10137. 'And a drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine' means spiritual truth, the amount needed for a joining together. This is clear from the meaning of 'wine' as truth, dealt with in 1071, 1798, 6377, at this point spiritual truth answering to the spiritual good derived from celestial good, meant by 'fine flour mixed with oil', dealt with immediately above in 10136 (where good is the subject in the Word, so too is truth, and indeed the truth belonging to the same class as the good. This is so because every single thing in heaven and also in the world has connection with good or with truth, and with both if it is to have any real existence, since good without truth is not good and truth without good is not truth, see the places referred to in 9263, 9314. This explains why when a minchah, which consisted of bread, was offered, so was a drink offering, which consisted of wine, in much the same way as in the Holy Supper. So it is that 'a drink offering of wine' is used here to mean the truth that answers to the good meant by a minchah, dealt with immediately above); and from the meaning of 'a quarter of a hin' as the amount needed for a joining together, dealt with immediately above in 10136.

[2] Everyone may see that not merely bread and wine should be understood by a minchah, which consisted of bread, and a drink offering, which consisted of wine, but something that belongs to the Church and to heaven, thus spiritual and celestial things, which are heaven's and the Church's. If this had not been so what would have been the point of putting the bread and wine on the fire on the altar? How could this have been pleasing to Jehovah, or how could it have been, as it says, an odour of rest to Him? How could it have expiated a person? Anyone who thinks reverently about the Word cannot imagine how an action so earthly could be pleasing to Jehovah unless something Divine on a deeper, more internal level was contained in it. The person who believes that the Word is Divine and spiritual throughout ought to believe completely that every detail there has some heavenly arcanum concealed within it. But the reason why no one up to now has known just where such an arcanum lies is that no one has known that an internal sense, which is spiritual and Divine, exists within every detail there. Nor has anyone known that angels are present with each person, perceiving his thoughts and understanding the Word in a spiritual manner when he reads it; that then through them a holy influence from the Lord reaches him; and that therefore through those angels heaven is linked to the person, to whom the Lord is linked by means of the heavens. It is for this reason that the kind of Word just described has been given to mankind, that Word being the sole means by which the Lord can provide for his salvation.

[3] The fact that 'minchah', consisting of bread, means the good of love and that 'drink offering', consisting of wine, means the good of faith, and that this is what the angels see in them, becomes clear from all those places in the Word which make reference to a minchah or a drink offering, such as these verses in Joel,

The minchah has been cut off, and the drink offering, from the house of Jehovah; the priests have been mourning, the ministers of Jehovah. The field has been devastated, the land has been mourning because the grain has been devastated, the new wine has dried up, the oil languishes. The vine has dried up and the fig tree languishes. Wail, O ministers of the altar, because the minchah and the drink offering have been withheld from the house of your God. For the day of Jehovah is near, and comes as destruction from Shaddai. Joel 1:9-15.

This refers to the final period of the Church, when the good of love and truth of faith are not present there any longer, meant by 'the day of Jehovah is near, and comes as destruction from Shaddai'.

[4] From this it is evident that by the minchah and drink offering which have been cut off from the house of Jehovah, the field which has been devastated, the land which mourns, the grain which too has been devastated, the new wine which has dried up, the oil which languishes, and the vine and fig which do so, such things as belong to the Church and to heaven are meant. It is the internal sense however that shows what it is they mean. From that sense it is evident that 'the field' means the Church as regards its reception of truth, see 3766, 4982, 7502, 7571, 9295; 'the land' the Church as regards [its reception of] good, see the places referred to in 9325; 'the grain' all the good that the Church has, 5295, 5410, 5959; 'the new wine' all the truth that the Church has, 3580; 'the oil' the good of love, 4582, 4638, 9780; 'the vine' the spiritual Church's interior good, 5113, 6376, 9277; and 'the fig' its exterior good, 217, 4231, 5113. From all this it is evident that 'the minchah' and 'the drink offering' mean worship springing from the good of love and from the good of faith.

