28. The Firstborn from the dead, signifies from whom is all good in heaven. This is evident from the signification of the "firstborn," as being, in reference to the Lord, Divine good in heaven, thus all good there. The "firstborn" signifies this, because by generations, in general and in particular, spiritual generations are signified, which are the generations of good and truth or of love and faith; from this it is, that by "father," "mother," "sons," "daughters," "sons-in-law," "daughters-in-law," and "son's sons," are signified goods and truths which generate and are generated in their order (Arcana Coelestia 10490), for in heaven there are no other nativities. This being so, by "firstborn" is not meant the firstborn, but the good of heaven and of the church, because this is in the first place. And since it is the Lord from whom all good in heaven is, He is called the "Firstborn." He is called "the Firstborn from the dead," because, when He arose from the dead, He made His Human to be Divine good by union with the Divine that was in Him from conception.

[2] This is why He is called "the Firstborn from the dead," and says of Himself in David:

I will make Him the Firstborn, high above the kings of the earth (Psalms 89:27).

What is meant by His being "high above the kings of the earth" will be seen in a subsequent article.

(That the Lord, when He departed from the world, made His Human Divine good, see Arcana Coelestia 3194, 3210, 6864, 7499, 8724, 9199, 10076; thus that He came forth from the Father and returned to the Father, n. 3194, 3210; and that after the union, the Divine truth, which is the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, proceeds from Him, n. 3704, 3712, 3969, 4577, 5704, 7499, 8127, 8241, 9199, 9398, 9407. But this arcanum may be seen more fully explained in the small work on The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 293-295; and in the passages there cited from the Arcana Coelestia 303-305.)

As the Lord in respect to the Divine Human is called "the Firstborn," for the reason that all good proceeds from Him, so all the firstborn in the Israelitish church were holy to Jehovah; so also the Levites were received in place of all the firstborn in Israel; for by the sons of Levi were represented those of the church who are in the good of charity: therefore also a double portion of inheritance was allotted to the firstborn; all this for the reason that the firstborn signified the good that is from the Lord, and in the highest sense, the Lord Himself in respect to the Divine Human from which is all good. For all things that were commanded in the Israelitish church were representative of Divine things, spiritual and celestial.

[3] That all the firstborn in the Israelitish church were holy to Jehovah appears from Moses, in the following passages:

Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the sons of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is Mine (Exodus 13:2).

Thou shalt cause to pass over unto Jehovah all that openeth the womb, and every firstling that cometh of a beast, as many as thou hast, the males shall be Jehovah's (Exodus 13:12).

Thou shalt not delay to offer the firstfruits of thy produce, and the firstfruits of thy wine. The firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto Me. Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen and with thy sheep; seven days it shall be with its dam: on the eighth day thou shalt give it Me. And ye shall be men of holiness unto Me (Exodus 22:29-31).

They were to give also the firstborn of beasts, because these, too, were representative; and because they represented they were also made use of in burnt-offerings and sacrifices.

(What the various beasts in these services represented, see Arcana Coelestia 1823, 3519, 9280, 9980, 10042. Why the Levites were accepted in place of all the firstborn in Israel, see Numbers 3:12, 13, 41, 45; 8:15-20, was, as was said above, because the "sons of Levi" represented, and therefore signified, the good of charity, and "Levi," in the highest sense, signified the Lord as to that good, see Arcana Coelestia 3875, 3877, 4497, 4502, 4503, 10017. A double portion of the inheritance was given to the firstborn, Deuteronomy 21:17, because a "double portion" signified the good of love, Arcana Coelestia 720, 1686, 5194, 8423)

9280. 'In order that your ox and your ass may rest' means the peace and serenity that external forms of good and truths enjoy at the same time. This is clear from the meaning of 'resting', when it refers to the seventh day or the sabbath, as peace and serenity, as immediately above in 9279; and from the meaning of 'ox' as external good, and of 'ass' as external truth, dealt with in 2781, 9135, 9255.

Beasts were signs of affections and inclinations such as the human being shares in common with them, see 45, 46, 142, 143, 246, 714, 715, 776, 2179, 2180, 2781, 3218, 3519, 5198, 5913, 8937, 9090, 9135.

Beasts were used in sacrifices in accordance with their spiritual meaning, 1823, 2180, 2805, 2807, 2830, 3519.

All things existing in the world, in its three kingdoms, were representative of the spiritual and celestial realities of the Lord's kingdom, 1632, 1881, 2758, 2987-3003, 3213-3227, 3483, 3624-3649, 4939, 5116, 5427, 5428, 5477, 8211.

All things have a correspondence, 2987-3003, 3213-3226, 3337-3352, 3472-3485, 3624-3649, 3745-3750, 3883-3896, 4039-4055, 4218-4228, 4318-4331, 4403-4420, 4523-4533, 4622-4634, 4652-4660, 4791-4806, 4931-4952, 5050-5062, 5171-5189, 5377-5396, 5552-5573, 5711-5727, 8615.

[2] These references have been drawn together to enable it to be seen that not merely all beasts but also all objects in the world have a correspondence, and that in accordance with their correspondences they all represent and serve to mean spiritual and celestial realities, and in the highest sense Divine realities that are the Lord's. And from this the character of the ancient Churches, called representative Churches, may be seen. This character was such that each one of their sacred observances served to represent things that are the Lord's and belong to His kingdom, thus aspects of love to Him and belief in Him. In those times heaven was joined to a member of the Church by means of these observances, since internal aspects were presented in heaven. The Word of the Lord has also been given to the same end, for every detail in it, even to the smallest part of a letter, has a correspondence and spiritual meaning. Through the Word alone therefore is heaven linked to mankind.

[3] No one at the present day knows that this is so. Consequently when the natural man reads the Word and seeks to discover where its Divinity lies, but does not find it in the letter on account of its very ordinary style, he at first begins to disparage it and then to reject the idea that it has been dictated by God and sent down to mankind by way of heaven. The natural man does not know that the Word is Divine by virtue of its spiritual sense, which is not visible in the letter but is nevertheless present within the letter; nor does he know that this sense is presented in heaven when someone on earth reads it devoutly, and that the subject in that sense is the Lord and His kingdom. These are the Divine things which make the Word Divine and through which holiness flows from the Lord by way of heaven, even into the literal sense and into the actual letters. But as long as a person does not know what anything spiritual is he cannot know either what the spiritual sense is, nor thus what correspondence is. And as long as a person loves the world more than heaven, and self more than the Lord, he has no wish to know these things and understand them. Yet they were the source of all intelligence among the ancients, and they are also the source of wisdom among the angels. Hidden mysteries, which numerous diviners have vainly toiled to track down in the Word, lie in those things alone.