10028. And all the blood thou shalt pour out at the base of the altar. That this signifies Divine truth wholly in the sensuous, which is the ultimate of man's life, is evident from the signification of "the blood," as being the Divine truth from the Lord's Divine good (on which see just above, n. 10026); and from the signification of "the base of the altar," as being the sensuous which is the ultimate of man's life. That the base of the altar has this signification is because the altar was a representative of the Lord's Divine Human, wherefore its base signifies that which is the ultimate of life in the human, and the ultimate of life in the human is that which is called the external sensuous, which is here meant. That the altar was the chief representative of the Lord's Divine Human, may be seen above (n. 9388, 9389, 9714, 9964); that its base is its ultimate is evident; that this with man is the external sensuous, and what this is, see also above (n. 9212, 9216, 9996).
[2] How the case herein is shall be briefly told. When a man is being purified, then first of all are learned such truths as can be apprehended by the sensuous man, such as are the truths in the sense of the letter of the Word; afterward are learned more interior truths, such as are collected from the Word by those who are in enlightenment, for these collect its interior sense from various passages where the sense of the letter is unfolded. From these, when known, truths still more interior are afterward drawn forth by those who are enlightened, which truths together with the former serve the church for doctrine, the more interior truths for doctrine to those who are men of the internal church, the less interior for doctrine to those who are men of the external church. Both the former and the latter men, provided they have lived according to these truths, are taken up into heaven among the angels, and are there imbued with angelic wisdom, which is from truths still more interior, and finally is from inmost truths in the third heaven. These truths, together with the former in their order, close in the ultimate truths of the external sensuous, and are all together there. From this it is plain that all interior truths are together in the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word, for these truths, as above said, are the ultimate ones. (That all interior things are stored up in order, and are together in ultimates, see n. 9828, 9836.) From all this it is evident what is meant by Divine truth being wholly in the sensuous, which is signified by "all the blood being poured out at the base of the altar."