding, and this inward sight is under the control of the love belonging to their will - their outward sight looks in the direction in which that love bears it. It is similar with people in the world so far as their interiors, which constitute their spirit, are concerned. Also, all in the next life are identified, every one, by the direction in which they turn.

As regards things of a spatial nature and locations in the next life, that they are of the same nature as those described above, and that they therefore mean states, see 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381, 9440, 9967, 10146.

Bilješke:

10146. 'Before Jehovah' means from the Lord. This is clear from the consideration that 'Jehovah' in the Word is the Lord, see the places referred to in 9373. From the Lord is meant by 'before Jehovah' because 'before' means presence, and the Lord is present to the extent that good which belongs to love and truth which belongs to faith are received from Him. Consequently before the Lord means from the Lord. The Lord, it is true, is present with every individual person, yet the way in which He is present with the good is different from the way in which He is present with the evil. In the case of the good He is present in every detail of their thought springing from the truths of faith and in every detail of their desires springing from the good of love. He is present in such a way that He Himself constitutes their faith and He Himself constitutes their love. Therefore He is so to speak a resident within them, in keeping with the Lord's own words in John,

The Spirit of truth will remain with you and will be in you. And you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and does them, he it is who loves Me. We will come to him and make Our home with him. John 14:17-18, 20-21, 23.

[2] But in the case of those who are evil the Lord is not present in every detail, because they have no faith or charity. He is present in a general way, and this presence gives them the ability to think and will, and also to receive faith and charity so far as they refrain from evils. But so far as they do not refrain from them He seems to be absent. How far absent He seems to be depends on how far the truth and good of faith and love are absent. So it is that those in heaven experience His presence, and those in hell experience His absence.

[3] But the reality of the situation is not that the Lord is absent from man, rather that man is absent from the Lord. For a person ruled by evils looks backwards, away from Him, and the things then before his eyes are present within him according to their affinity with the evils that rule him. For in the next life space does not exist, only the appearance of space that accords with the network of thoughts and affections in a person. The situation in all this is just like that of the presence of the worldly sun so far as light and heat are concerned. The sun is equally present during every time and season; but when the planet turns away from the sun, the light fades and darkness descends, first the darkness of evening, then the darkness of night. And when the earth is not directly in line with the sun but at an angle, as happens in wintertime, the heat departs and cold sets in, as a consequence of which all things in the ground become inactive and die off. This too is called an absence of the sun, when in fact it is an absence of the planet from the sun, not spatially but so far as the conditions of light and heat are concerned. These phenomena have been mentioned to help to illustrate the matter.