9595. 'Ten curtains' means all the truths of which it consists. This is clear from the meaning of 'ten' as all, dealt with in 4638, so that 'a tenth part', which is one curtain, means a sufficient amount, 8468, 8540; and from the meaning of 'curtains' as the interior truths of faith which belong to the new understanding. For 'the dwelling-place' means the middle or second heaven, which is heaven by virtue of its reception of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good, as shown above in 9594; consequently the curtains of which it was assembled and which enveloped it are the truths of faith belonging to the new understanding. They are interior truths, because exterior truths are meant by the curtains made from [the hair of] goats for the tent going all the way round, which are also dealt with in the present chapter.

[2] The fact that 'curtains' are the truths of faith which those in the Lord's spiritual kingdom possess is clear from places in the Word where they are mentioned, as in Isaiah,

Sing, O barren one that did not bear; for the sons of her that is desolate will be more than the sons of her that is married. Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwelling-places. Lengthen the ropes, because you will break out to the right and to the left, and your seed will inherit the nations. Isaiah 54:1-3.

This refers to the Church to be established among the gentiles, which is called 'a barren one that did not bear' because it lacks truths from the Word, 9325. It says that 'her sons will be more than those of her that is married' because it will have more truths than the devastated former Church had; for 'sons' are truths, 489, 491, 533, 1147, 3373, 3704. 'Enlarging the place of the tent' stands for the holiness of worship springing from the good of love, 3312, 4391, 4599, 'stretching out the curtains of dwelling-places' for the holiness of worship springing from the truths of faith.

[3] In Jeremiah,

The whole land has been laid waste. Suddenly My tents have been laid waste, My curtains in a moment. Jeremiah 4:20.

'A land laid waste' stands for the Church, 9325, 'tents laid waste' for the holiness of worship springing from the good of love, 'curtains laid waste' for holy worship springing from the truths of faith.

[4] In the same prophet,

My tent has been laid waste, and all My ropes torn away. My sons have gone away from Me, and they are not. There is no one stretching out My tent any more, and setting up My curtains. For the shepherds have become stupid. Jeremiah 10:20-21.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same prophet,

Arise and go up against Arabia, and lay waste the sons of the east. They will take their tents and flocks, their curtains and all their vessels, and bear their camels away for themselves. Jeremiah 49:28-29.

'Arabia' and 'the sons of the east' stand for those with cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, 3249; 'taking tents and flocks' stands for taking the Church's forms of interior good, 8937, 'taking curtains' for taking the Church's interior truths, 'their vessels' the Church's exterior truths, 3068, 3079, 'camels' general facts, 3048, 3071, 3143, 3145. In Habakkuk,

Below Aven I saw the tents of Cushan; the curtains of Midian shook. Habakkuk 3:7.

'The curtains of Midian' stands for the truths with those governed by simple good, 3242, 4756, 4788, 6773, 6775.

[5] All this shows what is meant by the following in David,

O Jehovah, You have put on glory and honour - He who covers Himself with light, as if with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a curtain. Psalms 104:1-2.

'Covering Himself with light, as if with a garment' stands for Divine Truths. Truth is meant by 'light', see 9548, and also by 'a garment', 4545, 4763, 5319, 5954, 9093, 9212, 9216; therefore 'stretching out the heavens like a curtain' means enlarging the heavens by means of an influx of God's truth, from which come intelligence and wisdom. 'Stretching and spreading out the heavens' has reference to the new or regenerated understanding part of the mind, see at the end of the very next paragraph, 9596.

2455. That 'she became a pillar of salt' means that all good accompanying truth was vastated becomes clear from the meaning of 'a pillar' and from the meaning of 'salt'. In the original language the word used for a pillar means something standing still, not however that used for a pillar which was erected either for worship, or as a sign or for a witness. Consequently 'the pillar of salt' mentioned here means that it - the truth meant by Lot's wife - stood as something vastated, 2454. Truth is said to be vastated when it no longer has any good within it - vastation itself being meant by 'salt'.

[2] As most things in the Word have two meanings, namely the genuine and the contrary to this, so also does 'salt'. In the genuine sense it means the affection for truth, in the contrary sense the vastation of the affection for truth, that is, of the good within truth. That 'salt' means the affection for truth, see Exodus 30:35; Leviticus 2:13; Matthew 5:13; Mark 9:49-50; Luke 14:34-35. That it also means the vastation of the affection for truth, that is, of the good within truth, is clear from the following places: In Moses,

The whole land will be brimstone and salt, a burning; it will not be sown, it will not sprout, nor will any plant come up on it, as at the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Admah and Zeboiim. Deuteronomy 29:23.

Here 'brimstone' is the vastation of good, and 'salt' the vastation of truth. That vastation is the meaning is evident from each detail.

[3] In Zephaniah,

Moab will be like Sodom, and the children of Ammon like Gomorrah, a place abandoned to the nettle, and a saltpit, and a desolation for ever. Zephaniah 2:9.

Here 'a place abandoned to the nettle' stands for vastated good, 'a salt pit' for vastated truth; for 'a place abandoned to the nettle' refers to Sodom, which has been shown to mean evil or vastated good, and 'a salt pit' to Gomorrah, which has been shown to mean falsity or vastated truth. That vastation is the meaning is evident from its being called 'a desolation for ever'. In Jeremiah,

He who makes flesh his arm will be like a bare shrub in the solitary place and will not see when good comes; and he will inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited. Jeremiah 17:5-6.

Here 'a parched land' stands for vastated goods, 'a salt land' for vastated truths.

[4] In David,

Jehovah turns rivers into a wilderness, and outgoings of waters into a dryness, a fruitful land into a salty waste because of the wickedness of those inhabiting it. Psalms 107:33-34.

'A fruitful land into a salty waste' stands for the vastation of the good within truth. In Ezekiel,

Its swamps and its marshes are not healed, they will be given up to salt. Ezekiel 47:11.

'Given up to salt' stands for being utterly vastated as regards truth. Because 'salt' meant vastation and 'cities' matters of doctrine concerning truth, as shown in 402, 2268, 2428, 2451, cities that had been destroyed were in former times sown with salt to prevent their being rebuilt, Judges 9:45. The description at this point is of the fourth state of the Church represented by 'Lot', a state in which all truth has been vastated as regards good.