9927. 'When he goes into the holy place before Jehovah, and when he comes out' means in every state of good and truth in worship. This is clear from the meaning of 'going into the holy place' and 'going in before Jehovah' as worship, dealt with above in 9903, 9907. The reason why the state of good and truth in worship is what is meant is that everything constituting the worship of the Israelite and Jewish nation was representative of internal worship, and internal worship springs from good and truth, or rather from an affection for good and a belief in truth. The reason why their every state is meant is that it says 'when he goes in' and 'when he comes out', and 'going in and coming out' means all aspects of the state. For actions that involve movement from place to place, such as walking, moving about, or advancing, mean the state of the thoughts and affection belonging to whatever thing they refer to, and so in a general sense they mean the state of life. As regards 'walking', that it has this meaning, see 519, 1794, 3335, 4882, 5493, 5605, 8417, 8420, as likewise do 'advancing' and 'journeying on', 8103, 8181, 8397, 8557; and in the next life movements and advancements from place to place are states, 1273-1277, 1376-1381, 2837, 3356, 9440. From this it is evident that 'going in and coming out' means the whole of a state of life or of whatever thing these words refer to. And because they refer here to worship springing from good and truth, the entire state of good and truth in worship is what 'going in and coming out' means.

[2] The origins of this meaning of 'going in and coming out' lie in representatives in the next life. For they who are there move about, walk, advance, go in and come out, just as in the world. But all these movements take place in accord with the state of the life of their thoughts and affections, see the places referred to above. They are not however immediately aware of the fact that these are the origin of the movements they make, or that those movements are correspondences, and for this reason real appearances. From this it is evident that all forms of movement mean things which constitute states of life. So it is that 'going in and coming out' means the entire state of life, thus the state of whatever thing these words refer to, from beginning to end. This is the source of the customary saying used by the ancients, that they knew someone's going in and coming out, or entering and departing, by which they meant that they knew the entire state of his life. And since this saying traces its origin back, as stated above, to correspondences in the next life, a similar use of the saying occurs in the Word; and where it occurs it has a similar meaning, as in the following places: In the first Book of Samuel,

Achish called David and said to him, You have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the camp has been good in my eyes. For I have not found evil in you. 1 Samuel 29:6.

'Your going out and your coming in has been good in my eyes' stands for the fact that he was well pleased with the entire state of the other's life.

[3] In the second Book of Samuel,

You know Abner, that he has come to persuade you, and in order that he may know your departing and your entering, and that he may know everything that you do. 2 Samuel 3:25.

'Knowing the departure and entrance' stands for knowing all the thoughts and deeds of his life, which is why it also says, 'and that he may know everything that you do'. In the second Book of Kings,

I know your sitting, and your going out, and your coming in, and that you rage ¹ against Me. 2 Kings 19:27; Isaiah 37:28.

This refers to Sennacherib, king of Assyria. 'Knowing his going out and his coming in' stands for knowledge of all aspects of what he plans. In David,

Jehovah will guard you from all evil, He will guard your soul. Jehovah will guard your going out and your coming in from now and even for evermore. Psalms 121:7-8.

'Guarding the going out and the coming in' stands for protecting every aspect of life in keeping with a state of good and truth.

[4] In Moses,

Let Jehovah God of the spirits of all flesh set ² a man over the congregation, who may go out before them, and who may come in before them, and who may lead them out, and who may bring them in, that the congregation of Jehovah may not be like a flock which have no shepherd. Numbers 27:16-17.

'Who may go out before them, and who may come in before them' stands for one who may lead them, and so whom they may look to and follow in every state of life. In John,

He who does not go through the door into the sheepfold but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who goes in through the door is the shepherd of the sheep. I am the door; if anyone goes in through Me he will be saved, and will go in and come out and find pasture. John 10:1-2, 9.

'Going in' here means doing so into heaven, thus into the good of love and faith since that good composes heaven. 'Going in and coming out' consequently means being led by the Lord in every state of life, and therefore thinking and willing good in freedom, that is, in love and faith received from the Lord since love and faith constitute freedom.

[5] In Luke,

Jesus sent the twelve disciples to preach the kingdom of God, and said to them, Whatever house you go into, there stay, and from there come out. Luke 9:4.

'Going into a house, staying there, and from there coming out' stands for the enjoyment of heavenly fellowship with those who receive the Lord in faith and love; for in heaven those who live together in the same community are also in the same house, which they go into and come out from, since they are governed by a like good. But those governed by an unlike good cannot do so; or if they do get in, they do not go in through the doors but by some other way. Anyone who does not know that these kinds of things are meant cannot know what is implied by the command that whatever house they went into, there they were to stay and from there come out.

