LEVITICUS 16
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Leviticus Chapter 16

Summary of the Spiritual Sense

1. There is revelation from the Lord when merely external worship has been rejected by man, concerning the manifestation of inmost good, namely, that it must be by the removal of evil externally and internally; by devotion to the Lord; and by the instrumentality of truths, vers. 1-4.
2. Also there shall be the removal of evil externally as well as internally, by acknowledging the Lord; by freedom of choice; by worship; and by the rejection of evil, vers. 5-10.
3. The whole process of this purification is more accurately described, vers. 11-22.
4. Then follow the genuine acknowledgement that all truths are from the Lord; a state of worship from pure love; the confession that man's highest good is from the Lord; and that continual purification is necessary in order to realize the heavenly state, vers. 23-28.
5. And lastly there is, in consequence of this holy course of regeneration and purification, the full enjoyment of heavenly peace and rest, even to eternity, vers. 29-34.

1.  The Lord speaking to Moses denotes revelation by Divine Truth, 2001, 2951, 7010; the death of the two sons of Aaron denotes the abolishment of external worship from the loves of self and the world without internal, 7699, 7738, 934, 2447, 5149, chap 10:2; and to draw near before the Lord from selfish love merely, is to offer worship which is hypocritical and profane, and is on that account called an offering of strange fire, 934, 3934³, 10287.

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2.  Here, by the Lord speaking to Moses is denoted revelation to those who are in truth, 7010, and by Moses speaking to Aaron, revelation to those who are in good, 9946, thus the former denotes relatively external revelation and the latter internal, 6998, 5121; Aaron your brother denotes the relationship of good to truth, 4267; not coming at all times into the holy place within the veil before the mercy-seat which is upon the ark, denotes that in the worship of the Lord from good, man cannot, in every state of the church, enter into the perception and realization of inmost good which is celestial, and is distinguished from spiritual good by intermediate good, 6998, 6901, 2212, 9670; before the mercy-seat denotes wherein the Lord is present to hear and receive all worship, and to remove evil from man, 9506;-which is upon the ark denotes by the reception of the Divine Law in his heart, 10269, 9485, 9818; that they die not denotes that because in this case he would perish, 7699, 7738; and I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy-seat denotes that still the Lord reveals Himself in the obscurity of man's states, which happens from the Divine Mercy, 8106, 9506.

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3.  Herewith Aaron coming into the holy place denotes that by this means is the man who is in good, and the Lord Himself in His glorification, led into his inmost life, 9946, 9670; and a young bullock for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering denote purification from evil in the external man or in the natural degree, and also in the internal man or in the spiritual degree by the good of innocence, 9670⁶, 9990, 9991; also the offering of the ram for a burnt offering denotes full devotion from the good of love, 10053.

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4.  By the garments named is denoted that such purification is effected by truths from good, 9670⁶; by the holy linen coat is denoted the truth of the exterior Natural, 7601⁵; by having the linen breeches upon his flesh is denoted the doctrine of the conjunction of truth with good externally, 996o¹⁸, 9961; by being girded with the linen girdle is denoted the common bond conjoining truths with good internally, 9828; by the linen mitre is denoted the intelligence of truth inmostly, 9827; by the garments being holy is denoted truths conjoined with good, or held with a view to good, 2146; and by bathing his flesh in water, and by putting on the garments, is denoted the doing of the work of repentance by the application of external truths to the life, 3147, 8914.

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5.  Taking of the children of Israel two he-goats for a sin offering, and also one ram for a burnt offering, denotes that the external man must be purified from falsities by the application of the truths of faith through which evil is removed and by devotion to the Lord from charity, 9670⁶, 4169, 725, 10042, 10053.

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6.  By Aaron in respect to the congregation is denoted what is interior in respect to what is exterior, because Aaron denotes good, and the congregation truth, 9946, 4547²¹; by the bullock is denoted the good of innocence in the Natural, 9990; by a sin offering is denoted worship for the removal of evil through that good of innocence, 3400; and by Aaron making atonement for himself and his house is denoted the reconciliation of the natural with the spiritual man both as to good and truth, since Aaron himself denotes good, and his sons who constitute his house denote truth, 9946.

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7.  Aaron taking the two goats and setting them before the Lord at the door of the tent of meeting, denotes that the truths of faith shall thereby be acknowledged to be from the Lord, and His operation through the heavens, 9670⁶, 4169, 725, 2456, 3540³.

