Arcana Coelestia, Volume 12

Emanuel Swedenborg, John Faulkner Potts

• Publisher: Jazzybee Verlag
• Year: 2013
• eBook ISBN: 9783849640545
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

This is an exposition of the internal or spiritual sense of the books of Genesis and Exodus, according to the law of correspondences. It unfolds the spiritual significance of the creation; of the stories of Adam and Eve, and of the deluge; of the lives of the patriarchs; of the captivity of the chosen people in Egypt and of their deliverance therefrom, and of their subsequent history; of the ritual of the Jewish religion, its sacrifices and observances: —and in general, traces the foreshadowing through both books of the incarnation and glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ. Many passages from other parts of the Word are also fully explained.Relations of things heard and seen in the spiritual world are interspersed, explaining the process of dying, and of man's resuscitation and conscious entrance into the interior life; the nature of the soul; of heaven and heavenly joy;and of hell, its nature and its miseries. It also treats of the Grand Man, or the whole angelic heaven, and the correspondence of the societies therein with the different organs and senses of the body; the origin and correspondence of diseases; the spirits and inhabitants of the various planets, and of other earths in the starry heavens. All of which are related to a true understanding of the Divine Word.This is book #12 out of 12 and covers Exodus 29 - 40.

Arcana Coelestia, Volume 12

EXODUS 29.

THE DOCTRINE OF CHARITY AND FAITH

9974.

Those who believe that they merit heaven by the goods which they do, do goods from themselves, and not from the Lord.

9975.

None of the goods which men do from themselves are good, because they are done for the sake of self, being done for the sake of reward; thus from these works they have regard in the first place to themselves; but the goods which men do from the Lord are all good, because they are done for the sake of the Lord and for the sake of the neighbor; thus in these goods they have regard in the first place to the Lord and the neighbor.

9976.

Therefore those who place merit in works love themselves, and those who love themselves despise the neighbor, and even are angry with God Himself if they do not receive the hoped-for reward, for they do the works for the sake of the reward.

9977.

From this it is evident that their works are not from heavenly love, thus not from true faith; for the faith which regards good from self, and not from God, is not true faith. Such cannot receive heaven into themselves, for heaven with man is from heavenly love and true faith.

9978.

Those who place merit in works cannot fight against the evils which are from the hells, for no one can do this from himself; but the Lord fights and conquers for those who do not place merit in works.

9979.

The Lord alone had merit, because He alone, from Himself, has conquered and subdued the hells. Hence the Lord alone is merit and righteousness.

9980.

Moreover, from himself man is nothing but evil; thus to do good from self is to do it from evil.

9981.

That good must not be done for the sake of a reward, the Lord Himself teaches in Luke: If ye love those who love you, what thanks have ye? If ye do well to those who do well to you, what thanks have ye? For sinners do the same. Rather love your enemies, and do well, and lend, hoping for nothing; then shall your reward be great, and ye shall be sons of the Most High (Luke 6:32-35). That a man cannot from himself do good that is good; but only from the Lord, the Lord also teaches in John: A man can receive nothing unless it be given him from heaven (John 3:27). Jesus said, I am the vine, ye are the branches; he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing (John 15:5).

9982.

To believe that they will be rewarded if they do what is good, is not hurtful to those who are in innocence, as is the case with little children and with the simple; but to confirm themselves therein when they are grown up is hurtful; for a man is initiated into good by looking for a reward, and he is deterred from evil by looking for a punishment. But insofar as he comes into the good of love and of faith, he is removed from having regard to merit in the goods which he does.

9983.

To do good that is good must be from the love of good, thus for the sake of good. They who are in this love abhor merit, for they love to do, and perceive satisfaction from it; and on the other hand, they are saddened if it is believed that it is done for the sake of something of self. The case herein is almost as it is with those who do what is good to friends for the sake of friendship, to a brother for the sake of brotherhood, to wife and children for their own sake, to their country for their country's sake; thus from friendship and from love. They who think well also say and insist that they do not do well for the sake of themselves; but for the sake of those to whom they do it.

9984.

