491. Having a golden censer, signifies the conjunction of celestial good with spiritual good, and thus the conjunction of the higher heavens. This is evident from the signification of a "censer," as being worship from spiritual good, for such worship was represented by incense from the censers (See above, n. 324). "Having a golden censer" signifies the conjunction of celestial good with spiritual good, because the angel standing at the altar had a censer, and the "altar" signifies worship from celestial good, and "a golden censer" spiritual good from celestial good, "gold" signifying celestial good. The censers that were in use with the Jewish and Israelitish nation were of brass; and the offerings of incense from those censers represented worship from spiritual good, and conjunction at the same time with natural good, for "brass" signifies natural good; so here "a golden censer" signifies the conjunction of celestial good with spiritual good. It also signifies the conjunction of the two higher heavens, because the good of the inmost heaven is celestial good, and the good of the middle heaven is spiritual good; when therefore the conjunction of these goods is mentioned, the conjunction of the heavens is also meant, because the good is what constitutes the heaven. Celestial good is the good of love to the Lord, and it constitutes the highest or inmost heaven; and spiritual good is the good of love towards the neighbor, and it constitutes the heaven next below, which is called the second or middle heaven.

[2] "Frankincense" in the Word signifies spiritual good, the same as the censer that contained it (where the containant is taken for the content), as can be seen in the following passages. In Isaiah:

I have not made thee to serve by a meal-offering, nor wearied thee by frankincense (Isaiah 43:23).

"A meal-offering and frankincense" are mentioned, because the "meal-offering," which was made of fine flour and was therefore bread, signifies celestial good, consequently "frankincense" signifies spiritual good. Both are mentioned because in every part of the Word there is a marriage of good and truth, that is, where it treats of good it also treats of truth, and spiritual good in its essence is truth; this shows that "frankincense" means spiritual good, or the truth of celestial good. This can be seen further from other passages in which "meal-offering" and "frankincense" are mentioned together. Thus in Isaiah:

Causing the meal-offering to ascend, offering frankincense (6 Isaiah 66:3).

[3] In Jeremiah:

They shall offer the whole burnt-offering and the sacrifice, the meal-offering and frankincense (Jeremiah 17:26).

"Burnt-offering" also signifies worship from the good of celestial love, and "sacrifice" worship from the good of spiritual love; these two goods are signified also by "meal-offering and frankincense." The like is true of "meal-offering and incense-offering," for the incense-offering was chiefly of frankincense. In Malachi:

In every place incense is offered to My name, and a clean meal-offering (Malachi 1:11).

In David:

My prayers are accepted as incense before Thee; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening meal-offering (Psalms 141:2).

Therefore:

Oil was poured upon the meal-offering, and frankincense put on it (Leviticus 2:1, 2, 15).

This was done that the meal-offering might represent the conjunction of celestial good and spiritual good, for "oil" signified celestial good, and "frankincense" spiritual good.

[4] So again:

Frankincense was put upon the bread of faces in the tabernacle (Leviticus 24:7);

and this was done on account of the conjunction of the two kinds of good, for the "bread" signified celestial good, and "frankincense" spiritual good; so when the frankincense was put upon the bread the conjunction of the two goods was represented. For the sake of representing the conjunction of celestial good and spiritual good, a table for the bread was placed in the tabernacle, and on the other side an altar for incense offerings was placed.

[5] Where "meal-offering and frankincense" are not mentioned, "oil and frankincense" are mentioned, and "gold and frankincense," since "oil" and "gold," in like manner as "meal-offering," signify celestial good. "Oil and incense" are mentioned in Ezekiel:

Thou hast taken my oil and my incense and hast set them before them (Ezekiel 16:18).

"Gold and frankincense" are mentioned in Isaiah:

All they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and they shall proclaim the praises of Jehovah (Isaiah 60:6).

