697. And to destroy them that are destroying the earth, signifies hell to those who destroy the church. This is evident from the signification of "to destroy," as being, in reference to those that destroy the church, damnation and hell; for as "to give the reward to His servants, the prophets and the saints," signifies salvation and heaven to those who are in truths from good, that is, who constitute the church, so "to destroy" the earth signifies damnation and hell. Also from the signification of the "earth," as meaning the church (of which above, n. 29, 304, 413, 417); therefore "to destroy the earth" signifies to destroy the church. That in the Word the "earth" means the church has been shown frequently above, also in the Arcana Coelestia. There are many reasons why in the Word the "earth" signifies the church; that is, when no land in particular is mentioned, as the land of Egypt, of Edom, of Moab, of Assyria, of Chaldea, of Babylon, and others, the "earth" (or land) means the land of Canaan, and that land, to those who are in spiritual thought, does not suggest the idea of a land which is earthly, not heavenly, but the idea of the quality of the nation there in respect to the church. So again, when the church, or religion, or worship, is in one's thought, and from this lands are mentioned, the land is not thought of, but the quality of the nation of the land in respect to the church, religion, or worship. For this reason when a man in reading the Word mentions a land, the angels, who are spiritual, think of the church; and what the angels think is the spiritual sense of the Word; for the spiritual sense of the Word is for the angels, and also for those men who are spiritual. For the Word in the letter is natural, and yet inwardly or in its bosom it is spiritual; and whenever the natural is withdrawn the spiritual that is within or in its bosom is disclosed.

[2] Moreover, there are lands in the spiritual world, that is, in the world where spirits and angels are, equally as in the natural world where men are, and these lands are altogether alike in external appearance; there are there plains, valleys, mountains, hills, and there are rivers, and seas, and also fields, meadows, forests, gardens, and paradises; and those lands are in appearance beautiful in exact accord with the state of the church with those who dwell upon them, and they undergo changes in accord with the changes of the church with the inhabitants; in a word, there is a full correspondence of the lands there with the reception of the good of love and the truth of faith with those who dwell there. It is for this reason also that "land" in the Word signifies the church, for in that world according to the quality of the land is the quality of the church there, and correspondence is what makes it be so. In that world the land itself makes one with the church, as a correspondent with its own thing to which it corresponds, just as an effect does with its effecting cause, as the eye with its sight, as speech with its understanding, as action with the will, as the expression of the face with the affection of the thought, in a word, as the instrumental with its principal, of which it is said that they make one thing; so in the spiritual world the quality of the land makes one with that of the church. From this it is clear why in the Word "land (or earth)" signifies the church, and "to destroy the earth" signifies here to destroy the church.

[3] So also in the following passages. In Isaiah:

Is this the man that maketh the earth to tremble, that maketh the kingdoms to quake, that made the world a wilderness, and threw down the cities thereof? Thou hast destroyed thy land, thou hast slain thy people (Isaiah 14:16, 17, 20.)

This is said of Lucifer, by whom Babylon is here meant, as is evident from what here precedes and follows; and "the earth that he maketh to tremble and that he destroyed" signifies the church; the "kingdoms that he maketh to quake" signify the churches into which the general church is divided; the "world that he made a wilderness" signifies the church in general; the "cities that he threw down" signify its truths of doctrine; and the "people that he slew" signify the men of the church whose spiritual life he destroyed.

[4] In Jeremiah:

Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, destroying the whole earth (Jeremiah 51:25).

This, too, is said of Babylon, which is called a destroying mountain, because a "mountain" signifies the love of ruling, here over heaven and earth, which the goods and truths of the church are made to serve as means; therefore "to destroy the whole earth" signifies to destroy the church.

[5] In Daniel:

The fourth beast coming up out of the sea shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down and break it in pieces (Daniel 7:23).

