enemy, because he is always opposing the will of the Most HIGH. And here we may discover the true origin of all evil, and also of the evil one himself, called, in the Sacred Scripture, the Devil and Satan. This origin is not from GoD, because from GoD can come nothing but good, inasmuch as He is essential goodness; but it is from the determination of human minds, in the abuse of that freedom of will in which they are created, and without which they could not be men. From the moment, therefore, that the human will inclines to call any. thing a good, separate from GoD, from that moment it creates evil, which, in itself, is nothing else but a good so separated.

Q. But we read that the servants said to him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them together? But he said, Nay; lest, while ye gather together the tares, ye root up the wheat together with them. Let both grow together unto the harvest, and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather together the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn. What do you suppose to be the reason of this delay on the part of the Householder, in separating the tares from the wheat, or the evil from the good?

A. He explains the reason himself, when he says, Lest, whilst ye gather together the tares, ye root up the wheat with them.

Q. And how do you understand this reason?

A. The Householder teaches by these words, that it is dangerous to attempt the entire extirpation of things evil and false in the human mind, until the principles of goodness and truth from Heaven are fully formed. The Divine Law, therefore, on this occasion is, that man should labor for the implantation and formation of those heavenly principles in himself, bearing patiently with the opposition arising from contrary principles; in which case, those contrary principles will assist him, by their opposition, and the spiritual combats to which he will thus be exposed, in effecting a more perfect reception of heavenly principles, and their deeper irradication in his mind and life. When, therefore, the opposing principles have thus fulfilled their appointed purpose, they are then separated, but not before.

Q. What is it, then you understand by the harvest here spoken of? 4. By the harvest is meant, the full formation of goodness and truth in the regenerate mind, and, in this case, the separation of those principles of life which are in opposition, and cause combat and disturb

ance.

Q. And what is it you understand by the reapers?

A. By the reapers are meant the angelic heaven, inasmuch as the LORD, by and through the angelic heaven, effects such separation. Q. And what do you mean by binding the tares in bundles to burn

them?

A. By the tares, as was said, are meant all evil and false principles of life; and to bind them in bundles, denotes that such principles are in arrangement one under another, and are thus connected one with another. It denotes, therefore, that the Divine Wisdom, in ef fecting the separation of those principles, first discovers such arrangement and connexion, and how the general principle of what is evil and false in man consists of innumerable evil and false principles

which thus make a one, which one can never be separated until it is thus viewed minutely and distinctly as to the varieties of which it is composed.

Q. And what do you mean by the wheat, here spoken of, being gathered into the barn?

A. By the wheat, it has been already seen, are signified all heavenly principles of goodness and truth; and by their being gathered into the barn, is signified being brought into heaven, because heaven is the grand receptacle of all those principles. The barn, therefore, is here called my barn, that is to say, the LORD's barn, because heaven is from the LORD, and in continual connexion with HIM, as are also all the principles of goodness and truth, which constitute heaven. Q. What, then, is the general instruction which you learn from this parable?

A. We learn from this parable, that man is placed here below be tween two kingdoms, the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness, and that JESUS CHRIST, from his kingdom of light, is always endeavoring to inseminate in the human heart, the eternal principles of His own most pure love and wisdom, whilst the Spirits of Darkness, from their kingdom, are endeavoring to inseminate their own wicked principles of evil and of error. We learn, further, that the principles of evil and of error can never be discovered until the contrary princi ples of heavenly love and wisdom, or, what is the same thing, of heavenly goodness and truth, begin to grow and produce their proper fruit. We are instructed, yet further, not only concerning the origin, but also concerning the separation and removal of evil and of error from the regenerate mind, being taught to expect that these effects cannot be produced suddenly, but in the divine order of gradual operation. We are, therefore, lastly instructed, that we ought to run our Christian course in patient submission to the Divine Will, during the contest between good and evil, being well aware, that in such contest the opposition of evil is made to administer to the fuller implantation and fructification of good, and that, finally, through the Divine Mercy, the entire separation will be accomplished, when all of evil and of error will be put down into its own kingdom, and all of heavenly love and wisdom will be exalted to conjunction with JESUS CHRIST and the eternal happiness of His kingdom.

