434. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand.- That this signifies the light of truth from that love, and that all who are therein are in heaven and come into heaven, is plain from the signification of the tribe of Reuben, which denotes those who are in the light of truth, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of twelve thousand, as denoting, all things and all persons, concerning which see above (n. 430); here all who are in the light of truth from the good of love to the Lord, and this love is signified by the tribe of Judah, as shown just above (n. 433:1); and from the signification of the sealed, as denoting, those who are in heaven and come into heaven, concerning also which see above (n. [427:2], 433). It has been previously shown, 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 it, and that Judah signifies love to the Lord, but Reuben light from that love, will be seen in what follows.

[2] Reuben, and therefore the tribe named from him, in the highest sense, signifies the Lord as to foresight or foreknowledge; in the internal sense, spiritual faith and the understanding of truth; and in the external sense, sight. And because Reuben in the internal sense, signifies faith and the understanding, he also signifies the light of truth, for faith exists from the light of truth, from which the understanding is enlightened; for where the light of truth is, there are understanding and faith.

[3] Reuben or his tribe has a signification similar to that of the apostle Peter. For the twelve apostles, like the twelve tribes of Israel, represented all things of the church, and each apostle some universal essential of it. And because Peter has a representation similar to that of Reuben, he was therefore the first of the apostles, as Reuben was the first of the sons of Jacob. That Peter signifies truth in the light, and also faith, may be seen above (n. 9, 411:12-15).

[4] Reuben was the first of the sons of Jacob, and the tribe called after him is therefore named first in many passages of the Word, because he was the first-begotten, and the first-begotten in the Word signifies truth from good, or, what is the same thing, truth in the light, and therefore faith from charity. For truth, and that which pertains to faith, appears to man to be first, for it enters by the hearing into the memory, and is called forth thence into the thought; and what a man thinks, this he sees and perceives by interior sight, and that which is first perceived and seen is first, but only apparently, not actually. Good is actually the first-begotten, or the first thing of the church, because truth exists from good, for good forms itself in truths, and by means of truths renders itself visible, therefore truth is good in form. Truth is consequently said to be from good, and faith from charity, for that which is from anything is that thing in an image, and viewed in itself it is good formed and born; this therefore in the spiritual sense of the Word is the first-begotten. Moreover, with infants, the good of innocence is the first thing imparted by the Lord, and from this a man first becomes man. And because good is of love, and because man does not reflect upon his love, but upon his thought from the memory, and since good possesses no quality until formed into truths, and as apart from quality nothing is perceived, therefore it is not known that good is the first, and the first-begotten. For good is first formed by the Lord in man, and is brought forth by means of truths, in which good is in its own form and effigy.

[5] Moreover it must be known that the truths which a man receives from the Word, and from doctrine and preaching from it, during his infancy and childhood, appear indeed to be truths, yet are not truths with him; they are only like shells without kernels; or like the form of body and face without soul and life. They do not become truths before they are received in the will, for then they are first received by a man, and begin to live in him. For the will is the man himself, and all good is of the will, and all truth is of the understanding thence. From these things the reason is clear why the tribe of Judah, which signifies the good of love to the Lord, is named first, and afterwards the tribe of Reuben, which signifies truth in the light, from that good.

[6] It is to be noted, that all the light in which truth appears is from the light of heaven and this is from the Lord. The light of heaven is from the Divine Good of His Divine Love. The light of heaven is the Divine Good in form. These two in heaven are one, and are received by the angels as one. They must also be received by man as one, in order that he may have communion with angels. But these things are fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia, to this effect, that when man is being regenerated, truth is in the first place and good in the second, not actually but apparently, but that 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); consequently good is the first and last of regeneration (n. 9337). Because truth appears to be in the first place, and good in the second, when man is being regenerated, or what is the same, when he is becoming a church, therefore it was a matter of controversy among the ancients, whether the truth of faith or the good of charity is the first-begotten of the church (n. 367, 2435). The good of charity is the first-begotten of the church actually, but the truth of faith only apparently (n. 3325, 3494, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 8042, 8080). The first-begotten, in the Word, also signifies that primary thing of the church, to which is attributed priority and superiority (n. 3325). The Lord is therefore called the First-begotten, because in Him and from Him is all the good of love, of charity, and of faith (n. 3325).

[7] Because truth is apparently in the first place, therefore Reuben was the first-begotten, and was named from "sight" (visus), as is evident in Moses:

"Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, because Jehovah hath seen my affliction; now therefore my man (vir) ¹ will love me" (Genesis 29:32).

