2811. And Abraham built there the altar. That this signifies the preparation of the Lord’s Human Divine, is evident from the signification of an “altar,” and of “building an altar.” “Altars” signified all worship in general, because they were the primary things of the worship of the representative church (n. 921); and as they signified all worship in general, they signified the Lord’s Divine Human, for the Lord’s Divine Human is all worship and all doctrine; so much so as to be worship itself and doctrine itself; as may be seen also from the Holy Supper, which succeeded to altars, or to burnt-offerings and sacrifices (n. 2165, 2187, 2343, 2359), and which is the primary thing of external worship, because it is the Lord’s Divine Human which is there given. That to “build an altar” is to prepare the Human Divine, is evident from the above, and thus without explication. The final preparation of the Lord’s Human Divine for undergoing the last degrees of temptation is treated of in this verse, and is described by Abraham laying the wood in order, binding Isaac his son, and placing him on the altar upon the wood.

2359. I pray you my brethren do not wickedly. That this signifies that they should not do violence to them, namely, to the good of charity and the Lord’s Divine Human and Holy proceeding, is evident from the signification of “doing wickedly,” as being to do violence. From all this it is evident that those are treated of who are within the church, and that it is they who are meant by the “men of Sodom;” for no one can do violence to these holy things except one who is in possession of the Word. That these things are most holy can be seen from the fact that no one can be admitted into the Lord’s kingdom (that is, into heaven) unless he is in the good of love and of charity; and no one can be in the good of love and of charity, unless he acknowledges the Lord’s Divine and Holy; for this good flows in from Him alone, and indeed into the good itself which is from Him. The Divine cannot flow in except into the Divine, nor be communicated to man except through the Lord’s Divine Human and His Holy thence derived. From this we can understand how it is that the Lord is the all in all of His kingdom; and also that nothing of the good that is with man is man’s, but is the Lord’s.