The Bible

 

Ezekiel 41

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1 And he bringeth me in unto the temple, and he measureth the posts, six cubits the breadth on this side, and six cubits the breadth on that side -- the breadth of the tent.

2 And the breadth of the opening [is] ten cubits; and the sides of the opening [are] five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side; and he measureth its length forty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.

3 And he hath gone inward, and measureth the post of the opening two cubits, and the opening six cubits, and the breadth of the opening seven cubits.

4 And he measureth its length twenty cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits, unto the front of the temple, and he saith unto me, `This [is] the holy of holies.'

5 And he measureth the wall of the house six cubits, and the breadth of the side-chamber four cubits, all round the house round about.

6 And the side-chambers [are] side-chamber by side-chamber, three and thirty times; and they are entering into the wall -- which the house hath for the side-chambers all round about -- to be taken hold of, and they are not taken hold of by the wall of the house.

7 And a broad place and a turning place still upwards [are] to the side-chambers, for the turning round of the house [is] still upwards all round about the house: therefore the breadth of the house [is] upwards, and so the lower one goeth up unto the higher by the midst.

8 And I have looked at the house, the height all round about: the foundations of the side-chambers [are] the fulness of the reed, six cubits by the joining.

9 The breadth of the wall that [is] to the side-chamber at the outside [is] five cubits; and that which is left [is] the place of the side-chambers that [are] to the house.

10 And between the chambers [is] a breadth of twenty cubits round about the house, all round about.

11 And the opening of the side-chamber [is] to the place left, one opening northward, and one opening southward, and the breadth of the place that is left [is] five cubits all round about.

12 As to the building that [is] at the front of the separate place [at] the corner westward, the breadth [is] seventy cubits, and the wall of the building five cubits broad all round about, and its length ninety cubits.

13 And he hath measured the house, the length [is] a hundred cubits; and the separate place, and the building, and its walls, the length [is] a hundred cubits;

14 and the breadth of the front of the house, and of the separate place eastward, a hundred cubits.

15 And he hath measured the length of the building unto the front of the separate place that [is] at its hinder part, and its galleries on this side and on that side, a hundred cubits, and the inner temple and the porches of the court,

16 the thresholds, and the narrow windows, and the galleries round about them three, over-against the threshold, a ceiling of wood all round about, and the ground unto the windows and the covered windows,

17 over above the opening, and unto the inner-house, and at the outside, and by all the wall all round about within and without [by] measure.

18 And it is made [with] cherubs and palm-trees, and a palm-tree [is] between cherub and cherub, and two faces [are] to the cherub;

19 and the face of man [is] unto the palm-tree on this side, and the face of a young lion unto the palm-tree on that side; it is made unto all the house all round about.

20 from the earth unto above the opening [are] the cherubs and the palm-trees made, and [on] the wall of the temple.

21 Of the temple the side post [is] square, and of the front of the sanctuary, the appearance [is] as the appearance.

22 Of the altar, the wood [is] three cubits in height, and its length two cubits; and its corners [are] to it, and its length, and its walls [are] of wood, and he speaketh unto me, `This [is] the table that [is] before Jehovah.'

23 And two doors [are] to the temple and to the sanctuary;

24 and two leaves [are] to the doors, two turning leaves [are] to the doors, two to the one door, and two leaves to the other.

25 And made on them, on the doors of the temple, [are] cherubs and palm-trees as are made on the walls, and a thickness of wood [is] at the front of the porch on the outside.

26 And narrow windows and palm-trees [are] on this side, and on that side, at the sides of the porch, and the side-chambers of the house, and the thick places.

   

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Arcana Coelestia #9603

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9603. 'All the curtains shall have one measure' means that the state of affairs shall be the same [with each one]. This is clear from the meaning of 'measure' as the state of affairs as regards truth, dealt with in 3104, so that 'all the curtains shall have one measure' means that the state of affairs shall be the same with every truth. The expression 'the same state of affairs', when applied to the truths of faith in the spiritual kingdom, means that they all look towards good, and through good towards the Lord, the Source of it. Truths which do not look in this direction are not the truths of faith, nor consequently are they truths of the Church or of heaven. Truths which look in some other direction may indeed to outward appearance seem like truths, but they are not truths because they are devoid of life. For the life of truth is good, and good comes from the Lord, who Alone is life. Truths that look in any other direction are like members of a body without a soul, which are not the members of any body because they are devoid of life and so are useless.

[2] The fact that 'measure' means the state of affairs as regards truth, and also the state of affairs as regards good, is evident from the places in the Word where the measures of the new Jerusalem, and also those of the new temple, are the subject. The new or holy Jerusalem means the Lord's New Church, as does the new temple; therefore by their measures states of affairs as regards truth and as regards good are meant, as in John,

The angel had a gold reed to measure the holy Jerusalem, and its gates, and its wall. And he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. He measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man (homo), that is, of an angel. Revelation 21:15-17.

The measures stated here, it is plainly evident, mean states as regards good and truth, for 'the holy Jerusalem' is the Lord's New Church, 'its gates and wall' being the protective truths of faith. 'Twelve thousand' means all the truths and forms of good in their entirety; and 'a hundred and forty-four' has a similar meaning, 7973, for this number is similar in meaning to the number twelve because it is the product of twelve multiplied by twelve, and 'twelve' means all truths and forms of good in their entirety, see 577, 2089, 2129 (end), 2130 (end), 3272, 3858, 3913. 'The measure of a man, that is, of an angel' means that this is what the state of the Church and of heaven is like as regards forms of the good of love and truths of faith; for 'a man' is the Church and 'an angel' is heaven. Without knowledge of what is meant by 'the holy Jerusalem', by 'its gates and wall', by the number 'twelve thousand furlongs', and by the measure of the wall being 'a hundred and forty-four [cubits]', and also what is meant by 'the measure', 'a man', and 'an angel', would anyone ever know [the real meaning of the description] that the measure of the city was twelve thousand furlongs, or that the measure of a wall of 144 cubits was the measure of a man, that is, of an angel?

[3] Much the same is meant by the measuring in Zechariah,

I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, a man (vir) who had a measuring line in his hand. I said, Where are you going? And he said, To measure Jerusalem to see how broad it is and how long it is. Zechariah 2:1-2.

Also in Chapters 40-42 of Ezekiel, which speak about the man with a measuring rod, who measured the houses of the new city, and also the temple - the walls, gates, footings, thresholds, windows, and steps. Unless the measurements in these places had meant the states of the thing as regards truth and good, such details would never have been mentioned. 'Measuring' generally means the state of the truth and good: In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah, If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth beneath searched out, behold, I will nevertheless reject the seed of Israel on account of all that they have done. Behold, the days are coming in which the city for Jehovah will be built. And the measuring line will again go out over the hill of Gareb, and around towards Goah. Jeremiah 31:37-39.

And also in Isaiah,

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, marked off 1 the heavens with His span, and gathered the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills on the scales? Isaiah 40:12.

Footnotes:

1. literally, weighed

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.