[5] In Malachi,

I will not accept a minchah from your hands. For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, great is the name of Jehovah among the nations; and in every place [there will be] incense, offered to My name, and a pure minchah. Malachi 1:10-11.

It is evident that a minchah should not be understood here either by 'a minchah', nor incense by 'incense', since the subject is the Church among the gentile nations, among whom there was no minchah. For it says, 'From the rising of the sun to its setting, great is the name of Jehovah among the nations; and in every place [there will be] a pure minchah and incense', 'incense' meaning adoration springing from the good of faith, see 9475.

[6] Something similar occurs in David,

My prayers are acceptable, [as] incense before You, the lifting up of my hands, [as] the evening minchah. Psalms 141:2.

'The evening minchah' means the good of love in the external man.

[7] In Isaiah,

You inflamed yourselves among the gods under every green tree. You have also poured out a drink offering to them; you have presented a gift ¹ . You offer the king a gift in oil, and multiply your perfumes; and you debase yourself even to hell. Isaiah 57:5-6, 9.

This refers to worship based on evils and falsities which come from hell. 'The gods' in the internal sense are falsities, for although those who worshipped other gods called them by name, nevertheless falsities arising from evils were what they worshipped. Regarding the gods of the foreigner in the Word, that falsities are meant by them, see 4402(end), 8941. '[Every] green tree' means every perception, recognition, and corroboration of falsity, 2722, 2972, 4552, 7692, 'green' implying a sensory apprehension, 7691. 'Inflaming oneself' means worship that is passionate, for 'the fire' that causes such fervour is love in both senses, 5215, 6832, 7575. 'Pouring out a drink offering' is worship springing from the falsities of evil; 'offering the king a gift in oil' is the worship of Satan springing from evils, 'a gift in oil' being a minchah, and 'multiplying perfumes' is multiplying offerings of incense, by which acts of adoration are meant, 9475. Therefore it also says that he debases himself even to hell.

[8]From these considerations it becomes clear that 'a minchah', which consisted of bread, and 'a drink offering', which consisted of wine, mean things such as belong to the Church and to heaven, namely heavenly food and drink, in the same way as the bread and wine in the Holy Supper do - for the reason given above, that heaven may join itself to a person through the Word, consequently that the Lord may do so through heaven by means of the Word. Since the Divine presence in the Word consists in such things it nourishes the minds not only of people in the world but also of angels and causes heaven and the world to be one.

[9] From this it also becomes clear that all the things without exception which have been stated and commanded in the Word regarding the minchah and drink offering, or bread and wine, contain Divine arcana within them. This is so for example with the requirement that a minchah should consist of fine flour which had oil and also frankincense on it, that it should be altogether salted, and that it should be unleavened or without yeast. Then there is the requirement that there was to be one set of proportions for the mixture when a lamb was sacrificed, another when it was a ram, another when it was a young bull, and yet another in guilt- and sin-sacrifices, while the proportions in other sacrifices were different again. The proportion of wine in the drink offering varied in a similar way. Unless these specific requirements had embodied the arcana of heaven no such things would ever have been commanded in connection with the various forms of worship.

[10] To enable these different requirements to be seen alongside one another, let them be set out here in their own order, as contained in the eucharistic sacrifices and burnt offerings, in Numbers 15:4-12; 28:9-12, 20-21, 28-29; 29:3-4, 9-10, 14-15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 37,

For each lamb there was a minchah consisting of one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil; and the wine for the drink offering was a quarter of a hin.

For each ram there was a minchah consisting of two tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour, and a third of a hin of oil; and a third of a hin of wine for the drink offering.

For each young bull there was a minchah consisting of three tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil, a half of a hin; and half of a hin of wine for the drink offering.

The reason why the proportions of fine flour, oil, and wine for a lamb should be different from those for a ram or for a young bull was that a lamb meant the inmost good of innocence, a ram the middle good of innocence, and a young bull the lowest or external good of innocence. For there are three heavens - the inmost, the middle, and the lowest - and therefore also there are three degrees of the good of innocence. The increase of it from first to last is meant by the increase in the proportions of fine flour, oil, and wine. It should be remembered that the good of innocence is the very soul of heaven, because that good alone is the recipient of the love, charity, and faith which constitute the heavens.

