10184. 'Its roof' means what is inmost. This is clear from the meaning of 'the roof' as what is inmost. One reason why 'the roof' has this meaning is that it is the uppermost or highest part, and that which is uppermost or highest means what is inmost, in accord with what has been shown above in 10181; and another reason is that 'the roof' has the same meaning as the head on a person's body. For all representatives on the natural level resemble the human form and carry the same meaning as the parts of it they resemble, 9496. For the meaning of 'the head' as what is inmost, see 5328, 6436, 7859, 9656, 9913, 9914. What is inmost meant here by 'the roof of the altar of incense' is the inmost component of worship. Within worship there are levels similar to those within the person offering it, namely an inmost level, a middle level, and an outward level. The inmost is called celestial, the middle is called spiritual, and the outward is called natural, 4938, 4939, 9992, 10005, 10017, 10068. These degrees are by virtue of correspondence meant by the head, breast, and feet, and in like manner by the roof, walls, and horns of the altar of incense.

[2] Since 'the roof' means that which is celestial, which is what is inmost, it also means good, for in all places good is inmost, while truth emanates from it just as, to use a comparison, light does from a flame. This is what should be understood by 'the roof' in Matthew,

Then let him who is on the roof of the house not go down to take anything out of his house. Matthew 24:17; Mark 13:15; Luke 17:31.

This refers to the last times of the Church. 'Being on the roof' means the state of a person in whom good is present, and 'going down to take anything out of the house' means going back to a previous state, see 3652 and the places referred to in 9274. And in Jeremiah,

On all the roofs of Moab and in its streets there is mourning everywhere. Jeremiah 48:38.

'Mourning on all roofs' means the ruination of all forms of good among those meant in the representative sense by Moab, that is, those in whom natural good is present, who easily allow themselves to be led astray, 2468; and 'mourning in the streets' means the ruination of all truths, truths being meant by 'streets', see 2336.

[3] Since 'the roof' meant good the houses of the ancients had roofs on which they used to walk and on which they also used to worship, as becomes clear from 1 Samuel 9:25-26; 2 Samuel 11:2; Zephaniah 1:5. In Moses,

When you build a new house you shall make a parapet for your roof, that you may not bring blood ¹ on your house if someone falls from it. You shall not sow your vineyard with mixed seed, lest the yield from the seed which you have sown and from the produce of your vineyard be forfeited ² . You shall not plough with an ox and an ass together. You shall not wear a garment made of wool and flax mixed together ³ . Deuteronomy 22:8-11.

[4] From these quotations it is again evident that 'the roof' means the good of love, for the commands in them each embody similar meanings which only the internal sense can make evident. That is, they mean that one who is governed by good, which is the state of a person who has been regenerated, must not return to the state of truth, which was that person's previous state, or his state when being regenerated. During this state the person is led by means of truth towards good, that is, partly from self; but in the state which comes after it, that is to say, when the person has been regenerated, he is led by good, that is, by the Lord by means of good.

[5] This is the arcanum that lies within each of those commands, and so is akin to that which occurs in the Lord's words in Matthew,

Then let him who is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house; and let him who is in the field not turn back to take his clothes. Matthew 24:17-18.

In Mark,

Let him who is on the roof not go down into the house, nor go in to fetch anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not turn back again to fetch his garment. Mark 13:15-16.

And in Luke,

On that day, whoever will be on the housetop with his vessels in the house, let him not come down to take them away; and whoever is in the field, let him likewise not return to the things behind him. Remember Lot's wife. Luke 17:31-32.