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8.  By casting lots, when said by Aaron, is denoted dependence upon Divine Providence, 9946, 6494, 3239, 9093⁵; by one lot for the Lord is denoted man's free choice of good, 2001; and by one lot for Azazel, which means "dismissal," is denoted man's free rejection of evil, 10023. It is said "man must choose for himself between good and evil, and thus between truth and falsity," that is, must exercise a free choice, because this is involved in the obedience of Aaron to the instruction of Moses, dependence upon the Divine Providence at the same time being involved in the casting of lots. When man, in every action of his life, does what he does from a principle of good, he is depending upon Divine Providence (Ps 37:3).

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9.  By Aaron presenting the goat upon which the lot fell for the Lord and offering him for a sin offering is denoted that then from a principle of good man must worship the Lord in order that evil may be removed and rejected, 9946, 9670⁶, 4169, 725, 3400.

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10.  The goat on which the lot fell for Azazel, being set alive before the Lord to make atonement for him to send him away for Azazel into the wilderness, denotes that it must be acknowledged before the Lord that man of himself is really in falsity from evil, so that the External may be reconciled with the Internal by the complete rejection of such falsity, 9670⁶, 10042 II.

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11.  Aaron presenting the bullock of the sin offering which is for himself denotes that, first and above all things, must he who is in good acknowledge that he receives that good from the Lord, 5619; the bullock denotes the good of innocence in the Natural, 9990; a sin offering denotes worship for the removal of evil through that good of innocence, 3400; Aaron making atonement for himself and for his house denotes the reconciliation of the natural with the spiritual man both as to good and truth, or internally and externally, since Aaron himself denotes good, and his sons who constitute his house denote truth, 9946, and also because Aaron denotes good and the congregation truth, 4574⁴; and killing the bullock of the sin offering which was for himself denotes preparation to worship the Lord, 10024.

    The careful reader will here note that this verse is a repetition of ver. 6, and also that the first ten verses of the chapter form a general Introduction and summary of the whole. The reason is because the whole subject is concerning the perpetual removal of evils and falsities, 10211, and the summary, in the internal sense, shows that this is foreseen and provided for by the Lord, and that the internal man, or more strictly, the internal of the natural man, is potentially delivered from evil when regeneration has commenced, so that, if man perseveres to the end, he will be fully delivered so far as any temptation from evil is implied, when he is initiated or inaugurated into his own prevailing state of good. But it must be remembered also that purification is perpetual also in heaven itself, and is involved in the perpetual progress in the heavenly life which there goes on.

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12.  Taking a censer full of coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord denotes the reception of good from the Lord in genuine worship, this good being embodied in truth and contained in its receptacle, 5531, 934, 9714; incense denotes truth from the Word which is grateful and acceptable in worship from good, 9475; the incense being sweet and beaten small denotes truths carefully arranged and distinguished under good, 5620, 10303; and bringing these things within the veil denotes thence the perception of inmost good, 9670⁶.

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13.  By Aaron is denoted Divine Good, 9946; by putting the incense upon the fire is clearly denoted the conjunction of truth with good, 9475, 934; by the cloud of incense covering the mercy-seat is denoted that the Divine Love and Mercy are manifested obscurely in appearances according to the state of the worshiper, 9670⁶; by the mercy-seat being upon the testimony is denoted that Divine Love flows into the truths of the Word, 9506, 9503; and not dying denotes lest spiritual death follow from too full a manifestation of Divine Love, 7699. 7738.

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14.  The blood of the bullock, denotes truth from purified natural good, 10026; sprinkling it denotes conjunction, 10047; upon the mercy-seat on the east denotes with Divine Truth proceeding from Divine Good, 9506, 9503, 1250; the finger denotes power, 7430; it is said in the natural man, because it was the blood of the bullock; and before the mercy-seat seven times denotes from the holy state acquired by regeneration from the Lord, 716 (Gen. i. throughout).

