9467. 'And purple' means the celestial love of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'purple' as the celestial love of good, the reason why this love is meant by 'purple' being that by the colour red the good of celestial love is meant. For there are two basic colours from which all others are derived, the colour red and the colour white. The colour red means good which belongs to love, while the colour white means truth which belongs to faith. The reason why red means good belonging to love is that this colour exists before all else as fire, and fire means the good of love; and the reason why white means truth belonging to faith is that before all else that colour is light, and light means the truth of faith.

'Fire' means the good of love, see 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324, 9434.

'Light' means the truth of faith, 2776, 3195, 3636, 3643, 3993, 4302, 4413, 4415, 5400, 8644, 8707, 8861, 9399, 9407.

'Red' means the good of love, 3300.

'White' means the truth of faith, 3993, 4007, 5319.

[2] From all this it is evident what all other colours mean; for in the measure that they are derived from red they mean good belonging to love, and in the measure that they are derived from white they mean truth belonging to faith. All the colours that appear in heaven are modifications of heavenly light and flame, on those two levels. For heavenly light is real light; and essentially it is Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good. Therefore modifications of that light and flame are different variations of truth and good, and so of intelligence and wisdom.

[3] All this now shows how it came about that the veils and curtains of the tent, and also Aaron's garments, were to be woven out of violet, purple, twice-dyed scarlet, and linen thread, Exodus 25:4; 26:31, 36; 27:16; 28:6, 15, namely in order that celestial realities belonging to good and spiritual realities belonging to truth, which are the subject in what follows below, might be represented by them.

[4] Good from a celestial origin is again meant by 'purple' in Ezekiel,

Fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was your sail; violet and purple from the islands of Elishah was your covering. Ezekiel 27:7.

This refers to Tyre, by which cognitions or knowledge of truth and good are meant. 'Violet and purple covering' stands for cognitions of truth and good from a heavenly origin.

[5] Similar things are meant by 'purple and fine linen' in Luke,

There was a certain rich man (homo) who was clothed in purple and fine linen and indulged in delicacies splendidly every day. Luke 16:19.

'A rich man' is used to mean in the internal sense the Jewish nation, and the Church there, which was said to be 'rich' because of the cognitions or knowledge of good and truth from the Word which existed there. Garments of 'purple and fine linen' are those cognitions, 'of purple' meaning cognitions of good, and 'of fine linen' cognitions of truth, both from a heavenly origin because they come from the Divine. 'Purple' also has a similar meaning in the Book of Revelation,

The woman sitting on a scarlet beast was clothed in purple and scarlet. Revelation 17:3-4.

This refers to Babylon, which means the Church where the holy things of the Word are put to unholy ends, that is, to exercising control in heaven and on earth, and so to ends that spring from hellish self-love and love of the world.

8861. 'And God spoke all these words, saying' means God's truths for those in heaven and for those on earth. This is clear from the meaning of 'the words which God spoke' as God's truths; for things that God speaks are nothing other than truths. So it is also that God's truth is called 'the Word' - 'the Word' being the Lord - in John 1:1, for the reason that the Lord was Divine Truth itself while He was in the world. And after that, when He was glorified, He became Divine Good, and ever since then He has been the source from whom all Divine Truth flows. This Divine Truth comes to the angels as light, the light which also enlightens our inward sight, or power of understanding.

[2] Since this kind of sight does not see natural but spiritual things it has truths as its objects. On the level of the understanding it has spiritual ones, called the truths of faith. But on the natural level it has as its objects the truths concerning a person's role as a citizen, which are truths about what is right; also the truths concerning a person's role in private life, which are truths about what is honourable; and lastly the natural truths that are conclusions formed on the basis of objects perceived by the outward senses, in particular that of sight. From all this one may see in what order truths follow one another, and that all collectively and individually have their origin in God's truths, which are the inner beginnings of all truths. The forms also in which they exist have the same origin, since such forms have been created to receive and contain them. This shows how the teaching in John 1:1-3, that all things were created through the Word, should be understood; for God's truth is the supreme essential entity, the one true substance, through which all things come into being.