[6] Who can fail to see that these places contain the arcana of heaven? For if they did not contain them, what point would there be to telling people not to come down from the housetop, not to turn back from the field and return to their house, and to remember Lot's wife? Such arcana are in like manner contained in those laws in Moses which declare that they should make a parapet around their roof, so that there would be no blood ¹ if they fell, and immediately after that the field should not be sown with a mixture of seed and the produce of the vineyard, that it should not be ploughed with an ox and an ass together, and that they should not wear a garment made of wool and flax mixed together. 'The roof' means good, and 'to be on the housetop' or on the roof means a person's state when that person is governed by good. 'Falling' from the roof means sinking back into the previous state, while 'blood' means the violence done then to goodness and truth, 374, 1005, 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326. 'The vineyard' means the Church among mankind; 'the produce of the vineyard' means the state of truth, 9139; and 'the seed' of wheat or barley means the state of good, 3941, 7605. 'An ox' also means good, and 'ploughing with an ox' the state of good, 2781, 9135; and 'wool' and 'wearing a garment made of wool' have the same meanings, 9470. 'An ass' means truth, 2781, 5741, and so too does 'flax' or 'linen', 7601, 9959. But for anything more about the nature of this arcanum, see the explanations in the places referred to in 9274.

Footnotes:

9468. 'And twice-dyed scarlet' means mutual love. This is clear from the meaning of 'scarlet' and 'twice-dyed' as celestial truth, which is the same thing as the good of mutual love. There are two kingdoms into which the angelic heaven is divided, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom. In both there is an internal and an external, the internal in the celestial kingdom being the good of love to the Lord and the external the good of mutual love. This external good is what 'twice-dyed scarlet' serves to mean, 'scarlet' the actual good and 'twice-dyed' its truth. But in the spiritual kingdom the internal is the good of charity towards the neighbour and the external the good of obedience that is the product of faith. 'Twice-dyed scarlet' means the good of mutual love and its truth on account of its appearance in the next life; for when the sphere of that good and truth is revealed visually in the lowest heaven it appears there as the colour scarlet. For what comes down from the celestial heaven and appears on a lower level begins as flaming red but is turned into scarlet on the lower level by the whiteness of light in the middle heaven through which it passes. This explains why twice-dyed scarlet was to be used among the other colours on the curtains of the dwelling-place, Exodus 26:1, on the veil before the ark, Exodus 26:31, on the screen to the door of the tent, Exodus 26:36, on the screen to the gate of the court, Exodus 27:16, on the ephod, Exodus 28:6, on the belt, Exodus 28:8, on the breastplate of judgement, Exodus 28:15, and on the hem of the robe of the ephod, Exodus 28:33.

[2] The fact that 'twice-dyed scarlet' means the good of mutual love, which is the external good of the celestial kingdom or Church, is evident from the consideration that over the table where the loaves of the Presence were laid a twice-dyed scarlet cloth was to be spread, which was then to be covered with a covering of badger skin, Numbers 4:8. The inmost things of the celestial kingdom or Church were meant by what lay on the table, chiefly the loaves, but more external things by its coverings. This also accounts for the order in which the materials that were to be gathered together are listed, that is to say, the inmost things, which were the violet and the purple, are mentioned first; the more external things, which were the twice-dyed scarlet, the fine linen, and the wool of she-goats, are mentioned secondly; and the completely external things, which were the skins of red rams and the skins of badgers, are mentioned last. The like applies everywhere else in what follows.

[3] Since external celestial good and its truth is meant by 'twice-dyed scarlet', this colour is used to portray the outward sense of the Word and teachings derived from it. The reason for this is that the Word is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good, appearing as flaming light in the inmost heaven and as brilliantly white light in the middle heaven.

[4] The Word and teachings derived from the Word are portrayed in this way in the second Book of Samuel,

David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan, and entitled it, To teach the children of Judah the bow. Daughters of Israel, weep over Saul who clothed you in twice-dyed delicately, ¹ who placed an ornament of gold on your apparel. 2 Samuel 1:17-18, 24.

'Clothing in twice-dyed' stands for providing with truths that go with the good of mutual love, thus with truths from a celestial origin. This prophetic utterance refers to teachings about faith separated from teachings about love and charity; that is to say, it refers to truths which are snuffed out by such a separation but are then restored by those teachings about love and charity. For by 'the Philistines', who killed Saul and Jonathan, are meant those who champion teachings about faith separated from teachings about love and charity, 3412, 3413, 8093, 8096, 8099, 8313; and 'teaching the children of Judah the bow' means providing those who are governed by the good of love and charity with the truths that compose religious teachings.

