10057. 'And you shall take the second ram' means the following state, which is that of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good in the heavens. This is clear from the things described in what has gone before and in what comes after. Those in what has gone before have to do with the sacrifice of the young bull and the burnt offering of the first ram, those in what comes after with the second ram and 'filling the hand with it', and finally with the sacrifice of a young bull and the daily burnt offering of lambs. Is there anyone at all rational in his thinking who does not see that these things in every detail have heavenly arcana lying within them? What other explanation could there be for the sacrifices and burnt offerings with so many ritual requirements? Why else was it necessary that the altar should be flooded with blood; that blood should be put on the tip of the ear, on the thumb, and on the big toe of Aaron and his sons, and also [sprinkled] over their garments; that in the case of the sacrifice the fat on the intestines, liver, and kidneys, and the kidneys themselves, should be burned on the altar (and all other parts burned with fire outside the camp, or else be eaten), and that in the case of the burnt offering the intestines and legs should be placed on top of the pieces and the head and burned on the altar; and also that the parts which were taken from the second ram should first be waved on the palms of Aaron and his sons, and that the other parts of it should be eaten? Let anyone who is willing to do so ask himself, Would not such requirements be earthly matters of no importance at all if they did not hold holy arcana within them? And if they are holy arcana, they must be altogether such as have to do with heaven and the Church, and in the highest sense such as have to do with the Lord; for these alone, being Divine, are holy. If people believe that the Word is holy and has been inspired by God in every single part, they must also believe that every single established practice in the sacrifices and burnt offerings embraces and contains such arcana within it. Yet what it is that those practices embrace and contain within them cannot by any means be known on earth unless it is known what is meant in heaven by such things. What is meant, however, the internal sense of the Word alone teaches, since this unfolds correspondences. For all things that exist in the natural world correspond to those which exist in the spiritual world, because the former comes into being from and is held in being by the latter.

[2] But what the sacrifices and burnt offerings described in the present chapter hold within them will be stated in the course of unfolding correspondences by means of the internal sense. The subject in the highest sense, in which all holy things are Divine, is the glorification of the Lord's Human, and in the representative sense it is the regeneration of a person. The actual process by which the Lord's Human was glorified and a person is regenerated is described fully by means of the things that were commanded regarding the sacrifices and burnt offerings. So that people may have some conception of that process let other things which their minds are capable of understanding serve to explain it. It is well known that the discernment of things seen with the eyes and heard by the ears takes place inwardly in a person; those things pass so to speak from the world by way of the eyes or ears into thought, and so into the understanding since thought belongs to the understanding. And if they are the kinds of things the person loves they pass from there into the will, and then from the will by way of the understanding into words spoken by the mouth and also into actions performed by the body. Such is the cycle in all this, passing from the world by way of the natural man into the spiritual man, and going out from there into the world again. Yet it should be remembered that this cycle is started off by the will, which is the inmost core of a person's life, and that it begins there and is inspired by it to run its full course. The will of a person in whom good is present is governed from heaven by the Lord, though the situation appears to be other than this. Influx takes place from the spiritual world into the natural world, thus through the internal man into the external man, but not the other way round; for the internal man is in heaven, whereas the external man is in the world.

[3] This cycle is the cycle of a person's life, and therefore when someone is being regenerated his regeneration proceeds in accord with that same cycle; and when he has been regenerated his life and actions proceed in accord with it. Consequently, while a person is being regenerated the truths which will compose his faith are instilled through hearing and sight; they are implanted in the memory belonging to his natural man. Then they are transferred from the memory into thought belonging to the understanding, and those which the person loves become part of his will. To the extent that they become part of his will they become part of his life, since a person's will constitutes his actual life; and to the extent that they become part of his life they become part of his affection, and so of charity in his will and of faith in his understanding. That life, which consists of charity and faith, then becomes the source of the person's words and actions. Out of the charity which occupies his will come the words he speaks with his mouth as well as the actions he performs with his body; and both come by way of his understanding, thus by way of his faith. From all this it is clear that the cycle of a person's regeneration is akin to the cycle of his life in general, and that it is in like manner started off in the will by an influx coming from heaven and beginning in the Lord.

[4] From this also it is evident that there are two states that a person undergoing regeneration experiences, the first being a time when the truths of faith are being implanted and joined to the good of charity, the second a time when the good of charity through the truths of faith governs what he says and how he acts. The first state is accordingly one that goes from the world by way of the natural man into the spiritual man, thus into heaven, and the second from heaven by way of the spiritual man into the natural man, thus into the world. The spiritual or internal man, as has been stated above, is in heaven, and the natural or external man is in the world. This cycle is the cycle of a person's regeneration, and therefore is the cycle of his spiritual life. Regarding those two states of a person who is being regenerated, see the places referred to in 9274.

[5] From what has been stated people may gain some idea of the glorification of the Lord's Human; for as the Lord glorified His Human, so He regenerates a person, and therefore, as has already been stated a number of times, the regeneration of a person is an image of the Lord's glorification. From this it is evident that the first state of His glorification consisted in making His Human Divine Truth and uniting it to the Divine Good that was within Him, and that the second state consisted in acting from Divine Good through Divine Truth. For by means of Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good heaven is built and the Church is built, and by means of Divine Truth all within the Church are regenerated. These matters are what the sacrifices, burnt offerings, and their ritual observances spoken of in the present chapter serve to describe. The sacrifice of the young bull and the burnt offering of the first ram serve to describe the first state, and 'the fillings of the hand' with parts of the second ram the second state, while the sacrifice of the young bull and the daily burnt offering of lambs mentioned last in the chapter serve to mean the continuation of that second state.