The delight itself which is in the love of doing what is good without any end of recompense, is the reward which remains to eternity; for every affection of love remains inscribed on the life. Into this there is insinuated by the Lord heaven and eternal happiness. EXODUS 29 1. And this is the word that thou shalt do to them, to sanctify them, to minister to Me in the priest's office. Take one bullock, a son of the herd, and two rams without blemish; 2. And bread of unleavened things, and cakes of unleavened things mixed with oil, and wafers of unleavened things anointed with oil; of fine flour of wheat shalt thou make them. 3. And thou shalt put them upon one basket, and bring them near in the basket, and the bullock and the two rams. 4. And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring near unto the door of the Tent of meeting, and shalt wash them with waters. 5. And thou shalt take the garments, and shalt clothe Aaron with the tunic, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the girdle of the ephod. 6. And thou shalt set the miter upon his head, and put the crown of holiness upon the miter. 7. And thou shalt take the oil of anointing, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him. 8. And thou shalt bring near his sons, and clothe them with tunics. 9. And thou shalt gird them with a belt, Aaron and his sons, and shalt bind the tiaras on them, and the priesthood shall be to them for a statute of an age; and thou shalt fill the hand of Aaron and the hand of his sons. 10. And thou shalt bring near the bullock before the Tent of meeting; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the bullock. 11. And thou shalt slay the bullock before Jehovah, at the door of the Tent of meeting. 12. And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and shalt put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger; and all the blood thou shalt pour out at the base of the altar. 13. And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the intestines, and the caul upon the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and shalt burn them on the altar. 14. And the flesh of the bullock, and its skin, and its dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp; this is sin. 15. And thou shalt take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the ram. 16. And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take its blood, and sprinkle it upon the altar round about. 17. And thou shalt cut the ram into its pieces, and shalt wash its intestines, and its legs, and put them upon its pieces, and upon its head. 18. And thou shalt burn with the whole ram upon the altar; this is a burnt-offering unto Jehovah; an odor of rest; an offering made by fire unto Jehovah is this. 19. And thou shalt take the second ram; and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands upon the head of the ram. 20. And thou shalt slay the ram, and shalt take of its blood, and shalt put it upon the lap of the ear of Aaron, and upon the lap of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and thou shalt sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about. 21. And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the oil of anointing, and shalt sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him; and he shall be holy, and his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him. 22. And thou shalt take of the ram the fat, and the tail, and the fat that covereth the intestines, and the caul of the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right hind quarter; because a ram of fillings is he; 23. And one loaf of bread, and one cake of bread with oil, and one wafer, out of the basket of unleavened things that is before Jehovah; 24. And thou shalt put the whole upon the palms of Aaron, and upon the palms of his sons; and shalt wave them a wave offering before Jehovah. 25. And thou shalt take them from their hand, and shalt burn them on the altar upon the burnt-offering, for an odor of rest before Jehovah; an offering by fire is this to Jehovah. 26. And thou shalt take the breast from the ram of fillings, which is for Aaron, and shalt wave it a wave-offering before Jehovah; and it shall be to thee for a portion. 27. And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the waving, and the hind quarter of the uplifting, which is waved, and which is uplifted from the ram of fillings, of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons; 28. And it shall be to Aaron and his sons for a statute of an age from among the sons of Israel; for it is an uplifting; and it shall be an uplifting from among the sons of Israel of their peace sacrifices, their uplifting to Jehovah. 29. And the garments of holiness which are for Aaron shall be for his sons after him, to be anointed in them, and to fill in them their hand. 30. Seven days shall the priest after him of his sons put them on, who shall enter into the Tent of meeting to minister in the holy. 31. And thou shalt take the ram of fillings, and boil its flesh in a holy place. 32. And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, at the door of the Tent of meeting. 33. And they shall eat those things wherein expiation was made, to fill their hand, to sanctify them; and a stranger shall not eat, because they are holy. 34. And if there be anything left of the flesh of fillings, and of the bread, unto the morning, thou shalt burn what is left with fire; it shall not be eaten, because it is holy. 35. And thus shalt thou do to Aaron and to his sons, according to all that I have commanded thee; seven days shalt thou fill their hand. 36. And a bullock of sin thou shalt offer daily upon the propitiations; and thou shalt cleanse it from sin upon the altar in making thy propitiation upon it; and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it. 37. Seven days thou shalt make propitiation upon the altar, and shalt sanctify it, and the altar shall be a holy of holies; everyone that toucheth the altar shall be sanctified. 38. And this is what thou shalt offer upon the altar: two lambs, sons of a year, day by day, continually. 39. The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer between the evenings; 40. And a tenth of fine flour mingled with beaten oil, a fourth of a hin, and a drink-offering of the fourth of a hin of wine for the first lamb. 41. And the second lamb thou shalt offer between the evenings; according to the meat-offering of the morning, and according to the drink-offering thereof, thou shalt do thereto, for an odor of rest, a fire-offering to Jehovah: 42. A continual burnt-offering to your generations at the door of the Tent of meeting before Jehovah; where I will meet with you, to speak unto thee there. 43. And there I will meet with the sons of Israel, and it shall be sanctified in My glory. 44. And I will sanctify the Tent of meeting, and the altar; and Aaron and his sons will I sanctify to minister to Me in the priest's office. 45. And I will dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel, and will be to them for God. 46. And they shall know that I am Jehovah their God, who have brought them out from the land of Egypt, that I may dwell in the midst of them; I am Jehovah their God.

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THE CONTENTS. In the internal sense in this chapter the subject treated of is the glorification of the Lord in respect to the Human, which is signified by the inauguration of Aaron and his sons into the priesthood.

9986.

THE INTERNAL SENSE. Verses 1-3. And this is the word that thou shalt do to them to sanctify them, to minister to Me in the priest's office. Take one bullock, a son of the herd, and two rams without blemish; and bread of unleavened things, and cakes of unleavened things mixed with oil, and wafers of unleavened things anointed with oil; of fine flour of wheat shalt thou make them. And thou shalt put them upon one basket, and bring them near in the basket; and the bullock and the two rams. "And this is the word that thou shalt do to them," signifies a law of order; "to sanctify them," signifies a representation of the Lord in respect to the Divine Human; "to minister to Me in the priest's office," signifies to represent all the work of salvation by Him; "take one bullock a son of the herd," signifies the purification of the natural or external man; "and two rams without blemish," signifies the purification of the spiritual or internal man; "and bread of unleavened things," signifies the purification of the celestial in the inmost of man; "and cakes of unleavened things mixed with oil," signifies the purification of the middle celestial; "and wafers of unleavened things anointed with oil," signifies the celestial in the external man; "of fine flour of wheat shalt thou make them," signifies the truth which is from Divine good; "and thou shalt put them upon one basket," signifies the sensuous in which they are; "and bring them near in the basket," signifies thus the presence of all; "and the bullock and the two rams," signifies the natural or external of man, and his spiritual or internal, which are to be purified.

9987.

And this is the word that thou shalt do to them. That this signifies a law of order, is evident from the signification of a "word," as being Divine truth, and hence a law of order (of which below). In the general sense a "word" signifies an utterance of the mouth, or a speech; and as a speech is a thought of the mind uttered by means of words, therefore a "word" signifies the thing that is being thought; and from this, in the original tongue, everything that really exists, and is anything, is called a "word." But in an eminent sense the "Word" is Divine truth, for the reason that everything which really exists, and which is anything, is from Divine truth. Therefore it is said in David: By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, and all the army of them by the breath of His mouth (Ps. 33:6); where "the word of Jehovah" denotes the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord; "the breath of the mouth of Jehovah" denotes the life thence derived; "the heavens made by it, and all the army of them," denote the angels insofar as they are receptions of Divine truth. That "the heavens" denote the angels is because these constitute heaven; and as the angels are receptions of Divine truth, therefore by "angels" in the abstract sense are signified Divine truths which are from the Lord (see n. 8192); and that in the same sense "the army of the heaven...

Table of contents

• Emanuel Swedenborg – A Biographical Primer
• Arcana Coelestia, Volume 12