1384. Wat de eerste soort betreft, die de engelen eigen is, en daarin bestaat, dat zij innerlijk gewaarworden, wat waar en goed is, en gewaarworden wat van de Heer komt, en wat van henzelf, en verder ook van waar en hoedanig datgene is wat zij denken, spreken en doen, wanneer het uit henzelf komt. Het werd mij gegeven met de zonen van de Oudste Kerk te spreken over hun innerlijke gewaarwording; zij zeiden dat zij niets uit zichzelf denken of denken kunnen, en niets uit zichzelf willen, maar dat zij bij alles, wat zij in het algemeen en in het bijzonder denken en willen en gewaarworden, wat van de Heer en wat van elders komt, en dat zij niet alleen gewaarworden, hoeveel van de Heer en hoeveel als van henzelf komt, maar ook, wanneer iets als van henzelf komt, waar het dan vandaan komt, van welke engelen, en verder van welke aard die engelen zijn, van welke aard hun gedachten, met alle verscheidenheid, en zo dus welke invloed het is, en ontelbare andere dingen meer. De innerlijke gewaarwording van deze soort zijn van een grote verscheidenheid; bij de hemelse engelen, die in de liefde tot de Heer zijn, bestaat een innerlijke gewaarwording van het goede en vandaar van al wat tot het ware behoort, en omdat zij uit het goede het ware gewaarworden, laten zij niet toe dat er gesproken, nog minder dat er geredeneerd wordt over het ware, maar zij zeggen: zo is het of zo is het niet. De geestelijke engelen echter, die ook innerlijke gewaarwording hebben, maar niet van dien aard als de hemelse engelen, spreken over het ware en het goede; niettemin worden zij het ware en het goede gewaar, maar met onderscheid, want de verscheidenheden van deze innerlijke gewaarwording zijn ontelbaar. De verscheidenheden rusten hierop, dat zij gewaarworden of iets komt van de wil van de Heer, of dat Hij het vergunt, of dat Hij het toelaat, waartussen een scherp onderscheid ligt.

4626. When any spirit is approaching, even though still a long way off and out of sight, his presence is detected, as often as the Lord allows it to be, from a certain kind of spiritual sphere. From that sphere one recognizes what his life is like, what his affection is like, and what his faith is like. Angelic spirits with keener perception know from his sphere countless things about the state of his life and faith, as has been demonstrated to me many times. When it pleases the Lord these spheres are also converted into odours; one smells quite distinctly an actual odour. The reason those spheres are converted into odours is that odour corresponds to perception and that perception is so to speak spiritual odour, from which also [natural] odour descends. But see what has been brought forward already on these matters - regarding spheres, in 1048, 1053, 1316, 1504-1519, 1695, 2401, 2489, 4464; perception, in 483, 495, 503, 521, 536, 1383, 1384, 1388, 1391, 1397, 1398, 1504, 1640; and odours produced by these, in 1514, 1517-1519, 1631, 3577.

8805. 'And Moses went down from the mountain to the people' means application and preparation by the truth from God, in order that truths may be received within good. This is clear from the meaning of 'going down' - when said of 'Moses', who represents the truth from God - as application and also preparation by that truth; from the representation of 'Moses' as the truth from God, dealt with in 8760, 8787, which also acts as an intermediary, 8787, thus which also prepares and applies; from the meaning of 'the mountain' as the Divine within heaven, thus heaven itself; and from the representation of 'the children of Israel' as those belonging to the spiritual Church, thus those guided by truth through which good comes, and governed by good from which truth springs, at this point good in which truths are to be received. It is important to know what is meant specifically by 'Mount Sinai' in this and subsequent chapters of the Book of Exodus, also what is represented by 'the people Israel', and what by 'Moses' as well.

[2] Specifically Mount Sinai means heaven, out of which truths flow in from the Lord. Consequently 'Jehovah came down onto that mountain' means His presence in heaven. And since heaven - in which Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is present - is meant by 'Mount Sinai', Divine Good united to Divine Truth there is also meant by it; for these are what make it heaven.

[3] But The People Israel beside this mountain represent the spiritual Church in respect of good in which the truths of faith are to be implanted. It has been shown already that those belonging to the spiritual Church pass through two states. The first is when they are led by means of truths to good, and the second state is when they are governed by good and consequently by truths. At this point the state is one when they are governed by good in which truths are to be implanted, which state is an intermediate state that comes between those first and second ones. The truths that are implanted within good are contained in those which were declared by the Lord from Mount Sinai and conveyed by Moses to the people.

[4] Moses in this and subsequent chapters represents the truth from God below heaven joined to God's truth in heaven. He therefore represents the intermediary between the Divine in heaven and the good in which truths are to be implanted, the spiritual Church's good, and so represents the intermediary between the Lord and the people.

It is important to know these things for the understanding of what follows below in the Book of Exodus. All this also shows that 'Moses went down from the mountain to the people' means application and preparation through the truth from God for truths to be received within good.