8152. En hij jaagde na achter de zonen Israëls; dat dit betekent het streven om degenen te onderwerpen die in het met de naastenliefde verbonden geloof zijn, staat vast uit de betekenis van najagen, namelijk het streven om te onderwerpen, nr. 8136; en uit de uitbeelding van de zonen Israëls, namelijk zij die van de geestelijke Kerk zijn, waarover eerder; dus degenen die in het met de naastenliefde verbonden geloof zijn, want zij die van de Kerk zijn, zijn in dat geloof zowel ten aanzien van de leer als ten aanzien van het leven, het goede van het geloof of de naastenliefde is het wezenlijke, dus op de eerste plaats voor degenen die van de echte geestelijke Kerk zijn maar voor hen die het geloof hebben dat gescheiden is van zijn goede, zowel ten aanzien van de leer als ten aanzien van het leven, is het ware van het geloof of het geloof het wezenlijke of op de eerste plaats; deze mensen zijn niet van de Kerk, want het leven maakt de Kerk, maar niet de leer, tenzij voor zoveel als deze van het leven wordt.

Daaruit blijkt dat de Kerk van de Heer niet hier is of daar, maar dat zij overal is, zowel binnen die rijken waar de Kerk is, als buiten die, waar men leeft volgens de geboden van de naastenliefde.

Vandaar komt het, dat de Kerk van de Heer verspreid is over het gehele wereldrond en dat zij toch één is; wanneer immers het leven de Kerk maakt en niet de van het leven gescheiden leer, dan is de Kerk één, maar wanneer de leer de Kerk maakt, dan zijn het er verscheidene.

9670. 'And you shall make a veil' means the intermediary uniting this heaven and the inmost heaven, thus spiritual good to celestial good. This is clear from the meaning of 'a veil' - which served to divide the dwelling-place where the ark of the Testimony was from the part where the lampstand was and the table on which the loaves of the Presence were laid was - as the intermediary uniting the middle heaven to the inmost heaven. For the ark containing the Testimony represented the inmost heaven, where the Lord was, 9457, 9481, 9485, and the dwelling-place outside the veil represented the middle heaven, 9594. And since the good of love to the Lord composes the inmost heaven and the good of charity towards the neighbour composes the middle heaven, 'the veil' also means the intermediary uniting spiritual good to celestial good, spiritual good being the good of charity towards the neighbour, and celestial good being the good of love to the Lord. For more about those heavens, about their distinctions in accordance with those kinds of good, see the places referred to in 9277. From all this it is now evident what the veil was a sign of in both the tabernacle and the temple.

[2] These two heavens, the inmost and the middle, are so distinct and separate that there can be no entering from one into the other. Yet they constitute one heaven through intermediate angelic communities, whose disposition is such that they are able to be next door to the good of both heavens. These communities are the ones which constitute the uniting intermediary that was represented by the veil. I have also been allowed to speak on several occasions to angels from those communities. What the angels of the inmost heaven are like, and what the angels of the middle heaven in comparison are like can be demonstrated from correspondence. The angels of the inmost heaven correspond to those powers with a person which belong to the provinces of the heart and the cerebellum, whereas the angels of the middle heaven correspond to those powers with a person which belong to the provinces of the lungs and the cerebrum. The powers belonging to the heart and cerebellum are called involuntary and spontaneous, because that is what they are seen as being; but those belonging to the lungs and cerebrum are called voluntary. This to some extent demonstrates how superior the perfection of the one heaven is to that of the other, and how they differ from each other. But as for the intermediate angels next door to both heavens and linking them together, it is the networks extending from the heart and lungs, which serve to interconnect the heart and lungs, that correspond to them, and also the medulla oblongata, where the fibres of the cerebellum are joined to the fibres of the cerebrum.

[3] Angels who belong to the Lord's celestial kingdom, that is, who are in the inmost heaven, constitute the province of the heart in the Grand Man, while angels who belong to the Lord's spiritual kingdom, that is, who are in the middle heaven, constitute the province of the lungs there, see 3635, 3886-3890. This is the origin of the correspondence of the human heart and lungs, 3883-3896, and the correspondence of the cerebrum and cerebellum is much the same. What celestial angels or those who are in the inmost heaven are like, and what spiritual angels or those who are in the middle heaven are like, and what the difference is, see 2046, 2227, 2669, 2708, 2715, 2718, 2935, 2937, 2954, 3166, 3235, 3236, 3240, 3246, 3374, 3833, 3887, 3969, 4138, 4286, 4493, 4585, 4938, 5113, 5150, 5922, 6289, 6296, 6366, 6427, 6435, 6500, 6647, 6648, 7091, 7233, 7474, 7977, 7992, 8042, 8152, 8234, 8521. From this it may be evident what the intermediate angels who constitute the uniting intermediary, which was represented by the veil, are like.

