439. Of the tribe of Naphtali were sealed twelve thousand. That this signifies regeneration and temptation, is evident from the representation, and thence the signification of Napthali and his tribe, as denoting temptation, and also the state that follows it. And because temptations take place for the sake of regeneration, regeneration also is signified by Napthali. That those who are being regenerated undergo temptations, may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 187-201). That Napthali, and consequently the tribe named from him, signify temptation, and the state that follows it, and therefore also regeneration, is clear from these words of Rachel, when Bilhah her handmaid bare him:

"And Bilhah, Rachel's maid, conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, With wrestlings of God have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed; and she called his name Naphtali" (Genesis 30:7, 8).

The wrestlings of God signify spiritual temptations. And because Rachel represented the internal church, which is spiritual, and Leah, the external church, which is natural, it is evident that by Rachel wrestling with her sister and prevailing signifies combat between the spiritual man and the natural, in which all temptation consists. For the spiritual man loves and wills the things pertaining to heaven, because he is in heaven, while the natural man loves and wills the things pertaining to the world, because he is in the world, and therefore the desires of each are opposite; for this reason there is a collision or combat which is called temptation.

[2] That Naphtali here signifies temptation, and the state which follows it, and thence regeneration, is further evident from the following passages; thus from the blessing by his father Israel:

"Naphtali is a hind let loose; giving goodly words" (Genesis 49:21).

Naphtali here signifies the state after temptation, which state is full of joy from affection because the spiritual and the natural and good and truth are conjoined; for they are conjoined by temptations. A hind let loose, signifies the freedom of natural affection; giving goodly words, signifies gladness of mind. For a further explanation of these things, see Arcana Coelestia 6412, 6413, 6414),

[3] and also from the blessing pronounced on Napthali by Moses:

"And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full of the blessing of Jehovah; possess thou the west and the south" (Deuteronomy 33:23).

Here also the state after temptation is described, or that state in which man is filled with all the good of love, and with truths therefrom. For after temptations he is filled with joy, and the fructification of good, and the multiplication of truth then take place with him. To be filled with the good of love, is meant by being satisfied with the favour of Jehovah; and to be filled with truths thence, is signified by being full of the blessing of Jehovah; the resulting enlightenment and affection for truth, are signified by "possess thou the west and the south"; the affection of truth is signified by the west, and enlightenment by the south. It is said, "possess thou the west and the south" because those who are elevated into heaven, after instruction, are carried through the west to the south, thus through the affection for truth into the light of truth.

[4] The same is signified by Naphtali, in the song of Deborah and Barak, in the book of Judges:

"Zebulun, a people that devoted the soul to die, and Naphtali upon the high places of the field" (5:18).

These were the two tribes which fought against Sisera, the captain of the army of Jabin, king of Canaan, and conquered, the other ten tribes remaining at rest; and by this was represented spiritual combat against the evils which infest the church, as is also evident from the prophetic song of Deborah and Barak, in which that fact is treated of. The tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali alone fought, because Zebulun signifies the conjunction of good and truth, which makes the church, and Naphtali, combat against the evils and falsities that infest it, and resist the conjunction of good and truth, and therefore by both are signified reformation and regeneration. The heights of the field, signify the interior things of the church, from which there is combat. Zebulun and Naphtali together, also signify reformation and regeneration by means of temptations, in Isaiah (8:22; 9:1); and thence in Matthew (4:12-16).

[5] But in the highest sense, Zebulun and Naphtali signify the union of the Divine and Human in the Lord, for in the highest sense the subject is the Lord alone in regard generally to the glorification of His Human, the subjugation of the hells, and the arrangement of the heavens by Him. In this sense Zebulun and Naphtali are mentioned in David:

"They have seen thy steps, O God; the steps of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. The singers went before, the players on instruments after, in the midst of virgins playing with timbrels, Bless ye God in the congregations, the Lord from the fountain of Israel. There is little Benjamin their ruler, the princes of Judah their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali. Thy God hath commanded thy strength; shew thyself powerful, O God; this thou hast wrought for us out of thy temple at Jerusalem. Kings shall bring presents unto thee. Rebuke the wild beast of the reed, the congregation of the mighty among the calves of the peoples, trampling down pieces of silver, he scattered the people, they desire wars. Fatlings shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands unto God" (Psalm 68:24-31).

