Spiritual Meaning of

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That the meat-offering, which was bread, signifies the good of love, and that the drink-offering, which was wine, signifies the good of faith, and that they are so perceived by the angels, can be seen from all that is said in the Word about the meat-offering and the drink-offering; as in Joel:--

the subject here treated of is the last time of the church, when there is no longer in it the good of love and the truth of faith, which is signified by the day of Jehovah being near, and coming as devastation from Shaddai.

[4] From this it is plain that by the meat-offering and drink-offering which were cut off from the house of Jehovah, by the field which was laid waste, by the ground which mourneth, by the grain which was also laid waste, by the new wine which was dried up, by the oil which languisheth, and by the vine and the fig-tree, are signified such things as belong to the church and heaven; but the internal sense teaches what these signify From this it is evident that by the field is signified the church as to the reception of truth (AC 3766, 4982, 7502, 7571, 9295); by the land, the church as to good (AC 9325); by grain, all the good of the church (AC 5295, 5410, 5959); by new wine, all the truth of the church (AC 3580); by oil, the good of love (AC 4582, 4638, 9780); by vine, the interior good of the spiritual church (AC 5113, 6376, 9277); and by fig-tree its exterior good (AC 217, 4231, 5113). From all this it is evident that the meat-offering and the drink-offering denote worship from the good of love and from the good of faith.

[5] In Malachi:--

That in this passage by a meat-offering is not meant a meat offering, nor by incense incense, is plain, for the subject treated of is the church among the nations (with whom however there was no meat-offering); for it is said, from the rising of the sun to its going down the name of Jehovah shall be great among the nations, and in every place is a clean meat offering and incense (that incense denotes adoration from the good of faith, (AC 9475).

[6] So in David:--

the evening meat-offering denotes the good of love in the external man.

[7] In Isaiah:--

worship from evils and falsities which are from hell is the subject here treated of; in the internal sense gods denote falsities, for they who worshiped other gods did indeed call them by name, but still it was falsities from evils which they worshiped. That in the Word strange gods denote falsities, (AC 4402, 8941); also that a green tree denotes all the capability of the perception, knowledge, and confirmation of falsity, (AC 2722, 2972, 4552, 7692); and that green denotes sensitivity, (AC 7691). To become heated denotes the ardor of worship; for the fire from which the heating comes denotes love in both senses (AC 5215, 6832, 7575). To pour out a drink-offering denotes worship from the falsities of evil; to offer a gift to the king in oil denotes to worship Satan from evils; a gift in oil is a meat-offering; to multiply spices is to multiply incense, by which are signified adorations (AC 9475); and therefore it is also said that he abased himself to hell

[8] From all this it can be seen that the meat-offering which was bread, and the drink-offering which was wine, signify such things as are of the church and heaven, namely, heavenly food and drink, like what is signified by the bread and wine in the Holy Supper, for the purpose above mentioned that heaven may conjoin itself with man by means of the Word, consequently the Lord through heaven by means of the Word as a medium. As the Divine of the Word consists in such things, it nourishes not only human minds, but also angelic minds, and causes heaven and the world to be one.

[9] From all this it can also be seen that each and all of the things said and commanded in the Word concerning the meat-offering and the drink-offering, or concerning bread and wine, contain Divine arcana within them, as that the meat-offering was to be fine flour, on which was to be oil, and also frankincense, and that it was to be wholly salted, and that it was to be without leaven, or ferment; and that there was to be one rule for its composition when a lamb was sacrificed, another when a ram, another when a bullock, and also a different one in the sacrifices of guilt and sin from that used in the other sacrifices; so too with the rule for the wine in the drink-offering. Unless each detail had involved arcana of heaven, they would never have been commanded for application to the various acts of worship.

[10] But that these various things may be presented under one view, they may be presented in their order. In the eucharistic sacrifices and burnt-offerings there was for every lamb a meat-offering of one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mingled with the fourth of a hin of oil; and wine for a drink-offering the fourth of a hin. For every ram there was a meat-offering of two tenths of fine flour, and a third of a hin of oil; of wine for a drink-offering the third of a hin. For every bullock there was a meat-offering of three tenths of fine flour mingled with oil, the half of a hin; and of, wine for a drink-offering the half of a hin (Num. 15:4-12; 28:10-29; 29:3-37). The reason why for a lamb there was a different proportion of the quantity of fine flour, oil, and wine, than for a ram and a bullock, was that a lamb signified the inmost good of innocence, a ram the middle good of innocence, and a bullock the ultimate or external good of innocence; for there are three heavens, the inmost, the middle, and the ultimate, from which there are also three degrees of the good of innocence. Its increase from first to last is signified by the increasing proportion of fine flour, oil, and wine. Be it known that the good of innocence is the very soul of heaven, because this good is alone receptive of love, charity, and faith, which make the heavens. That a lamb denotes the inmost good of innocence, (AC 3994, 10132); and a ram, the middle or interior good of innocence, (AC 10042); and a bullock, the ultimate or external good of innocence, (AC 9391, 9990).

[11] But in the sacrifices for confession there was a meat-offering of unleavened cakes mixed with oil, of unleavened wafers anointed with oil, of fine flour sodden for the cakes mixed with oil; besides fermented cakes of bread (Lev. 7:11, 12); and in the sacrifices of guilt and sin there was a meat-offering of the tenth of an ephah of fine flour, but no oil and frankincense upon it (Lev. 5:11). That no oil and frankincense were to be put upon the meat-offering of the sacrifice of sin and guilt, was because by oil is signified the good of love, and by frankincense the truth of this good, and by the sacrifices of sin and guilt is signified purification and expiation from evils and the derivative falsities, which on this a-count were not to be mingled with good and the derivative truth

[12] Further, in respect to the meat-offering of Aaron and of his sons on the day in which they were anointed (Leviticus 6:13-15); and the meat-offering of the firstfruits of the harvest (Lev. 2:14, 15; 23:10, 12, 13, 17); the meat-offering of the Nazirite (Num. 6:1-27); the meat-offering of jealousy (Num. 5:1-31); the meat-offering of one who was cleansed from leprosy (Lev. 14:1-57); the meat-offering baked in an oven; and the meat-offering of the frying pan and the baking pan (Lev. 2:3-7). That there was to be no ferment in the meat-offering, nor any honey; and that the meat-offering was to be salted, may be seen in (Leviticus 2:10-12). The reason why there was to be no ferment and no honey in the meat-offering was because in the spiritual sense ferment denotes falsity from evil, and honey external delight thus commingled with the delight of the love of the world, by means of which also heavenly goods and truths ferment and thus are dispersed; and the reason why it was to be wholly salted was because salt signified truth longing for good, thus conjoining both. That ferment denotes falsity from evil, (AC 2342, 7906, 8051, 9992); also that honey denotes external delight, thus the delight of love in both senses, (AC 5620); and that salt denotes truth longing for good, (AC 9207).

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