'A lamb' means the inmost good of innocence, see 3994, 10132.

'A ram' means the middle or interior good of innocence, 10042.

'A young bull' means the lowest or external good of innocence, 9391, 9990.

[11] In sacrifices for thanksgiving (confessio) however there was a minchah consisting of unleavened cakes mixed with oil, unleavened wafers anointed with oil, cakes made of fried flour and mixed with oil, and in addition leavened bread cakes, Leviticus 7:11-12; and in guilt- and sin-sacrifices there was a minchah consisting of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, but without oil or frankincense on top of it, Leviticus 5:11. The reason why no oil or frankincense should be put on top of the minchah composing a sin- or guilt-sacrifice was that 'oil' is a sign of the good of love and 'frankincense' a sign of the truth which goes with that good, and a sin- or a guilt-sacrifice is a sign of purification and expiation from evils and the falsities arising from them, which therefore were not to be mingled with good or the truth springing from it.

[12] In addition to these there were the minchah of Aaron and his sons on the day they were going to be anointed, see Leviticus 6:20-22; the minchah of the firstfruits of the harvest, Leviticus 2:14-15; 23:10, 12-13, 17; the minchah of the Nazirite, Numbers 6:13-21]; the minchah of jealousy, Numbers 5:11-31]; the minchah of one cleansed from leprosy, Leviticus 14:1-32]; and also the minchah baked in an oven, the minchah prepared in a pan, and the minchah cooked in a pot, Leviticus 2:4-7. There was was to be no yeast in a minchah, nor any honey; and the minchah had to be fully salted, Leviticus 2:11, 13. The reason why there should be no yeast in a minchah, nor any honey, was that in the spiritual sense 'yeast' means falsity arising from evil, and 'honey' external delight very much mixed with the delight belonging to love of the world, which also causes fermentation in heavenly forms of good and truths and subsequent disintegration of them. And the reason why they should be fully salted was that 'salt' was a sign of truth desiring good and so joining the two together.

'Yeast' means falsity arising from evil, see 2342, 7906, 8051, 9992.

'Honey' means external delight, thus such delight belonging to love in both senses, 5620.

'Salt' means truth desiring good, 9207.

Footnotes:

1551. That 'silver' means truths is clear from the meaning of 'silver' as truth. The most ancient people compared the goods and truths present in man to metals. Innermost or celestial goods which flow from love to the Lord they compared to gold, truths deriving from these to silver. Goods of a lower or natural kind however they compared to bronze, and truths of a lower kind to iron. Nor did they just compare them; they also called them such. This was the origin of periods of time being likened to those same metals and being called the golden, silver, bronze, and iron ages, for these followed in that order one after another. The golden age was the time of the Most Ancient Church, which was celestial man. The silver age was the time of the Ancient Church, which was spiritual man. The bronze age was the time of the Church that followed, and the iron age came after that. Similar things were also meant by the statue which Nebuchadnezzar saw in a dream, whose head was of fine gold, breast and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, and shins of iron, Daniel 2:32-33. That periods of the Church were to follow one another in that order, and actually did so, is clear in that very chapter of the same prophet.

[2] That 'silver' in the internal sense of the Word wherever it is mentioned means truth, or in the contrary sense falsity, is clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver, and instead of wood, bronze, and instead of stones, iron. And I will make peace your assessment, and righteousness your tax-collectors. Isaiah 60:17.

Here it is evident what each metal means. The subject is the Lord's Coming, His kingdom, and the celestial Church. 'Instead of bronze, gold' is celestial good in place of natural good; 'instead of iron, silver' is spiritual truth in place of natural truth; 'instead of wood, bronze' is natural good in place of bodily good; 'instead of stone, iron' is natural truth in place of truth acquired through the senses. In the same prophet,

Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the water, and he who has no money, ¹ come, buy and eat! Isaiah 55:1.

'He who has no money' ¹ is the person who does not know the truth but who nevertheless possesses the good that stems from charity, as is the case with many people inside the Church, and with gentiles outside it.

[3] In the same prophet,

The islands will wait for Me, the ships of Tarshish at their head, to bring your sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them, to the name of Jehovah your God, and to the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 60:9.

This refers specifically to a new Church, or a Church among gentiles, and in general to the Lord's kingdom. 'Ships from Tarshish' stands for cognitions, 'silver' for truths, and 'gold' for goods, which are those things they 'will bring to the name of Jehovah'. In Ezekiel,

For your adornment you took vessels made of My gold and of My silver, which I had given you, and you made for yourselves figures of the male. Ezekiel 16:17.

Here 'gold' stands for cognitions of celestial things, 'silver' of spiritual things. In the same prophet,

You were adorned with gold and silver, and your raiment was fine linen and silk, and embroidered cloth. Ezekiel 16:13.

This refers to Jerusalem, by which the Lord's Church is meant, whose adornment is being described in this manner. In the same prophet,

Behold, you who are wise, there is no secret they have hidden from you; by your wisdom and by your intelligence you have acquired riches for yourself, and you have acquired gold and silver in your treasuries. Ezekiel 28:3-4.

Here, in what is said in reference to Tyre, 'gold' is plainly identified with the riches of wisdom, and 'silver' with the riches of intelligence.

[4] In Joel,

You have taken My silver and My gold, and My good and desirable treasures you have carried into your temples. Joel 3:5.

This refers to Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia, which mean cognitions, and these are 'the silver and the gold they took into their temples'. In Haggai,

The elect of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory. Mine is the silver, and Mine is the gold. The glory of this latter house will be greater than that of the former. Haggai 2:7-9.

This refers to the Lord's Church to which 'gold and silver' have reference. In Malachi,

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi. Malachi 3:3.

This refers to the Coming of the Lord. In David,

The words of Jehovah are pure words, silver refined in an earthen crucible, poured seven times. Psalms 12:6.

'Silver purified seven times' stands for Divine truth. At the time of their exodus out of Egypt the children of Israel were commanded that every woman should ask of her neighbour, and of her who sojourned in her house, vessels of silver and vessels of gold and garments, and that they should put them on their sons and on their daughters, and so despoil the Egyptians, Exodus 3:22; 11:2-3; 12:35-36. Anyone may see from this that the children of Israel would never have been ordered to steal and despoil the Egyptians of those possessions in that way if these did not represent some arcana. But what those arcana are may become clear from the meaning of 'silver and gold, garments, and Egypt', and from the fact that what these possessions represented is similar to the words here 'rich in the silver and gold from Egypt', used in reference to Abram.

[5] Just as 'silver' means truth so in a contrary sense it means falsity, for people under the influence of falsity imagine falsity to be the truth, as is also clear in the Prophets. In Moses,

You shall not covet the silver and the gold of the nations, nor take it for yourself, lest you be ensnared by it, for it is an abomination to Jehovah your God. You shall utterly detest it. Deuteronomy 7:25-26.

'The gold of the nations' stands for evils, and 'their silver' for falsities. In the same author,

You shall not make gods of silver to be with Me, nor shall you make for yourselves gods of gold. Exodus 20:23.

In the internal sense these words mean nothing other than falsities and evil desires, falsities being meant by 'gods of silver', and evil desires by 'gods of gold'. In Isaiah,

On that day everyone will spurn his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which your hands have made for you - a sin. Isaiah 31:7.

'Idols of silver and idols of gold' stands for similar things that are false and evil 'Which your hands have made' stands for what is a product of the proprium. In Jeremiah,

They are foolish and stupid; that wood is a way of learning vanities! Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the smith and of the hands of the moulder. Their clothing is violet and purple These are all the work of the wise. Jeremiah 10:8-9.

Here 'silver' and 'gold' quite clearly stand for similar things that are false and evil.

Footnotes: