9596. 'From fine twined linen and violet and purple and twice-dyed scarlet' means the spiritual and celestial realities from which those truths are derived. This is clear from the meaning of 'fine twined linen' as truth from a celestial origin, dealt with in 9469; from the meaning of 'violet' as the celestial love of truth, dealt with in 9466; from the meaning of 'purple' as the celestial love of good, dealt with in 9467; and from the meaning of 'twice-dyed scarlet' as spiritual good or the good of truth, dealt with in 9468. Such is the order in which the spiritual and celestial realities, or the truths and forms of good, present with a person or an angel who is in the middle or second heaven follow one another. For truth from a celestial origin, meant by 'fine twined linen' comes first; then the love of or affection for truth, meant by 'violet'; after that the resulting love of or affection for good, meant by 'purple'; and finally spiritual good, meant by 'twice-dyed scarlet'.

[2] Because this is the order in which the spiritual and celestial realities follow one another 'fine twined linen' is here mentioned first; but in the case of the veil that hung between the dwelling-place and the ark, or between the holy place and the holy of holies, dealt with in verse 31 of the present chapter, it is mentioned last. The reason why 'fine twined linen' is mentioned last in the case of the veil is that 'the veil' means the intermediary uniting the inmost heaven to the middle heaven, and therefore within this intermediary it must come last, in order that - to link the two heavens - it may then be first in the second of them.

[3] But properly 'fine twined linen' means the understanding part of the mind as it exists with the spiritual man or with an angel in the Lord's spiritual heaven. The reason why the understanding part is meant by 'fine twined linen' is that with the spiritual man a new will part is implanted by the Lord within the understanding part of his mind, see 863, 875, 895, 927, 1023, 1043, 1044, 1555, 2256, 4328, 4493, 5113; and since the understanding part in the spiritual man is meant by 'fine twined linen', so too is spiritual truth meant. This is because all truth belongs to the understanding part, and all good to the will part, 3623, 9300; for the understanding part is the receiver (subjectum) or container and the truth is what belongs to it, and these two make one. From these considerations also it may be seen that the actual understanding part of the mind with those who belong to the Lord's spiritual kingdom is in the strict sense 'the dwelling-place', 9296, 9297, and that the spreading out of the curtains serves to describe it.

[4] From all this what 'spreading and stretching out the heavens' means in the following places may be recognized, such as in Isaiah,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens, spreads out the earth, gives breath ¹ to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it. Isaiah 42:5.

In the same prophet,

I am Jehovah who makes all things, stretches out the heavens Alone, [and] spreads out the earth by Myself. Isaiah 44:24.

In the same prophet,

It was I that made the earth and created man on it. It was I - My hands - that stretched out the heavens. Isaiah 45:12.

In Jeremiah,

... He who makes the earth by His power, prepares the world by His wisdom, and stretches out the heavens by His intelligence. Jeremiah 51:15.

In Zechariah,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens, and founds the earth, and forms the spirit of man within him. Zechariah 12:1.

[5] 'Stretching out the heavens and spreading out the earth' is plainly similar in meaning to stretching and spreading out a dwelling-place by the use of curtains. And by this is meant regenerating a person and thereby creating or forming a new understanding in which there is a new will, which is the spiritual person's actual heaven in which the Lord dwells with that person. The fact that the regeneration or the formation of a new understanding, and of a new will within it, and so of a new person, is what 'stretching out the heavens and spreading out the earth' means is evident from actual explanations provided in the places quoted above. For they speak of Him who gives breath to the people on the earth, and spirit to those who walk on it, and also of Him who forms the spirit of man within him. 'Heaven and earth' means the Church, internal and external, see 1733, 1850, 2117, 2118, 3355, 4535, and 'the earth' in general means the Lord's kingdom and the Church, 9334; and these meanings too are plainly apparent in those places. For if 'the earth' did not have that meaning what sense could be made of 'spreading out the earth' and 'founding the earth', or 'forming the spirit of man within him ² '?

[6] The fact that 'stretching out the heavens and spreading out the earth' here is similar in meaning to stretching and spreading out a dwelling-place by the use of curtains is clear from other places where the same idea is stated even more plainly, as in Isaiah,

Jehovah is He who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. Isaiah 40:22.

In the same prophet,

Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwelling-places. Isaiah 54:2.

And in David,

Jehovah covers Himself with light, as if with a garment; He stretches out the heavens as a curtain. Psalms 104:2.

These places also show what 'the expanse' or that which is spread out means in the first chapter of Genesis,

God said, Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let there be a distinguishing of the waters from the waters. And God made the expanse and He made a distinction between the waters that were under the expanse and the waters that were above the expanse, And God called the expanse Heaven. Genesis 1:6-8.