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15.  His killing the goat of the sin offering that is for the people, denotes that the external of the natural man, or he who is in the good of faith, must be prepared in the same way, 10024, 9670°, 4169, 725, 4574⁴; bringing the blood within the veil denotes that the truth of this good is alike from the Lord by celestial good and is adapted to the state of man, 9670⁶; and sprinkling the blood upon the mercy-seat and before the mercy-seat denotes that it must be conjoined therewith internally and externally, 10047, 95°6-

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16.  Making atonement for the holy place denotes that, indeed, even celestial good, or those in that good, must be reconciled with Divine Good, 3210, 10042 II., because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions, even all their sins, denotes because man of himself is altogether impure as to the exterior and as to the interior, and is nothing but evil, 10130, 9156; and doing this also for the tent of meeting that dwells in the midst of uncleanness, denotes that so it must be also with those in spiritual good or those in natural good, in order that the Lord may be present with man from inmost things to lowest things, by the acknowledgement on his part that he is nothing but evil, 3530³, 10153, 10130.

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17.  No man being in the tent of meeting when Aaron went into the most holy place, denotes that the worship of the Lord by man from inmost good must be entirely as from himself, without any admixture of evil or falsity, 9946, 3210, 7424; and making atonement for himself and for his household, and for all the assembly of Israel, denotes the reconciliation of man's life with the Lord's life as to inmost good, as to interior good and as to good most external, 10042 II., 9946, 4574⁴.

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18.  Aaron going out to the altar that is before the Lord denotes that celestial good from Divine Good will then flow down to ultimates with man, 9946, 5337, 10001, 10242; making atonement denotes the reconciliation of the external man with the internal, 10042 II.; and taking the blood of the bullock and the blood of the goat and putting it upon the horns of the altar round about, denotes that the conjunction of truth with good in holy worship will then be effected there mutually and reciprocally with fullness and power by means of Divine Truths of the literal sense of the Word, vers. 14, 15, 10027.

    The reason why it is said here, " fullness and power by means of the Divine Truths of the literal sense of the Word," is because there were four horns to the altar at the four corners, this denoting completeness, 9720; and Divine Truth is complete and full in the literal sense of the Word, 6943, 9349.

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19.  Sprinkling the blood upon the altar with his finger seven times, and cleansing and hallowing it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel, denotes that this shall be accomplished, indeed, in the holy state of regeneration, through the exercise of power by man according to his state, by purification and by worship, that there may be deliverance from all impurity to which the man of the church is inclined in his unregenerate state, 10047, vers. 14, 15, 10027, 716, Gen. i., 4545, 10130.

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20.  Making an end of atoning for the holy place, and the tent of meeting and the altar, and presenting the live goat, denotes that when the state of regeneration is fully completed by the reconciliation of the internal, interior and external man with the Lord, man will acknowledge before the Lord how full of evil he is by the influx of falsity from evil in the natural man from the hells, 10042 II., 3210, 3540³, 10001, 9670⁶.

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21.  Aaron laying both his hands upon the head of the live goat denotes that from his state of inmost good man will act with all the power of the will and the understanding, 9946, 8066, 10061-2, 10023; confessing over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, even all their sins, denotes to perceive and confess that as to the whole and every part, with regard to offences against the good of faith, against the truth of faith, and against holy charity itself he is guilty, 9156; putting them upon the head of the goat denotes power from the Lord to reject evil and separate it from himself, 10023; sending him away to the wilderness denotes rejection to hell, 10023; and by the hand of a man who is in readiness denotes by the power of the Divine Human, because the hand denotes power, and all power to deliver man and enable him to reject evil and error proceeds from the Divine Human, and the Lord is ever ready to deliver him, 878, 6280-1.

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22.  The goat bearing upon him all their iniquities into a solitary land denotes that this shall be done by the Lord through the work of redemption, 9937⁸; and letting go the goat into the wilderness denotes the removal of falsity with evil, the solitary land, in this case, denoting evil, and the wilderness falsity, 683, while by the land, or the wilderness, being called solitary is denoted that evil and falsity remain separated from good and truth.

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23.  By Aaron coming into the tent of meeting is denoted that he who is in good shall come into the enjoyment of the heavenly life, 3540³; and by his putting off the linen garments and leaving them there is denoted the acknowledgement that all holy truths by which regeneration is and has been effected are from the Lord and not from himself, although he is and has been required to use them as from himself, 9670⁶, ver. 4.

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24.  Bathing himself in water in a holy place denotes the continuation of purification in that holy state, 3147, 3210; putting on his garments denotes being invested with truths, ver. 4; coming forth, in this case, denotes the activity of the new life, 1853; offering his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people denotes worship from pure love both as to the internal and external man, 10053, vers. 4, 5; and making atonement for himself and the people denotes reconciliation with the Lord, and of the external man with the internal, 10042 II.

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25.  Burning the fat of the sin offering upon the altar denotes ascribing from the heart all celestial good to the Lord, 10033.

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26.  As he that lets go the goat for Azazel denotes the Lord, in the supreme sense, so he denotes every man who, as from himself, through influx from the Divine Human rejects falsity and evil, in a lower sense, 9937⁸; washing his clothes and bathing himself in water denotes purification externally and internally, 3147, 5006, 9215; and coming into the camp denotes in order that he may enter into and remain in the heavenly state, 4236.

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27.  The bullock of the sin offering, and the goat of the sin offering, denote the good of the natural man which is obedience, and the truth thereof which is the truth of faith as realized during regeneration, 9990, 4169, 725; their blood being brought in to make atonement in the holy place denotes the conjunction of truth with good and consequent purification, 10047, 10042 II..; being carried forth without the camp denotes separation from the heavenly state, 4236; being burned in the fire denotes rejection by the power of pure heavenly love, or condemnation because of contamination with selfish love, 934, 10055; and their skin and their flesh and their dung denote every seeming truth or good, with what is impure, 10035-7.

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28.  He who burns them washing his clothes and bathing himself in water and afterwards coming into the camp, denotes that even after this process of rejection the man who thus, as from himself, rejects appearances with evils and falsities of all kinds, is to be purified externally still further before fully realizing the heavenly state, 934, 10055, 3147, 4236.

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29.  An eternal statute denotes an eternal law of Divine Order, 7884; in the seventh month on the tenth day of the month you shall afflict your souls, denotes as to the purification of the external man in the holy state of faith and charity in the course of regeneration when remains of good and truth are to be fully implanted there, 851,

    576, 1947; doing no manner of work, or a Sabbath, denotes a state of victory in temptations and thence the realization of heavenly peace and rest, 8889-90; and the home-born and the stranger that sojourns among you, denotes that this is applicable alike to the man of the internal church and the man of the external, 7908.

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30.  "On this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you," denotes that only in this way can the reconciliation of the Human with the Divine in the Lord's glorification, of man with the Lord in regeneration, and of the external with the internal man be accomplished, 10042 II., 4545; and "from all your sins shall you be clean before the Lord," denotes that the result of the whole process is the full deliverance of man in the heavenly state from all actual evil and falsity and impurity, 4545.

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31.  It being a Sabbath of solemn rest for man, the afflicting of his soul, and a statute for ever, denotes that surely this heavenly state is one of peace and rest derived from victory in temptations, and is an eternal state, 8889, 8890, 7884.

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32.  The priest who shall be anointed, and who shall be consecrated to be priest in his father's stead making the atonement and putting on the linen garments, even the holy garments, denotes that this is to be effected entirely from celestial good by conjunction with truth in successive states of the church, and that reconciliation with the Lord will be effected, by the instrumentality of the exterior truths of the natural man and a state of holiness because those truths are holy from good, 9946, 9954, 10076, 5912, 10042 II., 7601, 2146.

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33.  Making atonement for the holy sanctuary, for the tent of meeting, for the altar, for the priests and for all the people of the assembly, denotes that by this means is man brought into harmony with all the heavens celestial, spiritual and natural, and this both as to good and as to truth, 10042 II., 3540³, 994⁶, 1259.

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34.  This being an everlasting statute denotes that it is an eternal law of Divine Order, 7884; making atonement for the children of Israel because of all their sins once in the year, denotes reconciliation with the Lord, on account of man's state as to evil, and that it is perpetual, 10042 II., 10211; and doing as the Lord commanded Moses denotes that in this work good always acts according to truth from the Lord, 9946, 7010, 2001.

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This chapter may properly be called a chapter on the Atonement par excellence, and is accordingly well worthy of a practical application; and there are lessons for us in the beginning of it. Revelation to the man of the church is successive, and depends very much upon the state of the man. It is quite true that we have the Word always in our midst; but we do not always see its familiar truths in the same light. Now we have previously seen that the death of Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, represents the rejection of merely external worship, and we may be sure that whenever this takes place in our case the spiritual atmosphere will be clearer, that the Sun of Heaven will shine upon us, and that we shall see the truth, even the old truth that we thought we fully knew before, in a new light. We may labour by intellectual means to store our minds with truths in great abundance, and it is right that we should do so; but we only come to realize their glory when we are lifted out of mere externalism. Do not let us be afraid then, as perhaps we sometimes are, of rejecting what is wrong while we retain what is right in our worship of the Lord, for thereby we shall have a new revelation.

