221. Of Sacrifices.

"Burnt-offerings" and "sacrifices" signified all things of worship from the good of love, and from the truths of faith (n. 923, 6905, 8680, 8936, 10042). "Burnt-offerings" and "sacrifices" also signified Divine celestial things, which are the internal things of the church, from which worship is derived (n. 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519). With a variation and difference according to the varieties of worship (n. 2805, 6905, 8936). Therefore there were many kinds of sacrifices, and various processes to be observed in them, and various beasts from which they were (n. 2830, 9391, 9990). The various things which they signified in general, may appear from unfolding the particulars by the internal sense (n. 10042). What "the beasts" which were sacrificed signified in particular (n. 10042). Arcana of heaven are contained in the rituals and processes of the sacrifices (n. 10057). In general they contained the arcana of the glorification of the Lord's Human; and in a respective sense, the arcana of the regeneration and purification of man from evils and falsities; wherefore they were prescribed for various sins, crimes, and purifications (n. 9990, 10022, 10042, 10053, 10057). What is signified by "the imposition of hands" on the beasts which were sacrificed (n. 10023). What by "the inferior parts of the slain beasts being put under their superior parts" in the burnt-offerings (n. 10051). What by "the meal-offerings" that were offered at the same time (n. 10079). What by "the drink-offering" (n. 4581, 10137). What by "the salt" which was used (n. 10300). What by "the altar" and all the particulars of it (n. 921, 2777, 2784, 2811-2812, 4489, 4541, 8935, 8940, 9388-9389, 9714, 9726, 9963-9964, 10028, 10123, 10151, 10242, 10245, 10344). What by "the fire of the altar" (n. 934, 6314, 6832). What by "eating together of the things sacrificed" (n. 2187, 8682). Sacrifices were not commanded, but charity and faith, thus that they were only permitted, shown from the Word (n. 922, 2180). Why they were permitted (n. 2180, 2818).

The burnt-offerings and sacrifices, which consisted of lambs, she-goats, sheep, kids, he-goats, and bullocks, were in one word called "Bread," is evident from the following passages:

And the priest shall burn it upon the altar; it is the bread of the offering made by fire unto Jehovah (Lev. 3: 11, 16).

The sons of Aaron shall be holy unto their God, neither shall they profane the name of their God; for the offerings of Jehovah made by fire, the bread of their God, they do offer. Thou shalt sanctify him, for he offered the bread of thy God. A man of the seed of Aaron, in whom there shall be a blemish, let him not approach to offer the bread of his God (Lev. 21: 68, 17, 21).

Command the sons of Israel, and say unto them, My offering, My bread, for My sacrifices made by fire for an odor of rest, ye shall observe, to offer unto Me in its stated time (Num. 28:2).

He who shall have touched an unclean thing shall not eat of the holy things, but he shall wash his flesh in water; and shall afterwards eat of the holy things, because it is his bread (Lev. 22:6, 7).

They who offer polluted bread upon My altar (Malachi 1:7).

Hence now, as has been said above (n. 214), the Holy Supper includes and comprehends all of the Divine worship instituted in the Israelitish Church; for the burnt-offerings and sacrifices in which the worship of that church principally consisted were called by the one word "bread." Hence, also, the Holy Supper is its fulfilling.

From what has been observed, it may now be seen what is meant by bread in John:

Jesus said to them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave them not that bread from heaven, but My Father giveth you the true bread from heaven, for the bread of God is He who came down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. They said unto Him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life; he that cometh to Me shall never hunger, and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst. He that believeth on Me hath eternal life. I am the bread of life. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven; that anyone may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone shall eat of this bread, he shall live forever (John 6: 31-35, 47-51).

From these passages, and from what has been said above, it appears that "bread" is all the good which proceeds from the Lord, for the Lord Himself is in His own good; and thus that "bread and wine" in the Holy Supper are all the worship of the Lord from the good of love and faith.

9715. 'From shittim wood' means righteousness. This is clear from the meaning of 'shittim wood' as the good of merit, and righteousness, which are the Lord's alone, dealt with in 9472, 9486. What righteousness and merit are, which are the Lord's alone, must be stated here and now. People think that the Lord earned merit and righteousness because He fulfilled all the requirements of the law and by His passion on the Cross saved the human race. But this is not what anyone should understand in the Word by the Lord's merit and righteousness. Rather they should understand by His merit and righteousness that He fought alone against all the hells and overcame them, and in so doing He restored to order everything in the hells and at the same time everything in the heavens. For each person has spirits from hell present with him, and angels from heaven; without them a person cannot lead any life at all. Unless the hells had been overcome by the Lord and the heavens restored to order no one could ever have been saved.

[2] Salvation could not have been won except through His Human, that is to say, except through conflicts with the hells, fought from His Human. And since the Lord did this by His own power, thus did it alone, to the Lord alone belong merit and righteousness. And for the same reason it is He alone who still conquers the hells with a person; for He who conquers them once conquers them for evermore. No one therefore has any merit or righteousness whatever; yet the Lord's merit and righteousness are his when he acknowledges that none is attributable to himself but all to the Lord. So it is that the Lord alone regenerates a person; for regenerating a person involves driving the hells away from him, consequently the evils and falsities which come from the hells, and implanting heaven in place of them, that is, forms of the good of love and the truths of faith since these constitute heaven. Through the conflicts engaged in repeatedly with the hells the Lord also glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine; for even as a person is regenerated by means of conflicts, which are temptations, so the Lord was glorified by means of conflicts, which were temptations. The glorification of the Lord's Human by His own power therefore is also merit and righteousness; for through this the person is saved because through it the Lord holds all the hells in subjection for evermore.

[3] The truth of all this is clear from places in the Word where the Lord's merit and righteousness are referred to, as in Isaiah,

Who is this who comes from Edom, with spattered clothes from Bozrah, marching in the vast numbers of His strength? I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Why are You red as to Your clothes, and Your clothes like his that treads in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the peoples not a man (vir) was with Me. Therefore I have trodden them in My anger, and trodden them down in My fury. Consequently their blood ¹ has been sprinkled on My clothes, and I have stained all My clothing. For the day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redeemed had come. I looked around, but there was no helper, and I wondered, but there was no one to uphold; therefore My own arm brought salvation to Me, and My own fury sustained Me. And I trod down the peoples in My anger, and shed their blood onto the ground. ² Therefore He became the Saviour. Isaiah 63:1-8.

These words, it is well known, have regard to the Lord. His conflicts with the hells are described by the references to spattered clothes, redness as to His clothes, clothes like his that treads in the winepress, and to the day of vengeance. His victories over the hells and His placing them in subjection are described by the statements that He trod them in His anger, as a consequence of which their blood was sprinkled on His clothes, and that He trod down the peoples in fury ³ and shed their blood onto the ground. The Lord's doing these things by His own power is described by the statements that He trod the winepress alone and from the peoples not a man was with Him; that He looked around but there was no helper, He wondered but there was no one to uphold; and that His own arm brought salvation to Him. Salvation coming as a result of all this is described by the statements that He was marching in the vast numbers of His strength, mighty to save; that the year of His redeemed had come; and that therefore He became their Saviour.

[4] The fact that all these things are aspects of righteousness is even more plainly evident elsewhere in the same prophet,

He saw that there was no man (vir), and wondered that there was no intercessor; therefore His own arm brought salvation to Him, and His righteousness lifted Him up. Consequently He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head. He put on clothes of vengeance, and covered Himself with zeal as if with a cloak. Isaiah 59:16-17.

And in the same prophet,

My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth, and My arms will judge the peoples. In Me the islands will hope, and on My arm they will trust. Isaiah 51:5.

'The arm' which brought salvation to Him and on which they will trust is His own power by which He placed the hells in subjection, 'arm' being power, see 4932, 7205. From this it is evident what righteousness is and what merit is, which are the Lord's alone.

[5] Something similar occurs elsewhere in the same prophet,

Who stirred up [One] from the East, [One] whom in righteousness He called to be His follower, gave the nations before Him, and caused Him to have dominion over kings? Isaiah 41:2.

In the same prophet,

I have caused My righteousness to draw near, it is not far off; My salvation will not delay. Isaiah 46:13.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah will clothe Me with the garments of salvation; with the robe of righteousness He has covered Me. Isaiah 61:10.

In David,

My mouth will tell of ⁴ Your righteousness, of Your salvation all the day; I cannot measure them. ⁵ I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone. Do not forsake me, until I have declared Your arm, Your power; for Your righteousness [reaches] all the way to the highest, O You who have done great things. Psalms 71:15-16, 18-19, 24.

In Jeremiah,

Behold, the days are coming when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, who will reign as King, and will prosper, and execute judgement and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name which they will call Him, Jehovah our Righteousness. Jeremiah 23:5-6; 33:15-16.

And in Daniel,

Seventy weeks have been decreed to atone for iniquity, and to bring everlasting righteousness. ⁶ Daniel 9:24.

[6] The truth that righteousness and merit, which are the Lord's alone, consist in the Lord's subjection of the hells, His restoration of the heavens to order, and the glorification of His Human, and in the salvation that results from all this for the person who receives the Lord in love and faith, becomes clear from the places which have just been quoted. Yet people can have no understanding of this if they do not know that spirits from hell are present with a person and that from them evils and falsities come to him, and also that angels from heaven are present and that from them forms of good and truths come to him; if they do not know that a person's life is for this reason linked on one side to the hells and on the other to the heavens, that is, through the heavens to the Lord; and if they do not know that therefore no one could ever be saved unless the hells had been subdued and the heavens restored to order, and all things had accordingly been made subject to the Lord.

[7] From all this it may be seen why it should be that the good of merit that is the Lord's is the one and only good that reigns in the heavens, as stated above in 9486. For the good of merit now consists also in the everlasting subjection of the hells and the protection of true believers. This good is the good of the Lord's love; for it was from Divine Love that He engaged in conflict while in the world and was victorious. And it is from Divine Power in the Human acquired through that victory that, then and for evermore, on behalf of heaven and the Church and thus the entire human race, He fights alone, conquers, and so brings salvation. This then is the good of merit, which is called righteousness; for the work of righteousness consists in keeping the hells in check as they try to destroy the human race, and in protecting and saving those who are good and are true believers.

Regarding the Lord's conflicts or temptations when He was in the world, see 1663, 1668, 1690, 1691 (end), 1692, 1737, 1787, 1812, 1813, 1820, 2776, 2786, 2795, 2803, 2814, 2816, 4287, 7193, 8273.

The Lord fights alone for the human race against the hells, 1692 (end), 6574, 8159, 8172, 8175, 8176, 8273, 8969.

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