[6] It should be remembered that purification from evils and consequent falsities in the case of a person who is being regenerated goes on unceasingly; for to the extent that a person is purified from evils and falsities the truths of faith are implanted and joined to the good of charity and the good of charity becomes the source of the person's actions. Purification from evils and falsities in man's case is not a deliverance from them; rather it is a removal or moving away of them, see 868, 887, 894, 929, 1581, 2269, 2406, 4564, 8206, 8393, 8988, 9014, 9333, 9446-9451, 9938. In the Lord's case however it was not a removal but a casting out of those which He had derived from His mother, thus a complete deliverance from them, so complete that He was no longer Mary's son, see the places referred to in 9315 (end).

These matters have been mentioned by way of introduction in order that people may know what is meant by filling the hand with parts of the second ram, spoken of in what follows immediately below.

643. As for the meaning itself of these expressions - that 'planks of gopher' means lusts and 'rooms' the two parts of this man - this becomes clear from the Word. Gopher is a wood full of sulphur, as is the fir and others of that group. It is on account of the sulphur in it that it is said to mean lusts, for it catches fire easily. The most ancient people compared and likened those elements that exist with man to gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone, and wood, his inmost celestial to gold, the lower celestial to bronze, and the lowest or bodily descending from this to wood, while the inmost spiritual they compared and likened to silver, the lower spiritual to iron, and the lowest degree of it to stone. When those objects are mentioned in the Word these are the things meant by them in the internal sense, as in Isaiah,

Instead of bronze I will bring gold, and instead of iron I will bring silver, and instead of wood, bronze, and instead of stones, iron. And I will make peace your assessment and righteousness your tax-collectors. Isaiah 60:17.

This refers to the Lord's kingdom in which no such metals exist, but instead celestial and spiritual elements. It is quite clear that the latter are meant because of the reference to peace' and 'righteousness'. Here, gold, bronze, and wood correspond to one another and mean celestial elements or those belonging to the will, as has been stated. Silver, iron, and stone also correspond to one another, and mean spiritual elements or those belonging to the understanding.

[2] In Ezekiel,

They will spoil your riches, they will despoil your merchandise, your stones and your timbers. Ezekiel 26:12.

It is quite clear that 'riches' and 'merchandise' do not mean material riches and merchandise, but celestial and spiritual ones. So also 'stones' and 'timbers' - 'stones' being things of the understanding and 'timbers' those of the will. In Habakkuk,

The stone cries out from the wall, and the beam out of the woodwork answers back. Habakkuk 2:11.

'Stone' stands for the lowest degree of the understanding, and 'wood' for the lowest degree of the will, which answers back when anything is drawn from sensory knowledge. In the same prophet,

Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, Awake! or to a dumb stone, Arise, this will teach! Behold, this is bound in gold and silver, and there is no spirit ¹ at all in the midst of it. But Jehovah is in His holy temple. Habakkuk 2:19-20.

Here also 'wood' stands for evil desire, 'stone' for the lowest degree of the understanding, and therefore 'being dumb' and 'teaching' are used in reference to that stone. 'No spirit in the midst of it' means that it represents nothing celestial or spiritual, like a temple in which there is stone and wood, overlaid with gold and silver, existing with people who give no thought to what those things represent.

[3] In Jeremiah,

Our waters we drink for silver, our timbers come for a price. Lamentations 5:4.

Here 'waters' and 'silver' mean things of the understanding, 'timbers' those of the will. In the same prophet,

Who say to wood, You are my father; and to a stone, You gave birth to us. Jeremiah 2:27.

Here 'wood' stands for desire which belongs to the will, from which there is conception, and 'stone' for sensory knowledge, from which there is birth. All through the Prophets therefore 'serving wood and stone' stands for images carved out of wood or stone, which means that people were slaves to evil desires and to delusions. The Prophets also speak of 'committing adultery with wood and stone', as in Jeremiah 3:9. In Hosea,

The people inquire of their piece of wood, and their staff makes declaration to them, for the spirit of whoredom has led them astray. Hosea 4:12.

This stands for their inquiring of a wooden image, or evil desires. In Isaiah,

The tophet has been prepared since yesterday. Its pyre is fire and much wood; the breath of Jehovah is like a stream of burning brimstone. Isaiah 30:33.

Here 'fire', brimstone', and 'wood' stand for filthy desires.

[4] In general 'wood' means those elements which constitute the lowest parts of the will. Precious kinds of wood, such as cedar and so on, mean elements that are good - for example, the cedar timbers in the Temple, or the cedarwood used in cleansing leprosy, Leviticus 14:4, 6-7, or the wood cast into the bitter waters at Marah, by which the waters were made sweet, Exodus 15:25. These in the Lord's Divine mercy will be dealt with in their proper places. Non-precious kinds of wood however, also those which were made into images, and those that were used for a pyre as well, and the like, mean evil desires, as do planks of gopher here on account of the brimstone or sulphur in them. As in Isaiah,

The day of Jehovah's vengeance - her streams will be turned into pitch, and her dust into brimstone, and her land will become burning pitch. Isaiah 34:8-9.

'Pitch' stands for dreadful delusions, 'brimstone' for filthy desires.

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