Now Aaron here represents a state of good, but it is relatively external good enlightened by Divine Truth higher than itself. And, strange to say, that truth instructs this good, first of all, that it cannot enter into inmost things, and remain in them all at once, or in every state. How true is this! And the reason is, because the foundations and the lower storeys of our spiritual houses must be first well laid. He who cannot live a good natural life will not be able to live a good spiritual life. And we must first learn natural truths, which are as clouds, before we can comprehend spiritual truths in their glory. But how shall man enter into that higher life which is denoted by the holy place? Surely by the work of repentance, and by the devotion of all the affections to the service of the Lord, and by making a proper use of all the precious truths of the Word in due order and subordination by means of the common bond of love combined with an enlightened intelligence. And this must be done first internally from good and then externally from truth. This-carries us through the first half of our introduction, or of our introductory state by which we have a perception and a slight foretaste, as it were, of what we long to realize.

And then the second half carries us a step further, but our attention¹ is drawn meanwhile to the two goats, and we wonder why there are to be two, and yet only one ram, as in the case of the priest. Two goats for the people and one bullock for the priest as a sin offering, but one ram for each as a burnt offering! We pause to reflect. And if our memory carries us back to the time when we were seriously taught that "Christ the heavenly lamb bore all our sins away," and that it was by His vicarious sacrifice on the cross that He made atonement for all mankind, actually bearing the punishment due to men by suffering death in their stead, we wonder very much indeed why He is called the lamb of God taking away the sin of the world, and yet in this great chapter on the atonement it is two goats which figure so prominently in the ceremony, and not a lamb at all. And besides this, we wonder too, in considering this old comparison, why the goat that was for the Lord, according to the lots, was offered for a sin offering, and that which was for Azazel was sent away alive into the wilderness. We notice also that atonement was made particularly by the sprinkling of the blood of the bullock and the goat that were killed, while concerning the goat for Azazel it is only said atonement was made for him, or over him (R.V.), or with him (A.V.). Let us look into these things. According to opinions which have been far too common, a sacrificed animal has been considered as representing the sacrifice of the Lord on the cross as a substitute bearing punishment for mankind; but a little careful reflection will show that this is not the case, because the burnt offerings are called a sweet savour to the Lord, or an odour of rest, and the sacrifices are called His meat, besides which, even the sin offerings are called most holy. And from these considerations it is clear that they do not represent the punishment of sin. Did not Paul say, "Christ our passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast" (1 Cor 5:7, 8)? How much more reasonable is it then to regard the burnt offerings and sacrifices rather as the devotion to the Lord of man's best affections, and the lamb of God, therefore, as the Human of the Lord consecrated and united to the Divine in Him. In fact, a lamb denotes the highest degree of celestial good in its innocence, and in the Lord the Divine Good, or the Divine Human, which has redeemed all mankind from the absolute power of evil, and which removes evil, from every individual who is willing to have it removed through regeneration by faith in Him and love towards Him. In this way, therefore, and not in the other, is the Lord Jesus the true Lamb of God taking away the sin of the world.

But why then is He not represented in our chapter as a lamb, and not as a bullock and two goats? It is because certain particulars of Divine Truth are herein described which could not be so well represented only by a lamb. There was a bullock and two goats in order that, with regard to the Lord, the glorification of the Natural might be signified, as to its Internal, as to its External, and as to the Human derived from the mother which was entirely rejected; while by the ram for a burnt offering was denoted the Spiritual. And all this further appears from AE 703⁴³, because the regeneration of man is an image of the glorification of the Lord. Thus, then, if we take the lamb, and the ram, and the bullock and the goat that was offered as a sacrifice, we shall see how the glorified Human is represented in the Word, from the highest degree to the lowest, and also the good affections of the fully regenerated man in the same way, showing in a most convincing manner the signification of the two goats, and also how impossible it is that the animals offered in sacrifice, even when they were sin offerings, could represent and signify a victim suffering punishment.

And now this brings us to the study of the blood of the Lord which cleanses from all sin, and of the blood being sprinkled successively on the various parts of the tabernacle and the tent of meeting, taking the latter first. A preliminary, however, is to be noticed. For the taking of the fire from off the altar and the sweet incense, and then going within the veil, show that man must be prepared by the previous reception of good and truth in the course of regeneration before he can have a perception of inmost good; that when he has this perception, this itself constitutes a relatively external and obscure conjunction of goodness and truth; and that afterwards there will be full conjunction in every respect. Let us be thankful to the Lord, therefore, for these preparatory and occasional experiences, the memory of which is a constant stimulus, and fills us with joyful anticipation of our future state of perfection. And also let us remember the teaching in this connection, namely, that we must be introduced into a realization of the heavenly life by degrees, and might suffer spiritual injury or death if it were not so. But why? Not, certainly, because there is any danger that good or truth or the Lord can injure or destroy us, but because our own state as to evil and error of which we are not aware would cause the mischief.

But the blood of the Lord, according to the references, signifies Divine Truth from Him, and His flesh signifies Divine Good; and thus the two together denote the life of the Lord. Hence He says, "Except you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you" (John 6:53), and "The Son of man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many" (Matt 20:28); and these two passages combined show that man is not only nourished spiritually by the reception of truth and good from the Lord, but that he is also delivered from evil, or what amounts to the same thing, cleansed from sin (Rev 1:5) by the same means. Whosoever, therefore, conceives that the actual death of the Lord, or anything that He suffered physically, or even His temptations, which were spiritual conflicts against all hell, can cleanse man individually from sin, is greatly deceived. But by His temptations and victories, as a means, mankind in the aggregate were delivered for ever from the absolute power of evil, and this is the work of Redemption; while, in consequence of this great work, every man who first purifies his life outwardly by means of the truth of the Word, which is meant specifically, by the term "Son of man," 2814, and on that account receives the Lord's life of goodness and truth, signified not only by flesh and blood, but also by the bread and wine of the Holy Supper, thereby has conjunction with the Lord, and this as to all the degrees of his life, because, with him, there is the conjunction of truth with goodness, denoted by the sprinkling of the blood of the animals sacrificed, and which constitutes the great work of ATONEMENT, which in the highest sense is the conjunction of the Divine with the Human, and the reciprocal conjunction of the Human with the Divine in the Lord, and in a lower sense the conjunction of the Lord with man and the reciprocal conjunction of man with the Lord, involving also the same conjunction as to the Internal and External of him who is thus made an angel by regeneration as the Lord's Human was made Divine by glorification.

Hence, then, we now see the full signification of this ceremony of making atonement by the sprinkling of the blood of the animals offered in sacrifice on all parts of the tent of meeting. But the points yet to be considered are, why was atonement made over the goat for Azazel after this ceremony? and why was the ceremony itself only, to take place once in every year on a certain day? We have seen in what the real atonement or reconciliation (2 Cor 5:19) consists, namely, in deliverance from evil and the reception of good from the Lord. What then is involved in the ceremony of dismissal? It means that the Lord, after man is regenerated, and thus even in heaven itself, still withholds him from evil, and keeps him in good, and this by an all-powerful influence through the prevailing and fixed state of good in which he is from the Divine Human; for this is now and for ever the great force which keeps evil in its own place; prevents it from preponderating in the slightest degree; and preserves each eternally in his own life of use. This in the best sense is the man who is in readiness always; in heaven it is the angel himself; and with regard to the man who is being regenerated, it is exhibited as the strong and fixed principle of good and truth in which he is. Now these remarks explain to a certain extent the repeated washings which follow the dismissal of the goat. In heaven the Lord purifies the angels more and more continually; and in the church on earth, too, He cleanses internally and externally the sincere worshiper who from a loving heart offers his spiritual burnt offering.

But lastly, the reason why the day of atonement was to be once in every year, in the seventh month and on the tenth day of the month, which was a Sabbath, clearly appears from the references. The purification of man is perpetual; it is effected in holy states of faith and charity; and it produces an eternal Sabbath of rest and peace, because in heaven all spiritual conflicts have ceased, and there is only that kind of continual purification which is necessary from the facts that each angel continues to act freely as from himself; that he passes through a variety of states corresponding to evening and morning, and spring and summer on earth; and that by these changes he becomes perpetually more and more free from the slight imperfections inseparable from a state of finiteness.

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