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700. And the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple.- That this signifies Divine Truth, by means of which there is conjunction with the Lord, is evident from the signification of the ark of the covenant, as denoting the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord (of which presently). The ark of the covenant was seen, because the temple appeared; and the ark was in the midst of the temple at Jerusalem, in which were deposited the two tables of the law, which, in the most general sense, signified the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, thus the Lord Himself, who is the Divine Truth in the heavens, and therefore He is also called the Word, in John (Arcana Coelestia 3478, 9457, 9481, 9485). And that the tabernacle equally as the temple, in the highest sense, signifies the Lord; in the relative sense, heaven and the church, and thus the holy principle of worship, see the same (n. 9457, 9481, 10242, 10245, 10304, 10545). That covenant, in the Word, signifies conjunction, and that all things pertaining to the church, both internal and external, are signs of the covenant, and that they are called a covenant, because conjunction is effected by means of them may also be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 2037, 6804, 8767, 8778, 9396, 9416, 10632). That therefore the law promulgated on Mount Sinai was called the covenant, and the ark containing the law, the ark of the covenant may be seen in the same (n. 6804, 9416).
[2] That the ark with the covenant, or testimony inclosed, signifies the Lord as to the celestial Divine which is the Divine Truth in the inmost or third heaven, is evident from what has been said concerning the ark in the Word.
In Moses:
"And they shall make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in the midst of them, according to all that I have shewn thee, the form of the dwelling place. Especially they shall make the ark of shittim wood; and thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it; and thou shalt make for it a border of gold; four rings of gold" for the staves. "And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold; and thou shalt make two cherubim of gold, solid shalt thou make them, out of the mercy seat, that the cherubim may stretch out their wings, and cover with their wings the mercy seat; and their faces shall be towards the mercy seat. And thou shalt put the testimony into the ark; and I will meet thee there, and I will speak with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are over the ark of the testimony, of all things that I shall give thee in commandment unto the sons of Israel" (Exodus 25:8-22).
"Thou shalt make a veil of purple and crimson, and scarlet double dyed, and fine twined linen, with cherubim; thou shalt put it upon four pillars of shittim overlaid with gold; and thou shalt place the veil under the clasps; and thou shalt bring in thither within the veil the ark of the testimony, so that the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the holy of holies; and thou shalt put the veil before the ark in the holy of holies" (Exodus 26:31-34).
It was said above, that the tent which contained the ark, the candlestick, the table for the loaves, and the altar for the incense, together with the court, represented the three heavens, and that the place within the veil, where the ark was, which contained the law or testimony, represented the third heaven. This heaven was represented by that place, because the law was there, and the law means the Lord as to Divine Truth, or the Word, for this is what the law signifies in a broad sense, and it is Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord that forms the heavens. This is received in the greatest purity by the angels of the third heaven, because they are in conjunction with the Lord through love to Him; for all the angels in that heaven are in love to the Lord, consequently they see Divine Truth as it were implanted in themselves, although it flows in continually from the Lord. For this reason, that heaven more than the other heavens which are below is said to be in the Lord, because in the Divine that goes forth from Him.
[3] This heaven was represented by the ark in which was the law, that is, the Lord. This is why the ark was overlaid with gold, within and without, why the mercy seat was over the ark, and why over the mercy seat and out of it were two cherubim, which were of pure gold; for gold, from correspondence, signifies the good of love, in which are the angels of the third heaven. The mercy seat signified the hearing and reception of all things of that worship which is from the good of love from the Lord; and the cherubim signified the Lord's providence and protection that He may not be approached except through the good of love. And this heaven with its angels is a protection against any thing being raised up to the Lord Himself except that which proceeds from the good of love to Him and from Him. For all worship of God passes through the heavens even unto the Lord, and is purified on its way, even until it reaches the third heaven, and there it is heard and received by the Lord, everything impure having been removed on the way. This is why cherubim of gold were placed over the mercy seat, which was over the ark; also why that place was called the sanctuary, and also the holy of holies, and was divided from the outer part of the tabernacle by the veil.
[4] That the tent, together with the court, represented the three heavens, is also evident from this fact, that all things instituted among the sons of Israel were representatives of heavenly things. For the church itself was a representative church. Thus the tabernacle, together with the altar, was in an especial manner a most holy [representative] of worship. For worship was celebrated upon the altar by burnt offerings and sacrifices, and in the tabernacle by incense offerings and by the lamps which were lighted every day, and by the loaves which were placed in order daily upon the table. All these things represented all worship in heaven, and in the church, and the tent itself with the ark represented the heavens themselves. For this reason the tabernacle was called the dwelling place of Jehovah God, as heaven itself is also called. That the heavens were represented by the tabernacle is also evident from this, that its form was shown to Moses by the Lord upon Mount Sinai; and that which is shown in form by the Lord must necessarily represent either heaven or the things belonging to heaven. That the form of the tabernacle was shown to Moses upon Mount Sinai is clear from these words spoken to Moses:
"Let them make for me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in the midst of them, according to all that I have shown thee, the form of the dwelling place;" and afterwards," See and make them in their form, which thou wast made to see in the mount" (Arcana Coelestia 9484-9577, 9670-9680).
[5] The very holiness of the whole tabernacle was from the testimony, that is, from the two tables of stone on which the law was inscribed, because the law signified the Lord as to Divine Truth, and thus as to the Word, for this is Divine Truth. That the Lord is the Word, is evident in John, where it is said,
"The Word was with God and God was the Word, and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:1, 2, 14).
That the law which is called both the testimony and the covenant was placed in the ark, and also the book written by Moses is clear from these words:
"Thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee" (Exodus 25:16; 40:20):
"I put the tables of the law in the ark which I had made that they might be there, even as Jehovah had commanded me" (Deuteronomy 10:5).
And of the book of the law written by Moses:
"When Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in the book, even when he had finished them, Moses commanded the Levites that bare the ark" to take the book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the covenant that it might be there for a witness (Deuteronomy 31:24, 25, 26).
From this it is plain that there was nothing within the ark but the two tables of stone, on which the law was written, and that the book of Moses was by the side of it. That there was nothing in the ark but the two tables of the covenant is evident from the First Book of Kings:
"There was nothing in the ark, but the two tables of stone, which Moses put there in Horeb, the covenant which Jehovah made with the sons of Israel" (8:9).
That the book of Moses, which was laid by the side of the ark, was afterwards taken out, and preserved in the temple, is evident from the fact that Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah and gave it to Shaphan, who told the king of it, and read it before the king (2 Kings 22:8-11).
[6] That the ark represented the Lord as to Divine truth, and that it consequently signified Divine Truth from the Lord, thus the Word, is also evident from this, that the Lord spoke with Moses from it. For it is said,
"Thou shalt put the testimony into the ark, and I will meet thee there, and I will speak with thee from between the two cherubim, which are over the ark of the testimony, of all things that I shall give thee in commandment unto the sons of Israel" (Exodus 25:21, 22).
And elsewhere,
"When Moses entered into the Tent of meeting to speak with him, he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from above the mercy seat, which was over the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; thus he spake unto him" (Numbers 7:89).
The Lord spoke to Moses therefrom, because the law was there, and the law, in a broad sense, signifies the Lord as to the Word; and from the Word the Lord speaks with man. It was from above the mercy seat between the two cherubim, because the mercy seat signifies the removal of falsities that are from evil loves, and at the same time reception and hearing, while the cherubim signify protection, lest He should be approached except through the good of love.
[7] Since the Lord, in heaven and in the church, is the Divine Truth, or the Word, which is meant by the law inclosed in the ark, and since the presence of the Lord is in the law, or the Word, therefore, where the ark was, there was Jehovah or the Lord, as is evident from these words in Moses:
"Moses said" unto Hobab "Leave us not, I pray, forasmuch as thou knowest how we must encamp in the wilderness, whence thou wilt be to us instead of eyes and it shall be when thou shalt go with us, yea, it shall be that the good which Jehovah shall do to us, we will also do to thee. And they went forward from the mount of Jehovah a journey of three days, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah went before them a journey of three days to seek out a resting place for them; and the cloud of Jehovah was over them by day, when they went forward out of the camp. When the ark went forward, Moses said, Arise Jehovah, that thine enemies may be scattered, and let them that hate thee flee from before thy faces; and when it rested, he said, Return, Jehovah, the myriads of the thousands of Israel" (Numbers 10:31-36).
From these particulars it is evident that Jehovah or the Lord is there meant by the ark, because of His presence in the law, which was in the ark, thus because of His presence in the Word. Since the Lord is there meant by the law, and thus by the ark, Moses said, "Arise, Jehovah, that Thine enemies may be scattered, and let them that hate thee flee from before Thy faces;" and when it rested, he said, "Return Jehovah, the myriads of the thousands of Israel." But the same words involve things still more interior; namely, that the Lord, by means of His Divine Truth, leads men and defends them against falsities and evils, which are from hell, especially in temptations, which are specifically signified by the journeyings of the sons of Israel in the wilderness during forty years. That He leads them continually by means of His Divine Truth is signified by the ark of the covenant of Jehovah going forward before them a journey of three days to seek out a resting place for them. The ark of Jehovah means the Lord as to Divine Truth; its going forward a journey of three days means, His protection and guidance from beginning to end; and seeking out signifies salvation, which is the end.
[8] Moreover protection from falsities and evils, which are from hell, is signified by the cloud of Jehovah over them by day, as well as by the Words of Moses when the ark went forward, "Arise, Jehovah, that Thine enemies may be scattered, and let them that hate thee flee from before Thy faces." The cloud of Jehovah by day signifies defence by means of Divine Truth in ultimates, such as the Word is in the sense of the letter; for by means of this the Lord may be approached even by the evil, and by means of it He guards the interior things of the Word, which are celestial and spiritual. That this sense of the word is signified by a cloud, may be seen above (n. 594). Enemies and them that hate signify falsities and evils, which are from hell, enemies falsities, and them that hate evils, thus they also signify the hells themselves as to falsities and evils. Truths from good, which are implanted in man after temptations, are signified by Moses saying when the ark rested, "Return, Jehovah, the myriads of the thousands of Israel." The resting of the ark signifies the state after temptations, when evils and falsities are removed; to return signifies the Lord's presence at that time, for in temptations the Lord appears to be absent, and the myriads of the thousands of Israel signify truths from good implanted, which constitute the church. That myriads are predicated of truths, and thousands, of goods, may be seen above (n. 336).
[9] Similar things are signified by these words in David:
"Lo, we heard of him in Ephratah, we found him in the fields of the wood; we will enter into his habitations, we will bow ourselves down at his footstool. Arise, Jehovah, to thy rest, thou and the ark of thy strength; let thy priests be clothed with justice, and let thy saints shout for joy" (606).
[10] The rest to which Jehovah should arise signifies the union of the Divine and Human in the Lord, and His conjunction with heaven and the church. And because the Lord, and those also who are in heaven and in the church have rest and peace, when He has subjugated the hells and brought all things there and in the heavens into order, it is said, "Arise, Thou and the ark of Thy strength," Thou meaning the Lord Himself, and the ark of Thy strength, the Divine Truth proceeding from Him, for it is by means of this that the Lord has Divine Power. The priests who shall be clothed with justice, and the saints who shall shout for joy, have a similar signification to the thousands and myriads of Israel, priests meaning those who are in good, and saints, those who are in truths, thus, in an abstract sense, the goods and truths of heaven and of the church. That priests, in an abstract sense, signify the goods of the church, may be seen above (n. 31[8]), and that saints, in that sense, signify the truths of the church, also above (n. 204, 325). More about that Psalm may also be seen above (n. 684:25).
[11] Since the ark, from the law which was in it, signified the Lord as to Divine Truth, and because the Lord has omnipotence from Divine Good by means of Divine Truth, therefore by means of the ark miracles were performed. Thus the waters of Jordan were divided by it, so that the sons of Israel passed over on dry ground; the wall of the city of Jericho was over-thrown; Dagon, the god of the Ashdodites, fell down before it; the Ashdodites, the Gittites, the Ekronites, and Bethshemites were smitten with plagues on account of it; Uzzah died because he touched it, and Obed-edom, into whose house it was taken, was blessed. As these historical circumstances involve interior truths (arcana) which become plain only by means of their spiritual sense, I will explain them in order that it may be known what the ark signifies in a strict and in a broad sense.
First, concerning the dividing of the waters of Jordan so that the sons of Israel might pass over on dry ground, in Joshua. Joshua and all the sons of Israel "came unto Jordan; and at the end of three days" Joshua "commanded, saying, When ye shall see the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and the priests the Levites bearing it, ye shall also remove from your place and shall go after it, yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits; ye shall not approach unto it," And the priests "took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people;" and Joshua said, "When ye shall come to the brink of the waters of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan." And he said unto the people, "Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth passing over before you into Jordan; and take ye twelve men of the tribes of Israel; and when the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of Jehovah the Lord of the whole earth shall rest in the waters of Jordan, the waters of Jordan shall be cut off, and the waters that come down from above shall stand in a heap. And it came to pass when the priests came unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bear the ark were dipped in the brink of the waters, and Jordan was full, as it was wont to be all the days of harvest, the waters that came down from above stood in a heap, stretching out very far from the city Adam; and those that came down upon the sea of the plain, the sea of salt, were completely cut off, so that the people could pass over towards Jericho. And the priests stood on dry ground in the midst of Jordan; and all the people passed over on dry ground. Afterwards Jehovah said unto Joshua, Take to you twelve men, one of a tribe, and take out of the midst of Jordan, from where the feet of the priests stood, twelve stones, which ye shall bring over with you, and leave in the place where ye pass the night. The sons of Israel did so; and they took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, and they carried them unto the place where they passed the night. Then, after that all the people had finished passing over, the ark of Jehovah passed over, and the priests. And it came to pass, when the priests were come up, and the soles of their feet were lifted up [out of Jordan], the waters of Jordan returned unto their place. And the twelve stones which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua set up in Gilgal" (Josh. 3:1-17; 4:1-20). All the historical, equally as the prophetical parts of the Word, contain a spiritual sense, which treats not of the sons of Israel and of nations and peoples, but of the church and its establishment and progress, for this is the Spiritual of the Word, while the history is the Natural that contains the Spiritual. Therefore also all the miracles described in the Word, as the miracles performed in Egypt, and afterwards in the land of Canaan, involve such things as pertain to heaven and the church, and for this reason those miracles are Divine.
[12] The miracle described above signifies the introduction of the faithful into the church, and through the church into heaven. The sons of Israel, in the spiritual sense, mean there the faith, who, after enduring temptations - which are signified by their wanderings in the wilderness - are brought into the church; for the land of Canaan, into which the sons of Israel were brought, signifies the church; Jordan signifies the first entrance into it. The waters of Jordan signify introductory truths, and these truths are such as those of the literal sense of the Word, for these are the truths that first introduce; but here by Jordan and its waters are signified the falsities of evil which lead to hell, because the land of Canaan was then filled with idolatrous nations, which signify the evils and falsities of every kind that constitute hell; for this reason also they had to be driven out in order that there might be a place for establishing the church. And because the waters of Jordan then signified the falsities of evil, therefore they were divided and kept back in order that a passage might be given to the sons of Israel, who, were to represent the church.
[13] Now as the Lord alone removes and disperses the falsities of evil which are from hell, and by means of His Divine truths brings the faithful into the church, and into heaven, and because the ark, and the law inclosed in it represented the Lord as to Divine Truth, it was therefore commanded that the ark should go before the people and thus lead them. For this reason it came to pass, that as soon as the priests who bore the ark dipped their feet in the waters of Jordan, those waters were divided and descended, and the people passed over on dry land, and that after this was done the waters returned. Those same waters then signified introductory truths; for Jordan was the first boundary of the land of Canaan, and that land, after the sons of Israel had entered into it, represented the church, and the river, introduction into it.
[14] Since the waters of Jordan signified introductory truths, they were therefore commanded to take up out of the midst of it twelve stones, and carry them over to the first place where they should pass the night, for the reason that stones signify truths, while twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, signified the truths of the church. Joshua set up those stones in Gilgal from the east of Jericho, because Gilgal signified the doctrine of natural truth, which is serviceable for introduction into the church. From these few things it is evident what things pertaining to heaven and the church were represented by this miracle, and that the ark, because of the law in it, signified the Lord as to Divine Truth. It is therefore also called the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth, from conjunction with the Lord by means of Divine Truth, for by its means conjunction, which is signified by covenant, is effected, and it is this that constitutes heaven and the church, which are specifically signified by the whole earth. In fact by means of Divine Truth all things were created and made, according to the Lord's words in John (1:1-3, 10); and in David (Psalm 33:6), the Word there meaning Divine Truth.
[15] The SECOND miracle performed by means of the ark was the falling down of the wall of Jericho, which is thus described in Joshua:
The city "of Jericho was shut up; and Jehovah said unto Joshua, I have given into thy hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty in strength; ye shall compass the city, all the men of war, once a day for six days. And seven priests shall carry seven trumpets of rejoicings before the ark; but the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall sound with the trumpets, and then the people shall shout with a great shouting, and the wall of the city shall fall down under itself, and the people shall go up." Then Joshua made them compass the city once on the first day, as was said; after which circuit they returned into the camp, and passed the night in the camp; in like manner the day after. "And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rejoicings before the ark of Jehovah, went on, going and sounding the trumpets, before whom went the men of war, and also the rear company marching after the ark, going and sounding the trumpets. And so they did six days; and on the seventh day they went about the city seven times, and the seventh time the people shouted; and when the people heard this, then the wall of the city fell down under itself, and the people went up into the city, and gave to the curse all things which were in the city, from male even to female, and from a boy to an old man; and they burned the city with fire, and all things that were in it; only the silver and gold, and the vessels of brass and iron, they put into the treasury of the house of Jehovah. And Joshua charged them with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man before Jehovah, who shall rise up and build this city; with his first born he shall lay the foundations of it, and with the youngest he shall set up its gates" (Joshua 6:1-26).
No one can know the Divine meaning of this miracle, unless he knows what is signified by the city of Jericho in the land of Canaan, which was burned, by its wall which fell down, by the inhabitants who were given to the curse, by the gold and silver, and vessels of brass and iron, which were put into the treasury of the house of Jehovah, also what is signified by sounding the trumpets and shouting, and by going about it six days, and seven times on the seventh day.
The city of Jericho signifies instruction in the knowledges (cognitiones) of good and truth, by which man is brought into the church. For Jericho was a city not far from the Jordan, and this river signifies introduction into the church, as was shown above. For all the places in the land of Canaan were significative of celestial and spiritual things pertaining to the church, and this from the most ancient times. And because the sons of Israel were to represent the church, and the Word was to be written among them, in which those places, signifying such things as belong to heaven and the church, were to be mentioned, therefore the sons of Israel were introduced into it. The river Jordan signified that introduction, and Jericho instruction. And as Jericho signified instruction, it also signified the good of life, for none but those who are in the good of life can be instructed in truths of doctrine. But when the land of Canaan was held by idolatrous nations, the signification of the places and cities in that land was changed into its opposite, and therefore Jericho then signified the profanation of truth and good. From this it follows, that the city itself signified the doctrine of falsity and evil, which perverted and profaned the truths and goods of the church, that its wall signified the falsities of evil defending that doctrine, and that the inhabitants signified those who are profane. And as all profanation is from infernal love after acknowledgment of truth and good, therefore the city was burned with fire, the inhabitants given to the curse, and its wall overthrown, fire signifying infernal love, curse an utter blotting out, and the falling down of the wall, exposure to every evil and falsity.
[16] The sounding of the trumpets by the priests signified the preaching of Divine Truth from Divine Good; the shouting and acclamation of the people signified consent and confirmation; compassing the city signified an examination of falsity and evil, and their dispersion by the influx of Divine Truth from the Lord, this influx being signified by their carrying the ark about it. The priests were seven in number, and compassed the city seven days, and seven times on the seventh day, to signify what is holy, and the holy proclamation of Divine Truth; for seven signifies what is holy, and, in the opposite sense, what is profane, therefore, as holiness was on the one part, and what was profane on the other, there were seven priests with seven trumpets, and they compassed the city seven times.
[17] The gold, the silver, and vessels of brass and iron, were put into the treasury of the house of Jehovah, because they signified the knowledges of spiritual and natural truth and good, gold and silver the knowledges of spiritual truth and good, and vessels of brass and iron the knowledges of natural truth and good, which are changed into dire falsities and evils, with those who are guilty of profanation, but as they are still knowledges although applied to evils, yet they are serviceable to the good by application to goods, therefore these things were put into the treasury of the house of Jehovah. This also is what is meant by the pounds (minoe) which were taken away from the evil, and given to the good; by the unjust mammon, by the gold, silver, and raiment, which the sons of Israel took away from the Egyptians, and afterwards devoted to the tabernacle; and also by the gold and silver which David gathered from the spoils of the enemy, and left to Solomon for building the temple.
[18] That he who rebuilt Jericho should be cursed, and that he should lay the foundation of it with his first-born, and with his youngest set up the gates, signified the profanation of Divine Truth from first to last, if instruction in it were represented elsewhere than in Jerusalem, which signified the church as to the doctrine of truth and good, and as to instruction from the Word. That this profanation took place under king Ahab by Hiel the Bethelite, is recorded in the First Book of Kings (16:34); and it is said of this king that he did evil in the eyes of Jehovah above all the kings of Israel (verses 30, 33). From this miracle performed by means of the ark, it is also evident that the ark, because of the law in it, represented the Lord as to Divine Truth, and thus signified Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord.
[19] The THIRD miracle, that Dagon, the god of the Ashdodites, fell before the ark, and the Ashdodites, Gittites, Ekronites, and Bethshemites were smitten with plagues because of it, is thus described in the First Book of Samuel:
"Israel went out against the Philistines to war; and Israel was smitten before the Philistines about four thousand men. Therefore the elders said, Let us receive unto us out of Shiloh the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and let it come into the midst of us, and deliver us out of the hand of the enemy. And they brought down the ark of the covenant of Jehovah Zebaoth that sitteth upon the cherubim, and with the ark the two sons of Eli. And it came to pass, when the ark came to the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shouting; the Philistines heard and knew that the ark of Jehovah was come to the camp, and they feared for themselves, saying God is come to the camp; woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hands of these mighty gods? These are the gods who smote the Egyptians with every plague. But be strong and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye may not serve the Hebrews. And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten with a great slaughter, about thirty thousand footmen; and the ark of God was taken, and both the sons of Eli died. And the Philistines took the ark, and brought it down to Ashdod, into the house of Dagon, and they set it near Dagon. When they of Ashdod arose in the morning, behold, Dagon lay upon his faces on the earth before the ark of Jehovah; and they set up Dagon again; but when they arose the next morning, Dagon lay upon his faces on the earth before the ark, and at the same time the head of Dagon and the two palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold. And the hand of Jehovah was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and he smote them with hemorrhoids, Ashdod, and the borders thereof. Then they of Ashdod said, The ark of Israel shall not remain with us; wherefore the lords of the Philistines said, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried over unto Gath." And they carried it over unto Gath; but the hand of Jehovah came against the city, and smote the men of the city from the least to the greatest, while they had hardened hemorrhoids. Therefore they sent the ark of God to Ekron; but the Ekronites cried out that it would slay them. "And the men that died not were smitten with hemorrhoids." Therefore the lords said that they would send back the ark unto its place. "When the ark had remained in the land of the Philistines seven months, the Philistines called the priests and diviners, saying, What shall we do with the ark of Jehovah, how shall we send it back to its place? And they said, Send it not again empty, but send with it a trespass-offering, then shall ye be healed, namely, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, five hemorrhoids of gold, and five mice of gold, for one plague is upon you all, and upon your lords; ye shall make images of your hemorrhoids, and images of your mice, which vastated the land; and make a new cart, and take two milch kine upon which no yoke hath come, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring their calves home from them, and put the ark of Jehovah upon the cart, and the vessels of gold put into a coffer at the side thereof; and see if it go up the way of the coast to Bethshemesh; and they did so. Then the kine went in a straight way upon the way to Bethshemesh in one path, and they lowed; and the lords of the Philistines went after them. And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Bethshemite, and stood there where there was a great stone. Then they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine for a burnt-offering to Jehovah. And the Levites set down the ark of Jehovah, and the coffer in which were the vessels of gold, upon that great stone, and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed sacrifices to Jehovah;" but the Bethshemites were smitten, because they saw the ark of Jehovah, to the number of fifty thousand and seventy men. But the men of Kirjathjearim caused the ark of Jehovah to come up, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in Gibeah, and it remained there twenty years. Then Samuel said, "If with the whole heart ye will return to Jehovah, put ye away the gods of the stranger and Ashtaroth, and prepare your heart towards Jehovah, and serve him alone, then shall he deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines" (4:1-11; 5:1-12; 6:1-21; 7:1-3).
What is signified by these things - that the ark was taken by the Philistines, that the Philistines were smitten with hemorrhoids on account of the ark in Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron, also that mice laid waste their land and that so many died there and in Bethshemesh - cannot be known, unless it is known what the Philistines, and specifically the Ashdodites, Gittites, Ekronites, and Bethshemites represented, and thus signified also what is signified by the hemorrhoids and by the mice, and by the golden images of these, and moreover by the new cart and the milch kine. That these are representative of such things as pertain to the church is clear, for if not, why should the Philistines have been smitten with such plagues, and the ark have been thus brought back?
[20] The Philistines represented, and thus signified, those who make no account of the good of love and of charity, and thus no account of the good of life, placing everything of religion in knowledge and cognition (scientia et cognitio); therefore they were like those at the present day who make faith alone, that is, faith separated from charity, the essential of the church and the essential of salvation. For this reason they were called the uncircumcised, for to be uncircumcised signifies to be void of spiritual love, consequently of good; and whereas they had reference to those within the church, therefore they were not spiritual, but merely natural. For he who makes no account of the good of charity and of life becomes merely natural, indeed, sensual, loving only worldly things, and is unable to understand any truths spiritually; the truths which he does apprehend naturally he either falsifies or defiles.
Such are those who are meant in the Word by the Philistines. The reason why the Philistines so often fought with the sons of Israel, and why sometimes the Philistines conquered, and sometimes the sons of Israel, is therefore plain. The Philistines conquered when the sons of Israel departed from their statutes and precepts by not keeping them, and the sons of Israel conquered when they lived according to them; to live according to the precepts and statutes was their good of love and good of life. The sons of Israel were at that time conquered by the Philistines because they turned from the worship of Jehovah to the worship of other gods, and especially to the worship of Ashtaroth, as is evident from what Samuel said to them (1 Sam. 7:3). This was the cause also of the ark being taken by the Philistines.
[21] When it is known that the Philistines represented, and thus signified, those who make no account of the good of love, of charity, and of life, it can be known why they were smitten with hemorrhoids because of the ark, and died in consequence, also, why the mice laid waste their land, hemorrhoids signifying truth defiled by such evil of life, as those are in who are destitute of good; for blood signifies truth, and the corrupt matter of the hemorrhoids truth defiled, and the hinder part, where the hemorrhoids were, signifies natural love, which, with those who are not spiritual, is the love of the world; while mice signify the falsities of the sensual man, which eat up and consume all things of the church, as mice [lay waste] the fields and crops, and also eat up and consume vegetables in the earth. They suffered such plagues because they were of such a nature; for those who are without good defile truths, and also lay waste all things of the church.
These things took place on account of the ark, because the ark signified Divine Truth which proceeds from the Lord, and this can be genuine only with those who are in the good of love, and thus in the good of life. And when the Divine Truth flows in with those who are not in good, it produces effects corresponding to the falsity of their doctrine and the evils of their life, similar to that which takes place in the spiritual world, when Divine Truth flows in with such persons; the defilement of truth and the devastation of good then appear under the similitude of hemorrhoids and mice.
[22] Dagon the god of the Ashdodites, on account of the nearness and presence of the ark, was cast down to the earth, and afterwards his head and the palms of his hands were cast upon the threshold of his house, because Dagon signified their religion, which being without spiritual good, possessed neither intelligence nor power; for the head signifies intelligence, and the palms of the hands signify power. A similar effect follows in the spiritual world, when Divine Truth flows in out of heaven with such persons, for they then appear to have neither head nor palms of the hands, because they have neither intelligence nor power.
[23] By the advice of their priests and diviners, they made golden images of the hemorrhoids and mice, and set them at the side of the ark upon a new cart, and to this they tied two milch kine upon which no yoke had yet come, because gold signifies the good of love healing and purifying from the falsities and evils which are signified by hemorrhoids and mice, and because a cart signifies the doctrine of natural truth, and a new cart, the same doctrine unharmed and undefiled by the falsities of their evil. The milch kine, upon which there had yet been no yoke, signified natural good not yet defiled by falsities, for to bear a yoke signifies to serve, and in this case to serve falsities which defile good; and as such good is in harmony with Divine Truth, signified by the ark, therefore these representatives were adopted and applied; and afterwards the Levites offered the kine as a burnt-offering, which they burned with the wood of the cart.
[24] The ark with the gifts was placed upon a great stone, near which the kine stood still, because a stone signifies Divine Truth in the ultimate of order. All this was done by the advice of the priests and diviners of the Philistines, because a knowledge (scientia) of correspondences and representations was common knowledge at that time, for it was their theology, known to the priests and diviners, who were their wise men. But since men at that time had for the most part become merely natural, they regarded those things in an idolatrous manner, worshipping externals, and giving no thought to the internals which the externals represented. From these observations it is evident what the particulars quoted above from the book of Samuel connectedly signify, and that the ark, from the law in it, signifies Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord.
[25] FOURTHLY, the two miracles performed by means of the ark - the death of Uzzah and the blessing of Obed-edom - are thus described in the second Book of Samuel:
"David arose and departed, and all the people that were with him, from Baal of Judah, to bring up thence the ark of God, whose name is invoked, the name of Jehovah Zebaoth that sitteth upon the cherubim over it, and they caused the ark of God to be carried upon a new chariot, and they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which is in Gibeah, and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were leading the chariot. And David and all the house of Israel were playing before Jehovah, upon all kinds [of instruments made] of fir wood, and upon harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with dulcimers, and with cymbals. And when they came to the threshing floor of Nachon, Uzzah put forth [his hand] to the ark, and took hold of it, because the oxen stumbled; and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him for his error, so that he died there by the ark of God. And David was grieved at it, and David feared Jehovah that day, saying, How shall the ark of Jehovah come unto me? And David would not remove the ark of Jehovah unto him in the city of David, but he carried it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. When the ark of Jehovah had remained in his house three months, Jehovah also blessed Obed-edom and all his house; and this was told to king David, and David went, and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with joy. And when they that bare the ark of Jehovah had gone forward six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling; and David danced with all his might before Jehovah, girt with a linen ephod. And David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of Jehovah with a shout and with the sound of a trumpet, and they brought the ark of Jehovah "into the city of David, which is Zion, and set it up in its place within the tent that David had spread for it" (6:2-17).
These historical details, in the internal or spiritual sense, involve many things that cannot be seen in the sense of the letter, which is the historical sense - as what is involved in the fact that the ark was brought from the house of Abinadab into the house of Obed-edom, and at length into the city of David, which is Zion; in the fact that when it was being brought, they played upon and caused to sound all kinds of musical instruments, and that David himself danced; also that the ark was brought upon a new chariot, to which oxen were tied; also that Uzzah, the son of Abinadab, died, and Obed-edom with his house was blessed. All these things, although historical, contain in their bosom such things as pertain to heaven and the church, in the same way as the ark itself, which, because of the law in it, represented the Lord as to Divine Truth, and therefore was called the ark of God, whose name is invoked, the name of Jehovah Zebaoth that sitteth upon the cherubim. That the ark was now brought out of the house of Abinadab, first into the house of Obed-edom, and at length into the city of David, which is Zion, is a fact involving interior truths (arcana) which no one can know unless he learns what was signified there by Gibeah, and by Baal of Judah, where Abinadab was, and by Gath, where Obed-edom was, and lastly by Zion, where David was.
All parts of the land of Canaan with their cities were representative, as is the case in the spiritual world with the regions there, and their cities. In every region, and in every city in the spiritual world, those who are in the good of love dwell towards the east and the west, those who are in clear good of love towards the east, and those who are in obscure good of love towards the west; while towards the south and north, dwell those who are in the light of truth; those who are in clear light of truth towards the south, and those who are in obscure light of truth towards the north. The case was similar in the land of Canaan, in its districts and their cities; these with respect to their quarters, corresponded to the regions of the spiritual world, and to the cities of those regions, but with this difference, that it is impossible to distribute men on earth into quarters according to the good of love, and to the light of truth, as is done with spirits and angels in the spiritual world, therefore in the land of Canaan and its cities the places themselves were representative, and not persons.
That this was so is evident from the partition of the land of Canaan into inheritances, which fell by lot to the tribes according to their representation of the church; also from Jerusalem and Zion which represented the church itself, Jerusalem the church as to the truth of doctrine, and Zion the church as to the good of love. When therefore it is known what that is pertaining to heaven and the church which is specially signified by Gibeah, by Baal of Judah, where Abinadab was, and by Gath where Obed-edom was, the signification of the ark being brought from Abinadab to Obed-edom, and at length into Zion, can be known.
[26] It is evident from the signification of those cities, that the carrying up of the ark represented the progress of the church in man, from its ultimate to its inmost, as from one heaven into another, even to the highest, which is the third heaven. Baal of Judah, where Abinadab was, signified the ultimate of the church, which is called its Natural, for this was represented by Gibeah, where Baal of Judah was; but Gath, where Obed-edom was, who was thence called a Gittite, signified the Spiritual of the church, and it took on this signification after the sons of Israel had taken the cities from the Philistines, from Ekron even to Gath (1 Sam, 7:13-15); while Zion, where David dwelt, signified the inmost of the church, which is called its Celestial.
[27] It is evident from these things that the carrying up of the ark signified the progress of the church in man from its ultimate to its inmost, and this because those progressions are effected by means of the Divine Truth, signified by the ark; for the man of the church advances from the Natural to the Spiritual, and through this to the Celestial, and this continually from the Lord by means of His Divine Truth, the Natural being the good of life, the Spiritual the good of charity towards the neighbour, and the Celestial the good of love to the Lord. The goods of the three heavens advance in a similar manner, and therefore also the ascent through them in their order was also represented.
[28] Their playing upon and causing all kinds of musical instruments to sound, when the ark was being brought, and David dancing, represented the gladness and joy which result from the affection for truth and good from the Lord through the influx of the Divine Truth, signified by the ark. The instruments mentioned, on which they played on the first journey from the house of Abinadab to the house of Obed-edom, represented gladness of mind resulting from natural and spiritual affection for truth, while the dancing of David, and also the shouting and the sound of the trumpet, represented joy of heart resulting from affection for spiritual and celestial good. Harmonies of musical sounds are from the spiritual world, and signify affections with their gladness and joys, as may be seen above (n. 323, 326). Zion signifies the third heaven, and thus the inmost of the church, as may also be seen above (n. 405).
[29] The ark brought upon a new chariot, to which oxen were tied, represented, and thus signified, the doctrine of truth from the good of love, the chariot signifying the doctrine of truth, and the oxen the good of love, both in the natural man; for Divine Truth, signified by the ark, rests and is founded upon the doctrine of natural truth which is from good.
It was for this reason that the ark was placed upon a chariot, with oxen before the chariot. That a chariot signifies the doctrine of truth, may be seen above (n. 355); and that an ox signifies natural good, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 2180, 2566).
[30] The reason why Uzzah, the son of Abinadab, died because he took hold of the ark with his hand, is that to touch with the hand signifies communication, and communication with the Lord takes place by means of the good of love; and Uzzah was not anointed, as the priests and Levites were, who received the representation of the good of love by means of anointing; that this was the case, see above (n. 375). Moreover the cherubim, that were over the mercy-seat which was over the ark, signified protection lest the Lord should be approached except through the good of love. That this was done, in order that David might not bring the ark into Zion before the progression - which was also represented - was finished (of which just above) is clear from this, that David was grieved at the death of Uzzah, and feared to bring the ark into Zion, his own city (verses 8-10).
[31] Obed-edom was blessed, and his house, on account of the ark, because to be blessed with the good things of the world signifies to be blessed with the good things of heaven, which proceed solely from the Lord by the reception of Divine Truth represented by the ark; these good things are given to those who are in spiritual good, which Obed-edom in Gath represented, as stated above.
[32] Lastly, the bringing of the ark into Zion, and into the tent which had been spread out for it by David, signified ascent into the third heaven, and the conjunction of Divine Truth with the good of love; for Zion represented the inmost of the church, and thus the inmost of the heavens, which is the highest or third heaven, where the angels are in the good of love to the Lord, and where there is a protection lest the Lord should be approached except through the good of love; this protection is represented by the cherubim over the ark.
[33] The bringing of the ark into the inmost part of the temple built by Solomon has a similar signification. This circumstance is thus described in the First Book of Kings:
Solomon "prepared the adytum (or oracle) in the midst of the house, to place in it the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; and he made in the adytum two cherubim of the wood of oil, and set them in the midst of the inner house, so that their wings were stretched out to the wall on each side, and their wings touched each other in the midst of the house and he overlaid the cherubim with gold." And Solomon brought up "the ark of the covenant of Jehovah from the city of David, which is Zion. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests carried the ark, and brought up the ark of Jehovah, and the tent of meeting, and all the vessels of holiness that were in the tent; and Solomon and all the congregation with him before the ark. And the priests brought the ark of the covenant of Jehovah into its place, into the adytum (or oracle) of the house, into the holy of holies, even under the wings of the cherubim; for the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim covered the ark and the staves thereof from above, and the heads of the staves were seen from the holy place, towards the faces of the adytum (or oracle), but they were not seen without." And Solomon said, "I have appointed there the place of the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt" (6:19, 23, 27; 8:1-8, 21).
As the ark in the tent of meeting represented the third heaven where the Lord is, and the tent itself without the veil, the second heaven, and the court the first heaven, so also was this the case with the temple; for the temple with its courts represented the three heavens. Therefore there was nothing in the temple, or outside of the temple where the courts were, that did not represent something of heaven, and this because the Lord at that time was present in representatives; for the churches which were before the Lord's coming were representative churches, and became finally of such a character as the church instituted among the sons of Israel. But when the Lord came into the world, then external representatives were abolished, because it was the Lord Himself whom the representatives of the church shadowed forth and signified; and since these were external things, and as it were coverings, within which was the Lord, therefore these coverings were taken away when He came, and He himself became manifest together with heaven and the church, in which the Lord is the all in all. The chief representatives of the Lord, and thence of heaven and the church, were the tent of meeting, and in it the table, the lampstand, the altar of incense, and the ark, also the altar with the burnt-offerings and sacrifices, and afterwards the temple, the temple having the same representation as the tent of meeting, with this difference, that the tent of meeting was a more holy representative of the Lord, of heaven, and of the church, than the temple.
[34] From these things it is evident that the adytum (or oracle) of the temple, where the ark was, in the same way as in the tent of meeting, represented the Lord as to Divine Truth, and thus also the third heaven, where the angels are conjoined with the Lord through love to Him, and consequently have Divine Truth inscribed on their hearts. But the signification of the cherubim in the temple, their wings and the staves - which are also mentioned - shall be explained in a few words. The cherubim signified protection, lest the Lord should be approached except through the good of love, therefore also they were made of the wood of oil, and this wood signifies the good of love, as may be seen in n. 375. The wings of the cherubim signify the spiritual Divine which descends from the celestial Divine, in which is the third heaven into the second, and is there received; this is the reason why the wings touched each other in the midst of the house, and were stretched forth to the wall on each side. But the staves, with which the ark was carried, signified Divine Power, in the same way as arms. From these and the foregoing observations the signification of the ark of the covenant in the Word is evident.
[35] Moreover the ark signifies a representative of the church in general, and this the continual sacrifice in Daniel, which was to cease at the Lord's coming into the world, also signifies as in Jeremiah:
"I will give you shepherds according to my heart, that they may feed you with knowledge and understanding; then it shall come to pass when ye shall be multiplied and bear fruit in the land, in those days they shall no more say, The ark of the covenant of Jehovah, neither shall it come up upon the heart, neither shall they make mention of it, neither shall they desire it, neither shall it be renewed any more" (3:15, 16).
These things are said of the coming of the Lord, and of the abolition of the representative rites of the Jewish church at that time. That the interior things of the church which had been concealed by representative external rites would be made manifest, and that then would men be interior or spiritual, is signified by shepherds being given according to the heart of the Lord, who would feed them with knowledge and understanding, shepherds meaning those who teach good and lead to it by means of truths. Then it shall come to pass, when ye shall be multiplied and bear fruit in the land in those days, signifies the multiplication of truth and the fructification of good. That then there will be conjunction with the Lord by means of the interior things of the Word and not by exterior things, which merely signified and represented interior things, is signified by, They shall no more say, The ark of the covenant of Jehovah; the ark of the covenant of Jehovah there denoting the externals of worship, which were then to be abolished, the same as the continual [sacrifice] which was to cease, as mentioned in Daniel (8:13; 11:31; 12:11). That worship was to be no longer external but internal, is signified by, It shall not come up upon the heart, neither shall they make mention of it, neither shall they desire it, neither shall it be renewed any more. It is evident from this that the ark of the covenant seen by John in the temple of God, which is the vision now treated of, was a manifestation of the Divine Truth, by means of which the conjunction of the new heaven and new church with the Lord is effected. And it was therefore seen in this manner in order that the Word in the letter might be everywhere similar, consisting of such things as being externals of worship also represented internals, just as above (8:3, 4), where the altar and the offerings of incense were seen before the throne. For the Word in the letter consists of pure correspondences, such as existed in the representative churches, and were consequently made use of in writing the Word; and in these the interior things of heaven and the church, which are spiritual and celestial, are contained.
700. And there was seen in his temple the ark of His Covenant, signifies Divine truth, by which there is conjunction with the Lord. This is evident from the signification of "the ark of the Covenant," as being Divine truth proceeding from the Lord (of which presently). "The ark of the Covenant" was seen, because "the temple" appeared, and the ark was in the midst of the temple at Jerusalem, and in it were placed the two tables of the law, which signify in a universal sense Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, thus the Lord Himself, who is Divine truth in the heavens; for which reason the Lord is called the Word, in Arcana Coelestia 3478, 9457, 9481, 9485. And that in the highest sense "the tabernacle," the same as "the temple," signifies the Lord, and in a relative sense heaven and the church, and thence the holiness of worship, n. 9457, 9481, 10242, 10245, 10304, 10545. That in the Word "covenant" signifies conjunction, and that all things of the church, both internal and external, are signs of the covenant, and that they are called covenant because conjunction is effected by means of them, n. 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 2037, 6804, 8767, 8778, 9396, 9416, 10632. Consequently that the law promulgated on Mount Sinai was called a "covenant," and the ark containing the law "the ark of the Covenant," n. 6804, 9416.)
[2] That the ark with the covenant or testimony inclosed, signifies the Lord in respect to the celestial Divine which is Divine truth in the inmost or third heaven, can be seen from what is said of the ark in the Word. As in Moses:
They shall make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in the midst of them, according to all that I have shown thee, the form of the habitation. First, they shall make an ark of shittim wood; and thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it; and thou shalt make for it a border of gold; four rings of gold for the staves. And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony that I will give thee. And thou shalt make a mercy-seat of pure gold; and thou shalt make two cherubim of gold, solid shalt thou make them out of the mercy-seat that the cherubim may spread out their wings, and cover the mercy-seat with their wings; and their faces shall be towards the mercy-seat. And thou shalt put the testimony into the ark; and there I will meet with thee, and I will speak with thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the Testimony, of all things which I shall command thee unto the sons of Israel (Exodus 25:8-22).
Thou shalt make a veil of hyacinthine and purple, and scarlet double dyed, and fine twined linen, with cherubim. Thou shalt put it upon four pillars of shittim overlaid with gold; and thou shalt place the veil under the clasps; and thou shalt bring in thither within the veil the ark of the Testimony; so that the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the holy of holies; and thou shalt put the veil before the ark in the holy of holies (Exodus 26:31-34).
It was said above that the tent where there were the ark, the lampstand, the table for the loaves, and the altar for incense, together with the court, represented the three heavens, and that the place within the veil where the ark was that contained the law or testimony, represented the third heaven. That place represented that heaven, because the law was there, and the "law" means the Lord in relation to Divine truth or the Word, for this in a broad sense is what that "law" signifies, and it is Divine truth proceeding from the Lord that forms the heavens. This is received in the greatest purity by the angels of the third heaven, because they are in conjunction with the Lord through love to Him, since all angels in that heaven are in love to the Lord; consequently they see Divine truth in themselves, like something implanted, although it flows in continually from the Lord. For this reason that heaven more than the other heavens which are below it, is said to be in the Lord, because it is in the Divine that proceeds from Him.
[3] It was that heaven that was represented by the ark that contained the law, that is, the Lord. This is why the ark was overlaid with gold within and without, and the mercy-seat was over the ark, and over the mercy-seat and out of it were the two cherubim which were of pure gold; for gold signifies from correspondence the good of love, in which are the angels of the third heaven. The "mercy-seat" signified the hearing and reception of all things of the worship that is from the good of love from the Lord; and the "cherubim" signified the Lord's providence and guard that He be not approached except through the good of love. That heaven with its angels is a guard against anything being elevated to the Lord Himself except what proceeds from the good of love to Him and from Him. For all worship of God passes through the heavens even to the Lord, and is purified in the way, until it is elevated to the third heaven, and there it reaches 1the Lord and is received by Him; everything else, being impure, is removed on the way. This is why cherubim of gold were placed over the mercy-seat, which was over the ark; also why that place was called a sanctuary, and also the holy of holies, and was divided from the outer part of the tabernacle by the veil.
[4] That the tent with the court represented the three heavens is evident also from this, that all things instituted among the sons of Israel were representatives of heavenly things; for the church itself was a representative church; thus especially the tabernacle with the altar was the most holy thing of worship; for worship was celebrated upon the altar by burnt-offerings and sacrifices, and in the tabernacle by incense offerings, and by the lamps that were lighted every day, and by the loaves that were placed in order daily upon the table. All these represented all worship in heaven and in the church, and the tent itself with the ark represented the heavens themselves. For this reason that tabernacle was called "the dwelling place of Jehovah God," as heaven itself is called. That the heavens were represented by the tabernacle is evident also from this, that the form of it was shown to Moses by the Lord upon Mount Sinai, and what is shown in form by the Lord must represent either heaven or the things belonging to heaven. That the form of the tabernacle was shown to Moses upon Mount Sinai, can be seen from what was said to Moses:
Let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell In the midst of them, according to all that I have shown thee, the form of the habitation. [And afterwards:] See and make them in their form which thou wast made to see in the mount (Arcana Coelestia 9484-9577, 9670-9680).
[5] The holiness itself of the whole tabernacle was from the testimony, that is, from the two tables of stone on which the law was written, because "the law" signified the Lord in relation to Divine truth, and thus in relation to the Word, for that is Divine truth. That the Lord is the Word is evident from what is said in John:
The Word was with God, and God was the Word, and the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 2, 14).
That the law, which is called both "the testimony" and "the covenant," was placed in the ark, likewise the book written by Moses, can be seen from these words in Moses:
Thou shalt put into the ark the testimony that I shall give thee (Exodus 25:16; 40:20).
I put the tables of the law in the ark that I had made, that they might be there, even as Jehovah commanded me (Deuteronomy 10:5).
And of the book of the law written by Moses:
When Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law upon the book, even when he had finished them, Moses commanded the Levites that bare the ark to take the book of the law, and put it by the side of the ark of the Covenant, that it might be there for a witness (Deuteronomy 31:24-26).
This shows that there was nothing inside of the ark except the two tables of stone on which the law was written, and that the book of Moses was by the side of it. That there was nothing in the ark except the two tables of the covenant is evident from the first book of Kings:
There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, the covenant which Jehovah made with the sons of Israel (1 Kings 8:9).
That the book of Moses which was laid by the side of the ark was afterwards taken out and preserved in the temple is shown by the fact:
That Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah and gave it to Shaphan, who told it unto the king, and read it before the king (2 Kings 22:8-11).
[6] That the ark represented the Lord in relation to Divine truth, and consequently signified Divine truth from the Lord, thus the Word, is shown by the fact that from it the Lord spoke with Moses, for it is said:
Thou shalt put the testimony into the ark; and there I will meet thee, and I will speak with thee from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the Testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the sons of Israel (Exodus 25:21, 22);
and elsewhere:
When Moses went into the Tent of meeting to speak with Him he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from above the mercy-seat that was upon the ark of the Testimony, from between the two cherubim; thus He spake unto him (Numbers 7:89).
The Lord spoke to Moses therefrom because the law was there, and that law signifies in a broad sense the Lord in relation to the Word, and from the Word the Lord speaks with man; it was "from above the mercy-seat between the two cherubim," because "the mercy-seat" signifies the removal of falsities that are from evil loves, and at the same time reception and hearing, and "the cherubim" signify a guard that there be no approach except through the good of love.
[7] Because the Lord in heaven and in the church is Divine truth or the Word, which is meant by the law inclosed in the ark, and because the Lord is present in the law or the Word, so where the ark was, there was Jehovah or the Lord, as can be seen from these words in Moses:
Moses said to Jehovah, 2Leave us not, I pray; forasmuch as thou knowest how we must encamp in the wilderness, therefore thou wilt be to us instead of eyes; and it shall be when thou shalt go with us, yea, it shall be that the good that Jehovah shall do unto us, the same good we will do unto thee. And they journeyed from the mount of Jehovah a way of three days, and the ark of the Covenant of Jehovah journeyed before them a way of three days to search out a resting place for them; and the cloud of Jehovah was over them by day, when they journeyed from the camp. When the ark journeyed Moses said, Arise, O Jehovah, let Thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee from before Thy faces; and when it rested he said, Return, O Jehovah, to the myriads of the thousands of Israel (Numbers 10:31-36).
It is clear from these particulars that Jehovah or the Lord is here meant by "the ark" because of His presence in the law that was in the ark, thus because of His presence in the Word. Since the Lord is here meant by the law, and thus by the ark, "Moses said, Arise, O Jehovah, that Thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee from before Thy faces; and when it rested he said, Return, O Jehovah, to the myriads of the thousands of Israel." But still more interior things are involved in these words, namely, that the Lord by His Divine truth leads men and defends them against falsities and evils, which are from hell, especially in temptations, which are signified in particular by the journeyings of the sons of Israel in the wilderness forty years. That the Lord leads men continually by His Divine truth is signified by "the ark of the Covenant of Jehovah journeyed before them a way of three days to search out a resting place for them," "the ark of Jehovah" meaning the Lord in relation to Divine truth, "journeying a way of three days" meaning His auspices and leading from beginning to end, and "searching out" signifying salvation, which is the end.
[8] Moreover, protection from falsities and evils which are from hell is signified by "the cloud of Jehovah over them by day," as well as by the words of Moses when the ark journeyed, "Arise, O Jehovah, let Thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee from before Thy faces;" "the cloud of Jehovah by day" signifies also protection by Divine truth in ultimates, such as the Word is in the sense of the letter, for by such truth the Lord can be approached even by the evil, and by it He defends the interior things of the Word, which are celestial and spiritual. (That this sense of the Word is signified by a "cloud" may be seen above, n. 594.) "Enemies" and "them that hate" signify falsities and evils that are from hell, "enemies" falsities, and "them that hate" evils, thus they signify the hells in respect to falsities and evils. Truths from good, which are implanted in man after temptations, are signified by "when the ark rested Moses said, Return, O Jehovah, to the myriads of the thousands of Israel;" "the resting of the ark" signifies the state after temptations, when evils and falsities have been removed; "to return" signifies the Lord's presence at that time, for in temptations the Lord appears to be absent; "the myriads of the thousands of Israel" signify the truths from good implanted, which constitute the church. (That "myriads" are predicated of truths, and "thousands" of goods, see above, n. 336.)
[9] There is a like significance in these words in David:
Lo, we have heard of Him in Ephrathah, we have found Him in the fields of the forest; we will come into His habitations, we will bow ourselves down at His footstool. Arise, O Jehovah, to Thy resting place, Thou and the ark of Thy strength. Let Thy priests be clothed with righteousness and let Thy saints shout for joy (606.)
[10] The "resting place" to which Jehovah should arise signifies the union of the Divine and the Human in the Lord, and His conjunction with heaven and the church; and because the Lord, and also those who are in heaven and in the church, have rest and peace when He has subjugated the hells and has brought all things there and in the heavens into order, it is said, "Arise, Thou and the ark of Thy strength," "Thou" meaning the Lord Himself, and "the ark of Thy strength" Divine truth proceeding from Him, for through this the Lord has Divine power. The "priests who shall be clothed with righteousness" and the "saints who shall shout for joy," have a similar signification as "the thousands and myriads of Israel," "priests" meaning those who are in good, and "saints" those who are in truths, thus in an abstract sense the goods and truths of heaven and the church. (That "priests" in an abstract sense signify the goods of the church may be seen above, n. 31 at the end, and that "saints" in that sense signify the truths of the church, n. 204, 325.) More about this Psalm may be seen above n. 684.
[11] Because the ark, from the law that was in it, signified the Lord in relation to Divine truth, and the Lord has omnipotence from Divine good through Divine truth, therefore by means of the ark miracles were wrought. Thus by means of it the waters of Jordan were divided, so that the sons of Israel passed over on dry ground; the wall of the city of Jericho was overthrown; Dagon, the god of the Ashdodites, fell down before it; the Ashdodites, the Gittites, the Ekronites, and the Bethshemites, were smitten with plagues on account of it; Uzzah died because he touched it; Obed-edom, into whose house it was brought, was blessed. As these historical facts involve arcana that can be opened only by the spiritual sense I also will explain them, that it may be known what the ark signifies in a strict sense and in a broad sense. First, respecting the division of the waters of Jordan that the sons of Israel might pass through on dry ground, in Joshua:
Joshua and all the sons of Israel came to Jordan; and at the end of three days Joshua commanded, saying, When ye shall see the ark of the Covenant of Jehovah, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, ye shall journey from your place and shall go after it; yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits; ye shall not draw near unto it. And the priests lifted up the ark of the Covenant and went before the people. And Joshua said, When ye shall come to the brink of the waters of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan. And he said unto the people, Behold, the ark of the Covenant of the Lord of the whole earth passing over before you into Jordan; and take ye twelve men of the tribes of Israel; and when the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of Jehovah the Lord of the whole earth shall rest in the waters of Jordan, the waters of Jordan shall be cut off, even the waters that come down from above shall stand in one heap. And it came to pass when the priests came unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bear the ark were dipped in the brink of the waters, and Jordan was full, as it was wont to be all the days of harvest, the waters that came down from above stood in one heap, stretching out very far from the city Adam; and those that came down upon the sea of the plain, the sea of salt, were completely cut off, so that the people could pass over towards Jericho. And the priests stood on the dry ground in the midst of Jordan; and all the people passed over on dry ground. Afterwards Jehovah said unto Joshua, Take to you twelve men, one of a tribe; and lift up out of the midst of Jordan, from where the priests' feet stood, twelve stones, which ye shall bring over with you, and leave in the place where ye pass the night. And the sons of Israel did so; and they lifted up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, according to the numbers of the tribes of Israel, and they carried them over unto the place where they passed the night. Then after that all the people had finished passing over, the ark of Jehovah passed over, and the priests. And it came to pass when the priests were come up and the soles of their feet were plucked out, the waters of Jordan returned into their place. And the twelve stones which they took out of Jordan did Joshua set up in Gilgal (Joshua 3:1-17; 4:1-20).
All the historicals of the Word, as well as its prophetical parts, contain a spiritual sense that treats, not of the sons of Israel and of nations and peoples, but of the church and its establishment and progress, for this is the spiritual of the Word, while the history is the natural that contains the spiritual. Therefore also all the miracles described in the Word, as the miracles done in Egypt and afterwards in the land of Canaan, involve such things as belong to heaven and the church, and for this reason also these miracles are Divine.
[12] The miracle described above signifies the introduction of the faithful into the church, and through the church into heaven. "The sons of Israel" mean here in the spiritual sense the faithful, who after enduring temptations, which are signified by their wanderings in the wilderness, are brought into the church; for "the land of Canaan," into which the sons of Israel were brought, signifies the church, and "Jordan" signifies the first entrance into it; and "the waters of Jordan" signify truths that introduce into it, which are such as those of the literal sense of the Word, for those are what first introduce. But here "Jordan" and its waters signify the falsities of evil which conduct towards hell, since the land of Canaan was then filled with idolatrous nations, which signify evils and falsities of every kind, which constitute hell; for this reason these were to be driven out, that there might be a place for establishing the church. Because "the waters of Jordan" then signified the falsities of evil, they were parted and removed, to give a passage to the sons of Israel, who were to represent the church.
[13] Now as the Lord alone removes and scatters the falsities of evil that are from hell, and by His Divine truths introduces the faithful into the church and into heaven, and as the ark and the law inclosed in it represented the Lord in relation to Divine truth, it was commanded that the ark should go before the people and thus lead them. This is why it came to pass that as soon as the priests bearing the ark dipped their feet in the waters of Jordan those waters were divided and went down, and the people passed over on dry land, and after this was done the waters returned. Then these same waters signified truths that introduce; for Jordan was the first boundary of the land of Canaan, and that land, when the sons of Israel had entered into it, represented the church, and that river introduction into it.
[14] As the waters of Jordan signified truths that introduce they were commanded to take up out of the midst of it twelve stones, and carry them over to the first place where they passed the night, and this because "stones" signify truths, and "twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of Israel" signified the truths of the church. Joshua set up those stones in Gilgal to the east of Jericho, because "Gilgal" signified the doctrine of natural truth, which is serviceable for introduction into the church. From these few things it is clear what things of heaven and the church were represented by this miracle, also that the "ark," because of the law in it, signified the Lord in relation to Divine truth, therefore it is called "the ark of the Covenant of the Lord of the whole earth," as meaning conjunction with the Lord through Divine truth, since conjunction, which is signified by "covenant," is effected through Divine truth, and that is what constitutes heaven and the church, which are signified in particular by "the whole earth;" in fact, through Divine truth all things were made and created, according to the Lord's words (in John 1:1-3, 10; and in David, Psalms 33:6), "the Word" there meaning Divine truth.
[15] The second miracle done by means of the ark was the overthrow of the wall of Jericho, which is thus described in Joshua:
The city of Jericho was shut up; and Jehovah said unto Joshua, I have given into thy hand Jericho and the king thereof, and the mighty in valor. Ye shall compass the city, all the men of war, once a day for six days. And seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of jubilee before the ark; but the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall sound with the trumpets, and then the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city shall fall down from beneath itself; and the people shall go up. Then Joshua made them go round the city once the first day, as it had been said; after which circuit they returned into the camp, and passed the night in the camp; in like manner the day after. And the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of jubilee before the ark of Jehovah went on, going, and sounded the trumpets, before whom went the men of war, and the rear marching after the ark, going and sounding the trumpets. And so they did six days; and the seventh day they compassed the city seven times; and the seventh time the people shouted. And when the people heard this, then the wall of the city fell down beneath itself, and the people went up into the city, and gave to the curse all things which were in the city, from man even to woman, and from the boy to the old man. And they burned up the city with fire, and all things that were in it; only the silver and gold, and the vessels of brass and iron they put into the treasury of the house of Jehovah. And Joshua adjured them, saying, Cursed be the man before Jehovah that shall rise up and build this city; with his firstborn he shall lay the foundations of it, and with the youngest he shall set up its folding doors (Joshua 6:1-26).
No one can know the Divine meaning contained in this miracle, unless he knows what is signified by "the city of Jericho" in the land of Canaan, which was burned up, by "its wall" which fell, by the "inhabitants" who were given to the curse, by "the gold and silver, and the vessels of brass and iron," that were put into the treasury of the house of Jehovah, also by "sounding the trumpets and shouting," and by "compassing it six days, and seven times on the seventh day." The "city of Jericho" signifies instruction in the knowledges of good and truth, by which man is introduced into the church; for Jericho was a city not far from the Jordan, and that river signified introduction into the church (as has been said above). For all places in the land of Canaan were significative of things celestial and spiritual belonging to the church, and this from the most ancient times; and as the sons of Israel were to represent the church, and among them the Word was written, in which those places were to be mentioned signifying such things as are of heaven and the church, therefore the sons of Israel were introduced into it, and their introduction was signified by "the river Jordan," and their instruction by "Jericho." And as "Jericho" signified instruction it signified also the good of life, because unless one is in the good of life he cannot be instructed in the truths of doctrine. But when the land of Canaan was held by idolatrous nations the signification of the places and cities in that land was changed into the opposite, Jericho then signifying the profanation of truth and good. From this it follows that the "city" itself signified the doctrine of falsity and evil, which perverted and profaned the truths and goods of the church, its "wall" signifying falsities of evil defending that doctrine, and the "inhabitants" those who are profane; and as all profaneness is from infernal love after the acknowledgment of truth and good, therefore the city was burned with fire, the inhabitants given to the curse, and its wall fell down, "fire" signifying infernal love, "curse" a total blotting out, and "the falling down of the wall" exposure to every evil and falsity.
[16] The sounding of the trumpets by the priests signified the proclamation of Divine truth from Divine good; the shouting and acclamation of the people signified consent and confirmation; compassing the city signified a survey of falsity and evil and their dispersion by the influx of Divine truth from the Lord; this influx was signified by carrying the ark about it. The priests were seven in number, and the city was compassed seven days, and seven times on the seventh day, to signify what is holy, and the holy proclamation of Divine truth, "seven" signifying holiness, and in the contrary sense profaneness, and as there was holiness on the one part and profaneness on the other, there were seven priests with seven trumpets, and the city was compassed seven times.
[17] The gold, the silver, and the vessels of brass and iron, were put into the treasury of the house of Jehovah, because these signified the knowledges of spiritual and natural truth and good, "gold and silver" the knowledges of spiritual truth and good, and "the vessels of brass and iron" knowledges of natural truth and good, which with those who profane are changed into direful falsities and evils; but as they continue to be knowledges, although applied to evils, they are serviceable to use with the good by application to what is good, and therefore these things were put into the treasury of the house of Jehovah. This also is what is meant by the "pounds" [minae] that were taken away from the evil and given to the good; likewise by the "unrighteous mammon;" also by "the gold, silver, and raiment," that the sons of Israel took away from the Egyptians and afterwards devoted to the tabernacle; and also by "the gold and silver" that David gathered from the spoils of enemies, and left to Solomon for building the temple.
[18] That he who rebuilt Jericho would be cursed, and that "he would lay the foundation of it with his firstborn, and set up its folding-doors with his youngest," signified the profanation of Divine truth from its first to its last, if instruction in it should be represented elsewhere than in Jerusalem, by which the church was signified in respect to the doctrine of truth and good, and in respect to instruction from the Word. That this profanation took place under King Ahab by Hiel the Bethelite is recorded in 1 Kings 16:34; and Ahab is said to have done evil in the eyes of Jehovah above all the kings of Israel (verses 1 Kings 16:30, 33). From this miracle done by means of the ark it can be seen that the ark, because of the law in it, represented the Lord in relation to Divine truth, and thence signified the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord.
[19] The third miracle, that Dagon, the god of the Ashdodites, fell down before the ark, and the Ashdodites, Gittites, Ekronites, and Bethshemites were smitten with plagues because of it, is thus described in the first book of Samuel:
Israel went out against the Philistines to war. And Israel was beaten before the Philistines about four thousand men. Therefore the elders said, Let us take unto us out of Shiloh the ark of the Covenant of Jehovah, and let it come into the midst of us, and deliver us out of the hand of the enemy. And they brought from thence the ark of the Covenant of Jehovah of Hosts sitting above the cherubim, and with the ark the two sons of Eli. And it came to pass when the ark came to the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout; the Philistines heard, and knew that the ark of Jehovah was come to the camp, and they feared for themselves, saying, God is come to the camp; woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hands of these mighty gods? These are the gods that smote the Egyptians with every plague. But be strong and be men, O ye Philistines, that ye may not serve the Hebrews. And the Philistines fought, and Israel was beaten with a great slaughter, about thirty thousand footmen; and the ark of God was taken, and both the sons of Eli died. And the Philistines took the ark, and brought it down to Ashdod, into the house of Dagon, and they set it beside Dagon. When they of Ashdod rose in the morning, behold, Dagon lay upon his faces on the earth before the ark of Jehovah; and they put back Dagon again. But when they arose in the morning, Dagon lay upon his faces on the earth before the ark, and both the head of Dagon and the two palms of his hands lay cut off upon the threshold. And the hand of Jehovah was heavy upon them of Ashdod, and He smote them with emerods, Ashdod and the borders thereof. Then the men of Ashdod said, The ark of Israel shall not abide with us. Therefore the lords of the Philistines said, Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried over unto Gath. And they carried it over unto Gath. But the hand of Jehovah was against the city, and smote the men of the city from the least to the greatest, and emerods brake out upon them. So they sent the ark of God to Ekron. But the Ekronites cried out that they should be slain. And the men that died not were smitten with emerods. Therefore the lords said that they would send back the ark into its place. When the ark had remained in the field of the Philistines seven months, the Philistines called the priests and diviners, saying, What shall we do with the ark of Jehovah; how shall we send it back to its place? And they said, Send it not empty, but send it back with a guilt-offering, then shall ye be healed, namely, according to the number of the lords of the Philistines, five emerods of gold and five mice of gold, for one plague is upon you all and upon your lords; ye shall make images of your emerods, and images of your mice, that have laid waste the land; and make a new cart, and two milch kine upon which there hath come no yoke, and tie the kine to the cart, and bring back their calves from them to the house, and put the ark of Jehovah upon the cart, and the vessels of gold put into a coffer at the side thereof; and see if it goeth up the way of the border to Bethshemesh. And they did so. Then the kine went straightway upon the way to Bethshemesh in the one highway, and they lowed; and the lords of the Philistines went after them. And the cart came into the field of Joshua the Bethshemite, and stood there, where there was a great stone. Then they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine for a burnt-offering to Jehovah. And the Levites set down the ark of Jehovah, and the coffer in which were the vessels of gold, upon that great stone; and the men of Bethshemesh offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed sacrifices to Jehovah. But the Bethshemites were smitten because they saw the ark of Jehovah, about fifty thousand and seventy men. But the men of Kiriath-jearim caused the ark of Jehovah to come up, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in Gibeah, and it remained there twenty years. Then Samuel said, If with the whole heart ye will return to Jehovah, put ye away the gods of the alien and Ashtaroth, and prepare your heart towards Jehovah, and serve Him only, then will He deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines (1 Samuel 4:1-11; 5:1-12; 6:1-21; 7:1-3).
What is signified by all this-that the ark was taken by the Philistines, and the Philistines were smitten with emerods on account of the ark in Ashdod, Gath, and Ekron, also that mice laid waste their land, and that so many died there and in Bethshemesh-cannot be known unless it is known what the Philistines, and in particular the Ashdodites, Gittites, Ekronites, and Bethshemites, represented and thence signified; also what is signified by "emerods" and by "mice," and by "the golden images" of these, and besides by the "new cart" and "the milch kine." Evidently these are representatives of such things as belong to the church, for otherwise why should the Philistines have been smitten with such plagues, and the ark have been so brought back?
[20] The Philistines represented, and thence signified, those who make no account of the good of love and charity, and thus no account of the good of life; placing everything of religion in knowledge and cognition; therefore they were like those at the present day who make faith alone, that is, faith separated from charity, the essential of the church and the essential of salvation. This is why they were called "the uncircumcised," for to be uncircumcised signifies to be destitute of spiritual love, thus of good; and because they had reference to those within the church they were not spiritual, but merely natural, since he who makes no account of the good of charity and of life becomes merely natural, and even sensual, loving only worldly things, and is unable to understand any truths spiritually, and the truths he apprehends naturally he either falsifies or defiles. Such are they who are meant in the Word by the "Philistines." Thence it is evident why the Philistines so frequently fought with the sons of Israel, and that sometimes the Philistines conquered, and sometimes the sons of Israel. The Philistines conquered when the sons of Israel departed from the statutes and precepts in not doing them; but when the sons of Israel lived according to these they conquered. To live according to the precepts and statutes was their good of love and good of life. At this time the sons of Israel were conquered by the Philistines because they had departed from the worship of Jehovah to the worship of other gods, especially to the worship of Ashtaroth, as can be seen from what Samuel said to them (1 Samuel 7:3). For the same reason also the ark had been taken by the Philistines.
[21] When it is known that the Philistines represented and thence signified those who make no account of the good of love, charity, and life, it can be known why because of the ark they were smitten with emerods and died in consequence; also why mice laid waste the land; for "emerods" signify truth defiled by such evil of life as is with those who are destitute of good; since "blood" signifies truth, and the corrupted blood from emerods truth defiled; and the hinder part, where the emerods were, signifies natural love, which with those not spiritual is the love of the world, while "mice" signify the falsities of the sensual man, which eat up and consume all things of the church, as mice lay waste fields and crops, and also the vegetables underground. Such were their plagues, because they were such, since those who are without good defile truths and also lay waste all things of the church. This was done on account of the ark, because the "ark" signified the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord, and this cannot be genuine truth but with those who are in the good of love, and thence in the good of life; and when Divine truth flows in with those who are not in good it produces effects that correspond to their falsities of doctrine and evils of life, just as in the spiritual world, when Divine truth flows into such, the defilement of truth and devastation of good are manifested in a likeness of emerods and mice.
[22] Dagon the god of the Ashdodites, because of the nearness and presence of the ark, was cast down to the earth, and afterwards his head and the palms of his hands were cast upon the threshold of his temple, because "Dagon" signified their religion, which was wholly without intelligence and without power, because it was without spiritual good, "head" signifying intelligence, and "palms of the hands" power. It is similar in the spiritual world, when Divine truth inflows out of heaven with such persons, for they then appear as if they were without a head and without palms of the hands because they are without intelligence or power.
[23] By the advice of their priests and diviners they made golden images of the emerods and mice, and set them at the side of the ark upon a new cart, to which they tied two milch kine on which no yoke had come, because "gold" signifies the good of love, which heals and purifies from falsities and evils, which are signified by the "emerods and mice," also because a "cart" signifies the doctrine of natural truth, and a "new cart" that doctrine untouched and unpolluted by the falsities of their evil, and the "milch kine" on which no yoke had come signify natural good not yet defiled by falsities, for to bear a yoke signifies to serve, here to serve falsities which defile good; and as such good agrees with the Divine truth, which was signified by the "ark," therefore these representatives were adapted and applied; and afterwards the Levites offered the kine as a burnt-offering, which they burned with the wood of the cart.
[24] The ark with the gifts was put on a great stone, near which the kine stood still, because a "stone" signifies Divine truth in the ultimate of order. The priests and diviners of the Philistines recommended this to be done because a knowledge of correspondences and representations was a common knowledge at that time, since it was their theology, known to the priests and diviners, who were their wise men. But because men at that time had become for the most part merely natural, they regarded these things in an idolatrous way, worshiping the externals, and giving no thought to the internals that the externals represented. From this it can be seen what the particulars here cited from the book of Samuel signify in series, also that the "ark," because of the law in it, signifies Divine truth proceeding from the Lord.
[25] Fourth, the two miracles wrought by means of the ark, the death of Uzzah and the blessing of Obed-edom, are thus described in the second book of Samuel:
David arose and went, and all the people that were with him, from Baal-Judah, to bring up from thence the ark of God, whose name is called upon, the name of Jehovah of Hosts that sitteth upon the cherubim. And they caused the ark of God to be carried upon a new cart, and they brought it up out of the house of Abinadab, which was in Gibeah; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were leading the cart. And David and all the house of Israel were playing before Jehovah, upon instruments of fir-wood of every kind, and upon harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with sistra, and with cymbals. And when they came to the threshing floor of Nachon, Uzzah put forth unto the ark and seized upon it, because the oxen stumbled; and the anger of Jehovah glowed against Uzzah, and God smote him for his error, so that he died there by the ark of God. And David was grieved at it, and David feared Jehovah that day, and he said, How shall the ark of Jehovah come unto me? And David would not remove the ark of Jehovah unto him in the city of David, but he turned it aside into the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. And the ark of Jehovah remained in his house three months, and Jehovah blessed Obed-edom and all his house; and it was told to King David; and David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with joy; and when they that bare the ark of Jehovah had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling; and David danced with all his strength before Jehovah, girt with a linen ephod. And David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of Jehovah with a shout and with the sound of a trumpet; and they brought the ark of Jehovah into the city of David, which is Zion, and set it up in its place within the tent that David had stretched out for it (2 Samuel 6:1-17).
These historical facts in the internal or spiritual sense involve many things that cannot come into view in the sense of the letter, which is the historical sense; as what is involved in the fact that the ark was brought from the house of Abinadab into the house of Obed-edom, and at length into the city of David, which is Zion; in the fact that when it was brought they played and sounded all kinds of musical instruments, and David himself danced; that the ark was brought upon a new cart, to which oxen were tied; also that Uzzah, the son of Abinadab, died, and Obed-edom with his house was blessed. All these things, although historical, have concealed in their bosom such things as pertain to heaven and the church, in like manner as the ark itself, which, on account of the law in it, represented the Lord as to the Divine truth; therefore it is called "the ark of God whose name is called upon, the name of Jehovah of hosts that sitteth upon the cherubim." That the ark was now brought out of the house of Abinadab, first into the house of Obed-edom and at length into the city of David, which is Zion, involves arcana that no one can know unless he knows what was signified by "Gibeah" and by "Baal-Judah" there, where Abinadab was, and by "Gath" where Obed-edom was, and finally by "Zion" where David was. All the regions and the cities in them in the land of Canaan were representative, as it is in the spiritual world with the regions there and their cities. In the spiritual world in every region and also in every city those who are in the good of love dwell toward the east and the west, those who are in a bright good of love toward the east, and those who are in an obscure good of love toward the west; while toward the south and the north there those dwell who are in the light of truth; those who are in a bright light of truth toward the south and those who are in an obscure light of truth toward the north. The like is true of the land of Canaan and its regions and the cities of those regions; in reference to their quarters these corresponded to the regions of the spiritual world and to the cities of those regions; but with this difference, that on earth it is impossible so to arrange men in their quarters in respect to the good of love and the light of truth, as the spirits and angels are arranged in the spiritual world; consequently in the land of Canaan and its cities the places themselves represented, and not the persons. That this was so can be seen from the partition of the land of Canaan into inheritances, which fell by lot to the tribes according to their representation of the church; also from the representation of the church itself by Jerusalem and Zion, Jerusalem representing the church in respect to the truth of doctrine and Zion the church in respect to the good of love. When, therefore, it is known what pertaining to heaven and the church is signified by "Gibeah," and by "Baal-Judah" there, where Abinadab was, and what by "Gath" where Obed-edom was, it can be known what is signified by bringing the ark from Abinadab to Obed-edom, and at length into Zion.
[26] From the signification of these cities it can be seen that the transference of the ark represented the progress of the church with man, from its ultimate to its inmost, as from one heaven into another, even to the highest, which is the third heaven. "Baal-Judah," where Abinadab was, signified the ultimate of the church, which is called its natural, for this was represented by "Gibeah," where "Baal-Judah" was. But "Gath," where Obed-edom was, who was therefore called a Gittite, signified the spiritual of the church; and this signification it took on after the sons of Israel had taken from the Philistines the cities from Ekron even to Gath (1 Samuel 7:13-15); while "Zion," where David was, signified the inmost of the church, which is called its celestial.
[27] From this it is evident that the transference of the ark signified the progress of the church with man from its ultimate to its inmost; and this because such progressions are effected by means of Divine truth, which was signified by the ark; for the man of the church progresses from the natural to the spiritual, and through that to the celestial, and this continually from the Lord by means of His Divine truth; the natural is the good of life, the spiritual is the good of charity toward the neighbor, and the celestial is the good of love to the Lord. As the goods of the three heavens have a like progression, so the ascent through them in their order is also represented.
[28] Their playing and sounding all kinds of musical instruments, and David's dancing when the ark was brought up, represented the gladness and joy that result from the affection of truth and good from the Lord through the influx of Divine truth, which was signified by the "ark;" the instruments mentioned, on which they played in the first journey from the house of Abinadab to the house of Obed-edom, represented gladness of mind from a natural and spiritual affection of truth; and the dancing of David, also the shouting and sound of the trumpet represented joy of heart from the affection of spiritual and celestial good. Harmonies of musical sound are from the spiritual world, and signify the affections with their gladnesses and joys (as may be seen above, n. 323, 326). "Zion" signifies the third heaven, and thence the inmost of the church (See also above, n. 405.
[29] "The ark" brought on a new cart to which oxen were tied represented and thence signified the doctrine of truth from the good of love, "cart" signifying the doctrine of truth, and "oxen" the good of love, both in the natural man; for Divine truth, which is signified by the "ark," rests and is founded upon the doctrine of natural truth which is from good; this is why the ark was set upon a cart before which were oxen. (That a "chariot" [or cart] signifies the doctrine of truth, see above, n. 355); that an "ox" signifies the natural good, see Arcana Coelestia 2180, 2566.)
[30] Uzzah the son of Abinadab died because he seized upon the ark with his hand, because "to touch with the hand" signifies communication, and communication with the Lord is effected through the good of love, and yet Uzzah was not anointed, as the priests and Levites were, to whom the representation of the good of love was given by anointing (that this was given by anointing, see n. 375. Moreover, the cherubim that were over the mercy-seat which was upon the ark, signified the guard that the Lord be not approached except through the good of love. That this was also done that David might not bring the ark into Zion before the progression which was being represented was finished (of which above) can be seen from this, that David grieved at the death of Uzzah, and feared to bring the ark into his city, which was Zion (verses 8-10).
[31] Obed-edom was blessed, and his house, on account of the ark, because a blessing from the good things of the world signifies blessing from the good things of heaven, which proceed solely from the Lord by the reception of the Divine truth represented by the ark, and these good things those have who are in spiritual good, which Obed-edom in Gath represented, as has been said above.
[32] Finally, bringing the ark into Zion and into the tent that David had stretched out for it, signified the ascent into the third heaven, and the conjunction of the Divine truth with the good of love, for "Zion" represented the inmost of the church, and thence the inmost of the heavens, which is the highest or third heaven, in which the angels are in the good of love to the Lord, and where there is a guard that the Lord be not approached except through the good of love, which guard was represented by the cherubim over the ark.
[33] Bringing the ark into the inmost part of the temple built by Solomon has a like signification; this is thus described in the first book of Kings:
Solomon prepared an adytum in the midst of the house, to set there the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; and in the adytum he made two cherubim of wood of oil, and he set the cherubim in the midst of the inner house, so that their wings were spread forth to the wall on each side, and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house; and he overlaid the cherubim with gold. And Solomon brought up the ark of the covenant of Jehovah out of the city of David, which is Zion. And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests lifted up the ark, and brought up the ark of Jehovah, and the tent of meeting, and all the vessels of holiness that were in the tent; and Solomon and all the congregation with him before the ark. And the priests brought the ark of the covenant of Jehovah into its place, into the adytum of the house, into the holy of holies, even under the wings of the cherubim; for the cherubim spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim covered the ark and the staves thereof from above, and the heads of the staves were seen from the holy place, toward the faces of the adytum, but they were not seen without. And Solomon said, There have I set a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of Jehovah, which He made with our fathers when He brought them forth out of the land of Egypt (1 Kings 6:19, 23, 27, 28; 8:1-8, 21).
As the ark in the tent of meeting represented the third heaven where the Lord is, and the tent itself without the veil the second heaven, and the court the first heaven, so was it with the temple; for the temple with its courts represented the three heavens, therefore there was nothing in the temple or outside of the temple within the courts, that did not represent something of heaven, and this for the reason that the Lord at that time was present in representatives; for the churches before the Lord's coming were representative churches, and finally such as the church was that was instituted with the sons of Israel. But when the Lord came into the world, the externals that represented were abolished, for it was the Lord Himself that the representatives of the church shadowed forth and signified; and as these were external things, and as it were veilings, within which was the Lord, so when He came these veilings were taken away, and He was manifested, with heaven and the church, in which the Lord is the all in all. The primary representatives of the Lord, and thence of heaven and the church, were the tent of meeting with the table, the lamp stand, the altar of incense, and the ark there, also the altar with the burnt offerings and sacrifices, and afterwards the temple; the temple having a similar representation as the tent of meeting, with the difference that the tent of meeting was a more holy representative of the Lord, of heaven, and of the church, than the temple.
[34] From this it can be seen that the adytum in the temple, where, like as in the tent of meeting, the ark was, represented the Lord in relation to the Divine truth, and thence the third heaven, where angels are conjoined to the Lord by love to Him, and consequently have Divine truth inscribed on their hearts. But what was signified by "the cherubim" in the temple, and their "wings," and the "staves" which are also mentioned, shall be told in a few words. "The cherubim" signified a guard that the Lord be not approached except through the good of love, consequently they were made of the "wood of oil," which wood signified the good of love (See above, n. 375; "the wings of the cherubim" signify the spiritual Divine, which descends from the celestial Divine, in which is the third heaven, into the second heaven, and is there received; this is why the wings "touched one another in the midst of the house," and were thence "stretched forth to the wall on each side." But the "staves" by which the ark was carried, signified Divine power, the same as "arms." From this and what precedes the signification of "the ark of the Covenant" in the Word can be seen.
[35] By the "ark," moreover, the same as by "the continual sacrifice" in Daniel, which was to cease at the Lord's coming into the world, a representative of the church in general is meant, in Jeremiah:
I will give you shepherds according to My heart, that they may feed you with knowledge and intelligence; and it shall come to pass when ye shall be multiplied and bear fruit in the land, in those days they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of Jehovah, neither shall it come up upon the heart, neither shall they make mention of it, neither shall they miss it, neither shall it be renewed anymore (Jeremiah 3:15, 16).
This is said of the Lord's coming, and of the abolition of the representative rites of the Jewish Church at that time. That the interior things of the church that had been veiled over by external representative rites would then be manifested and there would then be interior or spiritual men, is signified by "shepherds would be given according to the heart of the Lord, and they shall feed them with knowledge and intelligence," "shepherds" meaning those who teach good and lead to it by means of truths; the multiplication of truth and fructification of good are signified by "Then it shall come to pass when ye shall be multiplied and bear fruit in the land in those days;" that there will then be conjunction with the Lord through the interiors of the Word and not through its exteriors, which merely represented and signified things interior, is signified by, "they shall say no more, The ark of the Covenant of Jehovah;" "the ark of the Covenant of Jehovah" here signifying the externals of worship that were then to be abolished, the same as "the continual sacrifice" that was to cease (See Daniel 8:13; 11:31; 12:11). That worship was to be no longer external but internal is signified by, "it shall not come up upon the heart, neither shall they make mention of it, neither shall they miss it, neither shall it be renewed anymore." From this, too, it can be seen that "the ark of the Covenant" seen by John in the temple of God, which is the vision here treated of, was an appearing of the Divine truth, by which there is a conjunction of the new heaven and the New Church with the Lord, and that this was so seen that the Word in the letter might be similar throughout, consisting of things that were externals of worship and represented internals; the like as above (Daniel 8:3, 4), where "the altar" and "incense offerings" were seen "before the throne;" for the Word in the letter consists of pure correspondences, such as existed in the representative churches, and were taken therefrom for use in the Word, and in these the interior things of heaven and the church, which are spiritual and celestial, are contained.
Footnotes:
1. The photolithograph has "aditur," probably for "auditur," is heard.
2. "Jehovah," in the Hebrew "to Chobab."
700. "Et visa est arca foederis ipsius in templo ipsius." - Quod significet Divinum Verum, per quod conjunctio est cum Domino, constat ex significatione "arcae foederis", quod sit Divinum Verum procede1is a Domino (de qua sequitur).
Quod "arca foederis" visa sit, erat quia apparuit "templum"; et in medio Templi Hierosolymae fuit arca, in qua repositae fuerunt binae tabulae Legis, per quas in universali sensu significabatur Divinum Verum procedens a Domino, ita Ipse Dominus, qui est Divinum Verum in caelis, ex quo etiam Dominus vocatur Verbum apud Johannem (1:1, 2, 14).
Quod "arca" hoc significet, erat quia Tentorium conventus repraesentabat tres caelos; atrium ejus ultimum seu primum caelum; ipsum Tentorium usque ad velum, ubi erant mensa pro panibus, altare suffitus et candelabrum, repraesentabat medium seu secundum caelum; et arca quae erat intra velum, super qua erat propitiatorium cum cherubis, repraesentabat intimum seu tertium caelum; et ipsa Lex, quae erat in arca, repraesentabat Dominum quoad Divinum Verum seu Verbum: et quia conjunctio cum Domino est per Verbum, ideo arca illa vocabatur "arca foederis"; "foedus" enim significat conjunctionem. (Quod Tentorium seu Tabernaculum repraesentaverit formam caeli, et quod una cum atrio repraesentaverit tres caelos, et quod sanctum sanctorum, quod erat intimum, ubi arca, in qua tabulae Legis, repraesentaverit tertium seu intimum caelum, et quod Lex seu Testimonium Ipsum Dominum, videatur in Arcanis Caelestibus, n. 3478, 9457, 9481, 9485. Et quod "tabernaculum" aeque ac "templum" in supremo sensu significaverit Dominum, in sensu respectivo caelum et ecclesiam, et inde sanctum cultus etiam ibi, n. 9457, 9481, 10242, 10245, 1
Quod "foedus" in Verbo significet conjunctionem; et quod omnia ecclesiae tam interna quam externa sint signa foederis, et quod dicantur "foedus" quia per illa conjunctio, etiam in Arcanis Caelestibus, n. 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 2037, 6804, 8767, 8778, 9396, 9416, 10632. Quod inde Lex promulgata in Monte Sinai dicta sit "foedus", et arca in qua illa Lex, "arca foederis", etiam ibi, n. 6804, 9416.)
[2] Quod arca cum foedere seu cum Testimonio incluso, significet Dominum quoad Divinum caeleste, quod est Divinum Verum in intimo seu tertio caelo, constare potest ex illis quae de arca dicuntur in Verbo:
– Ut apud Mosen,
"Facient Mihi sanctuarium, ut habitem in medio eorum, juxta omne quod Ego monstravi tibi, formam Habitaculi:.... imprimis facient arcam ex lignis schittim, .... et obduces eam auro puro, intus et foris obduces eam: et facies ei limbum auri.... ; quatuor annulos auri" pro vectibus;.... et dabis in arcam Testimonium quod dabo tibi: et facies propitiatorium ex auro puro, .... et facies duos cherubos ex auro, solidum facies eos.... ex propitiatorio, .... ita ut cherubi expandant alas.., et obtegant alis suis propitiatorium, et facies eorum.... versus propitiatorium:.... et in arcam dabis Testimonium, .... et conveniam te ibi, et loquar tecum desuper propitiatorio ab inter duos cherubos, qui super arca Testimonii, omne quod praecepturus tibi ad filios Israelis" (Exodus 25:8-22).
"Facies velum ex hyacinthino et purpura et coccineo dibapho et xylino intertexto.... cum cherubis: dabis illud super quatuor columnas ex schittim obductas auro;.... et dabis velum sub ansulas, et inferes eo intra velum arcam Testimonii, ita ut velum discrimen faciat vobis inter sanctum et inter sanctum sanctorum; et dabis velum ante arcam..in sancto sanctorum" (Exod 26:31-34):
supra dictum est quod Tentorium, ubi arca, candelabrum, mensa pro panibus, et altare pro suffitu, una cum atrio, repraesentaverit tres caelos, et quod locus intra velum, ubi erat arca in qua Lex seu Testimonium, repraesentaverit tertium caelum; quod is locus repraesentaverit id caelum, fuit quia ibi erat Lex, per quam intelligitur Dominus quoad Divinum Verum seu quoad Verbum, nam "Lex" illa in lato sensu id Significat, ac Divinum Verum procedens a Domino format caelos. Hoc recipitur valde pure ab angelis tertii caeli, quia in conjunctione cum Domino sunt per amorem in Ipsum; sunt enim omnes angeli in illo caelo in amore in Dominum; quapropter vident Divinum Verum in se sicut insitum, tametsi continue influit a Domino; inde est quod id caelum prae reliquis caelis, qui inferiores sunt, dicatur in Domino esse, quia in Divino quod procedit ab Ipso.
[3] Hoc caelum repraesentatum est per arcam in qua Lex, hoc est, Dominus: inde erat quod arca esset obducta auro intus et foris, et quod propitiatorium esset supra arcam, et super propitiatorio et ex illo duo cherubi qui fuerunt ex puro auro; "aurum" enim ex correspondentia significat bonum amoris, in quo sunt angeli tertii caeli; per "propitiatorium" significabatur auditio et receptio omnium cultus qui ex bono amoris a Domino, et per "cherubos" significabatur providentia Domini ac tutela, ne adeatur nisi quam per bonum amoris; et id caelum cum angelis ibi tutatur, ne aliquid ad Ipsum Dominum elevetur nisi quod ex bono amoris in Ipsum ab Ipso procedit: omnis enim cultus Dei transit per caelos usque ad Dominum, ac in via purificatur, usque dum elevatur ad tertium caelum, ac ibi 2
aditur et recipitur a Domino; reliqua, quae impura sunt, in via absterguntur: inde est quod cherubi ex auro super propitiatorio, quod super arca, positi fuerint: et inde est quod ille locus dictus fuerit "sanctuarium", et quoque "sanctum sanctorum", et quod discriminatum fuerit ab exteriore parte Tabernaculi per velum.
[4] Quod Tentorium una cum atrio repraesentaverit tres caelos, constare etiam ex eo potest, quod omnia quae apud filios Israelis instituta erant, repraesentativa caelestium fuerint; nam ipsa ecclesia fuit ecclesia repraesentativa; ita imprimis Tabernaculum una cum altari fuit sanctissimum cultus, super altari enim peragebatur cultus per holocausta et sacrificia, et in Tabernaculo per suffitiones, perque lucernas quae ibi cottidie accendebantur, et per panes qui etiam super mensa cottidie ordinabantur; haec omnia repraesentabant omnem cultum in caelo et in ecclesia, et ipsum Tentorium cum arca ipsos caelos: inde erat quod Tabernaculum illud vocaretur "Habitaculum Jehovae Dei", sicut vocatur ipsum caelum. Quod repraesentati sint caeli per Tabernaculum, etiam constare potest ex eo, quod forma ejus monstrata sit Mosi a Domino super Monte Sinai; et quod monstratur in forma a Domino, hoc repraesentat vel caelum vel illa quae caeli sunt. Quod forma Tabernaculi monstrata sit Mosi super Monte Sinai, constat ex his quae dicta sunt Mosi,
"Faciant Mihi sanctuarium, ut habitem in medio eorum, juxta omne quod monstravi tibi, formam habitaculi"; et postea, "Vide et fac in forma eorum quam videre factus es in monte" (Exodus 25:8, 9, 40):
inde est quod dicatur "sanctuarium", et dicatur "ut habitem in medio eorum." Quod in specie concernit arcam, quid nempe illa, tum "propitiatorium" super ea, ut et "cherubi" super propitiatorio, significant, tum quid "limbus aureus" circum arcam, quidve "quatuor annuli pro vectibus", tum quid "velum", "ansulae", cum reliquis ibi, 3
significant, in Arcanis Caelestibus (a n. 4
9484 ad 9577, 9670 ad 9680) videatur explicata.
[5] Ipsa sanctitas totius Tabernaculi fuit ex Testimonio, hoc est, ex duabus tabulis lapidum quibus Lex inscripta fuit, ex causa quia "Lex" significabat Dominum quoad Divinum Verum, et inde quoad Verbum, nam hoc est Divinum Verum. Quod Dominus sit Verbum, constat apud Johannem, ubi dicitur,
"Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum, .... et Verbum Caro factum est, et habitavit inter nos" (cap. 1:1, 2, 14).
Quod Lex, quae vocatur et "Testimonium" et "Foedus", data fuerit in arcam, et similiter Liber a Mose scriptus, constat ex his apud illum,
"Dabis in arcam Testimonium quod dabo tibi" (Exod 25:16; 40:20);
"Posui tabulas" Legis "in arca quam feceram, ut essent ibi, quemadmodum praeceperat mihi Jehovah" (Deuteronomius 10:5):
et de Libro Legis a Mose scripto,
"Cum absolvit Moses scribere verba Legis hujus super librum usque dum consummavit ea, praecepit Moses Levitis portantibus arcam", .... ut acciperent Librum Legis, et ponerent a latere arcae foederis, ut sit ibi in testem (Deutr. 31 [24,] 25, 26):
ex quo patet quod intus in arca non fuerint nisi quam duae tabulae lapidum, quibus inscripta fuit Lex, et quod a latere ejus esset Liber Mosis. Quod non nisi quam binae tabulae foederis fuerint in arca, constat ex Libro Primo Regum,
"Non in arca nisi duae tabulae lapidum, quas reposuit ibi Moses in Chorebo, foedus quod pepigit Jehovah cum filiis Israelis" (8:9).
Quod Liber Mosis qui a latere arcae repositus fuerat, postea exemptus et conservatus sit in Templo, constare potest ex eo, quod
Chilkia sacerdos magnus invenerit Librum Legis in domo Jehovae, et dederit Schaphani, qui dixit id 5
ad regem, et legit eum coram rege (2 Regnum 22:8-11).
[6] Quod per arcam repraesentatus sit Dominus quoad Divinum Verum, et inde significatum Divinum Verum quod a Domino, ita Verbum, etiam constare potest ex eo, quod inde locutus sit Dominus cum Mose; nam dicitur,
"In arcam dabis Testimonium et conveniam te ibi, et loquar tecum ab inter duos cherubos qui super arca Testimonii, omne quod praecepturus sum tibi ad filios Israelis" (Exodus 25:21, 22);
et alibi,
"Quando ingressus est Moses in Tentorium conventus, ut loqueretur cum Ipso, audivit vocem loquentis ad illum desuper propitiatorio, quod super arca Testimonii, ab inter duos cherubos; ita locutus est ad illum" (Numeri 7:89):
quod Dominus inde locutus sit ad Mosen, erat quia Lex erat ibi; et per "Legem" illam in sensu lato significatur Dominus quoad Verbum, et Dominus ex Verbo loquitur cum homine; quod "desuper propitiatorio inter duos cherubos", erat quia per "propitiatorium" significatur remotio falsitatum ex amoribus malis, et tunc receptio et auditio, et per "cherubos" tutela ne adeatur nisi quam per bonum amoris.
[7] Quoniam Dominus in caelo et in ecclesia est Divinum Verum seu Verbum, et hoc intelligitur per "Legem" inclusam arcae, et quia praesentia Domini est in Lege seu Verbo, ideo ubi fuit arca ibi fuit Jehovah seu Dominus, ut constare potest ex his apud Mosen,
"Dixit Moses" ad 6
Chobabum, "Ne quaeso relinque nos, quia novisti quomodo castrametandum nobis est in deserto, unde eris nobis [pro] oculis, et fiet quando iveris nobiscum, et fiet bonum illud quo benefaciet Jehovah nobis, benefaciemus etiam Tibi. Et profecti sunt a Monte Jehovae itinere trium dierum, et arca foederis Jehovae proficiscens coram illis itinere trium dierum ad investigandum illis requiem; et nubes Jehovae super illis interdiu, cum proficiscebantur e castris. Quando proficiscebatur arca, dixit Moses, Surge, Jehovah, ut 7
dispergantur inimici tui, et fugiant osores tui a coram faciebus tuis: et quando quiescebat illa, dixit, Redi, Jehovah, myriades chiliadum Israelis" (Numeri 10:31-36):
ex singulis his patet quod Jehovah seu Dominus ibi intelligatur per "arcam", propter praesentiam Ipsius in Lege quae in arca, ita propter praesentiam Ipsius in Verbo. Quia Dominus ibi intelligitur per "Legem", et inde per arcam", dixit Moses, "Surge, Jehovah, ut dispergantur inimici tui, et fugiant osores tui a coram faciebus tuis"; et cum quiescebat, dixit, "Redi, Jehovah, myriades chiliadum Israelis": sed eadem illa verba involvunt adhuc interiora, nempe quod Dominus per Divinum suum Verum ducat homines ac tutetur illos contra falsa et mala quae ab inferno, imprimis in tentationibus, quae in specie significantur per "profectiones filiorum Israelis in deserto quadraginta annis": quod ducat illos continue per Divinum suum Verum, significatur per quod "arca foederis Jehovae profecta sit coram illis itinere trium dierum ad investigandum illis requiem"; per "arcam Jehovae" intelligitur Dominus quoad Divinum Verum, per "proficisci itinere trium dierum" intelligitur auspicium et ductus a principio ad finem;
[8] et per "investigationem" significatur salvatio quae finis: tutatio autem a falsis et malis quae ab inferno, significatur per "nubem Jehovae super illis interdiu"; tum per verba Mosis cum proficiscebatur arca, "Surge, Jehovah, ut dispergantur inimici tui, et fugiant osores tui a coram faciebus tuis"; per "nubem Jehovae interdiu" significatur etiam tutela per Divinum Verum in ultimis quale est Verbum in sensu litterae; Dominus enim per hoc adiri etiam potest a malis, ac tutatur interiora Verbi, quae sunt caelestia et spiritualia; (quod "nubes" illud Verbi significet, videatur supra, n. 594): per "inimicos et osores" significantur falsa et mala quae ab inferno (per "inimicos" falsa, et per "osores" mala); ita quoque significantur inferna quoad illa: vera ex bono, quae post tentationes homini implantata sunt, significantur per "Quando quiescebat arca, dixit Moses, Redi, Jehovah, 8
myriades chiliadum Israelis"; "quiescentia arcae" significabat statum post tentationes, quando mala et falsa remota sunt; per "redire" significatur praesentia Domini tunc, nam in tentationibus apparet Dominus sicut absens; et per "myriades chiliadum Israelis" significantur vera ex bono implantata, ex quibus ecclesia.
(Quod "myriades" dicantur de veris, ac "chiliades" de bonis, videatur supra, n. 336.)
[9] Similia significantur per haec apud Davidem,
"Ecce audivimus de Ipso in Ephrata, invenimus Ipsum in agris silvae; intrabimus in habitacula Ipsius, incurvabimus nos scabello pedum Ipsius. Surge, Jehovah, ad requiem tuam, Tu et arca fortitudinis tuae: sacerdotes tui induantur justitia, et sancti tui jubilent" (Psalms 132:6-9):
agitur in eo psalmo manifeste de Domino, qui etiam ibi intelligitur per "Davidem", ut constare potest ex eo quod dicatur, "Invenimus Ipsum in Ephrata, et in agris silvae"; tum quod "incurvarent se scabello pedum Ipsius"; "Ephratah" est Bethlechem ubi Dominus natus est, et per "Ephratam" significatur Verbum quoad sensum ejus naturalem, ac per "Bethlechem" Verbum quoad sensum ejus spiritualem, ac ibi voluit nasci quia Dominus est Verbum; per "agros silvae" significantur illa quae sensus naturalis Verbi sunt, ita quae sensus litterae; sensus spiritualis Verbi etiam significatur per "habitacula Ipsius", et inde etiam caelum, quia caelum in illo sensu est; ac per "scabellum pedum", cui se incurvabunt, significatur sensus naturalis Verbi, et inde etiam ecclesia in terris, quia haec in illo sensu est; (quod "scabellum pedum" Domini sit ecclesia in terris, videatur supra, n. 606):
[10] per "requiem", ad quam surgeret Jehovah, significatur unitio Divini ac Humani in Domino, ac conjunctio Ipsius cum caelo et ecclesia; et quia Domino quies et pax, et quoque illis qui in caelo et in ecclesia sunt, quando subjugavit inferna ac disposuit omnia ibi et in caelis in ordinem, dicitur, "Surge, Tu et arca fortitudinis tuae"; per "Tu" intelligitur Ipse Dominus, et per "arcam fortitudinis tuae" intelligitur Divinum Verum procedens ab Ipso, nam per hoc est Domino Divina potentia: per "sacerdotes" qui induentur justitia, et per "sanctos" qui jubilabunt, significantur similia quae per "chiliades et myriades Israelis", per "sacerdotes" illi qui in bono sunt, et per "sanctos" qui in veris, ita abstracte bona et vera caeli et ecclesiae. (Quod per "sacerdotes" in sensu abstracto significentur bona ecclesiae, videatur supra, n. 31 [b] fin. ; et quod per "sanctos" in illo sensu vera ecclesiae, etiam supra, n. 204, 9
325 [a] ; plura ex illo psalmo videantur supra, n. 684 [c] .)
[11] Quoniam "arca", ex Lege quae in ea significabat Dominum quoad Divinum Verum, et quia omnipotentia est Domino ex Divino Bono per Divinum Verum, inde per arcam facta sunt miracula: ut quod per illam aquae Jordanis discissae sint, ut transirent filii Israelis in sicco; quod murus urbis Jerichuntis conciderit; quod Dago, deus Aschdodaeorum, deciderit coram illa, quodque Aschdodaei, Gittitae, Ekronitae, et Bethschemitae percussi fuerint plagis propter illam; quod Usa, quia tetigit illam, mortuus sit; quod ObedEdom, in cujus domum introducta est, benedictus sit: et quoniam historica illa involvunt arcana, quae per sensum illorum spiritualem unice patent, velim etiam illa explicare, ob finem ut sciatur quid arca in stricto et in lato sensu 10
significat. Primum, De aquis Jordanis discissis ut transirent filii Israelis in sicco; apud Joschuam,
Joschua et omnes filii Israelis "venerunt ad Jordanem usque; et a fine trium dierum.... praecipiebat..Joschua, dicendo, Quum videritis arcam foederis Jehovae..., et sacerdotes Levitas portantes illam, vos etiam proficiscemini e loco vestro, et ibitis post eam; sed spatium erit inter vos et inter eam quasi bis mille ulnarum; non appropinquabitis ad eam.".... Et sacerdotes "sustulerunt arcam foederis, et iverunt coram populo"; et dixit Joschua, "Quum veneritis usque ad extremitatem aquarum Jordanis, in Jordane subsistetis." Et dixit ad populum, "Ecce arca foederis Domini totius terrae, transiens coram vobis in Jordanem, et sumite vobis duodecim viros de tribubus Israelis;.... et quando quieverint plantae pedum sacerdotum portantium arcam Jehovae Domini totius terrae in aquis Jordanis, aquae Jordanis exscindentur, et aquae descendentes desuper consistent cumulo uno: et factum est, cum" sacerdotes "venerunt ad Jordanem, et pedes sacerdotum portantium arcam intincti essent in extremitate aquarum, et Jordan plenus erat, ut esse solebat...omnibus diebus messis, steterunt aquae descendentes desuper cumulo uno, elongando se valde ab Adam urbe, .... et descendentes super mare planitiei, mare salis, consumptae excisae sunt, ita ut populus transire posset versus Jerichuntem. Et steterunt sacerdotes.... in sicco in medio Jordanis, .... et universus" populus "transivit in sicco. .... Dein dixit Jehovah ad Joschuam, Accipite vobis... duodecim viros, unum..de tribu, et.... tollite e medio Jordanis de statione pedum sacerdotum duodecim lapides, quos transferetis vobiscum, et relinquetis in loco pernoctationis.... : fecerunt sic filii Israelis, et sustulerunt duodecim lapides e medio Jordanis.... juxta numerum tribuum Israelis, et transtulerunt eos in locum pernoctationis. .... Tunc postquam absolvit universus populus transire, transibat arca Jehovae et sacerdotes et factum est cum ascenderint sacerdotes, .... et avellerentur plantae pedum" illorum..., "redierunt aquae Jordanis in locum suum. .... Et Joschua duodecim lapides, quos sumpserunt ex Jordane, erexit in Gilgale" (Joshua 3:1-17; 4:1-20).
Omnia historica Verbi, aeque ac prophetica ejus, continent sensum spiritualem, in quo non agitur de filiis Israelis et de gentibus ac populis, sed de ecclesia et de ejus instauratione et progressione; nam hoc spirituale Verbi est, et historicum est naturale continens spirituale. Inde quoque omnia miracula quae in Verbo describuntur, ut miracula in Aegypto et postea in terra Canaane facta, involvunt talia quae caeli et ecclesiae sunt; per id etiam miracula illa sunt Divina.
[12] Per hoc miraculum significatur introductio fidelium in ecclesiam, et per ecclesiam in caelum. Per "filios Israelis" ibi in sensu spirituali intelliguntur fideles, qui postquam tentationes passi sunt, quae significantur per "errores illorum in deserto", introducuntur in ecclesiam; per "terram" enim "Canaanem", in quam filii Israelis introducti sunt, significatur ecclesia; et per "Jordanem" significatur primus ingressus in illam; et per "aquas Jordanis" significantur vera introducentia, quae vera sunt qualia vera sensus litteralis Verbi; nam illa etiam primum introducunt: ibi autem per "Jordanem" et ejus aquas significantur falsa mali quae ferunt ad infernum, ex causa quia terra Canaan tunc oppleta fuit gentibus idololatris, per quas significantur omnis generis mala et falsa, quae faciunt infernum; ob quam causam etiam expellendae erant, ut locus daretur instaurandae ecclesiae: et quia "aquae Jordanis" nunc falsa mali significabant, ideo discissae sunt et remotae, ut daretur filiis Israelis, per quos repraesentaretur ecclesia, transitus.
[13] Nunc quoniam Dominus solus removet et dissipat falsa mali quae ab inferno, et per Divina sua vera introducit fideles in ecclesiam et in caelum, et quia per arcam et Legem ei inclusam repraesentatus est Dominus quoad Divinum Verum, ideo jussum est ut arca praeiret populo, et sic duceret illum. Quare factum est, quod, "ut primum sacerdotes portantes arcam intingerent pedes in aquis Jordanis, aquae illae discinderentur et descenderent, ac populus in sicco transiret", et quod, postquam hoc factum est, aquae redirent: at tunc eaedem illae aquae significabant vera introducentia; erat enim Jordanes primus terminus terrae Canaanis, per quam, postquam filii Israelis in illam ingressi sunt, repraesentabatur ecclesia, et per illum fluvium introductio in illam.
[14] Quoniam per "aquas Jordanis" significabantur vera introducentia, ideo etiam mandatum est ut ex medio ejus tollerent duodecim lapides, et illos transferrent in primum locum ubi pernoctarent; et hoc quia "lapides" significant vera, et "duodecim lapides secundum numerum tribuum Israelis" significabant vera ecclesiae.
Quod "Joschua erexerit illos lapides in Gilgale ab oriente Jerichuntis", erat quia "Gilgal" significabat doctrinam veri naturalis inservientis pro introductione in ecclesiam. Ex his paucis patet quid caeli et ecclesiae per id miraculum repraesentatum est, et quod arca ex Lege in illa significaverit Dominum quoad Divinum Verum; quare etiam vocatur "Arca foederis Domini totius terrae", ex conjunctione cum Domino per Divinum Verum, nam per illud est conjunctio, quae significatur per "foedus"; et illud est quod facit caelum et ecclesiam, quae in specie per "totam terram" significantur, immo per quod "omnia facta et creata sunt" secundum Domini verba (Apud Johannem, cap. 1:1-3, 10; et apud Davidem, 33:6); per "Verbum" ibi intelligitur Divinum Verum.
[15] Secundum Miraculum, quod per arcam factum est, erat delapsus muri Jerichuntis, quod ita describitur apud Joschuam,
Urbs "Jericho erat clausa;.... et dixit Jehovah ad Joschuam, ..Dedi in manum tuam Jerichuntem et regem ejus, et fortes robore: circumibitis urbem omnes viri belli...vice una in die in sex diebus: et septem sacerdotes portabunt septem buccinas jubilantium coram arca: sed die septimo circumibitis urbem septem vicibus, et sacerdotes clangent buccinis;.... et tunc vociferabitur populus vociferatione magna, et cadet murus urbis subter se, et ascendet populus".... Dein Joschua circumire fecit urbem primo die una vice, sicut dictum est, post quam circumitionem redierunt in castra et pernoctarunt in castris; postridie similiter, "et septem sacerdotes portantes septem buccinas jubilantium ante arcam Jehovae, incedentes eundo et clanxerunt buccinis, ante quos vir belli incedens, et quoque claudens agmen incedens post arcam.., eundo et clangendo buccinis;.... sic fecerunt sex diebus;.... et septimo.... circumiverunt urbem septem vicibus; et vice septima.... populus vociferabatur;.... et cum audiret" hoc "populus, tunc murus urbis concidit sub se, et ascendit populus in urbem, .... et devotioni dedit omnia quae in urbe a mare usque ad feminam, a puero usque ad senem;.... et urbem combusserunt igne, et omnia quae in illa; tantummodo argentum et aurum, et vasa aeris et ferri dederunt in thesaurum domus Jehovae. Et adjuravit Joschua, dicendo, Maledictus vir contra Jehovam, qui surget et aedificabit urbem hanc..; pro suo primogenito fundabit eam, et pro minimo statuet valvas ejus" (Joshua 6:1-26).
Nemo scire potest Divinum quod huic miraculo inest, nisi sciat quid in terra Canaane significabat "urbs Jericho" quae combusta, quid "murus ejus" qui concidit, quid "habitatores" qui devotioni dati sunt, tum quid "aurum", "argentum", "vasa aeris et ferri", quae data in thesaurum domus Jehovae; insuper quid "clangere buccinis" et "vociferari", ut et quid "circumire sex diebus, et septies septimo die." Per "urbem Jericho" significatur instructio in cognitionibus boni et veri, per quas homo introducitur in ecclesiam; nam Jericho erat urbs non procul a Jordane, per quem fluvium significatur introductio in ecclesiam (ut supra dictum est); omnia enim loca in terra Canaane significativa caelestium et spiritualium, quae sunt ecclesiae, fuerunt, et hoc ab antiquissimis temporibus; et quia filii Israelis repraesentaturi erant ecclesiam, et Verbum apud illos conscriberetur, in quo loca illa nominanda erant, et significarent talia quae caeli et ecclesiae sunt, ideo filii Israelis illuc introducti sunt; [et inde fuit] quod "Jordanes fluvius" significaret introductionem illam, et "Jericho" instructionem: et quia "Jericho" significabat instructionem, etiam significabat bonum vitae, quia nemo instrui potest in veris doctrinae nisi qui in bono vitae est: sed cum terra Canaan possessa fuit a gentibus idololatris, significatio locorum et urbium in illa terra mutata est in contrarium, et inde tunc "Jericho" significabat profanationem veri et boni: ex his sequitur quod ipsa "urbs" significaverit doctrinam falsi et mali, quae pervertit vera et bona ecclesiae et profanavit illa, quod "murus" ejus falsa mali tutantia illam, et quod "habitatores" significaverint profanos; et quia omne profanum est ex amore infernali post agnitionem veri et boni, ideo urbs illa igne combusta est, habitatores ejus devotioni dati sunt, et murus ejus concidit; "ignis" enim significat amorem infernalem, "devotio" deletionem totalem, et "concidentia muri" nudationem pro omni malo et falso:
[16] per "sacerdotes clangentes buccinis" significabatur praedicatio Divini Veri a Divino Bono; per "vociferationem et acclamationem populi" significabatur consensus et confirmatio; per "circumitionem urbis" significabatur lustratio falsi et mali et ejus dissipatio per influxum Divini Veri a Domino, qui influxus significabatur per "circumlationem arcae": quod "sacerdotes numero septem essent", et quod "circumiretur urbs septem diebus, ac septies septimo die", significabat sanctum et sanctam praedicationem Divini Veri, nam "septem" significant sanctum et in opposito sensu profanum; quare quia sanctum ab una parte erat et profanum ab altera, "septem erant sacerdotes" cum "Septem buccinis", et "septies circumibatur urbs."
[17] Quod aurum, argentum, vasa aeris et ferri, data sint in thesaurum domus Jehovae", erat quia significabant cognitiones veri et boni spiritualis et naturalis; "aurum et argentum" cognitiones veri et boni spiritualis, ac "vasa aeris et ferri" cognitiones veri et boni naturalis, quae apud illos qui profanant vertuntur in dira falsa et mala; sed quia usque sunt cognitiones, tametsi applicatae ad mala, inserviunt usui apud bonos per applicationem ad bona; ideo illa "data sunt in thesaurum domus Jehovae." Hoc etiam est quod intelligitur per "minas" quae 11
auferrentur malis et darentur bonis, tum per "injustum mammona"; ut et per "aurum, argentum et vestes", quae filii Israelis abstulerunt Aegyptiis, et dein impenderunt Tabernaculo; et quoque per "aurum et argentum", quae David ex spoliis hostium congessit, et reliquit Salomoni ad aedificandum Templum.
[18] Quod "maledictus esset qui reaedificaret Jerichuntem", et quod "fundaret illam pro suo primogenito, et poneret valvas pro suo minimo", significabat profanationem Divini Veri a primo ejus ad ultimum, si alibi repraesentaretur instructio in eo quam in Hierosolyma, per quam significaretur ecclesia quoad doctrinam veri et boni, et quoad instructionem ex Verbo: quod illa profanatio facta sit sub rege Achabo a Chielo Bethelita, legitur in Libro Primo Regum (cap. 16:34); de quo rege dicitur quod malum fecerit in oculis Jehovae prae omnibus regibus Israelis (vers. 30, 33, ibi). Ex miraculo illo per arcam facto, etiam constare potest quod per eam, ex Lege in ea, repraesentatus sit Dominus quoad Divinum Verum, et inde per illam significatum sit Divinum Verum procedens a Domino.
[19] Tertium Miraculum, quod Dagon deus Aschdodaeorum deciderit coram arca, et quod Aschdodaei, Gittitae, Ekronitae et Bethschemitae percussi fuerint plagis propter illam, describitur ita in Libro Primo Samuelis,
"Exivit Israel contra Philisthaeos in bellum, .... et percussus est Israel coram Philisthaeis.... ad quatuor millia virorum;.... quare dixerunt seniores, Recipiamus ad nos e Schilunte arcam foederis Jehovae, et veniat in medio nostrorum, et liberet nos e manu hostium [nostrorum] :.... et deportarunt [inde] arcam foederis Jehovae Zebaoth sedentis super cherubis; et cum arca duo filii Eli.... .Et factum est cum veniret arca ad castra, acclamaret totus Israel acclamatione magna.... ; audiverunt Philisthaei.... , et cognoverunt quod arca Jehovae venisset ad castra, ac timuerunt sibi.., dicentes, Venit Deus ad castra;.... vae nobis, quis liberabit nos e manu deorum magnificorum horum? Hi dii qui percusserunt Aegyptios omni plaga...; sed fortes vos praestate, et estote in viros, Philisthaei, ne serviatis Hebraeis.... .Et pugnarunt Philisthaei et percussus est Israel. ...clade magna.... ad triginta millia peditum, et arca Dei capta est, et ambo filii Eli mortui.... .Ac Philisthaei sumpserunt arcam.., et deduxerunt eam...Aschdodum, .... in aedem Dagonis, et posuerunt eam juxta Dagonem. Cum mane surgerent Aschdodaei, ecce Dagon jacebat super faciebus suis in terra ante arcam Jehovae, .... et reposuerunt" Dagonem.... ; sed cum mane surgerent.... , Dagon jacebat super faciebus suis in terra ante arcam.., et simul caput Dagonis, et duae volae manuum ejus abscissae super limine. .... Et gravis facta est manus Jehovae super Aschdodaeos, .... et percussit eos haemorrhoidibus, Aschdodum et terminos ejus:.... tunc dixerunt Aschdodaei, Non manebit arca..Israelis apud nos:.... quare dixerunt satrapae Philisthaeorum, .... Ad Gath transferatur arca Dei Israelis", et transtulerunt illam ad Gath: "sed facta est manus Jehovae in urbe, .... et percussit viros urbis a minimo usque ad maximum, dum obturatae sunt illis haemorrhoides: quare miserunt arcam Dei Ekronem;.... sed clamaverunt Ekronitae", quod occidet eos;.... "et viri qui non mortui sunt, percussi sunt haemorrhoidibus;".... quare dixerunt satrapae, quod remitterent arcam in locum suum.... ."Cum manserat arca..in agro Philisthaeorum septem mensibus, vocarunt Philisthaei sacerdotes et divinatores, dicendo, Quid faciemus arcae Jehovae?...quomodo dimittemus eam in locum suum? Et dixerunt, .... Ne dimittite eam vacue, sed remittetis ei reatum, tunc sanabimini;.... nempe ad numerum satraparum Philisthaeorum, quinque haemorrhoides auri et quinque mures auri, quia plaga una omnibus, et satrapis vestris; facietis imagines haemorrhoidum vestrarum, et imagines murium vestrorum qui vastarunt terram;.... et facite plaustrum novum, et duas vaccas lactantes super quas non ascendit jugum, et alligate vaccas plaustro, et abducite filios earum domum, ...ac ponite arcam Jehovae super plaustro, et vasa auri.... ponite in capsa ad latus ejus.... ; et videte si via termini ascendat ad Bethschemesch:.... et fecerunt ita. .... Tunc recta incesserunt vaccae in via super via Bethschemesch in tramite uno..., et boarunt;.... et satrapae Philisthaeorum [euntes] post eas:.... et venit plaustrum in agrum Jehoschuae Bethschemitae, et stetit ibi, et ibi lapis magnus: tunc dissecuerunt ligna plaustri, et vaccas obtulerunt in holocaustum Jehovae. Et Levitae deposuerunt arcam Jehovae, et capsam...in qua vasa auri, ..super lapide illo magno; et viri Bethschemitae obtulerunt holocausta et sacrificarunt sacrificia.... Jehovae:.... sed percussi sunt Bethschemitae, quia viderunt arcam Jehovae, .... ad quinquagies mille et septuaginta viros. .... Sed viri Kiriathjearim ascendere fecerunt arcam Jehovae, et introduxerunt eam in domum Abinadabi in Gibea et mansit ibi viginti annis. .... Tunc dixit Samuel.... , Si toto corde vos revertimini ad Jehovam, removete deos alienigenae et Aschtharoth, et praeparate cor vestrum erga Jehovam, et servite Ipsi soli, tunc liberabit vos e manu Philisthaeorum" (cap. 4:1-11; 5:1-12; 6:1-21; et cap. 7:1-3).
Quod arca capta fuerit a Philisthaeis, et quod Philisthaei propter arcam in Aschdod, Gath et Ekrone, percussi fuerint haemorrhoidibus, et quod mures devastaverint terram eorum, et quod ibi et in Bethschemesh tot mortui sint, non sciri potest quid significant, nisi sciatur quid repraesentaverunt et inde significaverunt Philisthaei, et quid in specie Aschdodaei, Gittitae, Ekronitae, et Bethschemitae; tum quid significant "haemorrhoides", et quoque "mures", ut et "imagines eorum ex auro", et insuper quid "plaustrum novum", et "vaccae lactantes"; quod repraesentativa talium sint quae ecclesiae sunt, patet; nam quid alioqui foret quod Philisthaei percuterentur talibus plagis, et quod arca ita reduceretur
[20] Philisthaei repraesentarunt et inde significarunt illos qui nihili faciunt bonum amoris et charitatis, et inde nihili bonum vitae, ponendo omne religionis in scientia et cognitione; inde similes fuerunt illis hodie qui fidem solam, hoc est, fidem separatam a charitate, faciunt essentiale ecclesiae et essentiale salutis: inde erat quod vocati sint "praeputiati", nam "praeputiatus" significat expertem amoris spiritualis, ita boni; et quia illos intra ecclesiam referebant, ideo non fuerunt spirituales, sed mere naturales; nam qui bonum charitatis et vitae nihili facit, is fit mere naturalis, immo sensualis, et non amat nisi mundana; nec aliqua vera potest spiritualiter intelligere; vera quae naturaliter capit vel falsificat vel conspurcat; qui tales sunt, intelliguntur in Verbo per "Philisthaeos." Inde constare potest unde erat quod Philisthaei toties pugnaverint cum filiis Israelis, et quod nunc vicerint Philisthaei, et nunc filii Israelis. Vicerunt Philisthaei quando filii Israelis recesserunt a statutis et praeceptis, non faciendo illa; et vicerunt filii Israelis quando vixerunt secundum illa: vivere secundum praecepta et statuta erat illorum bonum amoris et bonum vitae. Quod filii Israelis nunc victi fuerint a Philisthaeis, fuit causa quia recesserunt a cultu Jehovae ad cultum aliorum deorum, et imprimis ad cultum Aschtharoth, ut constare potest ex verbis Samuelis ad illos (1 Samuelis 7:3); illa causa etiam fuit quod arca a Philisthaeis nunc capta fuerit.
[21] Dum scitur quod per Philisthaeos repraesentati sint et inde significati qui nihili faciunt bonum amoris, charitatis et vitae, sciri potest cur propter arcam percussi sint haemorrhoidibus, ac inde mortui, tum etiam cur mures devastarunt terram eorum; "haemorrhoides" enim significant verum conspurcatum malo vitae, quale est apud illos qui absque bono sunt; nam "sanguis" significat verum, et "sanies haemorrhoidum" verum conspurcatum, et "pars posterior", ubi haemorrhois, significat amorem naturalem, qui, apud illos qui non spirituales sunt, est amor mundi; ac "mures" significant falsa sensualis hominis, qui omnia ecclesiae, sicut mures agros et messes, et quoque olera sub terra, depascunt et consumunt: hae plagae illis fuerunt, quia tales fuerunt; qui enim absque bono sunt, illi vera conspurcant, et quoque omnia ecclesiae devastant. Quod haec facta sint propter arcam; erat quia "arca" significabat Divinum Verum quod procedit a Domino, et id non datur genuinum nisi apud illos qui in bono amoris et inde in bono vitae sunt; et cum Divinum Verum influit apud illos qui non in bono sunt, producit effectus qui correspondent falsis doctrinae et malis vitae eorum, similiter ac fit in mundo spirituali, cum Divinum Verum influit apud tales; tunc apparet conspurcatio veri et devastatio boni in similitudine haemorrhoidum et murium.
[22] Quod Dagon deus Aschdodaeorum, ex vicinia et praesentia arcae, dejectus sit in terram, et dein caput ejus ac volae manuum ejus conjectae sint super limen aedis ejus, erat quia "Dagon" significabat religiosum eorum, quod, quia erat absque spirituali bono, etiam erat absque omni intelligentia et absque omni potentia; "caput" enim significat intelligentiam, et "volae manuum" significant potentiam. Simile etiam fit in mundo spirituali, quando Divinum Verum influit e caelo apud tales; apparent enim tunc tanquam absque capite et absque volis manuum sint, quia absque intelligentia et potentia.
[23] Quod ex suasu sacerdotum et divinatorum fecerint imagines haemorrhoidum et murium ex auro, et illas posuerint ad latus arcae super plaustro novo, cui alligarunt duas vaccas lactantes, super quas non ascenderat jugum, erat causa quia "aurum" significat bonum amoris, quod sanat et purificat a falsis et malis quae per "haemorrhoides" et "mures" significantur; et quia "plaustrum" significat doctrinam veri naturalis, et "plaustrum novum illam illibatam et non a falsis mali illorum inquinatam; et "vacca lactans, super qua nondum fuerat jugum", bonum naturale nondum a falsis conspurcatum, nam "portare jugum" significat servire, hic falsis quae bonum conspurcant; et quia illa concordabant cum Divino Vero, quod per "arcam" significabatur, ideo repraesentativa illa adhibuerunt et applicuerunt, et postea Levitae illa obtulerunt in holocaustum, et id per ligna ex plaustro combusserunt.
[24] Quod arca cum donis deposita sit super lapide magno, juxta quam vaccae substiterunt, erat quia "lapis" significat Divinum Verum in ultimo ordinis. Quod sacerdotes et divinatores Philisthaeorum suaserint ut ita fieret, erat quia scientia correspondentiarum et repraesentationum fuit scientia communis eo tempore, erat enim theologia eorum, nota sacerdotibus et divinatoribus, qui erant eorum sapientes; sed quia plerique tunc mere naturales facti sunt, spectabant illa idololatrice colendo externa et non cogitando interna quae repraesentabantur. Ex his constare potest quid singula, quae supra ex Libro Samuelis allata sunt, in serie significant, et quod arca, ex Lege in illa, significet Divinum Verum procedens a Domino.
[25] Quarto, De binis miraculis per arcam, quod Usa mortuus sit, et quod ObedEdomus benedictus sit, ita memoratur in Libro Secundo Samuelis,
"Surrexit et abivit David, et universus populus qui cum illo e Baale Jehudae ad ascendere faciendum inde arcam Dei, cujus invocatur nomen, Nomen Jehovae Zebaoth insidentis cherubis super illa, et vehi fecerunt arcam Dei super curru novo, et deportarunt eam e domo Abinadabi quae in Gibea, atque Usa et Achjo filii Abinadabi ducentes currum... .... Et David et universa domus Israelis ludentes coram Jehovah super omnis generis lignis abietum, et citharis, et cum nabliis, et cum tympanis, et cum dulciariis, et cum cymbalis. Et cum venerunt ad aream Nachonis, emisit Usa in arcam, et apprehendit eam, eo quod declinassent boves: et exarsit ira Jehovae contra Usam, et percussit eum Deus propter errorem, ut mortuus sit ibi apud arcam Dei; et doluit Davidi super eo, .... et timuit David Jehovam in die illo, et dixit, Quomodo veniet ad me arca Jehovae? et non voluit David seponere apud se arcam Jehovae in urbe Davidis, sed declinavit eam in domum ObedEdomi Gittitae. Cum manserat arca Jehovae in domo" ejus "tribus mensibus, et benedixit Jehovah ObedEdomo et omni domui ejus, et hoc nuntiatum est regi Davidi, .... et ivit David et ascendere fecit arcam Dei e domo ObedEdomi in urbem Davidis cum gaudio: et... quando progressi sunt portantes arcam Jehovae sex passus, sacrificavit bovem et saginatum; et David saltavit ex omnibus viribus coram Jehovah, ...cinctus ephodo lini: et David et omnis domus Israelis ascendere facientes arcam Jehovae cum jubilo et cum sono buccinae et introduxerunt arcam Jehovae" in urbem Davidis, quae Zion, "et statuerunt eam in loco suo intra Tentorium, quod expanderat ei David" (6:1-17):
haec historica in sensu interno seu spirituali involvunt plura, quae exstare ad visum non possunt in sensu litterae, qui historicus: ut quid involvit quod arca deducta sit ex domo Abinadabi in domum ObedEdomi, et demum in urbem Davidis quae Zion; quod cum deduceretur luserint et clanxerint omnis generis instrumentis musicis, et quod ipse David saltaverit; tum quod arca deducta sit super curru novo, cui alligati fuerunt boves; ut et quod Usa filius Abinadabi mortuus sit, et quod ObedEdomus cum domo sua benedictus sit. Omnia illa, tametsi historica, in sinu suo recondunt talia quae caeli et ecclesiae sunt, similiter ac ipsa arca, quae, propter Legem in illa, repraesentabat Dominum quoad Divinum Verum; quare vocatur "Arca Dei, cujus invocatur nomen, nomen Jehovae Zebaoth insidentis cherubis": quod nunc deducta sit e domo Abinadabi, primum in domum ObedEdomi, et tandem in urbem Davidis quae Zion, involvit arcana, quae nemo scire potest nisi qui scit quid significavit "Gibea" et ibi "BaalJehudae", ubi fuit Abinadabus, et quid "Gath" ubi ObedEdomus, et tandem quid "Sion" ubi David. Omnes tractus cum urbibus in illis in terra Canaane fuerunt repraesentativi, sicut in mundo spirituali in regionibus ibi ac in urbibus earum. In qualibet regione et quoque in qualibet urbe in mundo spirituali, ad orientem et occidentem habitant qui in bono amoris sunt, ad orientem qui in bono amoris claro, et ad occidentem qui in bono amoris obscuro; ac ad meridiem et septentrionem ibi, habitant qui in luce veri sunt, ad meridiem qui. in luce veri clara, et ad septentrionem qui in luce veri obscura: similiter in terra, Canaane, in tractibus ejus et in urbibus tractuum; hi respective ad plagas correspondebant regionibus in mundo spirituali et urbibus regionum ibi; sed cum differentia, quod homines in terris quoad bonum amoris et quoad lucem veri in plagis suis non ita ordinari possint sicut spiritus et angeli in mundo spirituali; quare in terra Canaane ac in urbibus ejus ipsa loca repraesentabant, et non personae: quod ita fuerit, constare potest partitione ex terrae Canaanis in hereditates quae sorte contigerunt tribubus secundum repraesentationem ecclesiae earum; tum ex Hierosolyma et Zione, quod repraesentaverint ipsam ecclesiam, Hierosolyma illam quoad verum doctrinae, et Zion illam quoad bonum amoris. Si itaque sciretur quid ecclesiae et caeli significavit "Gibea" et ibi "BaalJehudae" ubi erat Abinadabus, et quid ecclesiae et caeli significavit "Gath" ubi ObedEdomus, sciri poterit quid significavit quod "arca deduceretur ab Abinadabo ad ObedEdomum, et demum in Zionem:"
[26] ex significatione illarum urbium constare potest quod per translationem arcae repraesentata sit progressio ecclesiae apud hominem, ab ultimo ad intimum ejus, sicut ab uno caelo in alterum usque ad supremum quod est tertium caelum. "BaalJehudae", ubi erat Abinadabus, significavit ultimum ecclesiae, quod vocatur naturale ejus; "Gibea" enim, ubi erat BaalJehudae, illud repraesentavit: "Gath" autem, ubi erat ObedEdomus, qui inde vocatur "Gittita", significavit spirituale ecclesiae, quam significationem induit postquam filii Israelis ceperunt urbes ab Ekrone usque ad Gath a Philisthaeis (1 Samuelis 7:13-15): "Zion" autem, ubi erat David, significavit intimum ecclesiae, quod vocatur caeleste ejus.
[27] Ex his patet quod "translatio arcae" significaverit progressionem ecclesiae apud hominem ab ultimo ejus ad intimum ejus, et hoc quia progressiones illae fiunt per Divinum Verum, quod significatum est per "arcam"; nam progreditur homo ecclesiae a naturali ad spirituale, et per hoc ad caeleste, (naturale est bonum vitae, spirituale est bonum charitatis erga proximum, et caeleste est bonum amoris in Dominum, ) et hoc continue a Domino per Divinum Ipsius Verum: in simili progressione sunt bona trium caelorum; quare etiam ascensus per illos ordine etiam repraesentatus est.
[28] Quod cum deduceretur arca, luserint et clanxerint omnis generis instrumentis musicis, et quod David saltaverit, repraesentabat laetitiam et gaudium quae resultant ex affectione veri et boni a Domino per influxum Divini Veri, quod significabatur per "arcam"; instrumenta memorata, quibus luserunt in primo itinere a domo Abinadabi ad domum ObedEdomi, repraesentabant laetitiam animi ex affectione veri naturali et spirituali; ac saltatio Davidis, tum jubilum et sonus buccinae, repraesentabant gaudium cordis ex affectione boni spiritualis et caelestis. Quod harmoniae sonorum musicorum sint ex spirituali mundo, et significent affectiones et earum laetitias et gaudia, videatur supra (n. 323, 326); et quod "Zion" significet tertium caelum et inde intimum ecclesiae, etiam supra (n. 405 [b, e]).
[29] Quod arca deducta sit super curru novo, et quod ei alligati sint boves, repraesentabat et inde significabat doctrinam veri ex bono amoris, "currus" doctrinam veri, ac "boves" bonum amoris, utrumque in naturali homine; nam Divinum Verum, quod significatur per "arcam", subsistit et fundatur super doctrina veri naturalis quod ex bono; inde erat quod arca posita fuerit "Super curru, ante quem boves."
(Quod "currus" significet doctrinam veri, videatur supra, n. 355 [a-e] ; et quod "bos" bonum naturale, in Arcanis Caelestibus, n. 2180, 2566.)
[30] Quod Usa filius Abinadabi mortuus sit quia manu comprehendit arcam, erat quia "tangere manu" significat communicationem, quod fit cum Domino per bonum amoris; et tamen Usa non unctus fuit, sicut erant sacerdotes et Levitae, quibus per unctionem accessit repraesentatio boni amoris; (quod id accesserit per unctionem, videatur supra, n. 375 [d, e] ;) et tamen "cherubi", qui super propitiatorio quod super arca, significabant custodiam ne Dominus nisi per bonum amoris adiretur. Quod hoc etiam factum sit ne David arcam inferret in Zionem antequam absoluta esset progressio, quae etiam repraesentabatur, (de qua mox supra, ) constat ex eo, quod doluerit David super morte Usae, ac timuerit adducere arcam in suam urbem, quae Zion (vers. 8-10).
[31] Quod benedictus sit ObedEdomus propter arcam, et domus ejus, erat quia benedictio a bonis mundi significat benedictionem a bonis caeli, quae unice procedunt a Domino per receptionem Divini Veri repraesentati per arcam; quae bona illis sunt qui in spirituali bono sunt, quod repraesentabat ObedEdom in Gath, ut supra dictum est.
[32] Demum quod "arca introducta sit in Zionem, ac in Tentorium quod pro ea a Davide expansum fuit", significabat ascensum in tertium caelum, ac conjunctionem Divini Veri cum Bono Amoris; nam Zion repraesentabat intimum ecclesiae, et inde intimum caelorum, quod est supremum seu tertium caelum, ubi angeli in bono amoris in Dominum sunt, et ubi tutela ne Dominus adeatur nisi quam per bonum amoris; quae tutela repraesentabatur per cherubos super arca.
[33] Simile etiam significabatur per quod "arca introducta sit in intimum Templi a Salomone aedificati", de qua re ita legitur in Libro Primo Regum,
Salomo "adytum in domus medio praeparavit, ut poneret eo arcam foederis Jehovae;.... et fecit in adyto duos cherubos ex lignis olei, et posuit" eos "in medio domus interioris, ut expanderent se alae..ad parietem utrinque, .... ac ut alae eorum in medio domus se attingerent;..et obduxit cherubos auro." Et Salomo ascendere fecit "arcam foederis Jehovae ex urbe Davidis, haec Zion. .... Et venerunt omnes seniores Israelis, et portarunt sacerdotes arcam, et ascendere fecerunt arcam Jehovae et Tentorium conventus, et omnia vasa sanctitatis quae in Tentorio;.... et..Salomo et omnis coetus cum illo ante arcam, .... ac intulerunt sacerdotes arcam foederis Jehovae in locum ejus in adytum domus, in sanctum sanctorum, ad sub alis cheruborum: nam cherubi expandentes alas super locum arcae, ita ut obtegerent cherubi arcam, et vectes ejus desuper, et videbantur capita vectium e sancto versus facies adyti, non tamen videbantur foris.".... Et dixit Salomo, "Constitui ibi locum arcae, ubi foedus Jehovae, quod pepigit cum patribus nostris, cum educeret eos e terra Aegypti" (6:19, 23, 27 [, 28] ; 8:1-8, 21);
quoniam arca in Tentorio conventus repraesentabat tertium caelum ubi Dominus, ac ipsum Tentorium extra velum secundum caelum, ac atrium primum caelum, ita quoque Templum; nam Templum cum atriis suis repraesentabat tres caelos; quare nihil fuit in templo, nec extra templum ubi atria, nisi quod aliquid caeli repraesentavit; et hoc ob causam quia Dominus illo tempore praesens fuit in repraesentativis; erant enim ecclesiae, quae fuerunt ante Domini adventum, ecclesiae repraesentativae, et ultimo etiam talis quae apud filios Israelis instituta fuit: at cum Dominus in mundum venit, tunc externa repraesentantia abolebantur, quia Ipse Dominus erat quem repraesentativa ecclesiae adumbrabant et significabant; et quia illa erant externa, et quasi velamenta intra quae Dominus, ideo cum Ipse venit velamenta illa ablata sunt, et patuit Ipse cum caelo et cum ecclesia, in quibus Dominus est omne in omnibus. Primaria repraesentativa Domini et inde caeli et ecclesiae fuerunt Tentorium conventus, cum mensa, candelabro, altari suffitus et arca inibi; tum altare cum holocaustis et sacrificiis; ac postea Templum; et simile per Templum repraesentatum est, quod per Tentorium conventus, cum differentia quod Tentorium conventus sanctius repraesentativum Domini, caeli et ecclesiae fuerit quam Templum.
[34] Ex his constare potest quod adytum Templi, ubi arca, similiter ut in Tentorio conventus, repraesentaverit Dominum quoad Divinum Verum, et inde tertium caelum, ubi angeli conjuncti sunt Domino per amorem in Ipsum, ac inde Divinum Verum inscriptum cordibus suis habent. Quid autem significabant "cherubi" in Templo, et quid "alae" illorum, tum quid "vectes", qui etiam memorantur, paucis dicetur. Per "cherubos" significabatur tutela ne Dominus adeatur nisi quam per bonum amoris; quare etiam illi facti sunt ex "ligno olei", per quod lignum significatur bonum amoris (videatur supra, n. 375): per "alas cheruborum" significatur Divinum spirituale, quod descendit ex Divino caelesti, in quo est tertium caelum, in secundum, ac recipitur ibi; quare alae "in medio domus se attingebant", et inde "protendebantur ad parietem utrinque": per "vectes" autem, quibus portabatur arca, significabatur Divina potentia, ita simile quod per "brachia." Ex his et ex praecedentibus constare potest quid per "arcam foederis" in Verbo significatur.
[35] Praeterea per "arcam" significatur repraesentativum ecclesiae in genere, (similiter ac per "juge" apud Danielem, quod cessaturum erat cum venturus est Dominus in mundum, ) apud Jeremiam,
"Dabo vobis pastores juxta cor meum, ut pascant vos cognitione et intelligentia; tunc fiet cum multiplicaveritis vos et fructum feceritis in terra, in diebus illis, ...non dicent amplius, Arca foederis Jehovae, neque ascendet super cor, nec mentionem facient ejus, neque desiderabunt, neque reparabitur amplius" (3:15, 16):
haec dicta sunt de adventu Domini, et de abolitione rituum repraesentativorum Ecclesiae Judaicae tunc; quod manifestarentur interiora ecclesiae, quae a ritibus repraesentativis, quae erant externa, obvelabantur, et quod tunc interiores seu spirituales futuri sint, significatur per quod "darentur pastores juxta cor Domini, qui pascent illos cognitione et intelligentia"; per "pastores" intelliguntur qui docent bonum et ad id ducunt per vera: multiplicatio veri et fructificatio boni significatur per "Tunc fiet cum multiplicaveritis vos et fructum feceritis in terra diebus illis": quod tunc conjunctio Domini per interiora Verbi, et non per exteriora quae solum repraesentabant et significabant interiora, significatur per "Non dicent amplius, Arca foederis Jehovae"; per "arcam foederis Jehovae" significantur externa cultus quae tunc abolenda, simile quod per "juge" quod cessaturum, apud Danielem (cap. 8:13; 11:31; 12:11): quod externum cultus non amplius futurum sit sed internum, significatur per "Non ascendet super cor, nec mentionem facient ejus, neque desiderabunt, neque reparabitur amplius." Ex his etiam constare potest quod arca foederis visa Johanni in templo Dei, de qua visione nunc agitur, fuerit apparitio Divini Veri, per quod conjunctio est Novi Caeli et Novae Ecclesiae cum Domino; et quod ideo visa sit, ut Verbum in littera sibi ubivis simile esset, consistens ex talibus quae externa cultus fuerunt, et repraesentaverunt interna; similiter ut supra (cap. 8:3, 4), quod visum sit "altare", et quod visi sint "suffitus" coram throno: consistit enim Verbum in littera ex meris correspondentiis, talibus quae fuerunt in ecclesiis repraesentativis, et quae inde usu recepta sunt in Verbo; in quibus interiora caeli et ecclesiae, quae spiritualia et caelestia sunt, continentur.
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