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Arcana Coelestia #9816

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9816. Verses 3-4 And you shall speak to all the wise at heart, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, and they shall make Aaron's garments, to sanctify him, so that he may serve Me in the priestly office. And these are the garments which they shall make: A breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a checkered tunic, a turban, and a belt. And they shall make the holy garments 1 for Aaron your brother and his sons, to serve Me in the priestly office.

'And you shall speak to all the wise at heart' means an influx from the Lord through the Word into all who are governed by the good of love. 'Whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom' means who have Divine Truth inscribed upon them. 'And they shall make Aaron's garments' means through whom the spiritual kingdom exists. 'To sanctify him' means that a representative sign of the Divine Truth in that kingdom will therefore exist. 'So that he may serve Me in the priestly office' means that which is representative of the Lord. 'And these are the garments which they shall make' means forms of Divine Truth in the spiritual kingdom, in their proper order. 'A breastplate' means Divine Truth shining forth from Divine Good. 'And an ephod' means Divine Truth there in an outward form, in which inner things terminate. 'And a robe' means Divine Truth there in its inward form. 'And a chequered tunic' means Divine Truth inmostly present there, emanating directly from the Divine Celestial. 'And a turban' means intelligence and wisdom. 'And a belt' means a common bond to ensure that everything has the same end in view. 'And they shall make the holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons' means that a representative sign of the spiritual kingdom lying adjacent to the celestial kingdom will therefore exist. 'To serve Me in the priestly office' means that which is representative of the Lord.

Footnotes:

1. literally, garments of holiness

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

The Bible

 

Joel 1:16

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16 Isn't the food cut off before our eyes; joy and gladness from the house of our God?

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #3386

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3386. 'And he said, She is my sister' means rational truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'a sister' as rational truth, dealt with in 1495, 2508, 2524, 2556. By rational truth is meant, as stated just above, that which is seen as the truth, in whatever form people grasp it mentally or see it rationally. Isaac's saying that Rebekah was his sister, as Abraham on a previous occasion in Egypt had said that Sarah was his sister, Genesis 12:11-13, 19, and after that in Gerar, Genesis 20:2, 5, 12, embodies a similar arcanum, as may be seen from the explanation given at those two points. And because a like event took place on three occasions, and also these are recorded in the Word, it is clear that it holds an arcanum of supreme importance within it which cannot possibly be known to anyone except from the internal sense. What this arcanum is however is evident from what follows.

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