10239. 'And Aaron and his sons shall wash in it' means a representative sign of the purification and regeneration of a person by the Lord. This is clear from the meaning of 'washing' as purification, dealt with above in 10237; from the representation of 'Aaron' as the Lord in respect of Divine Celestial Good, dealt with in 9806, 10068; and from the representation of 'Aaron's sons' as the Lord in respect of Divine Spiritual Good, dealt with in 9807, 10068. From these places it is evident that 'Aaron and his sons shall wash in it' means a representative sign of the purification of a person by the Lord. The reason why a representative sign of regeneration as well is meant is that regeneration as well was represented by washing, that is to say, washing the whole body, which was called baptizing. And baptizing or baptism is the sign of regeneration, see 4255, 9088.

[2] But regeneration is different from purification in that regeneration comes first and purification afterwards. None can be purified from evils and falsities except those who are undergoing regeneration and after they have been regenerated. One who has not been regenerated is, it is true, led away from evils so far as he allows, but he is not purified from them; he is all the time impure. The person who has been regenerated is different; day by day he is being made purer. This is how the Lord's words addressed to Peter should be understood,

He who has been washed has no need except to wash his feet, so that the whole person is clean. John 13:10.

'He who has been washed' means one who has been regenerated.

[3] The fact that the word 'baptizing' was used to denote the total washing of things is clear in Mark 7:4 ¹ , and to denote washing the whole body, in Matthew 3:13-16; Mark 1:9-10; and also 2 Kings 5:10, 14. The Jordan - in which washings, which were baptizings, took place, Matthew 3:6, 13; Mark 1:5; 2 Kings 5:10, 14 - meant the natural, 1585, 4255. Baptismal washing also means temptation, Matthew 20:22-23; it does so because all regeneration is accomplished by means of temptations, 5036, 5773, 8351, 8958, 8959ff.

[4] It must also be stated briefly here why it was that the Lord, when He was in the world, was Himself willing to be baptized, when yet baptism is the sign of a person's regeneration by Him. The reason was that the baptizing of the Lord Himself was a sign of the glorification of His Humanity. Anything in the Word that means a person's regeneration also means the glorification of the Human within the Lord; for a person's regeneration is an image of the Lord's glorification, 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490, 4402, 5688. This is why the Lord, when He allowed John to baptize Him, said,

Thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all the righteousness of God ² . Matthew 3:15.

'Fulfilling all the righteousness of God' means subduing the hells, restoring them and the heavens to order, by His own power, and at the same time glorifying His Human. All this was accomplished by means of the temptations which the Lord allowed Himself to undergo, thus by means of the conflicts with the hells which He underwent repeatedly, even to the last on the Cross. These things constituted the righteousness which the Lord fulfilled, see 9486, 9715, 9809, 10019, 10152. The like is also meant by references to the fulfillment of all things written in the Law and the Prophets concerning the Lord, Luke 18:31; 22:37; 24:44, and by the Lord's declaration that He had come to fulfill all of the law, Matthew 5:17-18.

[5] A person unacquainted with the arcana within the Word thinks that the Lord became righteousness through His fulfillment of everything in the law, and that by this fulfillment He freed the human race from the yoke of the law, and so from damnation. But that is not what these words mean. Rather their meaning is that He became righteousness through His subduing of the hells, restoration of the heavens to order, and glorification of His Human. For by this glorification He filled Himself with power, in order that by His Divine Human He could keep the hells in subjection forever, maintain the heavens in order, and so regenerate a person, that is, deliver him from the hells and save him.

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10152. 'And Aaron and his sons [I will sanctify], to serve Me in the priestly office' means that which is representative of the Lord in both groups of heavens in respect of the work of salvation. This is clear from the representation of 'Aaron' as the Lord in respect of celestial good, dealt with in 9806, 9946, 10068, and from the representation of 'Aaron's sons' as the Lord in respect of spiritual good, dealt with in 10017, 10068, thus in both groups of heavens, the higher heavens and the lower ones (for whether you say celestial good, or the celestial kingdom, or the higher heavens, it amounts to the same thing; and also whether you say spiritual good, or the spiritual kingdom, or the lower heavens, it amounts to the same thing; regarding the higher and the lower heavens, see what has been stated immediately above in 10150, 10151); and from the representation of 'the priestly office' as the Lord's work of salvation, dealt with in 9809, 10017. From these representations it is evident that 'sanctifying Aaron and his sons to serve Jehovah in the priestly office' means that which is representative of the Lord in both groups of heavens in respect of the work of salvation.

