3438. 'Jehovah appeared to him that night, and said' means the Lord's perception regarding that obscurity. This is clear from the meaning of 'Jehovah's appearing and saying' - when it has reference to the Lord - as perceiving from the Divine ('Jehovah's appearing to him' is perception from the Divine, see 3367, and 'laying' is perceiving, 2862, 3395. For Jehovah was within Him, and so long as the Human was not yet glorified, Jehovah's 'appearing' was a Divine perception - or perception from the Divine. Therefore 'Jehovah's appearing to him and saying' has this meaning of perceiving from the Divine); and from the meaning of 'night' as a state of shade or obscurity, dealt with in 1712. By that obscurity is meant the literal sense of the Word, for the relationship of that sense to the internal sense is that of shade to light.

[2] To enable people to have a clearer knowledge of what the situation is with the literal sense of the Word, let this be discussed briefly: The relationship of the internal sense to the literal is like the relationship between the interiors and the exteriors of the human being, that is, between all that is celestial or spiritual in him and all that is natural or bodily. His interiors dwell in the light of heaven, but his exteriors in the light of the world. For the nature of the difference between the light of heaven and the light of the world, consequently for the difference between things belonging to the light of heaven and those belonging to the light of the world, see 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 1783, 1880, 2776, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3225, 3337, 3339, 3341, 3413. That is to say, the difference is like that existing between the light of day and the shade of night. Since man dwells in that shade and does not wish to know that truth from the Lord has light within it he inevitably believes that his shade is light, and indeed the reverse also - that his light is shade. For he is like the owl which, when flying in the shade of night, imagines it is in the light, but when flying in the light of day imagines it is in the shade. Indeed the internal eye - that is, the understanding - by means of which a person sees interiorly, assumes no other shape with someone like that, such being exactly how he has shaped it. For he opens it when he looks downwards, that is, to worldly and bodily things, and shuts it when he looks upwards, that is, to spiritual and celestial. With these people it is similar with the Word. That which appears in its literal sense they imagine to belong to the light but that which appears in the internal sense they imagine to belong to the shade. For how the Word appears to anyone depends on his own essential nature. In reality the internal sense of the Word in relation to its literal sense is like the light of heaven to the light of the world, 3086, 3108, that is, it is like the light of day to the light of night.

[3] Within the internal sense there are individual details, millions of which together constitute one particular feature that occurs in the literal sense. Or what amounts to the same, within the internal sense there exist particular features, millions of which together constitute just one general whole that occurs in the literal sense. This general whole is what is seen by man, but not the particular features which are present within it and which constitute it. Nevertheless man can see within the general whole the order that holds the particular features together, though he sees it according to his own essential nature. That order is the holiness which stirs his affections.

2776. 'Offer him as a burnt offering' means that He was to sanctify Himself to the Divine. This is clear from the representation of 'a burnt offering' among the Hebrew nation, and in the Jewish Church, as the holiest act of their worship. There were burnt offerings and there were sacrifices, and as regards what these represented, see 922, 923, 1823, 2180. Sanctifications were effected by means of burnt offerings and sacrifices, and that is why in this verse 'offering a burnt offering' means being sanctified to the Divine. For the Lord sanctified Himself to the Divine, that is, He united the Human to the Divine by means of the conflicts brought about by temptations, and by means of the victories in these, see 1663, 1690, 1692 (end), 1692, 1737, 1787, 1812, 1813, 1820.

[2] It is generally believed at the present day that the burnt offerings and sacrifices were signs of the Lord's passion, and that by His passion the Lord atoned for the iniquities of all. Indeed it is believed that He drew away those iniquities on to Himself, and thus bore them Himself, so that those who believe are made righteous and are saved, if only they think, even in the last hour prior to death, that the Lord suffered on their behalf, no matter how they may have lived throughout the whole course of their lives. But such beliefs are mistaken. The passion of the Cross was the utmost degree of temptation endured by the Lord, by means of which He fully united the Human to the Divine and the Divine to the Human, and by doing this glorified Himself. That union itself is the means by which people possessing faith in Him that is grounded in charity are able to be saved. For the Supreme Divine Itself was no longer able to reach the human race which had removed itself so far away from the celestial things of love, and from the spiritual things of faith, that people did not even recognize them any more, let alone perceive them. Consequently to enable the Supreme Divine to come down to all such as this, the Lord came into the world and united the Human to the Divine within Himself. This union could not have been effected except by means of the very severe conflicts brought about by temptations and by means of victories in these, and at length by means of the final temptation, which was that of the Cross.

[3] As a result of this the Lord is able from the Divine Human to enlighten human minds, even those that are quite remote from the celestial things of love, provided that faith grounded in charity is present in them. For in the next life the Lord appears to celestial angels as the Sun, and to spiritual angels as the Moon, 1053, 1521, 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495 - all the light of heaven flowing from Him. The light of heaven is such that when it enlightens the eyes of spirits and angels it also at the same time enlightens their understanding. This ability to enlighten the understanding also exists inherently within that light, so that the amount of internal light, that is, of understanding, which anyone possesses in heaven is the same as the amount of external light he has. This shows the way in which the light of heaven is different from the light of the world. It is the Lord's Divine Human that enlightens both the eyes and the understanding of those who are spiritual, but this could never be done unless the Lord had united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence. And unless He had united them neither men in the world, nor indeed any spiritual angel in heaven, would any longer have possessed any ability to understand or to perceive that which is good or true. Nor thus would they have possessed any blessedness and happiness at all, nor consequently any salvation at all. From this it becomes clear that the human race could not have been saved unless the Lord had assumed the Human and glorified it.

[4] From what has now been stated anyone may decide for himself the truth or otherwise of the idea that people are saved, no matter how they may have lived, if only they think from some inner emotion that the Lord suffered on their behalf and bore their sins. But in reality the light of heaven received from the Lord's Divine Human is able to reach none except those with whom there exists the good that accompanies faith, that is, who lead charitable lives, or what amounts to the same, who possess conscience. The level itself into which that light can operate, that is, the receptacle for that light, is the good that accompanies faith, which is charity and thus conscience. That those who are spiritual have salvation from the Lord's Divine Human, see 1043, 2661, 2716, 2718.