[4] The tearing of the veil of the temple into two parts when the Lord endured the Cross, Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45, was a sign of the glorification of the Lord. For when the Lord was in the world He made the Human He had assumed Divine Truth; but when He left the world He made this Human Divine Good, from which Divine Truth has since emanated, see the places referred to at the ends of 9199, 9315, Divine Good being meant by 'the holy of holies'.

[5] The glorification of the Lord's Human all the way to Divine Good which is Jehovah is also described, in the internal sense, by the process of expiation when Aaron went into the holy of holies within the veil, which is the subject in the whole of Leviticus 16. In the relative sense the same process describes human regeneration all the way to celestial good, which is the good of the inmost heaven. The process was as follows: Aaron was required to take a young bull for a [sin] sacrifice, and a ram for a burnt offering for himself and his household. He also had to put on the holy garments, which were a linen tunic, linen stockings, ¹ a linen girdle, and a linen turban; and he had to bathe his flesh in water. He was then required to take two he-goats on which he cast lots, the first of which was to be offered to Jehovah and the second sent away into the wilderness, this being done on behalf of the assembly of the children of Israel. When he sacrificed the young bull he was required to take incense inside the veil and to sprinkle some of the blood of the young bull and of the he-goat seven times over the east side of the mercy-seat, and also to put blood onto the horns of the altar. After all this he was required to confess the sins of the children of Israel, which he placed on the he-goat that was to be sent away into the wilderness. Finally he had to take off the linen garments and put on his own, and to present a burnt offering for himself and for the people; and parts of the sacrifice that had not been burnt on the altar had to be taken away outside the camp and burned. This was what had to be done once a year, when Aaron went into the holy of holies within the veil. The priestly function which Aaron discharged represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good, just as the regal function, which in later times was performed by the kings, represented the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, 6148. The process of glorification of the Lord's Human all the way to Divine Good is described in the internal sense of that chapter in Leviticus. This process was revealed to angels whenever Aaron carried out those observances and went inside the veil; and it is also revealed to angels here and now when that chapter in the Word is read.

[6] A young bull for a sin sacrifice ² and a ram for a burnt offering mean the purification of good from evils in the external man and in the internal man. The linen tunic, linen stockings, linen girdle, and linen turban which Aaron had to put on whenever he went in, and the bathing of his flesh, mean that this purification was accomplished by means of truths springing from good. Two he-goats of the she-goats for a sin sacrifice ² and a ram for a burnt offering, and the he-goat which was offered and the other which was sent away, mean the purification of truth from falsities in the external man. The incense which he was required to take inside the veil means adaptation. The blood of the young bull and the blood of the he-goat which had to be sprinkled seven times over the east side of the mercy-seat and after this over the horns of the altar mean Divine Truth that emanates from Divine Good. The confession of sins over the living he-goat which was to be sent away into the wilderness means the casting away of evil after its total separation from good. Taking off the linen garments and putting on his own when he was about to present burnt offerings, also the taking away of the flesh, skin, and dung of sacrifices outside the camp, and the burning of them, mean putting on celestial good, in the case of one who has been regenerated, and in the Lord's case the glorification of His Human all the way to Divine Good. This stage was reached after He had cast aside everything belonging to the human from His mother, so completely that He was no longer her son, see the places referred to at the end of 9315. These are the realities that are meant by that process of purification when Aaron went into the holy of holies within the veil; for after he had carried out those observances Aaron represented the Lord in respect of Divine Good. From all this it becomes clear that the veil between the holy place and the holy of holies also means the intermediary uniting Divine Truth and Divine Good within the Lord.

