Библија

 

Exodus 29:39

Студија

       

39 One lamb is to be offered in the morning and the other in the evening:

Из Сведенборгових дела

 

Arcana Coelestia # 10149

Проучите овај одломак

  
/ 10837  
  

10149. 'And it will be sanctified in My glory' means reception of Divine Truth from the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'being sanctified' as the reception of what is Divine from the Lord, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'glory' as Divine Truth, dealt with in 4809, 5922, 8267, 9429. 'Being sanctified' means reception of what is Divine from the Lord because the Lord alone is holy, and therefore everything holy comes from Him, 9229, and also because Divine Truth emanating from Him is what is meant by 'holy' in the Word, 9818. But at this point, where the children of Israel, burnt offerings and sacrifices, the tent of meeting, and the altar are the subject, that which is representative of it is meant by 'holy' and 'being sanctified'. The reason for this is that among the Israelite and Jewish nation all things were representative of the inner realities of the Church, which are matters of faith and love received from and offered back to the Lord. For the Church established among that nation was a representative Church.

[2] This being so, all outward objects served to mean and represent such things as the internal sense teaches about; and it is on account of this that those objects were called holy, such as the altar, fire on it, burnt offering, fat, and blood; the tent of meeting, the table there on which the loaves of the presence were placed, table of incense, lampstand, and all their vessels; in particular the ark with the Testimony in it; and in addition the loaves, cakes, and wafers - which were called minchahs - oil, and frankincense; as well as Aaron's garments, such as the ephod, robe, tunic, turban, and in particular the breastplate. Aaron himself was called holy, and so too were the children of Israel. But none of those objects or people were holy, other than for the reason that they served to represent and so to mean holy things, that is, Divine things which come from the Lord; for these alone are holy.

[3] People who do not look beyond outward forms to inward realities suppose that such objects were holy not by virtue of what they represented but because they were intrinsically holy after they had been dedicated. But those people are completely mistaken. If they venerate those objects as being intrinsically holy, they venerate earthly things, and are not far off being like those who venerate pieces of stone or wood, as idolaters do. But people who venerate the realities that are represented or meant, that is, holy and Divine things, are the ones who engage in true worship; for to them outward objects are merely mediate causes 1 enabling them to think about and desire such realities as constitute the essentials of the Church, which, as has been stated above, are matters of faith and love received from and offered back to the Lord.

[4] The situation is similar at the present day with the Holy Supper. When those attending do not think, as a consequence of their belief, about the Lord and His love towards the human race, and about renewal of life in keeping with His commandments, they venerate simply the bread and wine there, and not the Lord. They think that the outward objects of bread and wine are holy; but they are holy not in themselves, only by virtue of what they are the signs of. For the bread there is a sign of the Lord in respect of the good of love, and the wine a sign of the Lord in respect of the truth of faith, and at the same time of a person's reception of Him, those two entities being the essential elements of the Church, thus the essential elements of worship, see 4211, 4217, 4735, 6135, 6789, 7850, 8682, 9003, 9127, 10040.

From all this it may now be seen what 'holy' and 'being sanctified' mean in the Word.

Фусноте:

1. A philosophical term denoting means to an end

  
/ 10837  
  

Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.

Из Сведенборгових дела

 

Arcana Coelestia # 6789

Проучите овај одломак

  
/ 10837  
  

6789. 'And where is he? Why is it that you left the man?' means, In what way without that truth could they be joined to the good of the Church? This is clear from the meaning of an Egyptian man, to whom 'the man they left' refers here, as true factual knowledge, dealt with above in 6784; and from the meaning of 'Why is it that you left the man?' as, In what way without that truth could they be joined to good? For 'leaving the man' here is not being able to be joined.

[2] But the nature of all this needs to be explained. True factual knowledge, represented here by 'Moses', is truth as the external Church knows it. This truth depends for its existence on the truth which the law from God possesses, which too 'Moses' represents, 6771, 6780; and the truth that the law from God possesses is truth as the internal Church knows it. Unless external truth springs from internal truth it cannot be joined to good. Let the Word serve to illustrate this. But for the influence of the inner spirit of the Word received by those who read the Word and yet confine themselves to the literal sense, truth from the Word does not become joined to good. The inner spirit of the Word influences a person and becomes joined to good when he considers the Word to be holy; and he considers it to be holy when he is governed by good.

[3] Let the Holy Supper also serve to illustrate the matter. Scarcely any know that the bread there means the Lord's love towards the entire human race and man's reciprocation of that love, and that the wine means charity. Even so, those who receive the bread and wine in a holy manner are joined by means of them to heaven and the Lord; and through the angels - who do not think at that time about bread and wine, only about love and charity, 3464, 3735, 5915 - different forms of the good of love and charity flow in. From this one may see that when a person is governed by good external truth is joined to internal truth, without his knowing it.

  
/ 10837  
  

Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.