10338. 'The tent of meeting, and the ark of the Testimony' means that which is representative of heaven in general, where the Lord is. This is clear from the meaning of 'the tent of meeting, and the ark' as that which is representative of heaven, dealt with in 9457, 9481, 9485, 9784, the reason why that which is representative of heaven in general is meant being that the tent of meeting within the veil - where the ark was - represented the inmost or third heaven, 9485, the tent of meeting outside the veil represented the middle or second heaven, and the court the last and lowest heaven, 9741; and from the meaning of 'the Testimony' as the Lord in respect of Divine Truth, dealt with in 8535, 9503.

9480. 'That I may dwell in their midst' means the Lord's presence as a result in the representative Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'dwelling in the midst of', when said of the Lord, as His presence. For 'dwelling in' means one's being and life, 1293, 3384, 3613, 4451, and therefore 'dwelling in the midst of' means the presence of one's being and life. The reason why in the representative Church is meant is that the Lord's presence with that people was not within internal things, which are those of love and faith, but solely within the external things which represented those internal ones. Such was the nature of that presence, see 4311, and the places referred to in 9320 (end), 9380.