This beast, too, signifies the love of ruling over the whole heaven and the whole earth, which love those have who are of Babylon (See above, n. 316, 556); therefore "to devour," "to tread down," and "to break in pieces the earth," signifies to destroy the church utterly. Who does not see that no beast is to come up out of the sea and devour and tread down and break in pieces the whole earth, but that it is some evil and diabolical love that will do thus to the church? In Moses:

There shall not be anymore a flood to destroy the earth (Genesis 9:11).

Here again "the earth" also signifies the church that was destroyed by the antediluvians, but was not again to be destroyed.

[6] In Isaiah:

Jehovah maketh the earth void and maketh it empty, and He shall overturn the faces thereof. In emptying the earth shall be emptied, and in spoiling it shall be spoiled; the habitable earth shall mourn, shall be confounded; the world shall languish, shall be confounded; the earth itself shall be profaned because they have transgressed the laws, overstepped the statute, made void the covenant of eternity, therefore a malediction shall devour the earth. The floodgates from on high are opened, and the foundations of the earth quake; in breaking the earth is broken, in moving the earth is moved, in staggering the earth shall stagger as a drunkard, and it shall be moved to and fro as a balance (Isaiah 24:1, 3-6, 18-20).

Anyone can see that "the earth" here does not mean the earth, but the church. This is said of the church, because the earths (or lands) in the spiritual world, upon which angels and spirits dwell, undergo such changes as are here described according to the changes of state of the church with those who dwell there; they are even moved accordingly. It is said that "Jehovah maketh the earth void and maketh it empty," also that "in emptying it shall be emptied, and in spoiling it shall be spoiled," because the lands there, when the church is laid waste with those who dwell upon them, altogether change their appearance; the paradises, flower gardens, lawns, and the like, with which they before flourished disappear, and things that are unpleasant, such as sandy and rocky places, and plains full of brambles and briars, and like things corresponding to the falsities and evils that have devastated the church, spring up in their place. The devastation of the church in respect to the good of love and charity is signified by "making the earth void," and its desolation in respect to the truths of doctrine and faith is signified by "making it empty and spoiling it," and the change itself by "overturning its faces." "The habitable earth shall mourn, shall be confounded, the world shall languish, shall be confounded, a malediction shall devour the earth," signifies that nothing shall there grow and flourish, but that it shall become barren and filled with useless things, on account of which the earth is said "to mourn, to languish, and to be devoured with a malediction." Because this takes place when those that dwell there have no longer any regard for the holy things of the church, it is said, "because they have transgressed the laws, overstepped the statute, made void the covenant of eternity." Because there the lands are sometimes overflowed, sometimes shaken, and also here and there gape and open towards the hell that lies below and that lifts itself up, and this takes place according to the quality and quantity of the falsities and evils that are loved, and the consequent falsification and denial of the goods and truths of the church, therefore it is said that "the floodgates from on high shall be opened, the foundations of the earth shall quake, the earth shall be broken, and shall stagger like a drunkard," and these things actually take place in the spiritual world, when the state of the church there is changed into a contrary state. From this it can be seen why "the earth" here and elsewhere in the Word, means the church.

10176. [10175(a)] Exodus 30

1. And you shall make an altar for burning incense; with pieces of shittim wood you shall make it.

2. A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth; square shall it be. And two cubits shall its height be. Its horns shall be of one piece with it ¹ .

3. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, its roof and its walls ² round about and its horns; and you shall make for it a rim of gold round about.

4. And two rings of gold you shall make for it under its rim on its two ribs; you shall make [them] on its two sides. And they shall serve as ³ receptacles for the poles, to carry it on them.

5. And you shall make the poles from pieces of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.

6. And you shall put it before the veil that is over the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy-seat which is above the Testimony, where I will meet with you.

7. And Aaron shall burn on it incense of spices morning by morning ⁴ ; when adorning ⁵ the lamps he shall burn it.

8. And when Aaron causes the lamps to go up ⁶ between the evenings he shall burn it; incense shall be continual before Jehovah throughout ⁷ your generations.

9. You shall not cause strange ⁸ incense to go up on it, or a burnt offering, or a minchah; and you shall not pour a drink offering on it.

