9547. Verses 31-39. And thou shalt make a lampstand of pure gold; solid shall the lampstand be made, its shaft, and its reed, its cups, its pomegranates, and its flowers, shall be out of it; and there shall be six reeds going out of the sides thereof; three reeds of the lampstand out of the one side thereof, and three reeds of the lampstand out of the other side thereof; three almond-shaped cups in one reed, a pomegranate and a flower; and three almond-shaped cups in one reed, a pomegranate and a flower; so for the six reeds, going out of the lampstand; and in the lampstand four almond-shaped cups, its pomegranates, and its flowers; and a pomegranate under two reeds out of it, and a pomegranate under two reeds out of it, and a pomegranate under two reeds out of it, for the six reeds going out of the lampstand. Their pomegranates and their reeds shall be out of it, all of them, one solid of pure gold. And thou shalt make the lamps thereof, seven; and it shall make its lamps go up, to give light over against the faces of it. And the tongs thereof, and the basins thereof shall be of pure gold. Of a talent of pure gold shall it be made, with all these vessels. “And thou shalt make a lampstand” signifies the spiritual heaven; “of pure gold” signifies that it is from celestial good; “solid shall the lampstand be made,” signifies that all is from good; “its shaft, and its reed, its cups,” signifies spiritual things in the natural; “its pomegranates,” signifies the memory-knowledges of good; “and its flowers,” signifies the memory-knowledges of truth; “shall be out of it,” signifies that they shall be from the spiritual which is from celestial good; “and there shall be six reeds going out of the sides thereof,” signifies all things of truth from good in the complex; “three reeds of the lampstand out of the one side thereof, and three reeds of the lampstand out of the other side thereof,” signifies full in respect to good and truth; “three almond-shaped cups,” signifies full in respect to memory-knowledges from good; “in one reed,” signifies the power of truth from good; “a pomegranate and a flower,” signifies the memory-knowledge of good and the memory-knowledge of truth; “and three almond-shaped cups in the other reed, a pomegranate and a flower,” signifies the like things; “so for the six reeds going out of the lampstand,” signifies the power of truth from good in respect to all things in the spiritual heaven; “and in the lampstand,” signifies the middle of it through which there is conjunction, and from which are powers; “four almond-shaped cups,” signifies the memory-knowledges of truth from good; “its pomegranates, and its flowers,” signifies the memory-knowledges of good and of truth; “and a pomegranate under two reeds out of it, and a pomegranate under two reeds out of it, and a pomegranate under two reeds out of it,” signifies the memory-knowledge of good for all the several truths; “for the six reeds going out of the lampstand,” signifies the power of truth from good in respect to all things in the spiritual heaven; “their pomegranates and their reeds shall be out of it; all of it,” signifies that the memory-knowledges of good and the powers shall be from the Divine spiritual which is from the Lord; “one solid of pure gold,” signifies entire and perfect because from the same good; “and thou shalt make the lamps thereof, seven,” signifies holy spiritual things from thence; “and it shall make its lamps go up,” signifies the light of the spiritual heaven; “and it shall give light over against the faces of it,” signifies from the Divine good of the Divine Human of the Lord; “and the tongs thereof, and the basins thereof,” signifies the purifiers and evacuators in the natural; “shall be of pure gold,” signifies also from good; “of a talent of pure gold shall it be made, with all these vessels,” signifies celestial good from which is spiritual good together with its memory-knowledges.

3138. These three verses treat of the preparation and enlightenment of the natural man in order that the truth might be called forth thence which was to be conjoined with good in the rational. But with preparation and enlightenment the case is as follows: There are two lights which form the intellectual things of man-the light of heaven, and the light of the world; the light of heaven is from the Lord, who to angels in the other life is a Sun and Moon (see n. 1053, 1521, 1529, 1530); the light of the world is from the sun and moon which appear before the bodily sight. The internal man has its sight and its understanding from the light of heaven; but the external man has its sight and its understanding from the light of the world. The influx of the light of heaven into the things which are of the world’s light, effects enlightenment and at the same time observance; an observance of truth if there is correspondence, and an observance of falsity instead of truth if there is not correspondence. But enlightenment and observance are impossible unless there is affection or love, which is spiritual heat, and which gives life to the things that are enlightened by the light; comparatively as the sun’s light does not give life to the things of the vegetable kingdom, but the heat that is in the light, as is evident from the seasons of the year.

[2] In the verses which next follow, the preparation is further described-namely, that the light of heaven which is the Lord’s Divine light inflowed into the things that were of the light of the world in His natural man, in order that He might bring out thence the truth which was to be conjoined with good in the rational; thus by the ordinary way. And therefore in order that the Lord might make the human Divine by the ordinary way, He came into the world; that is, it was His will to be born as a man, and to be instructed as a man, and to be reborn as a man; but with the difference that man is reborn of the Lord, whereas the Lord not only regenerated Himself, but also glorified Himself, that is, made Himself Divine; and further, that a man is made new by an influx of charity and faith, but the Lord, by the Divine love which was in Him and which was His. Hence it may be seen that the regeneration of man is an image of the glorification of the Lord; or what is the same, that in the process of the regeneration of man may be seen as in an image, although remotely, the process of the Lord’s glorification.