Although these are historical facts, they nevertheless contain a spiritual sense. For each and all things in the Word are from the spiritual world, because from the Lord, and when these things were sent down out of heaven into the natural world, they were clothed with a corresponding natural sense, such as is the sense of the letter of the Word. Therefore the nativities of the sons of Jacob signify spiritual nativities, which describe how good and truth are born with man while he is being regenerated by the Lord. Hence by "Leah conceived and bare a son," is signified spiritual conception and birth; she called his name Reuben, signifies its quality; by she said, Jehovah hath seen, is signified in the highest sense, foresight, in the internal sense, faith, in the interior sense, understanding, and in the external sense, sight, in the present case, faith from the Lord; by "my affliction," is signified the state of arriving at good; now therefore my man (vir) will love me, signifies good of truth thence. But these words are explained in the Arcana Coelestia 3860-3866).

In the original tongue, Reuben signifies sight, and sight, in the spiritual sense, signifies faith and the understanding of truth, and, in the highest sense, the Divine foresight. This is evident from what is said in the Arcana Coelestia concerning the signification of seeing and sight, where it is shown that sight in the highest sense, which treats of 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 those things which pertain to faith are seen in the spiritual world (n. 897, 2325, 2807, 3863, 3869, 5400, 10705). To see also signifies to understand and perceive truth (n. 2150, 2325, 2807, 3764, 3863, 3869, 10705). Internal sight is the understanding, and this sees by means of the eyes of the body; 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 from the mandrakes which he found in the field, and gave to his mother, concerning which it is thus written in Moses:

"And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then 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 my man (vir)? and wilt thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee this night for thy son's mandrakes. And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou must 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).

He who does not know what mandrakes signify, also what Reuben, Jacob, Leah, and Rachel represented, cannot possibly understand why such things happened, and are recorded in the Word. But that in the sense of the letter the Divine does not appear is evident for the reason that it is in the Word where everything is Divine. The Divine contained in these words is plain from the spiritual sense, in which mandrakes signify the marriage of good and truth. Reuben represents truth from good; Jacob, the church as to truth. Leah and Rachel represent the church as to good, but Leah represents the external church, and Rachel, the internal. By the mandrakes, found by Reuben, is therefore signified the marriage (conjugiale) which exists between truth and good. It is this marriage between truth and good in the internal or spiritual man which makes the internal church, and because that truth which makes the external church is the first in the external or natural man, therefore the mandrakes were found by Reuben, who represented truth from good. They were first given to his mother, Leah, who represented the external church, but they were given by Leah to Rachel, who represented the internal church, in order that Leah might lie with Jacob. These things are more fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia 3940-3952).

[9] Because Reuben represented truth from good, or faith from charity, therefore, also, he exhorted his brethren not to kill Joseph, wishing to deliver him out of their hand; and he grieved exceedingly when Joseph was not found in the pit (Genesis 37:21, 22, 29, 30). This is explained in the Arcana Coelestia 4731-4738, and n. 4761-4766).

[10] Because Reuben or his tribe signified truth from good, or faith from charity, therefore the camp of that tribe in the wilderness was towards the south, and the camp towards the south was called the camp of Reuben (Num. 2:10-16). For the encampments of the tribes of Israel represented the arrangement of the angelic societies in heaven; and the angelic societies dwell in the quarters according to their states as to good and truth (see above, 422:1-4). In the southern quarter dwell those who are in the light of truth from good; and as the tribe of Reuben represented truth from good or truth in light, therefore it encamped on the south.

[11] Because truth from good, which the tribe of Reuben represented, is in the natural man, therefore an inheritance beyond Jordan was given to the tribe of Reuben (Num. 32:1 to end; Deuteronomy 3:12-20; Joshua 13:1 to end, and chap. 18:7). For the land of Canaan represented, and thence signifies the church in the Word. The region beyond Jordan signified the external church, the region on this side Jordan, the internal church, and the river Jordan the limit between them. And truth from good, or faith from charity, makes the church; truth from good in the natural man, the external church; and because the tribe of Reuben represented this attribute of the church, therefore an inheritance beyond Jordan was allotted to this tribe. Why inheritances beyond Jordan were also given to the tribe of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, will be explained in what follows.

[12] The conjunction of each church, that is to say the external and internal, which is like the conjunction of the natural and spiritual man, was represented, and, in the spiritual sense, is described by the altar which the sons of Reuben, of Gad, and of Manasseh built near the Jordan, and about which there was a strife between these tribes and the rest; but it was said that that altar should be for a witness that, although they dwelt beyond Jordan, they should still serve Jehovah in common with the rest; therefore they called the altar "A witness between us that Jehovah is God" (Josh. 22:9 to end). For Jordan signified the medium between the external and internal of the church. The land of Canaan on this side Jordan, signified the internal church, and the land beyond Jordan, the external church which was also represented by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, whose inheritances were allotted there; and that altar signified the common worship of each church, and thus conjunction.

