1672. And the kings that were with him. That this signifies the apparent truth which is of that good, is evident from the signification of “kings” in the Word. “Kings,” “kingdoms,” and “peoples,” in the historical and the prophetical parts of the Word, signify truths and the things which are of truths, as may be abundantly confirmed. In the Word an accurate distinction is made between a “people” and a “nation;” by a “people” are signified truths, and by a “nation” goods, as before shown (n. 1259, 1260). “Kings” are predicated of peoples, but not so much of nations. Before the sons of Israel sought for kings, they were a nation, and represented good, or the celestial; but after they desired a king, and received one, they became a people, and did not represent good or the celestial, but truth or the spiritual; which was the reason why this was imputed to them as a fault (see 1 Samuel 8:7-22, concerning which subject, of the Lord’s Divine mercy elsewhere). As Chedorlaomer is named here, and it is added, “the kings that were with him,” both good and truth are signified; by “Chedorlaomer,” good, and by “the kings,” truth. But what was the quality of the good and truth at the beginning of the Lord’s temptations has already been stated.

9668. 'And you shall set up the dwelling-place according to the plan which you saw on the mountain' means in the four quarters, according to the states of good and of the truth springing from it in the heaven that is represented. This is clear from the meaning of 'the dwelling-place' as a representative of heaven, dealt with in 9594; and from the meaning of 'according to the plan which you saw on the mountain' as to the four quarters according to the states of good and of the truth springing from it in heaven. This is what 'the plan according to which the dwelling-place was to be set up' serves to mean, Mount Sinai where it was seen being heaven, see 9420. From the description that is given it is evident that the dwelling-place was positioned lengthways from east to west, and that the entrance was at the east end and the ark at the west. The sides therefore were to the south and to the north. The eastern quarter of the dwelling-place represented the state of good on the rise, the western quarter the state of good on the decline, the southern quarter the state of truth dwelling in light, and the northern quarter the state of truth dwelling in shade.

[2] The entrance was towards the eastern quarter because the Lord enters heaven by way of the good of love, as also becomes clear in Ezekiel, where the new temple is the subject and the following words occur,

He brought me to the gate which was facing towards the east, and behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. And the glory of Jehovah entered the house by the way of the gate, the face of which is towards the east; and the glory of Jehovah filled the house. Ezekiel 43:1-6.

And after this,

Jehovah said to me, The gate facing east shall be shut and not opened, and no man (vir) shall enter by it; but Jehovah, the God of Israel, will enter by it. Ezekiel 44:1-2.

From these words it is plainly evident that the Lord alone enters heaven by way of the good of love, and that the good of love from the Lord fills heaven and composes it. 'The east' means the Lord in respect of the good of love because the Lord is the Sun of heaven, 3636, 3643, 7078, 7083, 7171, 8644, 8812. But in heaven things are positioned in such a way that the east is where the Lord appears as the Sun, straight before the right eye, 4321 (end), 7078, 7171. From there towards the west, thus in a direct line from the east and towards the west, are those with whom the good of love is present; but to the south are those dwelling in the light of truth, and to the north those in the shade of truth. All who are in heaven look towards the Lord, for to look frontwards there is to look towards Him. No one there can look backwards away from Him, no matter how far they turn themselves about, see 4321 (end). But this is an arcanum which the natural man cannot take in. These are the kinds of things that were represented by the plan seen by Moses on the mountain, according to which the dwelling-place was to be set up.

2776. 'Offer him as a burnt offering' means that He was to sanctify Himself to the Divine. This is clear from the representation of 'a burnt offering' among the Hebrew nation, and in the Jewish Church, as the holiest act of their worship. There were burnt offerings and there were sacrifices, and as regards what these represented, see 922, 923, 1823, 2180. Sanctifications were effected by means of burnt offerings and sacrifices, and that is why in this verse 'offering a burnt offering' means being sanctified to the Divine. For the Lord sanctified Himself to the Divine, that is, He united the Human to the Divine by means of the conflicts brought about by temptations, and by means of the victories in these, see 1663, 1690, 1692 (end), 1692, 1737, 1787, 1812, 1813, 1820.

[2] It is generally believed at the present day that the burnt offerings and sacrifices were signs of the Lord's passion, and that by His passion the Lord atoned for the iniquities of all. Indeed it is believed that He drew away those iniquities on to Himself, and thus bore them Himself, so that those who believe are made righteous and are saved, if only they think, even in the last hour prior to death, that the Lord suffered on their behalf, no matter how they may have lived throughout the whole course of their lives. But such beliefs are mistaken. The passion of the Cross was the utmost degree of temptation endured by the Lord, by means of which He fully united the Human to the Divine and the Divine to the Human, and by doing this glorified Himself. That union itself is the means by which people possessing faith in Him that is grounded in charity are able to be saved. For the Supreme Divine Itself was no longer able to reach the human race which had removed itself so far away from the celestial things of love, and from the spiritual things of faith, that people did not even recognize them any more, let alone perceive them. Consequently to enable the Supreme Divine to come down to all such as this, the Lord came into the world and united the Human to the Divine within Himself. This union could not have been effected except by means of the very severe conflicts brought about by temptations and by means of victories in these, and at length by means of the final temptation, which was that of the Cross.

[3] As a result of this the Lord is able from the Divine Human to enlighten human minds, even those that are quite remote from the celestial things of love, provided that faith grounded in charity is present in them. For in the next life the Lord appears to celestial angels as the Sun, and to spiritual angels as the Moon, 1053, 1521, 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495 - all the light of heaven flowing from Him. The light of heaven is such that when it enlightens the eyes of spirits and angels it also at the same time enlightens their understanding. This ability to enlighten the understanding also exists inherently within that light, so that the amount of internal light, that is, of understanding, which anyone possesses in heaven is the same as the amount of external light he has. This shows the way in which the light of heaven is different from the light of the world. It is the Lord's Divine Human that enlightens both the eyes and the understanding of those who are spiritual, but this could never be done unless the Lord had united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence. And unless He had united them neither men in the world, nor indeed any spiritual angel in heaven, would any longer have possessed any ability to understand or to perceive that which is good or true. Nor thus would they have possessed any blessedness and happiness at all, nor consequently any salvation at all. From this it becomes clear that the human race could not have been saved unless the Lord had assumed the Human and glorified it.

[4] From what has now been stated anyone may decide for himself the truth or otherwise of the idea that people are saved, no matter how they may have lived, if only they think from some inner emotion that the Lord suffered on their behalf and bore their sins. But in reality the light of heaven received from the Lord's Divine Human is able to reach none except those with whom there exists the good that accompanies faith, that is, who lead charitable lives, or what amounts to the same, who possess conscience. The level itself into which that light can operate, that is, the receptacle for that light, is the good that accompanies faith, which is charity and thus conscience. That those who are spiritual have salvation from the Lord's Divine Human, see 1043, 2661, 2716, 2718.