Apocalypse Explained # 435
435. Of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand sealed, signifies the good of life therefrom. This is evident from the representation of "the tribe of Gad," as being the good of life (of which presently); also from the signification of "twelve thousand sealed," as being that all such are in heaven and come into heaven (as explained in the two preceding articles). Before showing from the Word what in the church was represented by "Gad" and by the tribe named from him, something shall be said respecting what is meant by the good of life, which is here signified by "the tribe of Gad." There is the good of life from a celestial origin, from a spiritual origin, and from a natural origin. The good of life from a celestial origin is the good of life that comes from the good of love to the Lord through truths from that good; the good of life is an effect of these. Such good of life is what is here signified by "the tribe of Gad;" therefore it is called "the good of life therefrom," namely, from the good of love to the Lord, which is signified by "the tribe of Judah," through truths from that good, which are signified by "the tribe of Reuben." The good of life from a spiritual origin is the good of life that comes from good of charity towards the neighbor through truths from that good; this good of life is meant by "Manasseh."
[2] For the twelve tribes of Israel are here divided into four classes, and there are three tribes in each class, and the three in series signify such things as from beginning to end, or from first to last, fully constitute that universal essential of the church that is signified by the first tribe. The three tribes first named, that is, the tribes of Judah, Reuben, and Gad, signify those things that fully constitute celestial good; but the three following tribes, namely, the tribes of Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh, signify those that fully constitute spiritual good. So it is with the tribes that follow.
[3] Moreover, there are three things which fully constitute and form each universal essential, namely, the good of love, the truth from that good, and the good of life therefrom. The good of life is the effect of the other two; for unless there is a third that is brought forth, the two former can have no existence, that is, unless there is the good of life, the good of love and truth from that good can have no existence. These three are like the final cause, the effecting cause, and the effect. The good of love is the final cause, truth from that good is the effecting cause or that through which good is brought into effect, and the good of life is the effect in which the prior causes have existence; and these have no existence unless there is an effect in which they may exist and subsist. Again, these three are like the pulse of the heart, the respiration of the lungs, and the action of the body; these make a one: for if the body does not act, or does not let itself be put in action, as is the case when man dies, the other two cease. It is the same with the good of love, the truth from that good, and the good of life. The good of love is like the heart, and is also meant by "heart" in the Word; truth from that good is like the lungs, and is also meant by "breath" and "soul" in the Word; and the good of life is like the body in which the others act and live. Three like things are in everything that has existence, and when the three exist together there is full formation.
[4] What is signified by "Gad," or "the tribe of Gad," in every sense shall first be explained. In the highest sense "Gad" signifies the Lord in respect to omnipotence and omniscience; in the internal sense the good of truth; and in the external sense works therefrom, which are the good of life. "Gad" signifies such things because in each and every thing of the Word there is an inmost, an internal, and an external sense. In the inmost sense is the Lord alone for it treats of Him, of His glorifying His Human, arranging the heavens in order, subjugating the hells, and establishing the church from Himself; therefore in the inmost sense each tribe signifies the Lord in respect to some attribute and work of His; while in the internal sense heaven and the church are treated of, and doctrine is taught. But the Word in the external sense is such as it is in the sense of the letter. There are three senses in the Word, because there are three heavens; the inmost or celestial sense is for the inmost or third heaven, the internal or spiritual sense is for the middle or second heaven, and the external or spiritual-natural sense is for the first or lowest heaven.
[5] In this passage of Revelation, where the twelve tribes are mentioned, "the tribe of Gad" signifies the good of life, because it follows in order after Judah and Reuben, and "Judah" signifies the good of love, "Reuben" the truth from that good, consequently "Gad" signifies the good of life; for the good of life has existence from the good of love, through truths from that good, the good of life following as the third in order, being the effect of the two former as was said above.
Because the good of life is the good of the natural man, therefore an inheritance was given to the tribe of Gad 1 beyond Jordan, together with the tribe of Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh; for the land that was beyond Jordan signified the external church (as was shown in the article above), and the things that go forth from the natural man belong to the external church. The church itself regarded in itself is in the internal or spiritual man; but the external church is in the external or natural man, yet these must act as a one, like cause and effect.
[6] That an inheritance beyond Jordan was given to the tribe of Gad is evident in Moses:
To Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh an inheritance was given beyond Jordan, which was a place for cattle; and it was given with the condition that they should cross over, armed, with the rest, to take possession of the land of Canaan (Numbers 32:1; 34:14).
Unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave Gilead even unto the brook of Arnon within the brook and the border, and even unto the brook Jabbok, the border of the sons of Ammon; the plain also, and Jordan, and the border from Chinnereth even unto the sea, the plain, the salt sea, under the springs of Pisgah toward sunrise (Deuteronomy 3:16, 17).
And in Joshua:
Moses gave to the sons of Gad that Jazer should be their border, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the sons of Ammon, even unto Aroer that is before the faces of Rabbah; and from Heshbon unto Ramath of Mispeh, and Betonim (Joshua 13:24-28).
The signification of "Gad" can be seen not only from the passages in the Word where Gad is mentioned, but also from the lands given to that tribe for an inheritance, where these also are mentioned in the Word, as Heshbon, Jazer, Rabbah, Ramath of Mispeh, the brook of Arnon, Chinnereth, the springs of Pisgah, and many other places. What these lands signify in the spiritual sense no one can know unless he knows the signification of "the tribe of Reuben, of Gad, and of the half tribe of Manasseh," to whom these lands were given for a possession; for they signify such things as are signified by those tribes in a wide and in a restricted sense.
[7] As in Jeremiah:
Against the sons of Ammon: Hath Israel no sons? Hath he no heir? Why then hath their king inherited Gad, and his people dwelt in the cities thereof? Therefore behold, the days come in which I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon; and it shall become a heap of desolation, and her daughters shall be burned with fire, and Israel shall be heir unto them that were his heirs. Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is devastated; cry out, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird ye with sackcloth; lament, and wander about among the walls, for their king shall go into exile, and his priests and his princes together (Jeremiah 49:1-3).
Unless one knows what is signified by "Gad" and by "Israel," he cannot know what is here signified by "the sons of Ammon," by "Heshbon," and by "Rabbah;" for Rabbah, Heshbon, and half of the land of Ammon were given to the tribe of Gad for an inheritance; therefore those lands signify such things in particular as are signified in general by Gad; for it is said "Why then hath the king of the sons of Ammon inherited Gad, and his people dwelt in the cities thereof?" For all names of lands, of regions, of cities, of rivers, and of peoples, in the Word signify the things of the church. "Gad" here signifies the good of life according to the truths of doctrine; "Israel" the church in respect to truth; "the sons of Ammon" signify the falsifications of truth; "Heshbon" signifies the fructification of truth in the natural man; "the daughters of Rabbah" signify the affections of truth in the natural man, and "Ai" the doctrine of truth. When these things are known, the spiritual sense of these words follows in this series: "Against the sons of Ammon" signifies against the falsifications of truth; "hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir?" signifies, are there in the church no knowledges of truth and good? "Israel" meaning the church, "his sons" truths, and "heir" the good of truth; "why then hath their king inherited Gad, and his people dwelt in the cities thereof?" signifies, why hath truth falsified destroyed the good of life, and also perverted the doctrinals according to which is life? "Behold, the days come, in which I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and it shall become a heap of desolation," signifies the destruction of that doctrine, that is, of truth falsified, and the destruction of those who are in it; "and her daughters shall be burned with fire," signifies that the affections of that doctrine shall become lusts of evil; "and Israel shall be heir unto them that were his heirs," signifies that the church in respect to goods is to perish; "howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is devastated," signifies that there is no longer any fructification of truth from good, because the doctrine of truth is destroyed; "cry out, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird ye with sackcloth, lament," signifies that there are no longer any affections of truth; "and wander about among the walls," signifies thought and life from falsities; "for their king hath gone into exile," signifies because truth is no more; "and his priests and his princes together," signifies that both goods and the truths of good are no more. This makes clear that "the lands of the inheritance of Gad" signify similar things in particular as "Gad" does in general, and that the significations of the lands mentioned in the Word can be known from the signification of the tribes to which they were given for inheritance. The lands that it is said would be given for an inheritance to the tribe of Gad, in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 48:27), mean something else; evidently the tribe of Gad is not meant, but such a constituent of the church as is signified by "Gad," for there was then no tribe of Gad, nor will there be.
[8] That "Gad" signifies the good of life from the truths of doctrine is evident from the blessing of that tribe by Moses:
To Gad he said, Blessed is he who hath given breadth to Gad; as a lion he dwelleth, and he teareth the arm, yea, the crown of the head, and he seeth the firstfruits for himself; for there is the portion of the hidden lawgiver; whence came the heads of the people; he hath executed the righteousness of Jehovah, and judgments 2 with Israel (Deuteronomy 33:20, 21).
Here the good of life according to truths from the Word, and the influx of heaven into that good are described by "Gad;" the influx of truth from the Lord into that good is signified by "Blessed is he who hath given breadth to Gad;" "breadth" signifying truth, "Gad" the good of life, and "Blessed" the Lord. To be safe from falsities is signified by "as a lion he dwelleth;" to be nourished by truths external and internal is signified by "he teareth the arm, yea, the crown of the head," for "the arm" and "the crown of the head" in sacrifices have this signification; that these truths are from things primary is signified by "he seeth the firstfruits for himself;" truths Divine that lie hidden therein are signified by "for there is the portion of the hidden lawgiver;" intelligence therefrom is signified by "whence came the heads of the people;" good works therefrom are signified by "he hath executed the righteousness of Jehovah;" and truths of the church therefrom are signified by "His judgments with Israel."
[9] "Gad" signifies the good of life because he was named from the Hebrew word for "troop" (Genesis 30:10, 11), "gad" in the Hebrew meaning troop, and "troop" in the spiritual sense signifies works; and the good of life consists in doing the goods which are works (respecting which seeArcana Coelestia 3934). In the blessing given by Israel his father it is thus said in Moses:
Gad, a troop shall ravage him; and he shall ravage the heel (Genesis 49:19).
What "Gad" here signifies may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia 6403-6406); also (in n. 6405) what is signified by these words in Isaiah:
Ye are they that forsake Jehovah, that forget the mountain of My holiness, that arrange a table for Gad, and fill a drink-offering for Meni (Isaiah 65:11).
Poznámky pod čarou:
1. The photolithograph has "Dan" for "Gad."
2. The photolithograph has "judgment;" but in explanation below with the Hebrew "judgments."
Numbers 33
1
These are the journeys of the children of Israel, when they went forth out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron.
2
Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of Yahweh: and these are their journeys according to their goings out.
3
They traveled from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the next day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians,
4
while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom Yahweh had struck among them: on their gods also Yahweh executed judgments.
5
The children of Israel traveled from Rameses, and encamped in Succoth.
6
They traveled from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, which is in the edge of the wilderness.
7
They traveled from Etham, and turned back to Pihahiroth, which is before Baal Zephon: and they encamped before Migdol.
8
They traveled from before Hahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness: and they went three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham, and encamped in Marah.
9
They traveled from Marah, and came to Elim: and in Elim were twelve springs of water, and seventy palm trees; and they encamped there.
10
They traveled from Elim, and encamped by the Red Sea.
11
They traveled from the Red Sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin.
12
They traveled from the wilderness of Sin, and encamped in Dophkah.
13
They traveled from Dophkah, and encamped in Alush.
14
They traveled from Alush, and encamped in Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
15
They traveled from Rephidim, and encamped in the wilderness of Sinai.
16
They traveled from the wilderness of Sinai, and encamped in Kibroth Hattaavah.
17
They traveled from Kibroth Hattaavah, and encamped in Hazeroth.
18
They traveled from Hazeroth, and encamped in Rithmah.
19
They traveled from Rithmah, and encamped in Rimmon Perez.
20
They traveled from Rimmon Perez, and encamped in Libnah.
21
They traveled from Libnah, and encamped in Rissah.
22
They traveled from Rissah, and encamped in Kehelathah.
23
They traveled from Kehelathah, and encamped in Mount Shepher.
24
They traveled from Mount Shepher, and encamped in Haradah.
25
They traveled from Haradah, and encamped in Makheloth.
26
They traveled from Makheloth, and encamped in Tahath.
27
They traveled from Tahath, and encamped in Terah.
28
They traveled from Terah, and encamped in Mithkah.
29
They traveled from Mithkah, and encamped in Hashmonah.
30
They traveled from Hashmonah, and encamped in Moseroth.
31
They traveled from Moseroth, and encamped in Bene Jaakan.
32
They traveled from Bene Jaakan, and encamped in Hor Haggidgad.
33
They traveled from Hor Haggidgad, and encamped in Jotbathah.
34
They traveled from Jotbathah, and encamped in Abronah.
35
They traveled from Abronah, and encamped in Ezion Geber.
36
They traveled from Ezion Geber, and encamped in the wilderness of Zin (the same is Kadesh).
37
They traveled from Kadesh, and encamped in Mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom.
38
Aaron the priest went up into Mount Hor at the commandment of Yahweh, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fifth month, on the first day of the month.
39
Aaron was one hundred twenty-three years old when he died in Mount Hor.
40
The Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the South in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.
41
They traveled from Mount Hor, and encamped in Zalmonah.
42
They traveled from Zalmonah, and encamped in Punon.
43
They traveled from Punon, and encamped in Oboth.
44
They traveled from Oboth, and encamped in Iye Abarim, in the border of Moab.
45
They traveled from Iyim, and encamped in Dibon Gad.
46
They traveled from Dibon Gad, and encamped in Almon Diblathaim.
47
They traveled from Almon Diblathaim, and encamped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.
48
They traveled from the mountains of Abarim, and encamped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
49
They encamped by the Jordan, from Beth Jeshimoth even to Abel Shittim in the plains of Moab.
50
Yahweh spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying,
51
Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, "When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,
52
then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured [stones], and destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places:
53
and you shall take possession of the land, and dwell therein; for I have given given the land to you to possess it.
54
You shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the more you shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer you shall give the less inheritance: wherever the lot falls to any man, that shall be his. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers.
55
"But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those you let remain of them will be as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they will harass you in the land in which you dwell.
56
It shall happen that as I thought to do to them, so will I do to you."
