251. The reason why the “serpent” means all evil in general, and specifically the love of self, is that all evil has had its rise from that sensuous part of the mind, and also from that memory-knowledge [scientifico], which at first were signified by the “serpent;” and therefore it here denotes evil of every kind, and specifically the love of self, or hatred against the neighbor and the Lord, which is the same thing. As this evil or hatred was various, consisting of numerous genera and still more numerous species, it is described in the Word by various kinds of serpents, as “snakes” “cockatrices” “asps” “adders” “fiery serpents” “serpents that fly” and “that creep” and “vipers” according to the differences of the poison, which is hatred. Thus we read in Isaiah:

Rejoice not thou, whole Philistia, because the rod which smiteth thee is broken, for out of the serpent’s root shall go forth a cockatrice, and his fruit shall be a flying fire-serpent (Isaiah 14:29).The “serpent’s root” denotes that part of the mind, or that principle, which is connected with the senses and with memory-knowledge [est sensuale et scientificum]; the “cockatrice” denotes evil originating in the falsity thence derived; and the “flying fire-serpent” the cupidity that comes from the love of self. By the same Prophet also similar things are elsewhere thus described:

They hatch cockatrice’s eggs, and weave the spider’s web; he that eateth of their eggs dieth, and when it is crushed there cometh out a viper (Isaiah 59:5).

The serpent described here in Genesis is called in the Revelation the “great and red dragon” and the “old serpent” and also the “devil and satan” that “deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:3, 9; 20:2), where, and also in other places, by the “devil” is not meant any particular devil who is prince over the others, but the whole crew of evil spirits, and evil itself.

10208. 'And Aaron shall make expiation on its horns' means purification from evils by means of the truths of faith which spring from the good of love. This is clear from the meaning of 'making expiation' as purifying from evils, dealt with in 9506; from the representation of 'Aaron' as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, and in respect of the work of salvation, dealt with in 9806, 9946, 10017; and from the meaning of 'horns' as powers, dealt with in 10182, and also outer levels, 10186. The reason why purification by means of the truths of faith which spring from the good of love is meant is that expiation was made by means of blood, and 'blood' means the truth of faith emanating from the good of love, 4735, 7317, 7326, 7846, 7850, 7877, 9127, 9393, 10026, 10033, 10047; and all purification from evils is accomplished by means of the truths of faith that spring from the good of love, 2799, 5954(end), 7044, 7918, 9088. The fact that expiations were made by the blood on the horns of the altar of burnt offering and the altar of incense is clear in Leviticus 4:3, 7, 18, 25, 30, 34; 16:18.

[2] The altars were expiated in this way because holy things were polluted by the sins of the people. The people represented the Church; therefore those places which were the Church's, called its sanctuaries, such as the altar and the tent, together with their contents, were defiled whenever those people were guilty of sin; for those sanctuaries were places belonging to the Church. This is also made clear in Moses,

You shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanness, in order that they may not die in their uncleanness when they pollute My dwelling-place which is in their midst. Leviticus 15:31.

And in another place,

Aaron shall expiate the holy place from the uncleanness of the children of Israel. Thus shall he expiate the holy sanctuary, and the tent of meeting, and the altar. Leviticus 16:16, 33.

[3] The implications of all this are that those things which are called the holy things of the Church are not holy unless they are received with holy respect; for unless they are received with that respect what is Divine does not flow into them. Anything holy that exists with people is holy only by virtue of what is Divine flowing into it; sacred shrines for example, the altars there, and the bread and wine for the Holy Supper are made holy solely by the presence of the Lord. Therefore if the Lord is unable to be present there on account of the people's sins, those things have no holiness because they lack what is Divine. Furthermore the holy things of the Church are rendered unholy by sins because sins take what is Divine away from them.

[4] This then is the reason why sanctuaries are said to have been polluted by the uncleanness of the people and why those places therefore had to be expiated annually. The reason why the expiations were made with blood on the horns of the altars and not on the altars themselves was that the horns were the extremities of them, and nothing of a person has been purified unless the extremities or what is outermost has been purified. For inner things flow into those that are outermost, but the state of the outermost conditions the inflow. Consequently if what is outermost has been perverted the things within become perverted; for when those inner things flow into outermost ones, the recipient forms into which they descend are conditioned by the state in which the outermost things exist. The situation is like that when the eye is in bad condition; the power of sight which comes from within sees things only as that eye-condition will allow. Or it is like that when the arms are in bad shape; the powers which come from within exert themselves only as that condition will allow. Consequently if the natural man has been perverted the spiritual lacks the opportunity to function properly within the natural man, and this is why the spiritual or internal man is closed.

[5] But see what has been shown already on these matters, namely the following;

If a person is to be purified the natural or external man must be purified, see the places referred to in 9325(end).

This is because the path that all influx takes is from the internal to the external, and not vice versa, 5119, 6322.

For it is on the natural level within a person that influx from the spiritual world reaches its destination, 5651.

The outward aspects of a person have been formed to serve the inward, 5947, 9216, 9828.

Thus the external man must be altogether subject to the internal, 5786, 6275, 6284, 6299.

This is because the internal man is in heaven and the external man is in the world, 3167, 10156.

And the external man by himself or left to himself alone acts contrary to the internal, 3913, 3928.

In addition to all this, see 9701-9709 stating what the internal man is and what the external man is.