Arcana Coelestia (Potts) n. 10701

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10701. And he put a veil upon his faces. That this signifies that the internal of the church, of worship, and of the Word did not appear to the Israelitish nation, but only the external without the internal, is evident from the signification of "putting a veil upon his faces," as being to close the internal, so that only the external without the internal may appear; for by "the shining of the skin of Moses' faces," is signified the shining forth of the internal of the Word, of the church, and of worship in external things (see above, n. 10691). (That this nation was in external things without what is internal, and also is so at this day, may be seen at the places cited in n. 10692.) From this it is also evident how the external of the Word, of the church, and of worship with that nation appears in the heavens, namely, not indeed as the face of a man, but like a veil before the face, for in such obscurity are they concerning the interior things of the Word.


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