10412. 'And Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow there will be a feast to Jehovah' means that this is the really essential thing of the Church which is to be celebrated and the truly Divine reality that is to be worshipped unceasingly. This is clear from the meaning of 'a feast' as the inclusion of celebration within the Church's worship, for feast days were times of celebration, so that 'proclaiming a feast' means the essential thing of the Church which is to be celebrated - the Divine essential reality that is to be worshipped being meant by the declaration that this feast was called 'a feast to Jehovah'; and from the meaning of 'tomorrow' as that which is eternal and unceasing, dealt with in 3998, 7140, 9939.
[2] Those furthermore whose interest lies in external things and not in what is internal wish to be worshipped as a god and to have what is theirs venerated as something Divine, so far as their fear of the common people will let them. From this one may deduce that at heart they refuse to recognize the Divine and are constantly yearning to rise to higher positions, and so far as nothing stands in their way to the highest, and so finally to the throne of God, as is plainly evident from those meant in the Word by Babel, who take all power in heaven and on earth away from the Lord and ascribe it to themselves. For they open heaven and close it just as they please. The fact that this is what they are like is clear in Isaiah,
You will declare this parable about the king of Babel, Hell beneath has been stirred up on account of you. How have you fallen from heaven, O Lucifer? You have been cut down to the earth, you have been weakened below the nations. And you said in your heart, I will go up the heavens, above the stars of God I will raise my throne, and I will sit on the mount of assembly; I will go up above the heights of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High. But yet you have been sent down to hell. Isa 14:4,9,12-15.
[3] Also the king of Babel commanded that he should be worshipped as a god, as is clear in Daniel 6. 'Babel' is used to mean those who are outwardly holy but inwardly unholy, thus those who employ the holy things of the Church as means to the end that they themselves may be worshipped as gods. This also is what all those people do who by using the holy things of the Church as the means strive to rise to eminent positions over others and greater wealthiness than others as ends in themselves. Such people are just the same in the next life. There as well they refuse at heart to recognize the Divine and endeavour by means of unmentionable tricks to make themselves gods. They place themselves high up on mountains, proclaiming and adoring one of their number as a god. But when they engage in that unholy worship the mountain splits apart to reveal a deep chasm which swallows them up, and in this way they are thrown down into hell. I have been allowed several times to see that this is so.
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