80. There Is a Marriage of the Lord and the Church in the Details of the Word and a Consequent Marriage of Goodness and Truth

UNTIL the present time, no one has seen that there is a marriage of the Lord and the church in the details of the Word and a consequent marriage of goodness and truth, and no one could see it because the spiritual meaning of the Word had not been uncovered, and without this, the marriage cannot be seen.

There are two levels of meaning in the Word that are hidden within the literal meaning, namely, a spiritual level and a heavenly level. Spiritually understood, the contents of the Word refer for the most part to the church, while understood on a heavenly level they refer for the most part to the Lord. On a spiritual level they also refer to divine truth and on a heavenly level they refer to divine goodness. As a result, this marriage is found in the literal meaning of the Word.

However, this is not apparent to anyone who does not know the meanings of words and names on the basis of the spiritual and heavenly meanings of the Word, since some words and names focus attention on what is good and some on what is true, and some include both, so unless this is realized the marriage in the details of the Word cannot be seen. That is why this mystery has not been disclosed before.

2812. 'And laid the pieces of wood in order' means the righteousness that was allied to it. This is clear from the meaning of 'the pieces of wood for a burnt offering' as the merit of righteousness, dealt with above in 2784, 2798, and of 'laying the pieces of wood in order on the altar' as allying it to the Divine human. The merit of righteousness is allied when it is present, and there is from truth the conviction that it belongs to Him.