10076. Because a ram of fillings is he. That this signifies a representative of the Divine power of the Lord in the heavens through the Divine truth from the Divine good, and its capability of communication and reception there, is evident from the signification of a “ram,” as being the internal of man in respect to the good of innocence and of charity (see above, n. 9991); for all beasts signify something of affection or of inclination with man (see n. 9280); hence it is that they who are in charity and innocence are called “sheep” and “lambs.” The “ram,” therefore, which is the male of sheep, signifies the good of charity and of innocence in the internal man, and in the supreme sense the same in the internal of the Lord’s Human; for that which in the internal sense signifies something of man, thus something of the church or of heaven with man, in the supreme sense signifies in an eminent manner a similar thing with the Lord when He was in the world. Moreover, in the inmost sense all things of the Word treat of the Lord, whence comes the holiness of the Word. And from the signification of the “fillings of the hand,” as being a representative of Divine truth from the Divine good of the Lord in the heavens, and its capability of communication with the angels there, and of its reception by them; for as before shown, with the man who is being regenerated there are two states, the first when the truths which are of faith are being implanted in the good which is of love and are being conjoined, and the second when the man acts from the good of love. The like was eminently the case in the Lord; the first state of the glorification of His Human was to make it Divine truth, and to conjoin it with the Divine good which was in Him and is called the “Father,” and thereby to become the Divine good of the Divine love, which is Jehovah. The second state of His glorification was to act from the Divine good of the Divine love, which is effected by means of the Divine truth that proceeds from this good.
[2] As regards man, in the first state he is imbued with those things which must be of faith, and according as he is imbued with them from good, that is, through good from the Lord, so is his understanding formed. When those truths that belong to the understanding have been implanted in and conjoined with good, he then comes into the second state, which consists in acting from good by means of truths. From this it is plain what is the quality of the second state of the man who is being regenerated, in that it is to think and act from good, or what is the same, from love, or what is also the same, from the will; for that which a man wills he loves; and that which he loves, he calls good. But the man for the first time comes into the second state when he is wholly from head to heels such as his love is, thus such as his will is and the understanding thence derived. Who can possibly believe that the whole man is an image of his will and of his understanding thence derived, consequently an image of his good and the truth thence derived, or an image of his evil and the falsity thence derived? For good or evil forms the will, and truth or falsity forms the understanding. This secret is known to all the angels in the heavens; but the reason why man does not know it is that he has no knowledge of his soul, consequently no knowledge that the body is formed after the likeness of the soul, and hence that the whole man is such as his soul is. That this is so, is clearly seen from the spirits and angels in the other life; for all of them are human forms, and such forms as their affections are, which are of love and faith; and this to such a degree that they who are in the good of love and charity may be said to be loves and charities in form; and on the other hand that those who are in evils from the loves of self and the world, thus in hatreds and the like, are hatreds in form.
[3] That this is so can also be seen from these three things which in universal nature follow in order; namely effect, cause, and end. The effect has its all from the cause; for an effect is nothing else than the cause in outward form, because when a cause becomes an effect it clothes itself with such things as are without, in order that it may appear in a lower sphere, which is the sphere of effects. The case is similar with the cause of the cause, which in the higher sphere is called the final cause, or the end. This end is the all in the cause, in order that it may be a cause for the sake of something; for a cause which is not for the sake of something cannot be called a cause, for to what purpose would it then be? The end is for the sake of something, and the end is the first in the cause, and is also its last. Hence it is plain that the end is as it were the soul of the cause, and is as it were its life, consequently is also the soul and life of the effect. For if there is not something in the cause and in the effect that brings forth the end, all this is not anything, because it is not for the sake of anything; thus it is like a dead thing without soul or life, and such a thing perishes as does the body when the soul departs from it.
