10106. 'And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram' means the making of spiritual good their own by those who are at home with internal things, from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'eating' as making one's own, dealt with in 3168, 3513(end), 3596, 4745; from the representation of 'Aaron and his sons' as the Lord in respect of Divine Good and Divine Truth, dealt with in 9806, 9807, 10068, at this point that Good and Truth in the heavens since 'filling the hand', which means the transmission and the reception of them, is the subject; and from the meaning of 'the flesh of the ram' as the good of the internal man or good on internal levels ('flesh' means good, see 3813, 7850, 9127, and 'the ram' the good of innocence and charity in the internal man, 9991, 10042). The words 'the Lord in respect of Divine Good and Divine Truth in the heavens, and the transmission and the reception of that Good and Truth there' are used because the Lord is above the heavens. He is the Sun of heaven and is also actually seen by those in heaven as the Sun; and all the light the heavens have comes from this. By means of the light and heat from it He is present in the heavens, so much so that He seems to be present there entirely; for He fills the heavens and constitutes them. The light radiating from Him as the Sun is essentially Divine Truth, from which angels derive the wisdom and intelligence they possess. And the heat radiating from Him as the Sun is the Divine Good of His Divine Love there. The transmission and the reception of this Divine Good and that Divine Truth in the heavens is what 'filling the hand' means.

The Lord is the Sun of heaven, the source of the light and heat in the heavens from which angels derive the life, that is, the wisdom and love, they possess, see 3636, 3643, 4321(end), 5097, 7078, 7083, 7171, 7173, 7270, 8644, 8812.

7270. 'You Shall speak all that I command you, [and Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharaoh,] means the reception of Divine influx, and communication. This is clear from the representation of 'Moses', who is to speak, as Divine Truth, and from the representation of 'Aaron as teachings derived from it, both dealt with in 7089; from the meaning of 'speaking' as influx and the reception of it, dealt with in 5797; and from the meaning of 'commanding' too as influx, dealt with in 5486, 5732, here the reception of influx. From all this it is evident that 'speaking' means the influx of Divine Truth in an indirect way into doctrinal teachings, that is, with the teacher, (for it is implied that Moses, representing Divine Truth, was to speak what Jehovah commanded to Aaron, who represents doctrinal teachings or the teacher, thus to him who was to communicate it) and that 'commanding' means a direct Divine influx into the Divine Law, which 'Moses' represents.

[2] How these matters are to be understood may be seen from what has been stated already in 7009, 7010, Where it is shown that 'Moses' represents truth that comes forth directly from the Divine, and that 'Aaron' represents the truth that comes forth in an indirect way. Anyone unacquainted with the nature of order consisting in consecutive degrees cannot be acquainted with the nature of influx either. Therefore let a brief statement be made on this subject. Since truth which comes forth directly from the Lord is from the Infinite and Divine Being Himself, it cannot be received at all by any living, finite substance, thus not by any angel. This being so, the Lord created degrees consecutively descending to serve as the means by which Divine Truth coming forth directly from Him could be communicated. But the first degree away from Him is still too full of the Divine to enable that Truth to be received by any living, finite substance, and so by any angel. On account of this the Lord created a further degree down, by which Divine Truth coming forth directly from Him was to some extent able to be received. This degree is God's truth which exists in heaven. These first two degrees are above the heavens; they are like belts, made radiant by a fiery source, which surround the Sun, which is the Lord. This is the nature of the consecutive degrees of order down to the heaven nearest to the Lord, which is the third heaven where the innocent and wise live. From there consecutive degrees continue down to the lowest heaven, and from the lowest heaven down to the degree of the senses and the body in man, the last in the series to receive influx.

[3] From all this it is clear that degrees one after another continue from Him who is the First, that is, the Lord, right down to the last and lowest present with man, indeed right down to the last and lowest present in the natural order. The last and lowest degrees present with man, like those in the natural order, are relatively unresponsive and consequently frigid; they are also relatively general and consequently obscure. From this it is also evident that through those consecutive degrees all things exist in a continuous chain linked to the First Being (Esse). And it is in accordance with those degrees that influx takes place; for Divine Truth coming forth directly from Divine Good flows into one degree after another. On the way down or with each new degree it becomes more general, and so grosser and more obscure, and becomes more sluggish, and so more unresponsive and frigid. All this clarifies the nature of Divine Order consisting of consecutive degrees and consequently of the nature of influx.

[4] But it should be fully recognized that God's truth, which flows into the third heaven nearest to the Lord, at the same time flows right down into the last and lowest degrees of order as well, without undergoing consecutive degrees of formation. Every single thing at that level is also directly governed and provided by Him who is the First. In this way the consecutive degrees are held together in their proper order and connection. The truth of this may also be recognized to some extent from the law not unknown to the learned in the world that there is only one substance which really is substance. Everything else is a formation from it, and that one and only substance reigns not solely as the form but as that too which is not the form, for instance, as that which gave rise to them. If this were not so, what has been formed could not remain in being and operate. But these matters are stated for him who may be able to understand them.