10. And Aaron shall make expiation on its horns once a year with the blood of the sin [offering] of expiations; once a year he shall make expiation on it throughout ⁷ your generations. It is the holy of holies ⁹ to Jehovah.

11. And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

12. When you take the sum of the children of Israel, as they have been numbered ¹⁰ , they shall give - each one - an expiation for his soul to Jehovah when they are numbered ¹¹ , that there may be no plague among them when they are numbered ¹⁰ .

13. This is what they shall give, everyone passing over to those who have been numbered - half a shekel according to the shekel of holiness (a shekel is twenty obols ¹² ). Half a shekel shall be the offering to Jehovah.

14. Everyone passing over to those who have been numbered, from a son of twenty years ¹³ and over, shall give the offering of Jehovah.

15. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel when they give the offering of Jehovah, to make expiation for your souls.

16. And you shall take the silver of expiations from the children of Israel, and give it to the work of the tent of meeting; and to the children of Israel it shall be as a remembrance before Jehovah, to make expiation for your souls.

17. And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

18. And you shall make a laver of bronze, and its pedestal from bronze, for washing; and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water in it.

19. And Aaron and his sons shall wash in it ¹⁴ their hands and their feet.

20. When they go into the tent of meeting they shall wash with water, that they may not die, or when they approach the altar to minister, to burn a fire offering to Jehovah.

21. And they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they may not die; and it shall be the statute of an age ¹⁵ to them - for him and his seed [throughout] their generations.

22. And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,

23. And you, take for yourself the chief spices - the best myrrh, five hundred [shekels]; and sweet-smelling cinnamon, half of that, two hundred and fifty; and sweet-smelling calamus, two hundred and fifty;

24. And cassia, five hundred, according to the shekel of holiness; and olive oil, a hin.

25. And you shall make it a holy anointing oil ¹⁶ , a compounded ointment ¹⁷ , the work of an ointment-maker; it shall be the holy anointing oil ¹⁶ .

26. And with it you shall anoint the tent of meeting, and the ark of the Testimony,

27. And the table and all its vessels, and the lampstand and its vessels, and the altar of incense,

28. And the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its pedestal.

29. And you shall sanctify them, and they shall be the holy of holies ¹⁷ ; everyone touching them will be sanctified.

30. And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and sanctify them to serve Me in the priestly office.

31. And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying, This shall be a holy anointing oil ¹⁹ to Me throughout ²⁰ your generations.

32. It shall not be poured onto the flesh of a person, and as to the composition of it, you shall not make any other like it ²¹ . It is holy; it shall be holy to you.

33. The man who makes an ointment like it, and he who puts any of it on a foreigner, shall be cut off from his people.

34. And Jehovah said to Moses, Take for yourself sweet spices, stacte and onycha and galbanum - [these] sweet ones, and pure frankincense; amount for amount there shall be ²² .

35. And you shall make this an incense, an ointment, the work of an ointment-maker - salted, pure, holy.

36. And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put some of it before the Testimony in the tent of meeting, where I will meet with you. The holy of holies ²³ it shall be to you.

37. And the incense which you make, according to its composition ²⁴ , you shall not make for yourselves; it shall be to you holy for Jehovah.

38. The man who makes any like it, to make an odour with it, will be cut off from his people.

CONTENTS

This chapter deals with the altar of incense, the expiation of everyone by means of silver, the laver and washing [with water] from it, and the preparation of the anointing oil and of the incense. The burning of incense in the internal sense means the Lord, His hearing and receiving with pleasure everything of worship that springs from love and charity. Expiating every person by means of silver means ascribing everything of worship to the Lord and none of it to self, in order that no one may claim merit. The laver and washing mean the purification from evils that comes first in all worship. The preparation of the anointing oil means the essential nature of the love in worship, and the preparation of the incense the essential nature of worship arising from it.

