3624. THE CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE GRAND MAN, WHICH IS HEAVEN, OF ALL THE ORGANS AND LIMBS, BOTH INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR, OF THE HUMAN BEING

Let me now tell of and describe marvels which, so far as I know, have not as yet been known to anyone, nor has even the idea of them entered anyone's head - the marvel that the whole of heaven has been formed in such a way that it corresponds to the Lord, to His Divine Human; also the marvel that the human being has been formed in such a way that every single part of him corresponds to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord. This is a great mystery which is now to be revealed, it being the subject here and at the ends of chapters that follow this.

10694. 'And they were afraid to approach him' means that they could not bear an outward form of the Church, worship, and the Word such as this. This is clear from the meaning of 'being afraid to approach' as not being able to bear something, for those who cannot bear interior things are afraid to approach them; and from the representation of 'Moses' as the outward form that the Word, the Church, and worship take, containing what is inward, dealt with in 10563, 10571, 10607, 10614. The situation in all this is that those whose interest lies solely in things of the Church, worship, and the Word on an outward level devoid of what is inward cannot bear interior things. The reason for this is that those whose interest lies in outward things devoid of what is inward are ruled by selfish and worldly love, and consequently see by an inferior light, called natural illumination. But those whose interest lies in things of the Church, worship, and the Word on an inward level as well as those on an outward one are governed by love towards the neighbour and love to the Lord, and consequently see by the light of heaven. And since the two kinds of love are opposites, and consequently the two kinds of light are as well, one cannot bear the other. For when heavenly love, that is, love to the Lord and love towards the neighbour, flows into earthly loves, which are self-love and love of the world, it induces feelings of agony like the throes of death; and when heavenly light flows into worldly light, it induces thick darkness and consequently stupidity. So it is that an outward form devoid of inward content cannot bear any outward form when it does have an inner content. Since the Jewish nation was like this they could not bear to hear about the Lord, or about love and faith in Him, which are the interior things of the Word, the Church, and worship. These then are the things which are meant when it says that the children of Israel were afraid to approach Moses because the skin of his face gleamed. What it is that 'the skin of Moses' face' means, see above in 10691.