[4] The case is similar with man: his very soul is his will; the proximate cause by which the will produces the effect, is his understanding; and the effect which is brought forth is in the body, thus is of the body. That this is so is very manifest from the fact that what a man wills and thence thinks presents itself in a suitable manner in an effect in the body, both when he speaks and when he acts. From this it is again evident that such as is a man’s will, such is the whole man. Whether you say the will, or the end, or the love, or the good, it is the same, for everything that a man wills is regarded as an end, and is loved, and is called good. In like manner whether you say the understanding, or the cause of an end, or faith, or truth, it is also the same; for that which a man understands or thinks from his will, he holds as a cause, and believes, and calls truth. When these things are apprehended, it can be known what is the quality, in the first state, of a man who is being regenerated, and what it is in the second.
[5] From all this some idea can be had how it is understood that when the Lord was in the world and glorified His Human, He first made it Divine truth, and by degrees the Divine good of the Divine love; and that thereafter from the Divine good of the Divine love He operates in heaven and in the world, and gives life to angels and men; which is effected by means of the Divine truth that proceeds from the Divine good of the Divine love of His Divine Human; for from this the heavens have come forth, and from it they perpetually come forth, that is, subsist; or what is the same, from it the heavens have been created and from it they are perpetually being created, that is, preserved; for preservation is perpetual creation, as subsistence is perpetual coming-forth.
[6] Such things are also involved by these words in John:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. And the Word was made flesh (John 1:1, 3, 14);
“the Word” denotes the Divine truth; the first state is described by “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word;” and the second state by “all things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.” It was the same when the Lord came into the world and reduced the heavens into order, and as it were created them anew. That the Lord is there meant by “the Word,” is evident, for it is said that “the Word was made flesh.” The capability of the communication and perception of the Divine truth that proceeds from the Divine good of the Divine love of His Divine Human, is what is meant by the “filling of the hand,” and is described by representatives in this passage concerning the second ram.
[7] As the Lord in respect to Divine good is represented by Aaron (n. 9806), therefore the glorification of the Lord as to His Human is representatively described in the process of the inauguration of Aaron and his sons. The first state of glorification is described by what is said concerning the sacrifice from the bullock and the burnt-offering from the first ram; and the second state of glorification by what is said concerning the second ram, which is called “the ram of fillings.” The first state is called the “anointing,” and the second is called the “filling of the hand;” consequently when Aaron and his sons were inaugurated into the priesthood by anointing and by the filling of the hand, they were said to be “anointed” and “those whose hand he hath filled,” as in Moses:
The high priest, upon whose head the anointing oil is poured and who hath filled his hand to put on the garments, shall not shave his head, nor rip open his clothes (Leviticus 21:10).
From all this it is also plain that the filling of the hand is a representative of the communication and reception of the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord’s Divine good in the heavens; for it is said, “he hath filled his hand,” and not “he is filled in the hand,” and also “he hath filled his hand to put on the garments.” For by Aaron and by his anointing is represented the Lord as to Divine good, and by his garments the like as by the filling of the hand, namely, the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord’s Divine good. (That this is represented by the garments, see n. 9814.) Its dissipation is signified by “ripping them open;” and the dispersion of Divine good in the heavens by “shaving the head.”
[8] As the influx and communication of Divine truth from the Lord, and its reception in the heavens, is signified by the “filling of the hand,” therefore by it is also signified purification from evils and falsities; for insofar as a man or angel is purified from these, so far he receives Divine truth from the Lord. In this sense “filling the hand” is understood by these words in Moses:
The sons of Leviticus smote of the people three thousand men. And Moses said, Fill your hand to-day to Jehovah, that He may bestow upon you a blessing this day (Exodus 32:28-29);
in the spiritual sense “to receive a blessing” denotes to be endowed with the good of love and of faith, thus to receive the Divine that proceeds from the the Lord, (n. 2846, 3017, 3406, 4981, 6091, 6099, 8939). We read also of “filling after Jehovah,” and by this is signified doing according to Divine truth; thus also by it is signified the receptivity of it; in Moses:
Another spirit was with Caleb, and he hath filled after Jehovah (Numbers 14:24; Deuteronomy 1:36).
Jehovah sware, saying, Surely none of the men, from a son of twenty years and upward, shall see the land of which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; because they have not wholly filled after Me, save Caleb and Joshua, who have filled after Jehovah (Numbers 32:11-12).