[2] Something more about the Lord's work of salvation can be mentioned here. It is well known in the Church that the Lord is the Saviour and Redeemer of the human race, though few know how to understand this. Those acquainted with the outward things of the Church believe that the Lord redeemed the world, that is, the human race, by His blood, by which they understand His passion on the Cross. But those acquainted with the inward realities of the Church know that no one is saved by the Lord's blood, only by a life in keeping with the commandments of faith and charity taught by the Lord's Word. Those acquainted with the inmost realities of the Church understand by the Lord's blood Divine Truth emanating from Him. By His passion on the Cross they understand the final temptation the Lord underwent, by which He completely subdued the hells and at the same time glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine, thereby also redeeming and saving all who allow themselves to be regenerated through a life in keeping with the commandments of faith and charity taught by His Word. 'The Lord's blood' furthermore is used in the internal sense, according to which the angels in heaven perceive the Word, to mean Divine Truth emanating from the Lord, see, 4735, 5476, 6978, 7317, 7326, 7850, 9127, 9393, 10026, 10033.

[3] But in what way mankind was saved and redeemed by the Divine through His subduing of the hells and glorifying of His Human none can know if they do not know that each individual person has angels from heaven and spirits from hell present with him, and that unless these were present with a person unceasingly, the person could not think anything or will anything, so that the person is inwardly subject to the influence either of spirits who come from hell or of angels from heaven. Once all this is known it may be seen that unless the Lord had completely subdued the hells and had restored all things to order both there and in the heavens, no one could have been saved. Nor could any have been saved unless the Lord had made Divine His Human, and by doing this had acquired to Himself Divine power over the hells and over the heavens for evermore; for without Divine power neither the hells nor the heavens can be kept in order. The power which enables anything to come into being must be everlasting, if that thing is to remain in being; for remaining in being is an everlasting coming into being.

[4] The Divine Himself, called the Father, could not have accomplished the work of salvation without the Divine Human, referred to as the Son, for the Divine Himself without the Divine Human cannot reach a person, not even an angel, because the human race has moved away completely from the Divine. This happened when eventually there was no longer any faith nor any charity. At that time therefore the Lord came into the world and restored all things, doing so from His Humanity; and by doing that He saved and redeemed people through their faith and love to the Lord, received from the Lord. For the Lord can withhold these people from hell and eternal damnation, but not those who reject faith and love received from and offered back to Him, since they reject salvation and redemption.

[5] The truth that the Divine Himself achieves this through the Divine Human is clear from a large number of places in the Word, such as those in which the Divine Human, that is, the Son of God, is called the right hand and the arm of Jehovah, or in which it says that the Lord has all power in heaven and on earth. The fact that the Lord is called the right hand and the arm of Jehovah, see 10019; that He has all power in heaven and on earth, 10089; and that from His Divine Human the Lord subdued the hells, restored all things to order there and in the heavens, and at the same time glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine, see the places referred to in 9528, and what has been stated in 9715, 9809, 9937, 10019. And the truth that the Divine Himself, called the Father, accomplished this through the Divine Human is evident in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made ¹ that was made ¹ . And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:1-3, 14.

Here it is evident that the Lord as to His Divine Human is the One who is called 'the Word', for it says that 'the Word became flesh'. And in addition to this,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.

And elsewhere in the same gospel,

You have never heard the Father's voice nor seen His shape. John 5:37.

And in the same gospel,

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. From now on you know the Father and have seen Him. He who sees Me sees the Father. John 14:6-7, 9.

And in Matthew,

No one knows the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him. Matthew 11:27.

From all this it may now be seen what the work of salvation and redemption is, and that this is accomplished through His Divine Human.

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