Arcana Coelestia (Potts) n. 10547

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10547. And he called it the tent of meeting. That this signifies the external of worship, of the church, and of the Word, in which are internal things, is evident from the signification of "the tent of meeting," as being the external of worship, of the church, and of the Word, in which are things internal; for by "tent" is signified what is holy of worship, of the church, and of the Word (see n. 10545), and by "meeting" is signified where internal things are, for all internal things are together in external things (n. 6451, 9216, 9828, 9836). In the sense of the letter by "meeting" is meant the meeting of the sons of Israel; but in the internal sense there is signified the meeting of the truths and goods of the church, because by the sons of Israel in a good sense are signified the truths and goods of the church in the complex (n. 5414, 5879, 5951, 7957), in like manner by the "congregation" and the "assemblage" of the sons of Israel (n. 7830, 7843). And the truths and goods of the Word, of the church, and of worship are in their own internal; for in the internal of the Word, of the church, and of worship are celestial and spiritual things; but in the external are natural and worldly things; and all celestial and spiritual things flow into natural and worldly things, and terminate in them, and form and constitute them. From this it is that what is external is signified by "meeting." This is the case with the external sense of the Word, which is called the sense of its letter, thus also with the externals of the church and of worship, for these are from the Word.


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