EXTRACT.

"And I will write upon him the name of my God'~That hereby is signified their quality according to divine truth implanted in the life, appears from the signification of writ ing upon any one, when it is said to be done by the Lord, as denoting to implant in the life. Also from the signification of name, as denoting the quality of their state. And from the signification of God, as denoting divine truth proceeding from the Lord in Hea ven, and thus the Lord in heaven. The reason why writing upon any one denotes to implant in the life, is, because to write, is to commit anything to paper from the memory, thought, and mind, in order that it may endure or remain; wherefore, in the spiritual it signifies that which is to remain in the life of man, being inscribed and implanted in him. Thus the natural sense of this expression is turned into the spiritual sense; for it is natural to write upon paper or in a book, but it is spiritual to inscribe on the life, which is done when it is implanted in the faith and love, for love and faith constitute the spiritual life of man."

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ARTICLE III.

THE TABERNACLE SERVICE VIEWED IN ITS SPIRITUAL IMPORT. No. V.

THE ROBE OF THE EPHOD.

In the discussion of the Urim and Thummim, in our previous number, we should have been glad, had our limits allowed, to present the evidence of the probable derivation of this and several other items of the Jewish economy from the Egyptians. In fact, nearly every article of the sacred costume prescribed by the Lord to Moses, has its counterpart in the pictured dresses of the Egyptian priests. Not only the ancient paintings exhibit the pectoral ornament answering to the Jewish hoshen or breast-plate, but Diodorus Siculus says that when a case was brought for trial, the arch-judge used to put a golden chain around his neck, to which was suspended a small figure of Truth, ornamented with precious stones. These, however, were doubtless vestiges of the rituals of the ancient Church. But we have now to illustrate the Robe of the Ephod.

"And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue. And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent. And beneath, upon the hem of it, thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about. A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about. And it shall be upon Aaron, to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not."-Ex. xxyiii. 31-35.

"Thou shalt make the robe of the ephod," &c. This is a garment distinct from any that has yet been mentioned. It is called the "robe of the ephod," simply because it was worn immediately under it. Its Hebrew name is meil, rendered in the Gr, voduтηy лodηon, an under-garment reaching down to the feet. Vulg. "Tunic of the Ephod." Arab. "A rain-shedding cloak." Luth. "A silk robe." Belg. "A mantle." Jun. and Trem." Pallium, a cloak." The meil was a distinguishing priestly vestment, and therefore the Lord appears, Rev. i. 13, “clothed with a garment down to the feet" (rodnpn), to show himself the Great High Priest of the church. It was a long linen gown of sky blue color, reaching to the middle of the leg. It was all of one piece, and so formed as to put on, not like other garments which are open in front, but like a surplice, over the head, having a hole at the top for the head to pass through, which was strongly hemmed round with a binding or welt to prevent it from rending, and with openings or arm-holes in the sides in place of sleeves. Round its lower border were tassels, made of blue, purple, and scarlet, in the form of pomegranates, interspersed with small gold bells, in order to make a noise when the High Priest went into or came out from the holy place, the reason of which is given below. We are not informed of the exact number of the pomegranates and bells. The Rabbinical writers are mostly unanimous in saying, there were 72 in all, which is doubtless as probable as any other conjecture on the subject. It will be ob

served, that while the body of the Robe was entirely of blue, this ornamental appendage in the skirts was richly dyed of variegated hues, and must have rendered the whole a vestment of exquisite beauty.

