Gates" in ancient times had a significance that does not hold in the modern world. Cities then were enclosed by walls for protection; gates in the walls let people in and out to do their business, but were also the weak points in the cities' defenses. In the Bible, cities on one level represent the minds of individual people. On a broader level, they represent beliefs shared by a community. The gates, then, represent openings where the Lord can feed us an understanding of truth and a desire for good. They also represent points where the hells can invade and sway us with false ideas and evil desires. We are kept in balance during our lifetimes, with influences from both the Lord and from hell. Ideally, we will over our lifetimes continue to invite the Lord farther and farther in and drive the hells back until ultimately the Lord can occupy our minds completely. And that point our belief in Him and His power and love will hold the gates and deny evil any entrance. As individuals, we at that point become angels. As communities, we at that point become part of the Lord's church. And at that point the gates become an entry point, introductory truths that allow people to enter churches and start bringing the Lord into their lives.

3872. 'And she called his name Simeon' means the essential nature of it. This is clear from the meaning of 'name' or 'calling the name' as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, 3421. That nature is contained in the internal sense of the words spoken by Leah, 'Jehovah has heard that I was hated, and has given me this one also', and is that which is meant by 'Simeon' and also by the tribe named after him. It is the second universal attribute of the Church, or the second with the person who is being regenerated and becoming the Church. That is to say, it is an obedience or a will to put into practice truth that is the truth of faith; and into that obedience and within that will charity - which follows next and is meant by 'Levi' - is implanted.