1. Dat het Woord van het Oude Testament verborgenheden van de hemel bevat, en dat zowel het geheel als elke bijzonderheid daarvan op de Heer betrekking heeft, op Zijn hemel, op de Kerk, op het geloof en de dingen van het geloof, kan geen sterveling uit de letter opmaken. Uit de letter of uit de letterlijke zin ziet niemand iets anders, dan dat het in het algemeen gaat over de uiterlijke dingen van de Joodse Kerk, terwijl er overal een innerlijke zin is, dat nergens in het uiterlijke aan het licht komt, behalve dan het zeer weinige dat de Heer onthuld heeft en aan de apostelen heeft ontvouwd; zo bijvoorbeeld, dat de offeranden de Heer betekenen, het land Kanaän en Jeruzalem en ook het Paradijs, de hemel betekenen, waarom dan ook van het hemelse Kanaän en Jeruzalem gesproken wordt.

2524. 'She herself also said, He is my brother' means that the rational itself so declared that celestial good should be coupled with it. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'a sister', to whom 'she herself' refers here, as the rational, 1495, 2508, and from the meaning of 'a brother' as good that stands related to truth, 367, 2508. For the implications of this are as follows: Divine Good and Divine Truth are united to each other as if in a marriage. From this comes the heavenly marriage, and also conjugial love, even down to the natural world below. But the good and truth of the rational are not joined to each other as if in a marriage but as in a blood relationship like that of brother and sister. For as regards truth, the rational is conceived from an influx of Divine Good into the affection for knowledge and cognitions, see 1895, 1902, 1910, whereas the good of the rational comes through an influx of Divine Good into that truth, which then becomes that good itself which belongs to charity and is 'the brother' of faith, or what amounts to the same, of truth, 367.

[2] As regards the way in which the good and truth of the rational are acquired, its good comes from Divine good, but not its truth from Divine truth, for the truth of the rational is acquired through knowledge and cognitions which are implanted by means of the senses, external and internal, and so by an external route. Consequently many illusions that result from sensory impressions cling to the truths of that rational which cause those truths not to be truths. Nevertheless when Divine Good flows into them and takes hold of them they are in that case seen as truths and are acknowledged as truths, even though they are no more than appearances of truth. The good itself within those truths undergoes modification determined by the shadows there and comes to have the same nature as the truth. This is one arcanum which lies concealed in these words, that the rational so declared that celestial good should be coupled with it.