The subjects treated of here in the spiritual sense, are, the coming of the Lord, the glorification of His Human, the subjugation of the hells, and consequent salvation. The celebration of the Lord, on account of His coming, is described in these words: "They have seen thy steps, O God; the steps of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. The singers went before, the players on instruments after, in the midst of the virgins playing with timbrels. Bless ye God in the congregations, the Lord from the fountain of Israel." This may be seen explained in detail above (n. 340:4). There is little Benjamin their ruler, signifies the innocence of the Lord, by which He wrought and performed all things. The princes of Judah their council, signifies the Divine Truth from the Divine Good. The glorification or union of the Divine and Human, by His own power, is signified by the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali. Thy God hath commanded thy strength; shew thyself powerful, O God; this thou hast wrought for us out of thy temple at Jerusalem, signifies that hence Divine power belongs to the Lord's Human. The temple signifies the Divine Human of the Lord, and Jerusalem the church for which He did this. Rebuke the wild beast of the reed, the congregation of the mighty among the calves of the peoples, trampling down pieces of silver, he scattered the people, they desire wars, signifies the subjugation of the hells. The wild beast of the reed and the congregation of the mighty, denote the Scientific of the natural man perverting the truths and goods of the church; the calves of the peoples denote the goods of the church; the pieces of silver the truths of the church; he scattered the people, they desire wars signifies to pervert the truths of the church and to reason against them.

[6] By the subjugation of the hells is meant the subjugation of the natural man. For in the natural man there are evils from hell, because therein are the delights of the loves of self and of the world, and the scientifics that confirm them; and these delights, when they are regarded as ends and rule, are contrary to the goods and truths of the church. That the natural man, when subjugated, supplies concordant scientifics and the knowledges of good and truth, is signified by "fatlings shall come out of Egypt"; Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands unto God. Egypt denotes the natural man in regard to scientifics, and Ethiopia, the natural man in regard to the knowledges of truth and good. From these few instances it is evident that Napthali and his tribe in the Word, signify in the highest sense, the Lord's own power, from which He subjugated the hells, and glorified His Human; in the internal sense, temptation, and the state after temptation; and in the external sense resistance from the natural man; therefore Napthali also signifies reformation and regeneration, because these are the effects of temptations.

186. More on regeneration. We are regenerated by means of the truths that belong to religious faith and through living by them: 1904, 2046, 9088, 9959, 10028. This is the meaning of the Lord's words "Unless you have been born of water and the spirit you cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5); "water" means the truth that belongs to religious faith and "the spirit" means a life in accord with that truth: 10240. Water in the Word means the truth that belongs to religious faith: 2702, 3058, 5668, 8568, 10238. Spiritual purification, which is purification from evil and falsity, is effected by means of the truths that belong to religious faith: 2799, 5954, 7044, 7918, 9088, 10229, 10237. When we are being regenerated, truths are sown and rooted in doing good so that they become part of our life: 880, 2189, 2675, 2697. What truths must be like before they can be rooted in doing good: 8725. In the process of regeneration, truth is introduced and joined to doing good, and likewise doing good is introduced and joined to truth: 5365, 8516. How that mutual introduction and joining takes place: 3155, 10067. Truth becomes rooted in doing good when we come to will it, because it then becomes something that we love: 10367.

[2] There are two states we go through when we are being regenerated: the first is when we are being led to do what is good by means of truth, and the second is when we act on the basis of what is good and see what is true from what is good: 7992, 7993, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701, 8772, 9227, 9230, 9274, 9509, 10057, 10060, 10076. What our state is like when truth is in first place for us and goodness is second: 3610. We can see from this that when we are being regenerated we look toward goodness from the perspective of truth, but when we have been regenerated, we look toward truth from the perspective of goodness: 6247. So there is a kind of reversal in which our state is turned upside down: 6507.

[3] It is important to know, though, how things really stand: while we are being regenerated, truth is only apparently but not actually in first place and goodness in second place; but when we have been regenerated goodness is actually and observably in first place and truth in second place: 3324, 3325, 3330, 3336, 3494, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4243, 4244, 4247, 4337, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 4977, 5351, 6256, 6269, 6273, 8516, 10110. This means that goodness comes both first and last in our regeneration: 9337. Because truth seems to come first and goodness seems to come second when we are being regenerated (or when we are becoming a form of the church, which amounts to the same thing), this appearance led to a difference of opinion among the ancients as to which was the firstborn of the church, the truth that belongs to religious faith or the good actions that come from caring: 367, 2435. The good actions that come from caring are the firstborn of the church in actual fact, while the truth that belongs to religious faith is only apparently so: 3325, 3494, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 8042, 8080. "Firstborn" in the Word means what comes first in the church and has preference and higher rank: 3325. That is why the Lord is called "the firstborn"-because all the good that comes from love and caring and faith exists within him and originates from him: 3325.

