Doctrine of Holy Scripture - Swedenborg Foundation

DOCTRINE OF HOLY SCRIPTURE 18847. The external things of the temple at Jerusalem representedexternal things of the Word, which belong to the sense of its letter.This is because the temple represented the same as did thetabernacle, namely, heaven and the church, and conse quently theWord. That the temple at Jerusalem represented the Lord’s Divinehuman, he himself teaches in John:Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up; he spake of thetemple of his body (John 2:19, 21).Where the Lord is meant, there also is meant the Word, for theLord is the Word. Now as the interior things of the templerepresented interior things of heaven and the church (and thereforeof the Word), its exterior things represented and signified exteriorthings of heaven and the church, and therefore exterior things ofthe Word, which belong to the sense of its letter. Concerning theexterior things of the temple we read:That they were built of whole stone, not hewn, and within of cedar; andthat all its walls within were carved with cherubim, palm trees, and openingsof flowers; and that the floor was overlaid with gold (1 Kings 6:7, 29–30);all of which things also signify external things of the Word, whichare holy things of the sense of the letter.48. The Word in its glory was represented by the Lord when hewas transfigured. Concerning the Lord as transfigured before Peter,James, and John, we read:That his face did shine as the sun, and his garments became white as thelight. That Moses and Elias appeared talking with him. That a bright cloudovershadowed the disciples; and that a voice was heard out of the cloud,saying, This is my beloved son, hear ye him (Matt. 17:1–5).I have been instructed that the Lord then represented the Word;“his face that did shine as the sun,” his Divine good; “his garmentsthat became as the light,” his Divine truth; “Moses and Elias,” thehistorical and the prophetical Word; “Moses,” the Word that waswritten by him and the historical Word in general, and “Elias,” the