Footnotes:

9457. 'And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying' means instructions regarding the holy things of heaven which had to be represented. This is clear from the verses that follow, for the things which Jehovah told Moses mean the holy things of heaven that were to be represented. Among the Israelite people a Church was being established in which outward forms would exist displaying in a representative fashion the celestial realities belonging to the good of love, and the spiritual realities belonging to the good and truth of faith, as such realities exist in heaven and ought to do so in the Church. From all this it is clear that 'Jehovah spoke' means instructions regarding the holy things of heaven which had to be represented. Since the matters described in the verses that follow are representative of the celestial and spiritual realities from the Lord in the heavens, something needs to be said about what a representative Church is and why it exists.

[2] There are three heavens - the inmost or third, the middle or second, and the lowest or first. In the inmost heaven the good of love to the Lord reigns, in the middle heaven the good of charity towards the neighbour reigns, and in the lowest the things which are thought, spoken, and come into being in the middle and inmost heavens are represented. The representatives there are countless, such as paradise parks, gardens, forests, fields, plains, as well as cities, palaces, and houses; also flocks and herds, as well as very many kinds of animals and birds; and countless other phenomena. These appear before the eyes of angelic spirits in that heaven more plainly than any such things do on earth in the light at midday; and what is astonishing, those spirits also discern what realities are meant by the things which appear.

[3] Such phenomena also appeared to prophets when their inner sight, which is the sight of the spirit, had been opened, for instance the horses that appeared to Zechariah, 6:1-8; the living creatures which were cherubs, and afterwards the new temple and everything in it that appeared to Ezekiel, Chapters 1, 9, 10, 40-48; the lampstand, thrones, living creatures (which again were cherubs), horses, new Jerusalem, and very many other phenomena, which appeared to John and are described in the Book of Revelation; and similarly the fiery horses and chariots that appeared to Elisha's servant, 2 Kings 6:17. Things such as these are constantly making their appearance in heaven before the eyes of spirits and angels. They are natural forms in which the inward things of heaven terminate and are given shape. The things which present themselves visually before the spirits and angels' actual eyes in this way are representations.

[4] A representative Church exists therefore when the holy, inner realities of love and faith which are derived from the Lord and look towards the Lord present themselves by means of visual forms in the world, such as those which are the subject in this and following chapters - the ark, the mercy-seat, the cherubs, the tables there, the lampstand, and everything else that was part of the tabernacle. For that tabernacle was constructed in such a way that it might represent the three heavens and everything there, the ark which contained the Testimony representing the inmost heaven and the Lord Himself there. This is why, when Moses was shown on the mountain the form it should take, Jehovah said at the same time, To the end that they may make for Him a sanctuary and He may dwell in their midst, verse 8. Everyone endowed with any ability to think on a deeper level can see that Jehovah could not have dwelt in a tent but that He dwells in heaven, and that this tent is called the sanctuary only because it presents an image of heaven, and the celestial and spiritual realities there. Let everyone ask himself, What would it have been for Jehovah, Creator of heaven and earth, to dwell in a small dwelling-place that was made of wood, overlaid with gold, and surrounded by curtains, if heaven and the things of heaven had not been represented there in outward forms?

[5] For the realities which are represented in outward forms do indeed reveal themselves in a similar way in the lowest or first heaven before the spirits there. But those in the higher heavens perceive the inner things that are being represented, which, as has been stated, are the celestial realities belonging to love to the Lord and the spiritual realities belonging to faith in the Lord. It was things of this nature that filled heaven when Moses and the people, moved by outward holiness, venerated that tent as the dwelling-place of Jehovah Himself. From this it is evident what a representative was, and also that by means of it heaven, and so the Lord, was present with mankind.

[6] A representative Church therefore was established among the Israelite people, when the ancient Church came to an end, in order that by means of such representatives heaven, and so the Lord, might be joined to the human race. (If the Lord did not join Himself to people through heaven they would cease to exist; for it is as a result of this joining of Himself to them that people possess the life they have.) Those representatives however were no more than outward means serving to conjoin, yet to which the Lord joined heaven in a wondrous manner, 4311. But when the joining together through those means also was about to perish the Lord came into the world and laid bare the actual realities which were being merely represented up to then, that is, the inner realities which belong to love to and faith in Him. These realities themselves now effect that joining together. But the only means by which such a joining together is effected at the present day is still the Word, since this has been written in such a way that every single part of it has a correspondence and as a consequence represents and serves to mean the Divine realities present in the heavens.