9393. 'And Moses took half of the blood' means Divine Truth which has become a matter of life and of worship. This is clear from the meaning of 'the blood' as Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, dealt with in 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127. The reason why it is Divine Truth which has become a matter of life and of worship is that it was the blood which Moses sprinkled over the people, verse 8, and this blood means Divine Truth which a person has accepted, thus that which has become a matter of life and of worship; for that Truth is said to have been accepted by a person which becomes a matter of life and so of worship. And it becomes a matter of life and worship when the person has an affection for it or loves it, or what amounts to the same thing, when he wills it, and - in willing it, and so in loving and having an affection for it - does it. Till then it is indeed present with him in his memory, and is at times called forth from there and comes before his inward sight or understanding, from where it passes back into his memory. However, as long as God's truth goes no deeper than this, though it resides with the person it has not been implanted in his life and will; for a person's life consists in his will. Therefore when truth is called forth from the memory into the understanding, then passes from the understanding into the will, and goes out from the will into action, that truth becomes part of the person's life and is called good. All this shows what is meant by Divine Truth which has become a matter of life. The situation is the same with truth which becomes part of worship. Worship springing from truth which does no more than cling in the memory and make its appearance from there in the understanding is not worship. But worship springing from truth that goes out from the will, and so from affection and love, is worship. In the Word this worship is called worship of the heart, but the other, worship of the lips alone.

[2] It has indeed been shown already in the places referred to above that 'blood' means Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. Nevertheless since the majority belonging to the Church at the present day take the blood in the Holy Supper to mean nothing other than the Lord's blood that was shed on the Cross, and in a more general sense His whole Passion of the Cross, let something further be stated briefly to show that blood is not what is meant there but Divine Truth emanating from the Lord. The reason why this is unknown within the Church is that nothing whatever is known at the present day about correspondences, nor consequently about the internal sense of the Word, the sense understood by angels when someone in the world reads the Word.

[3] It becomes clear from many places in the Word that 'blood' does not mean blood but God's truth, and plainly so from the following in Ezekiel,

Say to every bird of the air and to every wild animal of the field, Assemble and come, gather yourselves from all around to My sacrifice which I am sacrificing for you, so that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth. You will eat fat till you are glutted, and drink blood till you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I will sacrifice for you. You will be glutted at My table with horse and chariot, and with every man of war. Thus will I set My glory among the nations. Ezekiel 39:17-21.

It is plainly evident that 'blood' is not used here to mean blood, for it says that they were going to drink the blood of the princes of the earth, and the blood from the sacrifice, till they were drunk, when yet drinking blood, especially the blood of princes, is something abominable and was forbidden to the children of Israel on pain of death, Leviticus 3:17; 7:26; Leviticus 17:1-end; Deuteronomy 12:16-25; 15:23. It also says that they were going to be glutted with horse, chariot, and every man of war. Anyone therefore who does not know that 'blood' means Divine Truth, 'princes' leading truths, 'sacrifice' the things that belong to worship, 'horse' the understanding of truth, 'chariot' doctrinal teachings, and 'man of war' truth engaged in conflict against falsity is bound to be bemused by each of the words used in this passage.

[4] His response would be the same to the Lord's words in John,

Jesus said, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you will have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise Him up at the last day. My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. John 6:53-56.

But see what has been shown already regarding these words, in 4735, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127. The fact that flesh corresponds to good, as does bread, and that blood corresponds to truth, as does wine, has been told me very many times from heaven. I have likewise been told that angels understand the Word solely according to correspondences, and that as a result of this mankind is joined by means of the Word to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord.

[5] And in like manner I have been told that the Holy Supper was established by the Lord to be the means by which all things of heaven, that is, all things which are the Lord's, might be joined to members of the Church. For in the Holy Supper the flesh or bread is the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love towards the whole human race, and a person's love in return to the Lord, while the blood or wine is the Divine Truth emanating from the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love, and in turn the person's acceptance of it. In heaven, furthermore, eating and drinking those gifts implies making them one's own and joining them together. But see what has been shown already regarding these matters in 2165, 2177, 3464, 4211, 4217, 4581, 4735, 5915, 6789, 7850, 9323.

2385. 'And these strove to find the door (janua)' means to the point at which they were unable to see any truth that would lead to good. This is clear from the meaning of 'a door' as something that introduces or affords access, and as truth itself since the latter leads the way to good, dealt with above in 2356. In this verse however 'the door' means cognitions which lead the way to truth, for 'the door (janua)', as stated above in 2356, was on the outside of the house, for it is said in verse 6 that 'Lot went out to the door (janua) and closed the door (ostia) behind him'. 'Striving to find the door' therefore means not seeing any truth that would lead to good.

[2] Such do those people become, especially in the last times, who by reasoning hatch matters of doctrine and believe nothing unless they grasp it mentally beforehand. In this case the life of evil is constantly flowing into the rational part of their mind, and an illusory kind of light obtained from the fire of affections for evil pours in and causes men to see falsities as truths, like people who are in the habit of seeing phantoms in the shades of night. Those same things are after that confirmed in a multitude of ways and made matters of doctrine, as is the case with those who assert that life, which constitutes one's affection, does not achieve anything, but only faith, which constitutes thought.

[3] Once any assumption is adopted, even if falsity itself, it can be confirmed in countless ways and so be presented to outward appearance as though it were the truth itself, as anyone may well know. This is how heresies arise from which there is no going back once they have been confirmed. But from a false assumption nothing other than falsities can flow; and even if truths are introduced among them, these nevertheless become falsified truths when that false assumption is confirmed by means of them, for they are polluted by the very nature of the falsity.

[4] It is altogether different if truth itself is the assumption that is taken, and this is confirmed; for example, that love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour are that on which the whole law hangs and about which all the prophets speak, and so are the essentials of all doctrine and worship. In this case the mind would be enlightened by countless things in the Word which would otherwise lie hidden within the obscurity of a false assumption. Indeed in that case heresies would be dispelled and one Church would result from many, no matter how differing the doctrinal teachings and also religious practices might be flowing from that Church or leading into it.

[5] Of such a character was the Ancient Church which was spread throughout many kingdoms throughout Assyria, Mesopotamia, Syria, Ethiopia, Arabia, Libya, Egypt, Philistia up to Tyre and Sidon, and the land of Canaan on both sides of the Jordan. Among these peoples doctrinal teachings and religious practices differed from one to the next, but there was nevertheless one Church because with them charity was the essential thing. At that time the Lord's kingdom existed on earth as it is in heaven, for such is the character of heaven, see 684, 690. If the same situation existed now all would be governed by the Lord as though they were one person; for they would be like the members and organs of one body which, though dissimilar in form and function, still related to one heart on which every single thing, everywhere varied in form, depended. Everyone would then say of another, No matter what form his doctrine and his external worship take, this is my brother; I observe that he worships the Lord and is a good man.