THE INTERNAL SENSE

Verses 1-10 And you shall make an altar for burning incense; with pieces of shittim wood you shall make it. A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth; square shall it be. And two cubits shall its height be. Its horns shall be of one piece with it ²⁵ . And you shall overlay it with pure gold, its roof and its walls ²⁶ round about and its horns; and you shall make for it a rim of gold round about. And two rings of gold you shall make for it under its rim on its two ribs; you shall make [them] on its two sides. And they shall serve as receptacles for the poles, to carry it on them. And you shall make the poles from pieces of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And you shall put it before the veil that is over the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy-seat which is above the Testimony, where I will meet with you. And Aaron shall burn on it incense of spices morning by morning ²⁷ ; when adorning ²⁸ the lamps he shall burn it. And when Aaron causes the lamps to go up ²⁹ between the evenings he shall burn it; incense shall be continual before Jehovah throughout ³⁰ your generations. You shall not cause strange ³¹ incense to go up on it, or a burnt offering, or a minchah; and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. And Aaron shall make expiation on its horns once a year with the blood of the sin [offering] of expiations; once a year he shall make expiation on it throughout ³⁰ your generations. It is the holy of holies ³² to Jehovah.

'And you shall make an altar for burning incense' means that which is representative of the Lord, of His hearing and receiving with pleasure everything of worship that springs from love and charity. 'With pieces of shittim wood you shall make it' means from love that is Divine. 'A cubit shall be its length, and a cubit its breadth' means consisting equally of good and of truth. 'Square shall it be' means that which is therefore perfect. 'And two cubits shall its height be' means degrees of the good and truth, and the joining together of them. 'Its horns shall be of one piece with it' means the powers of truth derived from the good of love and charity. 'And you shall overlay it with pure gold' means a representative sign of everything of worship that arises from good. 'Its roof' means what is inmost. 'Its walls' means inner levels. 'And its horns' means outer levels. 'And you shall make for it a rim of gold round about' means a border of good, serving to defend them from the approach of evils and the harm these can do. 'And two rings of gold you shall make for it under the rim' means the sphere of Divine Good by means of which a joining together and preservation are effected. 'On its two ribs' means with truths lying in one direction. 'You shall make [them] on its two sides' means with good lying in the other. 'And they shall serve as receptacles for the poles' means the power there of truth derived from good. 'To carry it on them' means the resulting preservation in that condition. 'And you shall make the poles from pieces of shittim wood' means the power derived from the good of the Lord's love. 'And overlay them with gold' means the founding of all things on good. 'And you shall put it before the veil that is over the ark of the Testimony' means in the inner heaven, at the point where it is joined to the inmost heaven. 'Before the mercy-seat which is above the Testimony' means where the Lord hears and receives everything of worship arising from the good of love. 'Where I will meet with you' means the resulting presence and influx of the Lord. 'And Aaron shall burn on it' means the raising up by the Lord of worship springing from love and charity. 'Incense of spices' means hearing and receiving with pleasure. 'Morning by morning' means whenever a state of love in clearness exists. 'When adorning the lamps he shall burn it' means whenever truth as well comes into its own light. 'And when Aaron causes the lamps to go up between the evenings he shall burn it' means the raising up also in an obscure state of love, when also truth exists in its shade. 'Incense shall be continual before Jehovah' means in all worship springing from love received from the Lord. 'Throughout your generations' means to eternity among those with faith springing from love. 'You shall not cause strange incense to go up on it' means no worship springing from any love other than that of the Lord. 'Or a burnt offering, or a minchah' means that nothing representative of regeneration by means of the truths and forms of good belonging to celestial love should be there. 'And you shall not pour a drink offering on it' means that nothing representative of regeneration by means of the truths and forms of good belonging to spiritual love should be there. '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. 'Once a year' means everlastingly. 'With the blood of the sin [offering] of expiations' means by means of truths which spring from the good of innocence. 'Once a year he shall make expiation on it' means the everlasting removal of evils. 'Throughout your generations' means members of the Church with whom the truths and forms of the good of faith are present. 'It is the holy of holies to Jehovah' means since it comes from the Divine Celestial.

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