567. And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, signifies revelation from the Lord out of the spiritual heaven. This is evident from the signification of "to hear a voice," as being revelation, because what was revealed by this voice follows; also from the signification of "the golden altar which is before God," as being the Divine spiritual (of which presently); also from the signification of "its four horns," as being the Divine spiritual in its ultimates; for the horns were in the ultimates of both altars, both the altar of burnt-offering and the altar of incense which is the golden altar; and as the horns were the ultimates of these altars they signified the Divine in respect to power, for all power is in ultimates; from this it is that "the horns of the altars" signified the Divine in relation to omnipotence (respecting which signification see above, n. 316. That "the altar of burnt-offering" signifies the Divine celestial, which is Divine good, may be seen above (n. 391, 496); while the "altar of incense" (or the golden altar) represented and thence signified the Divine spiritual, which is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, as is evident from its description, which will be found below.

[2] It shall first be told here why the voice was heard "from the four horns of the altar." The "horns" that projected and stood out at the ultimate parts of the above-named altars signified all things belonging to them in respect to power, as can be seen from what has been shown above (n. 346, 417), and also from what has been said and shown respecting ultimates in the Arcana Coelestia, as that interiors flow in successively into externals, even into things extreme or ultimate, and that there they exist and subsist (n. 634, 6239, 6465, 9215, 9216); that they not only flow in successively, but also form in the ultimate what is simultaneous, in what order (n. 5897, 6451, 8603, 10099); that thus strength and power are in ultimates (n. 9836); and that thence responses and revelations were given in ultimates (n. 9905, 10548). Since responses and revelations were made from ultimates, it is evident why "the voice was heard from the four horns of the golden altar," namely, because the "golden altar" signifies the Divine spiritual, which is Divine truth which reveals, and because the "horns" signify its ultimates, through which revelation is made. The "golden altar" upon which incense was offered signifies the Divine spiritual, which is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, because the "incense" that was offered upon the altar signified worship from spiritual good, and the hearing and acceptance of it by the Lord (See above, n. 324, 491, 492, 494).

[3] That "the altar of incense" signified the Divine spiritual, and that "offering incense" upon it signified worship from spiritual good, and the grateful hearing and acceptance of such worship by the Lord, is evident from the construction of that altar, every particular in which represented and signified these things. Its construction is thus described in Moses:

Thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon; of shittim wood shalt thou make it. A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be; and two cubits shall be the height of it; its horns shall be from it. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, its roof, and its walls round about, and its horns; and thou shall make for it a rim of gold round about. And two rings shalt thou make for it from under its rim, upon the two ribs thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make them; and they shall be for places for the staves with which to bear it. And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. And thou shalt put it before the veil that is over the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy-seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with thee. And Aaron shall burn thereon incense of spices in the morning; in the morning, when dressing the lamps he shall burn it; and when Aaron maketh the lamps to ascend between the evenings he shall burn it, a perpetual incense before Jehovah in your generations. Ye shall make no strange incense to ascend upon it, nor burnt-sacrifice, nor meal-offering; nor shall ye pour drink-offering upon it. And Aaron shall make expiation upon the horns of it once in the year of the blood of the expiations of sin; once in the year shall he make expiation upon it in your generations: this is the holy of holies unto Jehovah (Exodus 30:1-10).

That these particulars respecting that altar signify in the internal sense worship from spiritual good, which is the good of charity towards the neighbor, as also the grateful hearing and acceptance by the Lord, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia (n. Arcana Coelestia 10176), where they are explained in series.

634. It is extremely difficult however to state intelligibly what the understanding of truth and the will for good are, properly speaking. The reason is that everything man thinks he ascribes to the understanding because he calls it so, and everything he desires he ascribes to the will because he calls it so. And it is even more difficult to state what they are in an intelligible way because the majority nowadays are also unaware that what belongs to the understanding is distinct and separate from what belongs to the will; for when they think something they say that they will it, and when they will something they say that they think it. Their speaking in this way is thus one reason for the difficulty. And a further reason why it is difficult to grasp the matter is that such people are engrossed solely in bodily interests, that is, their life consists in things of a more external nature.

[2] For these same reasons people are also unaware of the fact that with everybody there exists something interior, something more interior still, and indeed something inmost, and that the bodily and sensory part of a person is the most external. Desires and things of the memory are interior, affections and rational concepts more interior still, while the will for good and the understanding of truth are the inmost. Nothing could possibly be more distinct and separate than these are from one another, yet a bodily-minded man sees no difference at all, and so confuses them all with one another. This is the reason why he believes that when his physical body dies, everything else will die as well, when in reality only at that point does he start to live, and to do so indeed through his own interior things which are arranged in consecutive order. Unless man's interior things were distinct and separate in this way and arranged consecutively, men could not possibly be spirits, angelic spirits, or angels in the next life, all of whom differ in this way from one another according to things that are interior. Consequently the three heavens are very distinct and separate from one another. From all these considerations it now becomes clear to some extent what the understanding of truth and the will for good are, properly speaking, and that they are attributable only to the celestial man, or angels of the third heaven.