Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2814

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2814. 'And laid him on the altar, upon the pieces of wood' means within the Divine Human to which righteousness was allied. This is clear from the meaning of 'the altar' as the Lord's Divine Human, dealt with just above in 2811, and from the meaning of 'the pieces of wood for the burnt offering' as the merit of righteousness, dealt with in 2784, 2798, 2812. The Divine truth within the Lord's Divine human which underwent temptations and which has been the subject is not the Divine Truth itself, for the latter is above all temptation. Rather it is rational truth, such as exists with angels, consisting in the appearances of truth - and is what is called 'The Son of Man', though prior to glorification - whereas the Divine Truth within the Lord's glorified Divine Human is above appearances. Divine Truth cannot possibly come within range of any degree of understanding, still less within man's mental grasp, not even within that of angels, and so cannot possibly enter into any kind of temptation. In heaven it is seen as light coming from the Lord. This Divine Truth, or the glorified Son of Man, is referred to in John as follows,

Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him at once. John 13:-31, 32.

So that one may have some distinct idea of this very deep arcanum let the truth with the Lord that could be tempted and that underwent temptations be termed Divine truth within the Lord's Divine human, but Truth that could not be tempted, or undergo any temptation, because it had been glorified, be termed Divine Truth within the Lord's Divine Human, as has also been observed in various places in what has gone before.


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