10133. 'A continual [offering]' means within all Divine worship. This is clear from the meaning of 'continual', when it refers to such things as belong to Divine worship, as all and within all. For the subject is purification from evils and falsities by means of the good of innocence, this good being meant by 'lambs' and purification from evils and consequent falsities by a burnt offering of them. This is called 'continual' because it must be present in all Divine worship. Therefore also the offering was presented twice each day, in the morning and in the evening; and offerings made morning and evening served in general to represent all worship and what must be present within all worship. The good of innocence must be in all good, and consequently in all truth, if they are to be goodness and truth that have life from the Divine within them, and so it must be within all worship. For all worship, to be worship, must spring from the good of love and from the truths of faith.

All of the Church's and of heaven's good has innocence within it, and without that innocence good is not good, nor therefore is worship worship, see 2736, 2780, 6013, 7840, 7887, 9262.

What innocence is, 3994, 4001, 4797, 5236, 6107, 6765, 7902, 9262, 9936, and the places referred to in 10021 (end).

[2] 'Continual' means all and within all - that is to say, the all of worship, and within all worship - because it is a term that has a temporal connotation and in heaven, where the Word is understood not in the natural but in the spiritual sense, people have no notions of time. Instead of periods of time they perceive the kinds of things that are states. By 'continual' at this point therefore they perceive a perpetual state within worship, thus the all of worship and within all worship. The same applies to all other terms in the Word which have temporal connotations, such as yesterday, today, tomorrow, two days, three days, daily, a week, a month, a year, also times of day and seasons of the year - morning, midday, evening, night, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Therefore if the spiritual sense of the Word is to be understood, any idea of a period of time acquired from its natural sense, any idea of a place as well, indeed any idea of an actual person must be set aside, and states of things must be conceived of instead. From this it may be seen how perfect the Word is in its internal sense, and so how perfect is the perception of it by the angels in heaven, consequently how much more excellent angels' wisdom and understanding are than the understanding and wisdom of people in the world, who think with solely natural vision focused on the completely finite things of this world and planet. Regarding periods of time in heaven, that they are states, see 1274, 1382, 2625, 2788, 2837, 3254, 3356, 3404, 3827, 4814, 4882, 4901, 4916, 6110, 7218, 7381, 8070; and regarding what states are, 4850.

[3] From all this it is evident what the continual burnt offering of lambs means, and so what 'continual' and 'continually' mean elsewhere, as in the commands that 'the fire shall burn continually on the altar', Leviticus 6:13, and that 'the continual bread shall be on the table', Numbers 4:7. 'The fire' there and 'the bread' mean the good of love received from the Lord and offered back to Him. For 'the fire', that it has this meaning, see 4906, 5215, 6314, 6832, 6834, 6849, 7324, 7852, 10055; and also for 'the bread', 2165, 2177, 3478, 3735, 3813, 4211, 4217, 4735, 4976, 9323, 9545. In those places as well 'continual' means in addition that this good must be present in all worship; and the fact that the same good is the source from which the truth of faith must shine, as if from its fire, is meant by the decree that they were to cause a lamp to go up ¹ continually, Exodus 27:20, 'a lamp' being the truth and good of faith, see 9548, 9783.

Footnotes:

7778. 'And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt will die' means the damnation of faith separated from charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'dying' as damnation, dealt with in 5407, 6119; and from the meaning of 'the firstborn' as the Church's faith through which charity comes, dealt with in 352, 2435, 6344, 7035. But 'the firstborn in the land of Egypt' is faith devoid of charity, about which see above in 7766.

[2] As regards faith devoid of charity, there is more to be said. Faith that is devoid of charity is not faith but merely knowledge of such things as constitute faith. For the truths of faith look to charity as their ultimate end in view, and later on proceed from charity as their first end in view. From this it is evident that the things which constitute faith do not exist with those who have no charity, even though they have a knowledge of the truths of faith, as is well known. This knowledge is what they call faith. And when they use the facts they know about the truth and good of faith to support falsities and evils, they no longer have the truths and forms of the good of faith because these come to be like the falsities and evils that such truths and forms of good serve. For now the very falsities and evils which they support are seen in them.

[3] Things that constitute genuine faith look upwards to heaven and the Lord, whereas those that constitute faith separated from charity look downwards - and when they support evils and falsities - to hell, from which too it is evident that faith separated from charity is not faith. All this goes to show what is meant by the damnation of faith separated from charity, that is to say, of the truth of faith when falsified and the good of faith when adulterated. For when truth has been falsified it is no longer truth but falsity, and when good has been adulterated it is no longer good but evil; and faith itself is no longer faith composed of truth and good but of falsity and evil, no matter what it looks and sounds like to outward appearance. Furthermore, and this is an arcanum, the character of anyone's faith is determined by the character of his life. If therefore his life is damned, so is his faith; for it is a faith composed of falsity when his life is a life of evil. It is not apparent in the world that this is so, but it is made plain in the next life. When the evil in that life are deprived of the truth and good they know there then emerge from evils the falsities which have lain hidden with those people.

[4] With some evil people a certain kind of conviction exists that the truth of faith is the truth; and this conviction too is thought to be faith. But it is not faith since it is induced by the intent to make it serve as the means by which wealth, important positions, and reputation can be acquired. As long as the truths they know are serving as the means to that end they love them for the sake of an evil intent. But when they no longer serve in that way they are abandoned, indeed are regarded as falsities. The term 'persuasive faith' is used to describe this kind of conviction, and it is what is meant by the Lord's words in Matthew,

Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy though Your name, and through Your name cast out demons, and do many mighty works in Your name? But then I will confess to them, I do not know you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. Matthew 7:22-23.

The same kind of faith is also meant by 'lamps without oil' with the five foolish virgins, who also said, Lord, Lord, open to us. But He replying said, Truly, I say to you, I do not know you. Matthew 25:11-12.

The truths of faith are meant by 'lamps', and the good of charity by 'oil', so that 'lamps without oil' are truths of faith devoid of the good of charity.