And in Matthew:

The wise men from the east who came to the newborn Christ opened their treasures, and offered unto Him gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11);

"gold" signifying celestial good, "frankincense" spiritual good, and "myrrh" natural good therefrom, thus the three goods of the three heavens. This makes evident the signification of the angel that was seen at the altar having a golden censer, for the "altar" was representative of celestial good, and the censer was representative of spiritual good, and the two together were representative of the conjunction of celestial good with spiritual good, or what is the same, of the conjunction of the higher heavens, or of the heaven where celestial angels are with the heaven where the spiritual angels are.

9481. 'In accordance with all that I show you, the pattern of the dwelling-place' means a representative of heaven where the Lord is. This is clear from the meaning of 'the pattern of the dwelling-place' as a representative of heaven; for 'the pattern' means a representative, and 'the dwelling-place' means heaven. The reason why 'the pattern' means a representative is that Divine realities in heaven are also manifested in visible shapes, which are representatives. For the meaning of 'the dwelling-place' as heaven where the Lord is, see 8269, 8309. What the representatives that appear in heaven are like is clear in the prophets, for example in John's Book of Revelation, in which he describes lampstands, Chapter 1:12ff; a throne with twenty-four thrones around it, and four living creatures before the throne, Chapter 4:2ff; a book sealed with seven seals, Chapter 5; horses going out when the seals were opened, Chapter 6; angels who are clothed in various ways and have bowls, Chapters 9, 10, 15, 16; a white horse, Chapter 19; and at length a new Jerusalem, its walls, gates, foundations, height, breadth, and length, Chapters 21, 22. Similar sights are also described by other prophets.

[2] All those sights are representatives such as appear unceasingly in heaven before angels' eyes, manifesting in visible shapes the Divine celestial realities that belong to the good of love and the Divine spiritual realities that belong to the good of faith. Such realities taken all together were represented by the tabernacle and its contents, that is, the ark itself, the table on which loaves were laid, the altar of incense, the lampstand, and everything else. Therefore when these objects, being outward forms of Divine celestial and spiritual realities, were beheld by the people while they were engaged in holy acts of worship, such realities as were represented by those objects were brought to notice in heaven. These, as stated above, were the Divine celestial realities that belong to the good of love to the Lord and the Divine spiritual realities that belong to the good of faith in the Lord. All the representatives of that Church had that kind of effect in heaven. It should be realized that a person always has spirits and angels present with him and that a person cannot live without them. It should likewise be realized that through them the person is linked to the Lord, and that in this way the human race, and heaven too, is kept in being. From this one can see what purpose was served by the representatives and also the ritual observances of the Church established among the Israelite nation. One can also see what purpose is served by the Word, in which all things mentioned in the sense of the letter correspond to Divine realities that exist in heaven, thus in which all the objects mentioned are representative and all the words used carry a spiritual meaning. This is what brings about the linking of a person to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord. Without that link the person would have no life whatever, for without being linked to the actual Essential Being (Esse) of life, from which the Coming-into-Being (Existere) of life emanates, no one has life.

[3] But these considerations are unintelligible to those who think that life exists essentially in a person himself and that a person lives without spirits or angels, thus without influx from the Divine by way of heaven. But in actual fact anything that is not linked to the Divine perishes and ceases to exist. Indeed nothing can ever come into being without that which is prior to itself, thus without the Divine, who is the First and is self-existent Being (Esse) or Jehovah; nor consequently can it remain in being, for remaining in being is constant coming-into-being. Because 'the dwelling-place' means heaven where the Lord is, it also means the good of love and faith, since these compose heaven; and because all good comes from the Lord, and heaven is called heaven by virtue of its love to and faith in the Lord, 'the dwelling-place' also means in the highest sense the Lord, as is evident in Isaiah 63:15; Jeremiah 25:30; Ezekiel 37:26-27; Psalms 26:8; 43:3; 90:1; 91:9; Exodus 15:13; Deuteronomy 12:5, 11; and other places. From this it is clear that the tabernacle was called Jehovah's sanctuary and dwelling-place for the reason that it represented the realities mentioned above.