[6] In Ezekiel,

When the prince goes in he shall go in by way of the porch of the gate, and come out by the same way. When the people of the land go in before Jehovah at the appointed feasts, anyone going in by way of the north gate to worship shall come out by way of the south gate; and anyone going in by way of the south gate shall come out by way of the north gate. He shall not return by way of the gate through which he had gone in, but shall come out straight before him. The prince however shall be in their midst; when they go in he shall go in, and when they come out he shall come out. Ezekiel 46:8-10.

These verses refer in the internal sense to a new heaven and a new Church, 'the prince' meaning the truth of faith springing from the good of love. In what manner that truth enters in with angels in heaven and with people of the Church on earth, and how after this it develops when it passes by an external way to more internal things, and when it passes by an internal way to more external ones, is described in those verses by the going in and coming out of the prince and the people of the land. 'The south' is the state of the truth of faith in the internal man, and 'the north' the state of it in the external man. 'Going in and coming out' is the state of life so far as good and truth, thus so far as worship, are concerned.

[7] From all this it may be recognized quite plainly that 'going in' and 'coming out' are descriptive of things such as belong to states of life conditioned by good and truth. For apart from this what real meaning could the prescription have, that the prince should go in by the one or the other gate, and the people of the land likewise? 'The house' here, or the temple, which they went into and came out from, means heaven and the Church, see 3720; 'the prince' the truth of faith, 5044; 'the people of the land' those who are in heaven or who belong to the Church, 2928; 'the way' that which leads to truth, 627, 2333; 'the gate' doctrinal teachings, 2851, 3187; 'the south' where truth dwells in light, 9642, thus truth in the internal man; and 'the north' where truth dwells in obscurity, 3708, thus truth in the external man.

Footnotes:

9642. 'The boards for the south side, southwards' means even to the more internal and the inmost parts [of it], where truth dwells in light. This is clear from the meaning of 'the boards of the dwelling-place' as the good supporting heaven, dealt with in 9634; from the meaning of 'the side (or corner)', when the term is used in reference to the four quarters, as the specific state meant by that quarter, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the south, southwards' ¹ as the more internal and the inmost parts, where truth dwells in light. 'The south' or 'midday' means a state of light, which is a state of intelligence produced by truths, thus also an interior state; for in the heavens the light, and the intelligence and wisdom that accompany the light, increases towards the more internal parts. Further away from those parts truth dwells in shade; and this state of truth is meant by 'the north'. This then is why 'the south side, southwards' means even to the more internal and the inmost parts, where truth dwells in light.

[2] The same things are meant by 'the south' in Isaiah,

I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Do not withhold. Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the end of the earth. Isaiah 43:6.

This refers to a new Church. 'Saying to the north' means speaking to those who are in darkness or have no knowledge of the truths of faith, who are gentiles outside the Church. 'Saying to the south' means speaking to those who dwell in the light provided by cognitions or knowledge of goodness and truth, who are people within the Church. This explains why the latter are told not to 'withhold' [those sons and daughters], but the former 'to give them up'.

[3] In Ezekiel,

Set your face the way of the south, and drop [your words] towards the south, and prophesy against the forest of the field to the south, and say to the forest of the south, Behold, I am kindling in you a fire, which will devour in you every green tree; and all faces from south to north will be scorched. Set your face towards Jerusalem, and drop [your words] against the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel. Ezekiel 20:46-21:2.

'The south' here stands for those who have the light of truth provided by the Word, thus those who belong to the Church, yet who are influenced by falsities which they substantiate from the sense of the letter of the Word wrongly explained. This is why the expressions 'the forest of the field towards the south' and 'the forest of the south' are used. 'A forest' is a state in which factual knowledge is predominant, whereas 'a garden' is one in which truth is predominant. From this it is evident what the meaning is of 'setting one's face the way of the south, and dropping [one's words] towards the south, and prophesying against the forest of the field to the south', and then of 'set your face towards Jerusalem, and drop [your words] against the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel'. 'Jerusalem' and 'the land of Israel' mean the Church, and 'the sanctuaries' there things of the Church.

[4] In Isaiah,

If you bring out for the hungry your soul ² and satisfy the afflicted soul, your light will rise in the darkness, and your thick darkness will be as at midday. Isaiah 58:10.