[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 divisions of Reuben they are great, statutes of the heart; Wherefore sittest thou among the baggage to hear the shrill bleatings of the flocks? In the divisions of Reuben, where there are great searchings of heart, Gilead thou dwellest in the passage of Jordan" (5:15-17).

No one can understand these words unless what the prophecy treats of be known, and also the signification of the divisions of Reuben, of baggage, of the bleatings of the flocks, and of Gilead. The subject is the church among the Israelites, in a state of vastation. The divisions of Reuben signify all things, both truths and goods, in the natural man; baggage signifies the cognitions and scientifics there; the bleatings of the flocks signify the perceptions and thoughts thereof; and Gilead signifies the natural man. When these things are known it will be evident that the meaning in the spiritual sense is, that when the church is destroyed, the natural man, with that which is contained therein, is separated from the spiritual man, although it ought on the contrary to be conjoined with it; and when it is conjoined, then truths from good exist there, by means of which a combat against falsities from evil takes place; for the natural man must fight against these from the spiritual man. Statutes of the heart and searchings of heart, signify those truths from good, which are in the natural man from the spiritual. For the heart signifies the good of love, while statutes and searchings of the heart denote all those things that are determined and arranged in the natural man from good in the spiritual. These things are said of Reuben, because his tribe dwelt beyond Jordan in Gilead, and did not join with Deborah and Barak when they fought against Sisera, but only the tribes of Issachar and Zebulun; for Sisera, in the spiritual sense, means falsity from evil destroying the church.

[14] Reuben signifies the light of truth, and therefore the understanding of the Word, in Moses,

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

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

[15] That Reuben signifies truth from good, or faith from charity, is evident from the opposite sense, in which he is also mentioned. In that sense, Reuben signifies truth separated from good, or faith separated from charity. And truth apart from good is not truth, except merely in regard to the expression and sound, for it is a scientific residing in the memory of the natural man, that is to say, only in the entrance to the man, and not within him in his life. The memory of the natural man is merely the entrance to him, nor does truth become truth with him until he wills it and does it, for then it first enters and receives life; previous to this, light from heaven does not flow in and enlighten. The case is similar with faith separated from charity, for truth is of faith, and good is of charity.

[16] That Reuben, in the opposite sense, signifies faith separated from charity, is evident from his adultery with Bilhah his father's concubine; concerning this it is written as follows in Moses:

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

Ephrath-Bethlehem signifies the spiritual church, which is in truths from good, or in faith from charity. To separate the good of charity from the truths of faith, is signified by the adultery of Reuben. For truth is profaned when it is not united with its own good, which is the good of charity, since it is then united with the love of self and of the world, which is adulteration. All adulteries also, of which many kinds are recounted in Leviticus (18:6-23), correspond to the adulterations of good and truth. That the adultery committed by Reuben corresponds to faith separated from charity, has been made known and testified to me from 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 in life.

[17] Because this also was signified by Reuben, therefore the primogeniture 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 first-born, thou art my strength and the beginning of my might, excellent in eminence and excellent in worth. Unstable as water thou shalt not excel, because thou wentest up to thy father's bed, then thou profanedst [it]; he went up to my couch" (Genesis 49:4).

Here, by Reuben my first-born, is signified faith, which is apparently in the first place, or truth born from good. Thou art my strength, and the beginning of my might, signifies that good has power (potentia) by means of it and truth its primary power. By excellent in eminence and excellent in worth, is signified that glory and authority (potestas) are therefrom. By unstable as water, is signified that it is not so with faith separated from charity, and by thou shalt not excel, is signified that such faith has neither glory nor authority. Because thou wentest up to thy father's bed, signifies because the truth of faith separated from the good of charity forms a filthy union; then thou profanedst [it], signifies conjunction with the love of self and of the world, and consequently with evil, which is profane. He went up to my couch, signifies the contamination of spiritual good in the Natural. But these things are fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia 6341-6350).

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

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

And in the [First] Book of Chronicles:

Reuben "is the first-born, but because he polluted his father's bed, his primogeniture was given to the sons of Joseph the son of Israel" (5:1, 2).

For Ephraim in the Word has a signification similar to that of Reuben, namely, the understanding of truth, and truth in 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; and Ephraim and Manasseh signify similar things. From these things it is now evident, what universal essential of the church is signified in the Word by Reuben.

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69. (Verse 15) And his feet like unto burnished brass, as if they burned in a furnace. That this signifies the ultimate of Divine order which is the Natural, full of Divine love, is evident from the signification of feet, as being the Natural (concerning which seeArcana Coelestia 2162, 3147, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952); when therefore it is said of the Lord, it denotes the ultimate of Divine order, because that is the Natural. It is also evident from the signification of burnished brass, or polished brass, as denoting natural good, concerning which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of burning, when said of the Lord, as denoting that it is from the Divine love (concerning which see n. 10055). It is said, as if they burned in a furnace, in order that the Divine love may be expressed in the greatest degree, and in its fullness; for the Divine is in its fulness when it is in its ultimate, and the ultimate is the Natural (as may be seen above, n. 66). It is clear then, that by His feet like fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace, is signified the ultimate of Divine order, which is the Natural, full of Divine love. These things, as also those that precede, are spoken comparatively; as that His head and His hairs were white as white wool, as snow, and that His feet were like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; but it is to be observed, that all comparisons in the Word are significative, because in the same way as the things themselves, they are from correspondences (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 3579, 4599, 8989).

[2] The reason why feet, when said of the Lord, signify the ultimate of Divine order, and that this is the Natural, is, that heaven is heaven from the Divine Human of the Lord, and that therefore heaven in the aggregate has reference to one Man. And, because there are three heavens, that the highest heaven has reference to the head, the middle heaven to the body, and the ultimate heaven to the feet. The Divine which constitutes the highest heaven is called the celestial Divine; that which constitutes the middle heaven is called the spiritual Divine, and that which constitutes the ultimate heaven is called the natural Divine from the spiritual and celestial. It is therefore clear why the Lord is in this place described as to His Divine Human, which is the Son of man, seen in the midst of the lampstands, not only as to His garments, but also as to His head, His chest and feet. (That the Son of man is the Lord as to the Divine Human, may be seen above, n. 63; and that the lampstands denote heaven, may be seen n. 62. But as these things are arcana hitherto unknown in the world, and nevertheless ought to be understood in order that the internal sense of this and the following parts of this prophetical book may be comprehended, they are therefore particularly and specifically described in the work, Heaven and Hell; as, that the Divine Human of the Lord constitutes heaven, n. 7-12, 78-86; that hence heaven in the aggregate has reference to one Man, n. 59-77; that there are three heavens, and that the highest refers to the head, the middle to the body, and the ultimate to the feet, n. 29-40.)

When these things are understood, it will be evident that by the feet of Jehovah, or of the Lord, in the Word, is signified the ultimate of Divine order, or the Natural; and because the external of the church, of worship, and of the Word, is the ultimate of Divine order in the church, and is the Natural, therefore this is specifically signified by the feet of Jehovah, or of the Lord.

[3] It was for this reason that, when the Lord was seen as an angel by the prophets, in other places, He was seen by them also in a similar manner. Thus by Daniel:

"I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz; his body also was like the beryl, and his eyes as torches of fire; his arms and his feet as the brightness of polished brass" (10:5, 6).

Similarly, the cherubs, which mean the Lord as to providence and protection (see Arcana Coelestia 9277, 9509, 9673), were seen by Ezekiel:

"Their feet sparkled as the brightness of polished brass" (1:7).

So also the Lord was afterwards seen as an angel, in the Apocalypse:

"I saw an angel coming down from heaven, clothed with a cloud; and a rainbow was about his head, and his face was as the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire" (10:1).

Because the Lord was thus seen as to the feet, therefore under the feet was seen, by some of the sons of Israel,

"as it were a work of sapphire stone, and as the substance of heaven in purity" (Exodus 24:10).

The reason why the Lord was not seen by them as to the feet, but under the feet, was, that they were not in the external of the church, of worship, and of the Word, but under it (as may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248). Since the feet of Jehovah, or the Lord, signify the ultimate of Divine order, and this is specifically the external of the church, of worship, and of the Word, therefore this is called His footstool in the Word, as in Isaiah:

"The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; I will make the place of my feet honourable. And they shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet" (60:13, 14).

Again:

"Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool" (66:1).

In Jeremiah:

God "doth not remember his footstool in the day of anger" (Lamentations 2:1).

And in David:

"Adore ye Jehovah, towards his footstool" (Psalms 99:5).

Again:

"We will go into his habitation; we will bow ourselves at his footstool" (Psalms 132:7).

And in Nahum:

"The clouds of Jehovah are the dust of his feet" (Nahum 1:3).

That cloud denotes the external of the Word, or the Word as to the letter, may be seen above, n. 36; and because cloud denotes the external of the Word, it also denotes the external of the church and of worship, for the church and worship are from the Word. It is said the dust of His feet, because those things which are in the sense of the letter of the Word, which sense is natural, appear scattered.