[4] Once we are in the later state (looking at truth from the perspective of goodness) we should not turn back to the earlier state (looking at goodness from the perspective of truth), and why that is the case: 2454, 3650-3655, 5895, 5897, 7857, 7923, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 9274, 10184 (which include discussion of the Lord's words "Those who are in the field then ¹ should not go back to get their outer garments" [Matthew 24:18] and "Those who are in the field then should not turn back. Remember Lot's wife" [Luke 17:31-32], showing that this is what those sayings mean).

[5] A description of the way the process of our regeneration unfolds: 1555, 2343, 2490, 2657, 2979, 3057, 3286, 3310, 3316, 3332, 3470, 3701, 4353, 5122, 5126, 5270, 5280, 5342, 6717, 8772, 8773, 9043, 9103, 10021, 10057, 10367. There are countless mysteries concerning regeneration, because regeneration goes on throughout our entire lifetime: 2679, 3179, 3665, 3690, 3701, 4377, 4551, 4552, 5122, 5126, 5398, 6751, 9103, 9258, 9296, 9297, 9334. Hardly any of these mysteries come into our knowledge or perception: 3179, 9336. This is what is meant by these words of the Lord: "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it is coming from or where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the spirit" (John 3:8). Information about the process of regeneration of those who are part of the spiritual church: 2675, 2678, 2679, 2682. Information about the process of regeneration of those who are part of the heavenly church, and the differences between the two: 5113, 10124.

[6] It is much the same for someone who is being regenerated as it is for a baby who first learns to talk, then to think, later to live rightly, until finally everything flows freely, seemingly on its own: 3203, 3701. So someone who is being regenerated is led by the Lord through stages: the first is like infancy, the next is like childhood, and the one after that is like adulthood: 3665, 3690, 4377, 4378, 4379, 6751. When we are being regenerated by the Lord, at first we are in a state of outward innocence, which is a state like infancy for us. Then step by step we are led through to a state of inward innocence, which is a state of wisdom for us: 9334, 9335, 10021, 10210. The nature and characteristics of the innocence of infancy and the nature and characteristics of the innocence of wisdom: 1616, 2305, 2306, 3494, 4563, 4797, 5608, 9301, 10021. A comparison between our regeneration and the conception and formation of an embryo in the womb: 3570, 4931, 9258. Because of this parallel, references to conception and birth in the Word mean spiritual conception and birth-that is, stages in our regeneration: 613, 1145, 1255, 2020, 2584, 3860, 3868, 4070, 4668, 6239, 10204. Our regeneration is illustrated by the process of germination in the plant kingdom: 5115, 5116. In the spiritual world the stage of our regeneration is represented as a rainbow: 1042, 1043, 1053.

[7] Both the inner or spiritual self and the outer or earthly self need to be regenerated, and the one is regenerated by means of the other: 3868, 3870, 3872, 3876, 3877, 3882. The inner self is regenerated before the outer because the inner is in heaven's light and the outer is in this world's light: 3321, 3325, 3469, 3493, 4353, 8748, 9325. The outer or earthly self is regenerated by means of the inner or spiritual self: 3286, 3288, 3321. We are not regenerated until our outer or earthly self has been regenerated: 8742-8747, 9043, 9046, 9061, 9325, 9334. If our earthly self is not being regenerated, our spiritual self is closed off (6299) and is in effect blind to the truths and the good actions that are related to faith and love (3493, 3969, 4353, 4588). When the earthly self has been regenerated the whole person has been regenerated: 7442, 7443. This is the meaning of the washing of the disciples' feet and by these words of the Lord: "Those who have bathed need only to have their feet washed to be completely clean" (John 13:10): 10243. Washing in the Word means spiritual washing, which is purification from evils and falsities (3147, 10237, 10241), and feet mean the attributes of our earthly self (2162, 3761, 3986, 4280, 4938-4952), so "washing our feet" means purifying our earthly self (3147, 10241).

[8] How the earthly self is regenerated: 3502, 3508, 3509, 3518, 3573, 3576, 3579, 3616, 3762, 3786, 5373, 5647, 5650, 5651, 5660. The nature of the earthly self when it has been regenerated and its nature when it has not been regenerated: 8744, 8745. The less our earthly self fights with our spiritual self, the more regenerated we are: 3286. When we have been regenerated, our earthly self perceives the spiritual things that are flowing in: 5651.

[9] Our sensory level, which is the lowest level of our earthly self, is not regenerated nowadays, but instead we are raised above it: 7442. When we are being regenerated we are actually lifted up from the sensory level into the light of heaven: 6183, 6454. The nature and characteristics of sense-oriented people may be seen in the references assembled in §50 above.

[10] We are regenerated by means of an inflow into whatever knowledge we have about goodness and truth: 4096, 4097, 4364. When we are being regenerated we are led by means of intermediate forms of goodness and truth into genuine forms of them, after which the intermediate forms are left behind and the genuine ones take their place: 3665, 3690, 3686, 3974, 4063, 4067, 4145. This then brings our truths and our desires to do good into a completely different arrangement: 4250, 4251, 9931, 10303. They are arranged according to our goals (4104); therefore they are arranged according to the use to which we wish to put our spiritual life (9297). When we are being regenerated we undergo many different states, but are steadily being led deeper into heaven and therefore closer to the Lord: 6645. Those who have been regenerated are patterned after heaven: 8512. Their inner reaches are opened into heaven: 8512, 8513. Through regeneration we come into angelic intelligence, but this lies hidden in our deeper levels as long as we are living in this world. It is opened up in the other life, however, and then we have the same kind of wisdom as angels have: 2494, 8747. The state of enlightenment that is given to those who are being regenerated: 2699, 2701, 2704. Through regeneration we are given a new faculty of understanding: 2657. How goodness becomes more fruitful and truth multiplies in people who are being regenerated: 984. When goodness takes charge in those who have been regenerated, the truths that come forth around it form little stars, so to speak, and each of these generates more starlike truths around itself, without end: 5912. In a person who has been regenerated, the truths that come from goodness are arranged in a pattern so that the genuine truths connected with that goodness are in the center; these are like parents to the next group of truths; and still other truths are placed farther away according to the degree of kinship or family ties, extending all the way to the outermost areas, where it is dark: 3128, 4551, 4552, 5134, 5270. In people who have been regenerated, truths that come from goodness are arranged in the form of heaven: 3316, 3470, 3584, 4302, 5704, 5709, 6028, 6690, 9931, 10303. In the book Heaven and Hell, see also the chapters "Heaven's Form, Which Determines How People Associate and Communicate There" (§§200-212) and "The Wisdom of Heaven's Angels" (§§265-275).

[11] In people who have been regenerated there is a correspondence between the spiritual and the earthly contents of their minds: 2850. In people who have been regenerated the whole hierarchy of their lives has been completely inverted: 3332, 5159, 8995. In their spirits, those who have been regenerated are completely new people: 3212. Those who have been through regeneration may seem outwardly like those who have not, but they are not like them inwardly: 5159. Regeneration is the only way we can gain spiritual goodness-which is intending and doing good because we are moved by a love for goodness: 4538. Whatever emotion instilled a given truth in us before has the power to evoke that truth again: 5893. The more our truths are disconnected from their origin in our self-focused life, the more they can be joined to goodness and receive spiritual life: 3607, 3610. Our truths have life to the extent that the evils stemming from our love for ourselves and for the world are put aside: 3610.

[12] When we are being regenerated, the first desire we feel for truth is not pure, but over time that desire is gradually purified: 3089, 8413. When we are being regenerated, the evil and false things in us are put aside slowly, not quickly: 9334, 9335. The evil and false things that have become part of us still continue to exist and are only put aside by our regeneration: 865, 868, 887, 929, 1581, 2406, 4564, 8206, 8393, 9014, 9333-9336, 9445, 9447, 9448, 9451-9454, 9938, 10057. There is no way we can be so completely regenerated that we are declared perfect: 894, 5122, 6648. Evil spirits do not dare attack someone who has been regenerated: 1695. People in the church who believe in justification know very little about regeneration: 5398.

[13] We need freedom in order to be regenerated: 1937, 1947, 2876, 2881, 3145, 3146, 3158, 4031, 8700. Through regeneration we are brought into heavenly freedom: 2874, 2875, 2882, 2892. No joining of goodness and truth takes place under coercion, so no regeneration does either: 2875, 2881, 4031, 8700. For more on our freedom in regard to regeneration, see the teachings given in the chapter on freedom above [§§141-149].

[14] When we are being regenerated, we must of necessity undergo spiritual crises (3696, 8403) because such crises happen for the sake of joining goodness and truth together in us and also joining our inner and outer selves together (4248, 4572, 5773).

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