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golden calf . ( Exodus 31:17 , 32:19 ) After putting an end to that profane worship , Moses was commanded by the Lord : “ Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones , and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke .” ( Ibid . 34:1 ) The Arcana shares with us the significance of this second set of tablets in this way : The breaking by Moses of the tablets which were the work of God , when he saw the calf and the dances , and the hewing by Moses , as commanded by Jehovah , of other tablets , which then had the same words inscribed on them . . . hold an arcanum unknown up to now . The arcanum is that the literal sense of the Word would have been different if the Word had been written among another people , or if the character of the Israelite people had not been such as it was . ( Emphasis added , Arcana Coelestia 10,453:3 )
Clearly the character of the Word in the Old Testament was determined by the nature of the people to whom it was delivered . Yet we all know that timeless truths are revealed by means of this revelation . There are powerful reasons , for example , that the Lord appears as a vengeful God ; yet we have the opportunity to view these presentations as apparent truths which contain an internal message of a merciful God . ( See Arcana Coelestia 1838 ) There are so many other things about this revelation that are adapted to the people of that time , such as polygamous marriage , or that Israel is a “ preferred ” people , that one teaching says , “ the truths of the letter of the Word are , for the most part , appearances of truth .” ( Apocalypse Explained 777 ) All this is conveyed by the fact that there was a second set of tablets .
2 . Simeon Holding Jesus . The second story is of Simeon giving thanks as he held the baby Jesus :
So he came by the Spirit into the temple . And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus , to do for Him according to the custom of the law , he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said : “ Lord , now You are letting Your servant depart in peace , according to Your word ; for my eyes have seen Your salvation .” ( Luke 2:27-30 )
This image is amazing not only because the God of the universe chose to be born into the world at a specific point in time in a specific Middle Eastern part of planet Earth . That in itself is incredibly instructive concerning the challenge at hand – how to see by means of time-bound events eternal truths about the Lord Himself .
But “ Simeon ” himself adds a dimension of time – a change of era that was taking place . He is an old man . The previous era of the church was coming to a close . ( See Luke 2:26 , Apocalypse Explained 684:42 ) A new era of the church was dawning which would have the opportunity to worship the Lord in visible human form , and to hear from His own mouth some of the truths that He would reveal .
This image , then , reminds us that the New Testament , too , has a character
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