434. Of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand sealed, signifies the light of truth from that love, and that all who are in that light are in heaven and come into heaven. This is evident from the signification of "the tribe of Reuben," as being those who are in the light of truth (of which presently); from the signification of "twelve thousand," as being all things and all persons (of which above, n. 430, here all who are in the light of truth from the good of love to the Lord, which love is signified by "the tribe of Judah" (as was just shown above, n. 433; also from the signification of "the sealed," as being those who are in heaven and who come into heaven (of which also above, n. 427, 433). It has been said before, that the twelve tribes of Israel represented and thence signify in the Word all things of the church, that each tribe signifies some universal essential of the church, and that "Judah" signifies love to the Lord; but that "Reuben" signifies light from that love will be seen in what follows.

[2] "Reuben," and thence the tribe named from him, signifies in the highest sense the Lord in respect to foresight or foreknowledge; in the internal sense spiritual faith and the understanding of truth; and in the external sense, sight; and as "Reuben" in the internal sense signifies faith and understanding he also signifies the light of truth, for faith exists from the light of truth, and the understanding is illustrated by it; for where there is the light of truth there is understanding and there is faith.

[3] "Reuben," or the tribe of Reuben, has the same signification as "Peter" the apostle; for the twelve apostles in a similar manner as the twelve tribes of Israel, represented all things of the church, and each apostle some universal essential of the church; and as Peter had a similar representation with Reuben, therefore was he the first of the apostles, as Reuben was the first of the sons of Jacob. (That "Peter" signifies truth in the light, and faith, see above, n. 9, 411.)

[4] Reuben was the first of the sons of Jacob, and thence the tribe called from him is named in the first place in most passages of the Word, because he was the firstborn; and "firstborn" in the Word signifies truth from good, or what is the same thing, truth in light, and thus faith from charity. For truth and what is of faith appears to man to be first, for it enters by the hearing into the memory and is called forth therefrom into the thought; and that which a man thinks he sees and perceives by interior sight, and that which is first in sight and perception is first, but merely in appearance, not actually. Actually, good is the firstborn, or the first constituent of the church, since truth exists from good, for good forms itself in truths, and by means of truths presents itself to be seen, therefore truth is good in form. This is why truth is said to be from good and faith from charity, for that which is from anything is that thing imaged forth; and [truth] viewed in itself is good formed and born; such therefore is the meaning of "firstborn" in the spiritual sense of the Word. Moreover, with infants the good of innocence is what is first imparted by the Lord, and it is from this that man first becomes a man; and because good is of love, and man does not reflect about his love but about his thought from the memory, and because good has no quality until it is formed into truths, and without quality nothing is perceived, so it is not known that good is first, and is the firstborn; for it is good that is first conceived from the Lord with man, and it is brought forth through truths, in which good is in its own form and effigy.

[5] It is to be noted, furthermore, that the truths that man in his infancy and childhood imbibes from the Word and from doctrine therefrom, and from preaching, although they appear as truths, still they are not truths with him, they are only like shells without kernels, or like the form of the body or of the face without soul and life. These do not become truths until they are received in the will, for thus they are first received by the man and begin to live with him; for the will is the man himself, and all good is of the will, and all truth of the understanding therefrom. From this it can be seen why the tribe of Judah, which signifies the good of love to the Lord, is here named in the first place, and then the tribe of Reuben, which signifies truth in light from that good.

[6] It should be known that all light in which truth is seen is from the light of heaven which is from the Lord; the light of heaven is from the Divine good of the Lord's Divine love; the light of heaven is Divine good in form. In heaven these two are one, and are received by the angels as one, and should be received by man as one that he may have communion with the angels. (But these things may be seen more fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia, as follows: When man is regenerating, truth is in the first place and good in the second, not actually but apparently, but when he is regenerated, good is in the first place and truth in the second actually and perceptibly, n. 3324, 3325, 3330, 3336, 3494, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4243, 4245, 4247, 4337, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 4977, 5351, 6256, 6269, 6273, 8516, 10110; thus good is the first and the last of regeneration, n. Arcana Coelestia 9337. Since truth appears to be in the first place and good in the second when man is regenerating, or what is the same, when he is becoming a church, because of this appearance it was a matter of controversy among the ancients whether the truth of faith or the good of charity is the firstborn of the church, n. Arcana Coelestia 367, 2435.

The good of charity is the firstborn of the church actually, and the truth of faith only apparently, n. 3325, 3494, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 8042, 8080.

And the "firstborn" in the Word signifies the first constituent of the church, which has priority and superiority, n. 3325.

For this reason the Lord is called "the Firstborn," because in Him and from Him is all the good of love, of charity, and of faith, 3325)

[7] As truth is apparently in the first place, so Reuben was the firstborn, and was named from sight, as is evident in Moses:

Leah conceived and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, Jehovah hath seen my affliction; for now my man will love me (Genesis 29:32).

Although these are historical facts, they nevertheless contain a spiritual sense; for every and each thing that is in the Word is from the spiritual world, because it is from the Lord; when these [spiritual] things are let down out of heaven into the natural world they are clothed with a correspondent natural sense, such as the sense of the letter of the Word is; therefore the nativities of the sons of Jacob signify spiritual nativities, which describe how good and truth are born in man when the Lord is regenerating him. This is why spiritual conception and birth are signified by "Leah conceived and bare a "she called his name Reuben" signifies its quality; "she said, because Jehovah hath seen" signifies in the highest sense foresight, in the internal sense faith, in the interior sense the understanding, and in the external sense sight, here faith from the Lord; "mine affliction" signifies the state of attaining to good; "for now my man will love me" signifies that the good of truth is therefrom. (But this may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia 3860-3866.)

In the original language Reuben signifies sight, and in the spiritual sense "sight" signifies the understanding of truth and faith, in the highest sense Divine foresight (as can be seen from what is shown respecting the signification of seeing and sight in the Arcana Coelestia, as follows:

"sight" in the highest sense, which has reference to the Lord, signifies foresight, n. 2807, 2837, 2839, 3686, 3854, 3863, 10428;

"sight" in the internal sense signifies faith, because spiritual sight is sight from faith, and the things that pertain to faith are the objects of sight in the spiritual world, n. 897, 2325, 2807, 3863, 3869, 5400, 10705;

also "to see" signifies to understand and perceive truth, n. 2150, 2325, 2807, 3764, 3863, 3869, 10705;

the internal sight is the understanding, and this sees through the eyes of the body; and the sight of the understanding is from the light of heaven, n. 1524, 3138, 3167, 4408, 5114, 6608, 8707, 9128, 9399, 10569).

[8] That "Reuben" signifies truth from good, or faith from charity, is evident also from the "mandrakes" that he found in the field and gave to his mother, respecting which it is thus written in Moses:

Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto Leah his mother. And Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray, of thy son's mandrakes. And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken away my man? and wilt thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee tonight for thy son's mandrakes. And Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou shalt come in unto me; because hiring I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. And she conceived, and bare Jacob a son, Issachar (Genesis 30:14-18).

One who does not know what is signified by "mandrakes," also what was represented by "Reuben," "Jacob," "Leah," and "Rachel," must be wholly ignorant of why such things occurred, and why they have been recorded in the Word; but it can be seen that there is something Divine in them that is not apparent in the sense of the letter, because they are in the Word, and in it each and everything is Divine. The spiritual sense of these things makes evident the Divine that is contained in them; in that sense "mandrakes" signify the marriage of good and truth; "Reuben" represents truth from good; "Jacob" the church in respect to truth; "Leah" and "Rachel" the church in respect to good, but "Leah" the external church, and "Rachel" the internal church; therefore the "mandrakes" found by Reuben signify the conjugial [conjugiale] of truth with good; and as that conjugial is between truth and good in the internal or spiritual man, which constitutes the internal church, and yet that truth is first given in the external or natural man, which constitutes the external church, therefore the mandrakes were found by Reuben, who represented truth from good, and were first given to Leah his mother, who represented the external church, but still Leah afterwards gave them to Rachel, who represented the internal church, that Leah might be permitted to lie with Jacob. (But this may be seen more fully explained in Arcana Coelestia 3940-3952.)

[9] Because "Reuben" represented truth from good, or faith from charity:

It was he who exhorted his brethren not to kill Joseph, wishing to deliver him out of their hand; and was greatly grieved when Joseph was not found in the pit (Genesis 37:21, 22, 29, 30).

(This may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia 4731-4738, and n. 4761-4766.)

[10] Because "Reuben" or his tribe signified truth from good, or faith from charity:

The camp of that tribe in the wilderness was to the south, and the camp to the south was called the camp of Reuben (Numbers 2:10-16);

for the encampments of the tribes of Israel represented the arrangements of the angelic societies in heaven, and the angelic societies have their dwelling places in quarters according to their states in respect to good and truth (See above, n. 422), and in the southern quarter there those dwell who are in the light of truth from good; and because the tribe of Reuben represented truth from good or truth in light, it encamped on the south.

[11] Because truth from good, which the tribe of Reuben represented, is in the natural man, to the tribe of Reuben an inheritance beyond Jordan was given (See Numbers 32, Deuteronomy 3:12-20; Joshua 13 end; Leviticus 18:7); for by "the land of Canaan" the church was represented and thus signified in the Word, that region of it beyond Jordan signifying the external church, the region on this side, Jordan the internal church, and the river Jordan the boundary between them; and it is truth from good, or faith from charity that constitutes the church, truth from good in the natural man constituting the external church; and because the tribe of Reuben represented this constituent of the church, therefore to that tribe an inheritance beyond Jordan was given. Why inheritances beyond Jordan were given also to the tribe of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh will be told in what follows.

[12] The conjunction of these two churches, namely, the external and the internal, which is like the conjunction of the natural and the spiritual man, was represented, and in the spiritual sense is described by:

The altar that the sons of Reuben, of Gad, and of Manasseh built beside the Jordan, about which there was a strife between these tribes and the other tribes; but it was said that the altar should be for a witness that although they dwelt beyond Jordan, they nevertheless served Jehovah in common with the rest; therefore they called that altar a witness between us that Jehovah is God (Joshua 22:9-34 to end).

For "the Jordan" signified the medium between the external and the internal of the church; "the land of Canaan on this side Jordan" signifying the internal church, and "the land beyond Jordan" the external, and this also was represented by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, which had their inheritances there; while that altar signified the common worship of the two churches, and thus conjunction thereby.

[13] That "Reuben" signifies truth in the natural man is evident also from the prophecy of Deborah and Barak in the book of Judges:

In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of the heart. Why did you stay among the campfires to hear the whistling for the flocks? In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart. Gilead dwelt ¹ beyond the Jordan (Judges 5:15-17).

This no one can understand unless he knows what the prophecy treats of, and what is signified by the "districts," "Reuben," "the campfires," "the whistling for the flocks," and "Gilead." This treats of the church among the sons of Israel in a state of vastation; and "the districts of Reuben" signify both all truths and all goods that are in the natural man; "the campfires" signify cognitions and knowledges there; "the whistling for the flocks" signify the perceptions and thoughts thereof; and "Gilead" signifies the natural man. When this is known, what these things mean in the spiritual sense becomes evident, namely, that when the church is destroyed the natural man with the things in it is separated from the spiritual man, whereas it ought to be conjoined to it; and when it is conjoined, there are truths there from good, by which truths there is a combat against the falsities from evil, for the natural man must combat against them from the spiritual man. "The statutes of the heart" and "the searchings of the heart" signify the truths from good, which are in the natural man from the spiritual man, "heart" signifying the good of love, and "the statutes and searchings of the heart" all things that are determined and arranged in the natural man from good in the spiritual man. This is said respecting Reuben because his tribe dwelt beyond Jordan in Gilead; and it was not conjoined with Deborah and Barak when they fought against Sisera, but only Issachar and Zebulun, "Sisera" in the spiritual sense meaning the falsity from evil destroying the church.

[14] "Reuben" signifies the light of truth, and the understanding of the Word therefrom, in Moses:

Let Reuben live and not die; yet his men shall be a number (Deuteronomy 33:6).

Here "Reuben" means the understanding of the Word illustrated by light from heaven; and because there are a few who receive such illustration it is said of Reuben, "Yet his men shall be a number," "number" signifying fewness and a few.

[15] That "Reuben" signifies truth from good, or faith from charity, is evident also from the contrary sense, in which he is also mentioned. In that sense "Reuben" signifies truth separate from good, or faith separate from charity; and truth without good is not truth except merely in respect to expression and sound, for it is merely a matter of knowledge, having its seat in the memory of the natural man, thus only in the entrance to man, and not within him in his life. The memory of the natural man is merely an entrance to him, and what is in it does not become truth in him until he wills it and does it; then it first enters and receives life; not till then does the light from heaven flow in and illustrate. It is similar with faith separate from charity, for truth is of faith, and good is of charity.

[16] That "Reuben" in the contrary sense signifies faith separate from charity can be seen from his adultery with Bilhah his father's concubine, which is thus described in Moses:

It came to pass while Israel dwelt in the land Ephrath Bethlehem, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heard (Genesis 35:22).

"Ephrath Bethlehem" signifies the spiritual church, which is in truths from good, or in faith from charity; Reuben's adultery signifies the rejection of the good of charity from the truths of faith, for truth is profaned when it is not conjoined with its own good, which is the good of charity, since it is then conjoined with the love of self and the world, which is adulteration. All adulteries (of which many kinds are enumerated in Leviticus 18:6-23) correspond to the adulterations of good and truth. That the adultery committed by Reuben corresponds to faith separate from charity has been made known and testified to me by things heard and seen in the spiritual world, where such a sphere of adultery is perceived to go forth from those who have separated charity from faith in doctrine and life.

[17] Because this too was signified by "Reuben," the birthright was taken away from him by his father and given to Joseph and his sons. That it was taken from Reuben is evident from these words of his father:

Reuben my firstborn, thou art my power and the beginning of my might, excelling in eminence and excelling in strength. Light as water, thou shalt not excel, because thou wentest up to thy father's bed, then profanedst thou it; he went up to my couch (Genesis 49:3, 4).

"Reuben my firstborn" signifies faith, which is apparently in the first place, or truth born of good; "thou art my power and the beginning of my might" signifies that thereby good has its potency and truth has its first potency; "excelling in eminence and excelling in strength" signifies that from this is glory and power; "light as water" signifies that it is not so with faith separate from charity; "thou shalt not excel" signifies that such faith has neither glory nor power, "because thou wentest up to thy father's bed" signifies because the truth of faith separated from the good of charity has a filthy conjunction; "then profanedst thou it" signifies conjunction with the love of self and the world and with evil therefrom, which is a profane conjunction; "he went up to my couch" signifies the contamination of spiritual good in the natural. (This is fully explained in Arcana Coelestia 6341-6350.)

[18] That the birthright was therefore given to the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, is meant by these words of Israel the father to Joseph:

Now thy two sons born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came into Egypt, they are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine (Genesis 48:5).

And in the first book of Chronicles:

Reuben was the firstborn; but because he defiled his father's bed his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel (1 Chronicles 5:1, 2).

For "Ephraim" in the Word has a similar signification with "Reuben," namely, the understanding of truth, and truth in the light. It is said "Ephraim and Manasseh shall be the sons of Israel, even as Reuben and Simeon," because "Reuben" signifies the understanding of truth, and "Simeon" the will of truth, similar with "Ephraim" and "Manasseh." From this it can now be seen what universal essential of the church is signified in the Word by "Reuben."

Poznámky pod čarou:

3195. 'And was dwelling in the land of the south' means consequently in Divine light. This is clear from the meaning of 'dwelling' as living, dealt with in 1293, and from the fact that it has reference to good, 2268, 2451, 2712; and from the meaning of 'the land of the south' as Divine light. For 'the south' means light, indeed the light of intelligence, which is wisdom, 1458, but 'the land of the south' the place and state where that light exists. Thus the whole verse here 'Isaac had come from Beer Lahai Roi, and was dwelling in the land of the south' means that Divine Rational Good, because it had been born from Divine Truth, was in Divine light.

[2] Light is mentioned many times in the Word, and in the internal sense it means truth springing from good. In the highest internal sense however 'light' means the Lord Himself since He is Good and Truth themselves. He Himself is also in actual fact the light in heaven, but this is infinitely brighter than the light on earth, see 1053, 1117, 1521-1533, 1619-1632. In that light spirits and angels behold one another, and by means of it all the glory that exists in heaven is clearly visible. In brightness that light seems to be much the same as the light in the world, but this is not the case, for it is not a natural light but a spiritual one. It holds wisdom within itself, so much so that it is nothing else than wisdom that shines in this manner before the eyes of those in heaven. Consequently the wiser the angels are, the brighter the light surrounding them, 2776. This light also enlightens the understanding of man, especially of one who is regenerate, but man does not discern it during his lifetime because the light of the world reigns at that time. Evil spirits too in the next life behold one another, and also behold many representatives which manifest themselves in the world of spirits. They do so indeed by the light of heaven. Yet it is an inferior light like that coming from a coal fire, for when the light of heaven reaches them it is turned into this inferior light.

[3] As for the source itself of light, this from eternity has existed from the Lord alone, for Divine Good itself and Divine Truth itself, the source of light, is the Lord. The Divine Human which existed from eternity, John 17:5, was that actual light. Because such light was unable any longer to influence the human race which had retreated so far from good and truth, and so from the light, and had cast itself into darkness, the Lord was therefore willing to be born and assume the Human itself. Indeed in so doing He was able to bring light not only to man's rational concepts but also to his natural ideas. For the Lord made Divine within Himself both the Rational and the Natural so that people who were in such gross darkness could have light.

[4] As regards the Lord's being 'the light', that is, Good and Truth themselves, and so the source of all intelligence and wisdom, and consequently of salvation, this becomes clear from many places in the Word, as in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. John came to bear witness to the light. He was not that light but [came] to bear witness to the light. He was the true light which enlightens every man coming into the world. John 1:1, 4, 7-9.

'The Word' was Divine Truth, and so the Lord Himself as regards the Divine Human, of which it is said that 'the Word was with God, and the Word was God'.

[5] In the same gospel,

This is the judgement, that light has come into the world, but men preferred darkness rather than light. John 3:19.

'Light' stands for Divine Truth. In the same gospel,

Jesus said, I am the light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk darkness but will have the light of life. John 8:12.

In the same gospel,

The light is with you for a brief while longer. Walk, as long as you have the light, lest the darkness overtakes you. As long as you have the light, believe in the light, that you may be sons of the light. John 12:35-36.

In the same gospel,

He who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as light into the world in order that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness.

John 12:45-46.

In Luke,

My eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light for revelation to the gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel. Luke 2:30-32.

This is Simeon's prophecy regarding the Lord which was made after

His birth.

[6] In Matthew,

The people sitting in darkness have seen a great light; and for those sitting in the region and shadow of death, the light has arisen. Matthew 4:16; Isaiah 9:2.

From all these places it is quite evident that as regards Divine Good and Truth within the Divine Human the Lord is called 'the light'. The same is also seen in prophetical parts of the Old Testament, as in Isaiah,

The light of Israel will be a fire, and his Holy One a flame. Isaiah 10:17.

In the same prophet,

I Jehovah have called You in righteousness, and I will give You for a covenant of the people, and a light of the nations. Isaiah 42:6.

In the same prophet,

I have given You as a light of the nations, that You may be My salvation right to the ends of the earth. Isaiah 49:6.

In the same prophet,

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of Jehovah has risen upon you. Nations will walk to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Isaiah 60:1, 3.

[7] All the light of heaven, consequently wisdom and intelligence, come from the Lord. This is taught in John,

The Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, has no need of the sun or of the moon to shed light in it; the glory of God will give it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.

Revelation 21:2-3.

And further regarding the same city,

There will be no night there, nor do they need a lamp or light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. Revelation 22:5.

[8] Also in Isaiah,

The sun will no longer be to you a light by day, and for brightness the moon will not give light to you, but Jehovah will be to you an everlasting light, and your God will be your glory. Your sun will no longer go down and your moon will not be withdrawn, for Jehovah will be to you an everlasting light. Isaiah 60:19-20.

'The sun will no longer be a light by day, and for brightness the moon will not give its light' stands for the fact that it is not the things that belong to natural light but those that belong to spiritual light which are meant by 'Jehovah will be an everlasting light'. The name Jehovah used here and elsewhere in the Old Testament means the Lord, see 1343, 1736, 2156, 2329, 2921, 3023, 3035.

[9] His being the light of heaven was also disclosed to the three disciples Peter, James, and John - that is to say, at the Transfiguration when His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as the light, Matthew 17:2. 'Face like the sun' meant Divine Good, 'garments as the light' Divine Truth. From this one may know what is meant by the words that occur in the blessing,

Jehovah make His face shine upon you and be merciful to you. Numbers 6:25.

'Jehovah's face' is mercy, peace, and good, see 222, 223; and as 'the sun' means Divine Love, the Lord's Divine Love is accordingly seen in the angelic heaven as the sun, 30-38, 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 2441, 2495.