10106. 'And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram' means the making of spiritual good their own by those who are at home with internal things, from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'eating' as making one's own, dealt with in 3168, 3513(end), 3596, 4745; from the representation of 'Aaron and his sons' as the Lord in respect of Divine Good and Divine Truth, dealt with in 9806, 9807, 10068, at this point that Good and Truth in the heavens since 'filling the hand', which means the transmission and the reception of them, is the subject; and from the meaning of 'the flesh of the ram' as the good of the internal man or good on internal levels ('flesh' means good, see 3813, 7850, 9127, and 'the ram' the good of innocence and charity in the internal man, 9991, 10042). The words 'the Lord in respect of Divine Good and Divine Truth in the heavens, and the transmission and the reception of that Good and Truth there' are used because the Lord is above the heavens. He is the Sun of heaven and is also actually seen by those in heaven as the Sun; and all the light the heavens have comes from this. By means of the light and heat from it He is present in the heavens, so much so that He seems to be present there entirely; for He fills the heavens and constitutes them. The light radiating from Him as the Sun is essentially Divine Truth, from which angels derive the wisdom and intelligence they possess. And the heat radiating from Him as the Sun is the Divine Good of His Divine Love there. The transmission and the reception of this Divine Good and that Divine Truth in the heavens is what 'filling the hand' means.

The Lord is the Sun of heaven, the source of the light and heat in the heavens from which angels derive the life, that is, the wisdom and love, they possess, see 3636, 3643, 4321(end), 5097, 7078, 7083, 7171, 7173, 7270, 8644, 8812.

9430. 'And the cloud covered it' means the lowest level of the Word, which is obscure, comparatively so. This is clear from the meaning of 'the cloud' as the lowest level of the Word or its literal sense, dealt with in the Preface to Genesis 18, and in 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343 (end), 6752, 8106, 8443, 8781. The reason why that sense is called 'the cloud' is that it lies in obscurity, compared with the inward sense; for the inward sense dwells in the light of heaven. The outward lies in obscurity and resembles a cloud because it is intended for a person while in the world, whereas the inward sense is intended for a person when he enters heaven. But it should be recognized that while a person is in the world he is at the same time guided by the inward sense of the Word if in faith and life he is guided by teachings of the Church which are authentic. For through those teachings the inward sense of the Word is inscribed at that time on both his understanding and his will, on his understanding through the faith he has and on his will through the life he leads. When such a person enters heaven he understands the Word solely according to its inward sense and ceases to know anything of its outward sense. This now seems to him to be like a cloud that swallows up rays of light it receives.

[2] The person now understands the Word, as has been said, according to its inward and not according to its outward sense. This is so because the Lord uses God's truth present with people in the world, which is the Word, to teach all who are in heaven, the reason for this being that those people live on the lowest level of order, and everything on interior levels ends in the lowest. The lowest is so to speak the support for the interior levels, which stand and rest on it. The Word in the letter is Divine Truth on the lowest level of order, in the same way as the natural and sensory level is the lowest level of order in members of the Church with whom Divine Truth is present. On this lowest level in them, as on that of the Word, interior levels terminate and rest. All this is like a house and its foundations. The actual house is heaven, and it is also Divine Truth there such as the Word is in its inward sense, while the foundations are the world and also Divine Truth there such as the Word is in its outward sense. Just as the house rests on its foundations, so too heaven rests on the Church, and consequently Divine Truth in heaven on Divine Truth on earth. For through the Word a continuous link exists from the Lord by way of heaven right down to people in the world. This is the reason why the Lord always provides for the existence of a Church on earth, where Divine Truth may exist on its lowest level. This is an arcanum unknown to anyone up to now, an arcanum implied in the matters introduced at 9357, 9360. Let everyone take care therefore not to damage the Word in any way; for those who damage it damage what is indeed Divine.