That first chapter describes the regeneration of a member of the celestial Church, 'the expanse' describing his new will and understanding. 'The waters under the expanse and those above the expanse' are the truths of the external man and those of the internal man. For the meaning of 'waters' as truths, see 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 8568, 9323.

Footnotes:

6854. 'And I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians' means that He would stoop down to them to release them from the power of false factual knowledge, which tries to destroy the truths of the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'coming down' as stooping down, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'to deliver' as to release, for one who releases people from falsities delivers or sets them free; from the meaning of 'the hand' as the power, dealt with in 878, 3387, 3563, 4931-4937, 5544; and from the meaning of 'the Egyptians' as false factual knowledge, which is opposed to the Church's truths, dealt with in 6651, 6679, 6683, and so which tries to destroy them. As regards the Lord's coming down, the situation is that the Lord is said to come or stoop down when He comes to judgement, 1311, and also when He comes down to lower things, in this instance to those belonging to the spiritual Church, who are meant by 'the children of Israel'. For the subject in the internal sense is the way in which those people are molested by falsities, at which time they undergo temptations, and the way in which after that they are set free in order that they may be led into heaven.

[2] But the contents of the internal sense of this verse and of those that follow hold an even deeper mystery which the Church does not yet know about and which must therefore be disclosed. Those who are termed spiritual are people for whom only the understanding part of their mind, not the will part, can be regenerated. In the understanding part of their mind the Lord therefore implants a new will, a will which conforms to the teachings that compose the faith of their Church. These people, that is to say, spiritual ones such as these, were saved solely by the Lord's Coming into the world. The reason why is that the Divine passing through heaven, which was the Divine Human before the Lord's Coming, could not reach them; for to be sure the teachings of their Church were for the most part not truths, and consequently the good in their will was not good either, 6427. Since those people could be saved solely by the Lord's Coming, they could not be raised into heaven before then. They were therefore kept in the meantime on the lower earth, in places there which in the Word are called 'pits'. This lower earth was besieged on every side by the hells where there were falsities, by which they were molested greatly during that time. In spite of this however the Lord protected them. But after the Lord came into the world and made the Human within Himself Divine, He set free those who were in the pits there and raised them to heaven. From these He also formed the spiritual heaven which is the second heaven. This is what is meant by the Lord's descent into the lower parts ¹ and by His deliverance of those who had been bound.

[3] This is the even deeper mystery that is described in the internal sense of this verse and of those that follow. See what has been shown already regarding those who are spiritual,

The spiritual are in obscurity so far as the truth and good of faith are concerned, 2708, 2715, 2718, 2831, 2849, 2935, 2937, 3241, 3833, 6289.

Their obscurity is lightened by the Lord's Divine Human, 2716, 4402.

Because they are in obscurity so far as the truth and good of faith are concerned they are under strong attack from the hells; but the Lord is constantly protecting them, 6419.

Those who are spiritual cannot have the will part of their mind regenerated, only the understanding part; and there the Lord forms a new will, 863, 875, 895, 927, 918, 1023, 1043, 1044, 2156, 4328, 4493, 5113.

The spiritual were saved by the Lord's Coming into the world, 2833, 2834, 3969.

[4] Various places in the prophetical part of the Word mention 'the bound' or 'the bound in the pit' and the fact that the Lord delivered them. The bound' should be taken to mean specifically those spoken of just above, as in Isaiah,

I Jehovah have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand, because I will guard you, and give you to be a covenant of the people, ² a light of the nations, to open the blind eyes, to bring the bound out of prison, out of the dungeon-house those who sit in darkness. Isaiah 42:6-7.

In the same prophet,

I have guarded you, and I have given you as covenant of the people - to restore the land; to share out the devastated inheritances; to say to the bound, Go out; to those who are in darkness, Reveal yourselves. They will feed along the ways, and on all slopes will their pasture be. Isaiah 49:8-9.

This plainly refers to the Lord. 'The bound' stands in particular for those who were held back on the lower earth until the Lord's Coming, when they were raised up to heaven, and in general for all who are governed by good, yet are held back as though bound by falsities, from which however they wish to break away.

[5] In Zechariah,

Through the blood of your covenant I will let out your bound ones from the pit. Zechariah 9:11.

In Isaiah,

They will surely be gathered together, the bound ones in the pit, and they will be shut up in the dungeon; after a multitude of days they will be visited. Isaiah 24:21.

'The bound ones in the pit' stands for the same people. And in addition to these places the same meaning can be seen from the following words in Isaiah,

Jehovah has anointed Me to bring good tidings to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the broken in heart; to preach liberty to captives, to those who are bound, to him who is blind; to proclaim the year of Jehovah's good pleasure. Isaiah 61:1-2.

And elsewhere,

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; those dwelling in the land of the shadow of death, upon them has the light shone out. Isaiah 9:2.

Footnotes: