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| The Old Testament |
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Exodus 25:8-11, 17-22, 31
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"Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering.... And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it."
"And they shall make an ark of acacia wood...and you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it...and you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will give you. You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold.... And you shall make two cherubim of gold...you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat.... And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another.... You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there will I meet with you, and I will speak with you...from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, of all things which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.... You shall also make a lampstand of pure gold"
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Exodus 34: 27-29; Exodus 35:4-5, 21
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Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments. Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain) that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him....
And Moses spoke to the all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, "This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying: 'Take from among you an offering to the Lord. Whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as an offering to the Lord....'" Then everyone came whose heart was stirred, and everyone whose spirit was willing, and they brought the Lord's offering for the work of the tabernacle of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.
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Exodus 39:42-43, 40: 33-34
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According to all that the Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did all the work. Then Moses looked over all the work, and indeed they had done it; as the Lord commanded, just so they had done it.... Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
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Psalm 15:1-2
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Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart.
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Psalm 43:3
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Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your tabernacle.
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| Psalm 61:4 |
I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah. |
| Psalm 84:1-2 |
How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. |
| The New Testament |
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Revelation 21:3
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And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God."
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| The Heavenly Doctrines |
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Build a Tabernacle
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Apocalypse Revealed 585:3
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The Lord commanded Moses to erect a tabernacle, in which all things of heaven and the church were symbolized. |
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Apocalypse Explained 99:1,3
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"A tabernacle" symbolizes the church in respect to doctrine and worship.... [T]he church is a church from a life according to doctrine, and a life according to doctrine is worship. [A] "tabernacle" symbolizes the church consisting of those who are in the good of love to the Lord; and the "tent" symbolizes the church consisting of those who are in truths from that good. |
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Apocalypse Explained 700:1,4,5
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[T]he tent or tabernacle symbolized the form of heaven, and that, together with the court, it symbolized the three heavens, and that the Holy of Holies, which was the inmost, where the ark was, within which were the tables of the law, symbolized the third or inmost heaven, and that the law or testimony symbolized the Lord Himself....
[T]he tabernacle was called the dwelling place of Jehovah God, as heaven itself is also called. 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 symbolized the Lord as to Divine Truth, and thus as to the Word, for this is Divine Truth.
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Arcana Coelestia 9485:3
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The reason why the inmost heaven was meant by "the ark" was that all the tabernacle or tent symbolized the whole angelic heaven, the lowest part of it being symbolized by the court, the middle part of it by the dwelling-place where the priest ministered, and the inmost by the dwelling-place inside the veil where the ark containing the Testimony was.
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Arcana Coelestia 10129:9
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By celestial good is meant the good of love from the Lord to the Lord, and by spiritual good is meant the good of charity toward the neighbor from the Lord. The very good of love to the Lord from the Lord is "holy of holies," because through it the Lord conjoins Himself immediately. But the good of charity toward the neighbor is "holy," because through it the Lord conjoins Himself mediately, and He conjoins Himself insofar as it has in it the good of love from the Lord.
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| Arcana Coelestia 10607:2 |
Moses symbolizes that external of the Word, of the church, and of worship, which receives Divine truth. |
Arcana
Coelestia 10684
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"And so it was, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai" means the flow of what is inward into the outward form that the Word, the Church, and worship take.... "And behold, the skin of his face gleamed" means that what is inward shines forth through what is outward. |
The Ark in the Holy of Holies
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Arcana Coelestia 9503
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"And you shall put into the ark the Testimony" means Divine Truth, which is the Lord in heaven. This is clear from the meaning of "the ark" as heaven, and from the meaning of "the Testimony" as Divine Truth, thus the Lord in heaven. |
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Arcana Coelestia 9485
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By the "testimony" or "law" in the ark is meant the Lord, for the reason that the "testimony" denotes the Divine truth, and Divine truth is the Lord in heaven. It is from this that the ark means the inmost heaven; and therefore it was a most holy thing, and was worshiped by the people as Jehovah. For it was believed that Jehovah dwelt there, and between the cherubs.
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Doctrine of Life 55:2-3
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On account of the holiness of that Law, and the presence of the Lord in it, the Lord spoke with Moses above the mercy-seat between the cherubs, and the ark was called "Jehovah there".... On account of the Lord's presence in that Law and around it, miracles were wrought by the ark in which was that Law.
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| Apocalypse Explained 700:5,6 |
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 symbolized the Lord as to Divine Truth, and thus as to the Word, for this is Divine Truth.... The Lord spoke to Moses from there, because the law was there, and the law, in a broad sense, symbolizes the Lord as to the Word; and from the Word the Lord speaks with people. |
| Arcana Coelestia 9517:2 |
Heaven and the Church, or the angels of heaven and members of the Church, receive protection from the Lord by having their interiors raised toward Him. When they are raised they are suffused with the good of love to Him and the good of love toward the neighbor. This is what being raised toward the Lord is; and in this way, angels in heaven and members of the Church receive protection. Those who are raised by the Lord turn their face constantly toward the Lord, because the Lord keeps them joined to Himself through the good of love, whereas those who are not raised turn their face away from the Lord. All this shows what is meant by the requirement that the faces of the cherubs should be "toward the mercy-seat." |
The Cherubim
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Apocalypse Explained 700:6
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It was from above the mercy seat between the two cherubim [that the Lord spoke with Moses], because the mercy seat symbolizes the removal of falsities that are from evil loves, and at the same time reception and hearing, while the cherubim symbolize protection, lest He should be approached except through the good of love.
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Arcana Coelestia 9509:3
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It is clear from places in the Word where "cherubs" are mentioned that they mean watchfulness and providence, guarding against access to the Lord or to heaven except through the good of love, that is, except by those governed by the good of love, and also guarding against any harm being done to the good from the Lord which is present in heaven and with a person.
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The Lamp Stand in the Holy Place
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Apocalypse Explained 504:2,6
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Since fire in the highest sense means the Divine love, therefore a lampstand was placed in the tent of assembly, on which were seven lamps, which were kept burning continually.... [T]he fire of the altar symbolized celestial Divine Love, and the fire of the lampstand, which was flame, symbolized spiritual Divine Love; and therefore the oil, from which the fire of the flame arose in the lamps of the lampstand, symbolizes the Divine Love.
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Arcana Coelestia 9548:1,2
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The lampstand is the Divine Spiritual on account of the light it sheds; for Divine truth which emanates from the Lord's Divine Good is what shines in heaven. There is no other source from which angels receive light. This is why in the Word the Lord is called the Light, and why "light" means faith, also an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good, which come from the Lord alone. "A lampstand" means the spiritual heaven by virtue of Divine truth which is present there from the Lord, and therefore also means the Church. And "a lamp" means faith, also an intelligent understanding of truth and a wise discernment of good, which come from the Lord alone.
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| Arcana Coelestia 9473 |
"Oil for the light" means internal good present within mutual love and charity. This is clear from the meaning of "oil" as the good of love and from the meaning of "the light" as mutual love and charity. "The light" is mutual love by virtue of the flame by which that love is meant, and it is charity by virtue of the heat and light from the flame. For spiritual heat is the good of charity, and spiritual light is the truth of faith. |
The Laver in the Outer Court
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see Arcana Coelestia 10236
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By "washing" is meant purification; by "waters" are meant the truths of faith; and by the "laver" containing the water is meant the natural, because all spiritual purification is effected in the natural. A person has an external and an internal. The external is called the natural and the internal is called the spiritual. Both the internal and the external of a person are purified, the internal in heaven, and the external while the person lives in the world.
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Arcana Coelestia 10237a
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The reason why the laver was set between the Tent of meeting and the altar, and Aaron and his sons there washed their hands and their feet, was that there might be symbolized the purification of the heart, and regeneration, which in its essence is the conjunction of truth and good; for the conjunction of truth and good is heaven itself with a person.... This conjunction is effected by means of the truths of faith, because these teach how a person ought to live; and when he lives according to the truths of faith, the conjunction of truth and good is effected.
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| Apocalypse Revealed 0 |
Baptism is called the laver of regeneration and of faith. |
Becoming a Church - A Dwelling Place for the Lord
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New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrines 246
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The Lord's Church is with all in the whole world who live in good according to their religious system. All who live in good—wherever they are—and acknowledge one God, are accepted by the Lord and come into heaven. For all who are in good acknowledge the Lord, because good is from the Lord, and the Lord is in good.
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| True Christian Religion 243 |
The church depends on the Word, and what the church is like in the case of each person depends on how he understands the Word. |
| New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrines 246 |
The church exists specifically where the Word is, and where the Lord is thereby known, and thus where Divine truths are revealed. Still they who are born where the Word is, and where the Lord is thereby known, are not of the church, but they who are regenerated by the Lord by the truths of the Word, that is, they who live the life of charity. They who are of the church, or in whom the church is, are in the affection of truth for the sake of truth, that is, they love truth because it is truth. |
| True Christian Religion 510 |
The communion called the church consists of all people in whom the church is, and the church enters into a person when he is becoming regenerate, and everyone becomes regenerate by abstaining from the evils of sin. |
| Heaven and Hell 328 |
The Church of the Lord is spread over all the globe, and is thus universal. All those are in it who have lived in the good of charity in accordance with their religious belief. The Church, where the Word is and by means of it the Lord is known, is in relation to those who are outside the Church like the heart and lungs in a person. |
| Doctrine of Charity 212 |
The church and religion make one like truth and good.... The church is a church from its doctrine; and religion is religion from life according to doctrine. And the doctrine must be of truths, and the life must be of goods. |
| New Jerusalem and the Heavenly Doctrines 246 |
The Church, like heaven, is in a person. |
| The Doctrine of Charity 27 |
All are initiated into the church by knowing evil and not doing it, because it is against God. |
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