8870. 'Or any likeness' means a resemblance of those things which are from God. This is clear from the meaning of 'a likeness' as a resemblance. The fact that the resemblance is of those things which are from God is evident from what comes before and after. What comes before declares that there must be no other gods before Jehovah God's face, and that people must not make for themselves a graven image, meaning truths that spring from a source other than God yet are made to look like those from Him. And what comes after speaks of that which is in heaven, that which is on the earth, and that which is in the waters, meaning such things everywhere as are from God.

[2] How a resemblance of those things which are from God should be understood must be stated here, since they are the subject in the rest of the present verse and in the first part of the next. A resemblance of those things which are from God is produced when people speak God's truths with their lips and also perform the kinds of deeds which have been commanded by God, and in so doing lead others to believe that they are governed by what is good and true, when yet at heart they think in a completely different way, and are intent only on what is bad. Such people are pretenders, hypocrites, and deceivers. These are the ones who produce a resemblance of those things which are from God. In the next life evil spirits produce a resemblance of those things which are from God; they present a likeness and appearance in externals, which inwardly have nothing at all of God in them. Pretenders, hypocrites, and deceivers in the next life learn to behave in this way, as in general do all who by frequent practice have become habituated to saying one thing while thinking another, and to doing one thing while being intent on another. People who engage in such presences wish to earn a reputation, some in order that they may seem to be good, and so may mislead other people, others in order that they may exercise dominion.

[3] Such things there are also misuses of correspondences. But the externals by means of which they have performed deeds that simulate acts of charity and faith are gradually removed from them, and then the internals, which are wicked and horrid, are laid bare. For as a result of this those people are led to act out their true nature which they acquired in the world, and no longer some pretence or hypocrisy. When people like these realize that externals are to be taken away from them they say that if the externals were left with them they could mix with companions in the next life and seemingly perform good deeds just as well as when they had previously been in the world. But this is impossible. Their externals which are seemingly good would place them in contact in some way with heaven - that is to say, with those who are in the outskirts there and are simple, who correspond to skin in the Grand Man - while their internals would place them in contact with hell. And since the evil desires within predominate because they occupy the will, and the simulations of good deeds in externals serve to acquire dominion for the evil, it is contrary to Divine order to leave those people free to dissemble and act hypocritically as they did in the world. Therefore such things are taken away from them, and they are left to the evil itself present in the intentions of their will.

8480. 'And some did leave part of it until the morning' means the abuse of God's goodness, in that they wished to obtain it of themselves. This is clear from the meaning of 'leaving it until the morning' as being anxious to acquire good of themselves, dealt with above in 8478, which is therefore the abuse of God's goodness. It is called an abuse when something of a like nature to outward appearances arises, yet springs from a contrary origin. Good arises from a contrary origin when it springs from man, not from the Lord. For the Lord is absolute Good and therefore the source of all good. Good that originates in Him has the Divine within it, and so is good right through to its inmost or prime being. But good that originates in man is not good, because in himself man is nothing but evil. Consequently good originating in him is primarily and in essence evil, though to outward appearance it may look like good. These things are like flowers portrayed in a picture compared to flowers that grow in the garden. The latter flowers are beautiful through to their inmost parts, for the more they open out the more beautiful they become. But flowers portrayed in a picture are beautiful merely in outward appearance; for inwardly they are nothing other than clay and a mass of particles of earth lying in disorder within it. This is also what the Lord teaches when He says,

Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of the lilies of the field. Matthew 6:29.

[2] So it is with good that originates in man and good that originates in the Lord. Man cannot know that those kinds of good are so greatly different from each other because he judges by external appearances. But angels have a clear perception of where man's good originates and what it is therefore like. The angels with a person are present and so to speak dwelling in good originating in the Lord. They are unable to be present in good originating in man; they get as far away from it as they can, since inmostly it is evil. For good originating in the Lord has heaven within it; that good images the form of heaven, concealing in itself inmostly the Lord Himself. For in all good that comes from the Lord there is a likeness of Him and therefore a likeness of heaven. But in all good that comes from man there is a likeness of man; and since man in himself is nothing but evil it is a likeness of hell. This is how greatly different good originating in the Lord is from good originating in man.

Good originating in the Lord exists with those who love the Lord above all things and their neighbour as themselves; but good originating in man exists with those who love themselves above all things and despise their neighbour in comparison with themselves. The latter are also those who are concerned for the morrow because they trust in themselves, whereas the former are those who are unconcerned for the morrow because they trust in the Lord, a matter dealt with above in 8478. Those who trust in the Lord are constantly receiving good from Him; for whatever happens to them, whether it seems to be advantageous or not advantageous, is nevertheless good, for it serves as a means contributing to their eternal happiness. But those who trust in themselves are constantly bringing evil on themselves, for whatever happens to them, even if it seems to be advantageous and fortunate, is nevertheless bad, and consequently acts as a means contributing to their eternal unhappiness. These are the things that are meant when it says that they were to leave none of the manna till the morning, and that any they did leave bred worms and putrified.