10547. 'And called it the tent of meeting' means the external aspect of worship, the Church, and the Word, which holds internal things within it. This is clear from the meaning of 'the tent of meeting' as the external aspect of worship, the Church, and the Word, which holds internal things within it; for 'the tent' means the holiness of worship, the Church, and the Word, 10545, and 'meeting' means where internal things are, since all internal things exist together within external ones, see 6451, 9216, 9828, 9836. In the sense of the letter 'meeting' describes a coming together of the children of Israel, but in the internal sense it means a coming together of the Church's truths and forms of good, since the Church's truths and forms of good in their entirety are meant in the good sense by 'the children of Israel', see 5414, 5879, 5951, 7957, and in like manner by 'the congregation and assembly of the children of Israel', 7830, 7843. Furthermore the truths and forms of good that reside in the Word, the Church, and worship do so on an internal level, for internally the Word, the Church, and worship contain celestial and spiritual realities, but externally they consist of natural and worldly images. Yet all the celestial and spiritual realities pass into the natural and worldly images; they terminate in them, give shape to them, and compose them. This explains why the external aspect is meant by 'meeting'. Such is the situation with the external or outward sense of the Word, called its literal sense; such also is the situation with the external things of the Church and worship, for they come from the Word.

6451. 'I am being gathered to my people' means that [spiritual good] will come to exist within the forms of good and the truths of the natural which spring from that good. This is clear from the representation of the sons of Israel and of the tribes named after them, to which 'his people' refers here, as forms of good and truths in the natural - dealt with in 3858, 3926, 3939, 5414, 5879, 5951, 6335, 6337 - which, it is self-evident, sprang from him; and from the meaning of 'being gathered to that people' as existing within those forms of good and truths. Since the subject here and in what follows is the gathering of spiritual good, which is 'Israel', that is, its coming to exist within the forms of good and the truths of the natural, which are 'his sons' or the tribes named after them, something must be said about how one is to understand all this.

[2] Within a person there is what is inmost; there are interior things beneath what is inmost; and there are exterior things. All these are utterly distinct and separate. They follow one after another in consecutive order, thus from what is inmost to what is outermost; and in accordance with that consecutive order there is also a flow from one into another. This being so, life flows in by way of what is inmost into the interior things, and by way of the interior things into the exterior ones, in accordance with the order in which they follow one another, and it does not come to rest except in what is last and lowest, where it is brought to a halt. And since interior things flow in accordance with order right through to what is last and lowest and are there brought to a halt, it is evident that interior things exist together within what is last and lowest. But they do so there in the following order: What is inmost and has flowed in occupies the central area; interior things, which are beneath what is inmost, encircle the central area; and exterior things are on the edge all the way round. This applies not merely in what is general and overall but also in every specific thing. The first kind of order is called consecutive order, whereas the second is called simultaneous order. The second arises from the first since everything simultaneous arises from what is consecutive, and then exists as it was when first brought into being.

[3] Because the interior things are also present all together in what is last and lowest, the appearance is that life exists in what is last and lowest, which is the body. The reality however is that it exists in interior things, yet not in them but in what is highest, which is the Lord, the Source of all life. This also explains why the life in the exterior things is obscure when compared with the life in the interior ones, for in exterior things the life is wholly general, the product of many, indeed countless elements that flow in from interior things, yet are seen all together as a general, single whole. All this now shows to some extent how one is to understand the idea that spiritual good, which is 'Israel', will come to exist within the forms of good and the truths of the natural, which are 'his sons' or 'the tribes'. For spiritual good, which is 'Israel', exists in the interior part of the natural, while the forms of good and the truths, which are 'his sons', exist in the exterior part of it. The idea that spiritual good will come to exist in them is meant by 'I am being gathered to my people'.