'Darkness' and 'thick darkness' stand for lack of knowledge of truth and good, 'light' and 'midday' for an understanding of them. In the same prophet, Give counsel, execute judgement, set your shade like the night in the middle of the day; ³ hide the outcasts, do not reveal the wanderer. Isaiah 16:3.

'In the middle of the day' stands for in the midst of the light of truth. In Jeremiah,

Prepare for ⁴ battle against the daughter of Zion; arise, and let us go up into the south, ⁵ for the day goes away, for the shadows of evening are set at an angle. Jeremiah 6:4.

'Going up into the south' stands for going up against the Church, where truth dwells in light from the Word. In Amos,

I will make the sun go down in the south, ⁵ and I will darken the land in broad daylight. Amos 8:9.

This stands for blotting out all the light of truth which is provided by the Word.

[5] In David,

You will not be afraid of the terror of the night, of the arrow that flies by day, of the pestilence in thick darkness, of death that lays waste at noonday. Psalms 91:5-6.

'The terror of the night' stands for falsities arising from evil that come from hell; 'the arrow that flies by day' stands for falsity which is taught openly; 'death that lays waste at noonday' stands for evil that is openly present in people's lives, and that destroys truth wherever it is able to dwell in its own light from the Word.

[6] And in Isaiah,

The prophecy of the wilderness of the sea. As whirlwinds in the south sweep through, ⁶ it comes from the wilderness, from a terrible land. Isaiah 21:1.

In Daniel,

The he-goat of the she-goats made himself exceedingly great, and his horn grew exceedingly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the glorious [land]. And it grew even towards the host of heaven, and cast down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars, and trampled on them. Daniel 8:8-10.

This refers to the state of the future Church. It foretells that the Church will be ruined by teachings about faith separated from the good of charity, 'the he-goat of the she-goats' being this kind of faith, 4169 (end), 4769. 'The horn's growing towards the south' stands for the power of falsity from this faith directed against truths, 'towards the east' for directing it against forms of good, and 'towards the glorious [land]' for directing it against the Church. 'Towards the host of heaven' stands for directing that power against all the forms of good and the truths belonging to heaven, and 'casting down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars' stands for destroying these, and also even the cognitions or knowledge of good and truth, 4697.

[7] The whole of Chapter 11 in the same prophet describes a war between the king of the south and the king of the north. 'The king of the south' means the light of truth derived from the Word, and 'the king of the north' reasoning about truths which is based on factual knowledge. The shifting fortunes which the Church will experience until it ceases to exist are described by the different phases in the course of that war.

[8] Because 'the south' meant truth dwelling in light it was decreed that the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Gad should camp towards the south, Numbers 2:10-15. Encampments represented the arrangement of all things in heaven as determined by the truths and forms of the good of faith and love, 4236, 8103 (end), 8193, 8196, and 'the twelve tribes' which formed the camp meant all the truths and forms of good in their entirety, 3858, 3862, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335, 6337, 6397, 6640, 7836, 7891, 7996, 7997. 'The tribe of Reuben' meant the truth of faith present in doctrine, 3861, 3866, 5542, 'the tribe of Simeon' the truth of faith subsequently present in life, 3869-3872, 4497, 4502, 4503, 5482, and 'the tribe of Gad' works motivated by that truth in doctrine and life, 6404, 6405. From these meanings it is evident why these three camped towards the south; for all things on the side of truth or faith belong in the south because they are in light.

[9] From all this it is now clear what 'the south side' means, namely where the state of truth dwelling in light is to be found. For all states of the good of love and the truth of faith are meant by the four corners of the earth, states of the good of love being meant by the east and west sides, and states of the truth of faith by the south and north ones. Much the same is meant by 'the four winds', as in the Book of Revelation,

... angels standing over the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, in order that the wind should not blow onto the earth. Revelation 7:1.

And elsewhere,

Satan will come out to deceive the nations which are at the four corners of the earth. Revelation 20:7-8.

In Matthew,

He will send angels, and gather the elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. ⁷ Matthew 24:31.

And in Ezekiel,

Come from the four winds, O spirit, and breathe into these killed, that they may live. Ezekiel 37:9.

[10] Because those winds, that is, those four quarters, meant all aspects of good and truth, thus all aspects of heaven and the Church, and 'a temple' meant heaven or the Church, it had been the custom since ancient times to site temples in an east-west direction. This was because the east meant the good of love on the rise, and the west the good of love on the decline. This custom had its origin in representative signs, which were well known to the ancients who belonged to the Church.

Footnotes: