28. The first-born from the dead. That this signifies from whom is all good in heaven, is evident from the signification of first-born, when said of the Lord, as denoting the Divine good in heaven, thus all good there. The reason why this is signified by first-born, is, because by generations, in general and in particular, are signified spiritual generations, which are those of good and truth, or of love and faith. Therefore, by father, mother, sons, daughters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, and sons' sons, are signified the goods and truths which generate, and which are generated, in their order (Arcana Coelestia 10490). For in heaven there are no other nativities; and, this being the case, by first-born is not meant first-born, but the good of heaven and the church, because this is in the chief place. Now, because all good in heaven exists from the Lord, therefore He is called the First-born.

[2] The reason why He is called the first-born from the dead, is because, when He rose from the dead, He made His Human Divine Good by union with the Divine which was in Him from conception. This is why He is called the first-born from the dead; and why He says of Himself in David,

"I will make him the first-born, higher than the kings of the earth" (Psalm 89:27).

What is meant by His being higher than the kings of the earth, will be seen in the subsequent article. (That the Lord, when He departed out of the world, made His Human Divine Good, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 3194, 3210, 6864, 7499, 8724, 9199, 10076, thus that He came forth from the Father and returned to the Father, n. 3194, 3210; and that after the union, the Divine truth, which is the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, goes forth from Him, n. 3704, 3712, 3969, 4577, 5704, 7499, 8127, 8241, 9199, 9398, 9407. But this mystery may be seen more fully explained in the small work, The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 293-295; and in the passages from Arcana Coelestia there cited, n. 303-305.)

Since the Lord as to His Divine Human is called the first-born, because all good goes forth from Him, therefore all the first-born in the Israelitish church were holy to Jehovah; and therefore also the Levites were taken in the place of all the first-born in Israel. For by the sons of Levi were represented those of the church who are in the good of charity. On this account, also, a double portion of the inheritance fell to the first-born. All this, because the first-born signified good from the Lord, and, in the highest sense, the Lord Himself as to the Divine Human, from which all good comes; for all the things commanded in the Israelitish church were representative of spiritual and celestial Divine things.

[3] That all the first-born in the Israelitish church were holy to Jehovah is evident from Moses, in the following passages:

"Sanctify unto me all the first-born, whatsoever openeth the womb among the sons of Israel, in man and in beast; it is mine" (Exodus 13:2).

"Thou shalt cause to pass over unto Jehovah all that openeth the womb, and every firstling that cometh of a beast as many as thou hast, the males shall be Jehovah's" (13:12).

"Thou shalt not delay the first fruits of thy produce, and the first fruits of thy wine; the first-born of thy sons shalt thou give unto me. Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen and with thy sheep; seven days it shall be with its dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me. And ye shall be men of holiness unto me" (Exodus 22:29-31).

The reason why they were to give also the first-born of beasts, was, because these also were representative; on which account, also, they were made use of in burnt-offerings and sacrifices. (What the various beasts in these services represented, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 1823, 3519, 9280, 10042.) The Levites were accepted in place of all the first-born in Israel (concerning which, see Numbers 3:12, 13, 41, 45; 8:15-19), because, as observed above, the sons of Levi represented, and thence signified, the good of charity, and Levi, in the highest sense, represented the Lord as to that good (as may be seen, n. 3875, 3877, 4497, 4502, 4503, 10017). The reason why a double portion of the inheritance fell to the first-born (Deuteronomy 21:17), was, because a double portion signified the good of love (n. 720, 1686, 5194, 8423).

9474. 'Spices for the anointing oil' means internal truths belonging to the good that consecrates. This is clear from the meaning of 'spices' as interior truths, which are the truths of internal good, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'oil' as the good of love, as above in 9473; and from the meaning of 'anointing' as consecrating to serve as a representative sign. For objects which were to represent realities that were holy were anointed with oil smelling sweetly of spices and thereby consecrated, as is clear from these words later on in Exodus,

Take for yourself the chief spices - best myrrh, sweet-smelling cinnamon, sweet-scented cane, cassia, olive oil. Afterwards you shall make it a holy anointing oil, a perfect ointment; ¹ a holy anointing oil it shall be. With it you shall anoint the tent, the ark of the Testimony, the table and all its vessels, the lampstand and its vessels, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its vessels, and the laver and its base. Thus shall you sanctify them, that they may be most holy. ² And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons. Exodus 30:23-31.

The reason why objects were holy when they had been anointed was that they then represented realities that were holy; and from this it is evident that the anointing of something was the consecration of it to serve as a representative sign.

[2] The reason why oil was used for anointing was that oil was the sign of celestial good, and celestial good is the good of love received from the Lord, and consequently is the good of love to the Lord. This good is the indispensable element within every single aspect of heaven and eternal life. Sweet-smelling spices were used to make that oil sweet-scented, to the end that what was delightful might be represented; for 'odour' means perception, and 'a pleasant and sweet odour' means a delightful perception, see 925, 1514, 1517-1519, 3577, 4624-4634, 4748. And since every perception of good comes through truth, spices were used, by which interior truths are meant, 4748, 5621.

[3] Something more must be stated briefly about why the anointing oil and also the incense were to be made sweet-smelling. As stated above, 'oil' means the good of love, and 'spice' internal truth. But the good of love cannot come to be perceived except through truths; for truth bears witness to good, indeed is the revealer of it, and may be called the outward form of good. This is like the situation with human will and understanding, in that the will cannot make itself known except through the understanding. For the understanding takes to itself and reveals the good of the will; also the understanding is the outward form of the will, in addition to which truth belongs to the understanding and good to the will. From all this it becomes clear why the anointing oil was made to smell sweetly of spices, as also was the incense. But the difference between them is that the spicy smell of the anointing oil means the delightfulness of internal perception, whereas the spicy smell of incense means the delightfulness of external perception. For the spicy smell of the anointing oil was given off without any smoke, and so presented a sweet odour without any external appearance, whereas the spicy smell of incense was given off with the smoke.

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