10229. And thou shalt take the silver of expiations from among the sons of Israel. That this signifies truths purifying by virtue of good, which truths are of the church, is evident from the signification of "silver," as being truth from good (see n. 1551, 2954, 5658, 6112, 6914, 6917, 8932); from the signification of "expiations," as being purification from evils (of which above, n. 10218); thus "the silver of expiations" denotes purifying truth; and from the representation of the sons of Israel, as being the church (see the places cited in n. 9340). It is said "purifying truth" because all purification from evils is effected by means of truths (n. 2799, 5954, 7044, 7918, 9089). The case herein is this. From himself man thinks nothing but evil, for from himself he does not think about God, nor about what is good and just toward his neighbor, except for the sake of self. He does not even think about heaven and eternal life, but about the world and life in the world. So long as a man is in such a state, he thinks from the things which are beneath him, and not from those which are above him; thus from hell, and not from heaven. In order therefore that a man may think what is good, he must think from heaven, consequently his mind must be raised there. This is effected solely by means of truths such as are in the church from the Word; for these truths teach what God is, and what the neighbor, that there is a heaven, that there is eternal life, and in particular what evil is, and what good is. When these truths enter, then the interiors are raised above self, and are thus withdrawn from those things which are beneath self, thus from evils. From this it can be seen that all purification or removal from evils is effected by means of truths, which are consequently called "purifying truths."