[2] In the heavens there are three realities that follow one another in order - the celestial, the spiritual, and the natural. The celestial composes the inmost heaven, the spiritual the middle heaven, and the natural emanating from the spiritual the lowest heaven. The same three are present in the human being, and in him they follow one another in the same order as they do in the heavens; for a person who has been regenerated is heaven in the smallest form this can take, corresponding to the largest, 9279. But the mental powers that receive those three are called will, understanding, and factual knowledge from which springs the power of thought or imagination that the external or natural man possesses. The will is the recipient of the celestial, or good, and the understanding is the recipient of the spiritual, or truth from that good; and factual knowledge, which composes the level of understanding in the natural man, embodies the first two within itself. These three are meant in the Word by 'an embroiderer', 'a designer', and 'a weaver'. 'An embroiderer' or embroidery means factual knowledge, see, 9688, and 'a designer' or designing means the power of understanding, 9598, 9688, so that 'a weaver' means the power of will. The reason why 'a weaver' has this meaning is that the will flows into the understanding and weaves it, to such an extent that the contents of the understanding are weavings produced by the will. For what the will desires it fashions in such a way that it may appear to the sight in the understanding. This sight is thought (cogitatio), which is why 'a designer' (excogitator) means the power of understanding.

[3] Since Aaron's garments represented the spiritual heaven lying adjacent to the celestial kingdom, 9814, and the celestial kingdom corresponds to the human power of will and the spiritual kingdom to the human power of understanding, 9835, the terms 'work of an embroiderer', 'work of a designer', and 'work of a weaver' are used in special reference to those garments. These terms serve to mean the things that spring from factual knowledge, from the understanding, and from the will, or what amounts to the same thing, from the natural, from the spiritual, and from the celestial.

[4] That such things are meant becomes clear to all those who believe that the Word is Divine and that for this reason it contains inwardly descriptions of things which belong to the Lord, to heaven, and to the Church, since these subjects are Divine. Why else would Jehovah Himself declare who should make Aaron's garments and what kind of workmanship should be used? Why would He declare which ones should be the work of an embroiderer, which the work of a designer, and which the work of a weaver? These three are also mentioned specifically in the following words later on in the Book of Exodus,

These He has filled with wisdom of heart to do every work of a workman, and of a designer, and of an embroiderer in violet and in purple and in twice-dyed scarlet, and of a weaver - of those doing every work, of those who compose designs.^a Exod 35:35.

'A workman' here means Divine Good that is celestial, which composes the power of will in one who has been regenerated, 9846. His work is mentioned first because [that kind of Good] springs directly from the Divine, and then indirectly from celestial good all things are born and emanate.

Notes