'Reuben,' in the highest sense, signifies omniscience. In a spiritual sense, he signifies wisdom, intelligence, science, and faith. In a natural sense, he signifies sight. In Revelation 7:5, 'Reuben' signifies wisdom because he comes after Judah, who signifies celestial love, and celestial love produces wisdom because no love exists without its consort, which is science, intelligence, and wisdom. The consort of natural love is science, the consort of spiritual love is intelligence, and the consort of celestial love is wisdom. 'Reuben' signifies these things because he was named for 'seeing' or 'sight,' and spiritual-natural sight is science, spiritual sight is intelligence, and celestial sight is wisdom. Also, 'Reuben' was the firstborn of Jacob, and was therefore called his 'might, the beginning of [his] strength, excelling in eminence, and excelling in worth.' This is the nature of wisdom originating in celestial love. Because 'Reuben' was the firstborn, he represents and signifies the wisdom of the people of the church. This is why he urged his brothers not to kill Joseph, and grieved when Joseph was not found in the pit in Genesis 37:21, 22. This is also why his tribe camped in the south, and was called 'the camp of Reuben.' The south also signifies wisdom originating in love, which is people in this wisdom in heaven dwell to the south. 'The tribe of Reuben' in an opposite sense symbolizes wisdom divorced from love, and faith divorced from charity. This is why his father Israel cursed him in Genesis 49:3, 4. He was also deprived of his birthright in 1 Chronicles 5:1. For the same reason the tribe was given an inheritance across the Jordan and not in the land of Canaan. Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph's sons, were also acknowledged in place of Reuben and Simeon in Genesis 48:5. Nevertheless, he still retains the positive representation and symbolism of wisdom.

(Odkazy: Apocalypse Revealed 351; Numbers 2:10-16)

6667. 'With rigour' means without showing any mercy. This becomes clear without explanation, for those spoken of immediately above in 6666 have no mercy because they have no love of the neighbour, only self-love. Love of the neighbour which seems to be present among them is nothing else than self-love. For as long as another is favourably disposed towards them, that is, is on their side, they love him; but as long as he is not favourably disposed towards them or not on their side they reject him, and if previously their friend they hate him. Attitudes such as this lie concealed in self-love, though they do not reveal themselves in the world, only in the next life, where they burst out into the open. The reason why they burst out there is that there outward appearances are taken away; and when they are taken away, one sees what a person has been like inwardly.