As to the spiritual significancy of the garment here prescribed, it will be understood of course as having primary reference to Divine Truth, the import of all garments. But we recognize something more specific in the present case. The truth which is indicated by the ephod-robe is internal truth as contradistinguished from external on the one hand and inmost on the other. "As the spiritual kingdom," says our author, "is distinguished into three degrees, the inmost, the middle, and the outermost, therefore by a robe (pallium) is signified that which is in the middle of that kingdom. The reason why that kingdom is distinguished into three degrees is, because the inmost then communicates with what is called celestial, and the outermost with what is natural, and the middle thus partakes equally of both. To the intent also that anything may be perfect, it must be distinguished into three degrees, the ground and reason of which is, because everywhere there must be end, cause and effect; the end must be inmost, the cause the middle, and the effect the ultimate, that it may be perfect. From these considerations it may be known why the garments of holiness of Aaron were an ephod, a robe and a waistcoat; and that the ephod represented the external, the robe the middle, and the waistcoat the inmost of the spiritual kingdom." Inasmuch as a robe represented the truths of the spiritual kingdom, called spiritual truths and seated in the intellectual part of man, we perceive in a striking light the inner intimation conveyed in the words of our Lord (Matt. xxiii. 5): "The Scribes and Pharisees do all their work that they may be seen of men; they enlarge the borders of their robes;" by which is signified, says Swedenborg, the speaking truths magnificently, only to be heard and seen of men. Having thus obtained a clew to the general and particular import of the robe here described, it is not difficult to perceive that as the neck, to which this aperture in the robe was fitted, signifies from correspondence, the influx, the communication and the conjunction of things celestial with things spiritual,

so by "the mouth of the head of the robe" is denoted the rationale of that influx, or its circumstantial adaptation to its end. It is moreover to be noted, that angels and spirits appear clad in garments, every distinct item of which is representative. In like manner, the various particular parts of Aaron's dress were representatives of such things as are in the heavens in the manner heretofore and hereafter explained.

"And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the middle thereof." This is more literally rendered by Swedenborg, from the Hebrew, "And the mouth (or aperture) of the head thereof shall be in the midst thereof." The difference is of some importance in the explication of the spiritual sense, according to which this particular in the description of the robe denotes the rationale or peculiar mode of influx from a superior principle into an inferior. "The reason why the mouth (or aperture) of the head of the robe in the midst thereof has this signification is, because by the robe is signified the spiritual kingdom, and specifically its internal principle, and by the neck, where the mouth of the head of the robe was, is signified the influx, the communication and conjunction of things celestial with things spiritual, for the head with man corresponds to the celestial kingdom of the Lord, and the body to his spiritual kingdom; hence the interceding neck, which the mouth of the head of the robe encompasses and clothes, corresponds to the intermediation or influx of the celestial kingdom into the spiritual kingdom." That by the garments of Aaron were represented in general the things pertaining to the spiritual kingdom of the Lord, as has been previously remarked, and the truths of that kingdom are derived originally by influx from the good of the celestial kingdom. This is in fact indicated by the blue or azure color in which the robe was to be dyed, for blue denotes the celestial love of truth, which is the good of mutual love, and the good of mutual love, we learn, is the external good of the celestial kingdom. The reason why blue has this signification is, because it is of a celestial color, and by that color is signified truth from a celestial origin, which is truth divine from the good of love to the Lord. This good reigns in the inmost heaven, and presents in the middle or second heaven a purple and blue color. For colors in the other life, and in heaven itself appear most beautiful, and all take their origin from good and truth. As then the blue color of the robe represents influx from the good of the celestial kingdom, and this good is the good of mutual love from which flows the good of charity, we recognize in the robe and the color the idea of interior spiritual truth pervaded and animated by the influent spirit of love and charity derived from a celestial source.

"It shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of a habergeon (or coat of mail), that it be not rent." As the explanation given of this item by our author brings to light a striking and confirmatory correspondence, we shall transcribe his own words: "That hereby is signified thus strong and secure from hurt, appears from the signification of a coat of mail, as denoting what is strongly woven together, wherefore it is said, lest it should be rent, that is, that it may be safe from hurt; such a woven [substance] is signified by that term in the original tongue. The idea of that woven