'The children of Judah' are those governed by the good of love, see 3654, 3881, 5583, 5603, 5782, 5794, 5833, 6363.

'The bow' is teachings that send out the truth, 2686, 2709.

[5] In Jeremiah,

You who have therefore been laid waste, what will you do? If you clothe yourself in twice-dyed, if you deck yourself with ornaments of gold, in vain will you make yourself beautiful. Jeremiah 4:30.

This refers to the Church when it has been laid waste. 'Clothing oneself in twice-dyed and decking oneself with ornaments of gold' means pointing out the truths of doctrine from a celestial origin and the good ways to live, consequently pointing out truths and aspects of good derived from the Word. Something similar occurs in the same prophet,

Those who ate delicacies are desolate ² in the streets; those brought up in scarlet have embraced the dunghill. Lamentations 4:5.

'Being brought up in scarlet' stands for receiving instruction since early childhood in the good of mutual love derived from the Word.

[6] Because those things contained in the outward sense of the Word appear in heaven as the colour scarlet, for the reason stated above, people who use the outward sense of the Word to substantiate falsities arising from the evils of selfish and worldly love, thus ideas contrary to truths and forms of the good of love to the Lord and of mutual love, are said to be clothed in purple and scarlet. For their externals, being from the Word, display such an appearance; but their internals are profane. Such things are meant by 'scarlet' in John,

I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names. She was clothed in purple and scarlet. Revelation 17:3-4.

This refers to Babylon, which means a religion in which the holy things of the Word are made profane by the use of them to support false ideas that favour the devilish kinds of love, which are self-love and love of the world, and so to exercise control in heaven and on earth. Like things are also meant in another part of the same book, [where it is called,]

The great city, which was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and covered ³ with gold and precious stones and pearls. Revelation 18:16.

Therefore also fine linen, purple, and scarlet are listed among Babylon's wares in Revelation 18:12.

[7] Since the outward aspect of the Word appears in heaven as the colour scarlet, and since there is an influx from heaven into the human memory, in which the things derived from the Word appear in that shade of colour, scarlet was used with objects that served as a reminder of something, as in Moses,

The children of Israel shall make for themselves a fringe on the hems of garments, and they shall put on the fringe of the hem a violet ⁴ thread, that by means of it they might remember all the commandments of Jehovah and do them. ⁵ Numbers 15:38-39.

[8] For the same reason also it was customary in ancient times, when meaningful signs were in common use, to tie on a scarlet thread as the memorial or reminder of something, as one reads about Tamar's son Zerah, ⁶ on whose hand the midwife tied a twice-dyed thread, Genesis 38:28, 30, and about the prostitute Rahab, who tied a scarlet thread on the window, so that the spies would remember the promise, Joshua 2:18, 21.

[9] Since a person cannot be released from evils and falsities except by means of the truths and forms of good that reside with the person from the Word, cedar wood, scarlet, and hyssop were used in cleansings from leprosy, Leviticus 14:4-7, 49-52. For 'leprosy' means truth when it has been rendered profane, and so has been falsified, 6963, and 'being cleansed' means being released from those ills by means of truths and forms of good which are derived from the Word. Scarlet was in like manner used in the preparation of the water of separation and expiation involving the red cow, Numbers 19:6; the water of separation and expiation served as well to mean purification and release from evils and falsities by means of truths and forms of good that are derived from the Word.

[10] As the majority of things in the Word can have a contrary meaning, so too can 'twice-dyed' and 'scarlet'. Then they mean falsities and evils, which are the opposites of those truths and forms of good, as in Isaiah,

Though your sins are like twice-dyed, they will be as white as snow. Though they are as red as scarlet, they will be like wool. Isaiah 1:18.

The same applies to 'red', 'blood', 'flame', and 'fire'. In the true sense they mean forms of the good of love and faith, but in the contrary sense the evils which are their opposites.

Footnotes: