435. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.- That this signifies the good of life thence, is plain from the representation of the tribe of Gad, which is the good of life, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of twelve thousand sealed, which means that all such are in heaven, and come into heaven. Upon this subject the two preceding articles may be consulted. Before we show from the Word the representation of Gad and of the tribe named after him, something shall be said respecting the meaning of the good of life, which the tribe of Gad here signifies. Good of life is from a celestial origin, from a spiritual origin, and from a natural origin. The good of life from a celestial origin is that which results from the good of love to the Lord by means of truths from that good, the good of life being the effect of these. This good of life is that which is signified here by the tribe of Gad, therefore it is said, the good of life thence, that is to say, from the good of love to the Lord signified by the tribe of Judah, by means of truths from that good, signified by the tribe of Reuben. The good of life from a spiritual origin is the good of life which results from the good of charity towards the neighbour, by means of truths from that good, and this good of life is meant by Manasseh.

[2] The twelve tribes of Israel are here divided into four classes, and there are three tribes in each class. These three tribes in a series signify such things as from beginning to end, or from first to last, form that very essential universal of the church, which is signified by the first tribe in the class. The three tribes first named, that is to say, the tribes of Judah, Reuben, and Gad, signify those things which fully constitute celestial good; but the three following tribes, namely, the tribes of Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh, signify those which fully constitute spiritual good; similarly the tribes which afterwards follow.

[3] There are also three things which fully constitute and form every universal essential, the good of love, truth from that good, and the resulting good of life. The good of life is the effect of the other two. For unless there be a third, the two former have no existence; in other words, the good of love, and truth from that good, cannot exist without the good of life. These three are like the final cause, the efficient cause, and the effect. The good of love is the final cause, truth from that good is the efficient cause or that by means of which good is brought into effect, and the good of life is the effect in which the former causes exist, and without which they have no existence or subsistence. Those three also are like the beating of the heart, the respiration of the lungs, and the action of the body; these make one. For if the body does not act, or suffer itself to be put in action, as is the case when a man dies, the other two cease. The case is similar with the good of love, with truth from that good, and with 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 meant in the Word by spirit and soul; and the good of life is like the body, in which the former act and live. There are three similar conditions in everything that exists, and when the three exist together, the formation is complete.

[4] It shall first be explained what is signified by Gad, or the tribe of Gad, in every sense. Gad, in the highest sense, signifies the Lord as to Omnipotence and Omniscience. In the internal sense, it signifies the good of truth, and in the external sense, works therefrom, which are the good of life. Gad has these significations, because in every part and detail of the Word there is an inmost, an internal, and an external sense. In the inmost sense is the Lord alone, for that sense treats of Him, of the glorification of His Human, of the orderly arrangement of the heavens, of the subjugation of the hells, and of the establishment of the church by Him. Therefore each tribe, in the inmost sense, signifies the Lord in regard to some attribute and work of His. But in the internal sense heaven and the church are treated of, and doctrine is laid down; 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 for the middle or second heaven, and the external or spiritual-natural sense for the first or ultimate heaven.

[5] The reason why the tribe of Gad, in this passage of the Apocalypse, where the twelve tribes are named, signifies the good of life, is, that it follows in order after Judah and Reuben; and Judah signifies the good of love, Reuben, truth from that good, and therefore Gad, the good of life. For from the good of love, by means of truths from it, the good of life exists, the good of life being the third in order, since it is the effect of the two former, as said above. Because the good of life is the good of the natural man, therefore an inheritance was given to the tribe of Gad beyond Jordan, and also to the tribe of Reuben, and to the half tribe of Manasseh. For the land which was beyond Jordan signified the external church, as shown in the article above, and the things of the external church, are those which proceed from the natural man. The church itself, regarded in itself is in the internal or spiritual man, but the external church is in the external or natural man; these nevertheless act as one, like cause and effect.

[6] That to the tribe of Gad an inheritance beyond Jordan was given is evident in Moses; for all inheritance was given to Reuben, to Gad, and to half the tribe of Manasseh beyond Jordan where the land of cattle was; and it was given on the condition that they should cross over armed with the rest to take possession of the land of Canaan (Num. 32:1 to end; 34:14).

Further:

"And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave from Gilead even unto the river Arnon within the river and the border, and even unto the river Jabbok, the border of the sons of Ammon; the plain also, and Jordan, and the border thereof, from Chinnereth even unto the sea, the plain, the Salt Sea, under the aqueducts of Pisgah eastward" (Deuteronomy 3:16, 17).

And in Joshua:

"And Moses gave unto the sons of Gad that their border should be Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the sons of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before the faces of Rabbah; and from Heshbon unto Ramath of Mizpeh, and Betonim" (13:24, 25, 26).

The signification of Gad is not only evident from the places in the Word where he is mentioned, but also from the lands given to that tribe for an inheritance wherever they are mentioned in the Word, as Heshbon, Jazer, Rabbah, Ramath of Mizpeh, the river of Arnon, Chinnereth, the aqueducts of Pisgah, and others. What those lands signify in the spiritual sense, cannot be known, unless the signification of the tribe of Reuben, of Gad, and of the half tribe of Manasseh be known, to whom those lands were given for a possession; for they denote such things as are signified by those tribes, both in an extended and in a limited sense, as in Jeremiah:

[7] "Against the sons of Ammon, Hath Israel no sons? Hath he no heir? Why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities? 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 inherit their heirs. Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is devastated; cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird ye with sackcloth; lament, and run to and fro among the fences; for their king shall go into captivity, and his priests and his princes together" (49:1-3).

These words cannot be understood, unless it be known what the sons of Ammon, Heshbon, and Rabbah signify. For Rabbah, Heshbon, and half of the land of Ammon, were given to the tribe of Gad for an inheritance; therefore those lands signify specifically such things as are signified by Gad in general; for it is said why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in their cities? For all the names of lands, regions, cities, rivers, and peoples in the Word, signify things of the church. Gad signifies the good of life according to truths of doctrine; Israel, the church as to truth. The sons of Ammon signify the falsifications of truth; Heshbon signifies the fructification of truth in the natural man; while the daughters of Rabbah signify the affections of truth also in the natural man, and Ai signifies the doctrine of truth. When these things are known, the spiritual sense of the whole passage will be seen to follow in the following series: Against the sons of Ammon, signifies against the falsifications of truth. Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? signifies, are there not in the church the knowledges of truth and good? Israel denotes the church, his sons denote truths, and heir denotes the good of truth. Why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities? signifies whence is it that truth falsified has destroyed the good of life, and also perverted the doctrinals which teach the good of 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, or of falsified truth, and the destruction of those who hold it. And her daughters shall be burned with fire, signifies that the affections of that doctrine shall become lusts of evil. Then shall Israel inherit their heirs, signifies that the church shall perish as to goods. 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, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird ye with sackcloth, lament, signifies, that the affections of truth are no more; and run to and fro among the fences, signifies thought and life from falsities. For their king shall go into captivity, 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. From these things it is plain that by the lands of the inheritance of Gad are signified similar things specifically as in general by Gad; and that the significations of the lands mentioned in the Word may be known from the signification of the tribes to whom they were given for an inheritance.

What else is meant by the lands which in Ezekiel are said to be given for an inheritance to the tribe of Gad (48:27)? That the tribe of Gad is not meant, but that attribute of the church which is signified by Gad, is evident; for the tribe of Gad did not then exist, neither will exist.

[8] That Gad signifies the good of life from 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 seizeth the arm, yea the crown of the head, and he seeth the first-fruits for himself; for there is the portion of the hidden lawgiver; whence have come the heads of the people; he has executed the justice of Jehovah, and judgments with Israel" (Deuteronomy 33:20, 21).

In these words, by Gad are described the good of life according to truths from the Word, and the influx of heaven into that good. The influx of truth into that good from the Lord, is signified by Blessed be he who hath given breadth to Gad. Breadth signifies truth, Gad the good of life; and "blessed" the Lord Himself. As a lion he dwelleth, signifies that he is safe from falsities. He seizeth the arm, yea the crown of the head, signifies that he is nourished by truths external and internal; for arm, and the crown of the head in sacrifices, signified such things. He seeth the first-fruits for himself, signifies that they are from primary things. For there is the portion of the hidden lawgiver signifies truths Divine hidden therein; intelligence thence is signified by whence have come the heads of the people; he executed the justice of Jehovah, signifies the good works thence. And His judgments with Israel, signifies the truths of the church thence.

[9] Gad signifies the good of life because he was named from "troop" (see Genesis 30:10, 11); for Gad in Hebrew signifies a troop, and by a troop, in the spiritual sense, are signified works, and the good of life consists in doing goods which are works. See Arcana Coelestia 3934). But what is signified by Gad in the blessing of his father Israel, which is as follows in Moses:-

"Gad; a troop shall lay him waste; and he shall lay waste the heel" (Genesis 49:19)

may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia 6403-6406), and also the signification of the following in Isaiah:

"Ye are they that forsake Jehovah, that forget the mountain of my holiness, that prepare a table for Gad, and fill the drink-offering unto Meni" (65:11) ([AC 6405]).

10396. 'And the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain' means the Israelite nation, when they did not discern in the Word anything from heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'seeing', when it refers to the understanding of the Word, as discernment, dealt with in 2150, 3764, 3863, 4567, 4723, 5400; from the representation of 'Moses' as the Word, dealt with in the places referred to in 9372; from the meaning of 'delaying to come down', when this refers to discernment of Divine Truth obtained from the Word, as not flowing in, for Divine Truth which flows in and resides with a person is said to come down from heaven; and from the meaning of 'Mount Sinai' as heaven in respect of Divine Truth, dealt with in 9420. 'The people' is used here literally to mean the Israelite nation; for this chapter deals with that nation, with what it was like in its discernment of Divine Truth obtained from the Word, and in its discernment of the inner realities that were represented within the things which Jehovah commanded the children of Israel from Mount Sinai through Moses - the things contained in the previous chapters, Exodus 25-Exodus 31 inclusive. From all this it is clear that 'the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain' means the Israelite nation, when they did not discern in the Word anything from heaven, nor for this reason anything that was represented in the measures commanded from Mount Sinai, that is, the inner realities.

[2] The situation in all this is that the subject in the chapters immediately before has been the statutes, judgements, and laws which Jehovah commanded the children of Israel, among whom a Church was to be established. Each one of these was an external regulation representing something internal, as has been shown in the explanations of those chapters. But the character of the Israelite nation was such that they did not wish to know anything whatever about the inner realities that were represented, only about the outward forms that served to represent them. The reason why that nation was like this was that they were ruled completely by bodily and earthly kinds of love; and with those who are ruled by those kinds of love their interiors, which would otherwise lie open to heaven, are closed off. Everyone has an internal and an external; the internal exists for heaven's purposes, and the external for the world's purposes. When the external is dominant, worldly, bodily, and earthly interests reign; but when the internal is dominant, heavenly ones do so. The human being has been created in such a way however that the external may be subordinate to the internal, thus the world within him may be subordinate to heaven; for as has been stated, the external exists for the world's purposes, and the internal for heaven's. When therefore the external is dominant the internal is closed, because then a person turns himself away from heaven and the Lord towards the world and self; and the place he turns to is where his heart is, consequently where his love is and together with that love the whole of his life, since a person's life consists in his love.

[3] These things have been mentioned in order that people may know what the situation is with those who are ruled by bodily and earthly kinds of love, namely that such people's interiors are closed off; and those whose interiors are closed off do not acknowledge anything internal. Only those things which they see with their eyes or touch with their hands they say exist, and all else which they do not see with their eyes or touch with their hands they say do not exist. Consequently they have no belief at all in the existence of heaven, in life after death, or in the inner realities taught by the Church. This was what the Israelite nation was like; and the present chapter shows that they were such.

[4] Anyone who does not know that inner realities compose the Church with a person, and not outward things without them, cannot do other than suppose that this nation was chosen and also loved by Jehovah in preference to all others. But the truth of the matter is entirely different. They were accepted because they insisted on it, yet not in order that any Church might exist among them, only what was representative of a Church, to the end that the Word could be written, with such things constituting its lowest level. The reason why in the Word that nation is called Jehovah's people, the nation chosen and loved [by Him], is that in it Judah is used to mean the celestial Church, Israel the spiritual Church, and each son of Jacob some aspect of the Church. Furthermore Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob serve to mean the Lord Himself, and so do Moses, Aaron, and David. But since the subject in the whole of this chapter is that nation, and the fact that no Church could be established among them, only what was representative of a Church, please see, before anything further is presented, what has been stated and shown previously regarding that nation,

No Church existed with that nation, only what was representative of a Church, 4281, 4288, 4311, 4500, 4899, 4912, 6304, 7048, 9320.

Thus they were not chosen, only accepted because they insisted on it, 4290, 4293, 7051, 7439.

They were entirely restricted to external things devoid of anything internal, 4293, 4311, 4459(end), 4834, 4844, 4847, 4865, 4868, 4874, 4903, 4913, 9320, 9373, 9380, 9381.

Their worship was merely external, 3147, 3479, 8871.

Nor did they wish to know about the inner things of worship and of the Word, 3479, 4429, 4433, 4680.

Therefore they were not allowed to know those things, 301, 302, 304, 2520, 3769.

If they had known them they would have rendered them profane, 3398, 3489, 4289.

Nevertheless through the outward things of worship among them, which were representative of inner realities, there was contact with heaven, and in what way, 4311, 4444, 6304, 8588, 8788, 8806.

When they were engaged in worship their interiors, which were foul, were closed, 3480, 9962.

This was possible among that nation, which is why they have been preserved even to the present day, 3479, 4281, 6588, 9377.

They worshipped Jehovah, but no more than His name, 3732(end), 4299, 6877.

At heart they were idolaters, 4208, 4281, 4820, 5998, 6877, 7401, 8301, 8882.

In general, they were the worst nation, 4314, 4316, 4317, 4444, 4503, 4750, 4751, 4815, 4820, 4832, 5057, 7248, 8819, 9320.