Apocalypse Revealed # 356
356. Of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed. (7:7) This symbolizes spiritual love, which is love for the neighbor or charity, in those people who will be part of the New Heaven and of the Lord's New Church.
In the highest sense Simeon symbolizes providence; in the spiritual sense, love for the neighbor or charity; and in the natural sense, obedience and giving ear.
In the first two series the subject was people who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom. In this series, now, the subject is people who are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom. Their love is termed a spiritual love, which is love for the neighbor and charity.
Simeon and his tribe represented this love and thus symbolize it in the Word because he was born after Reuben and was the next before Levi, and these three - Reuben, Simeon and Levi - in that sequence symbolized truth in the intellect or faith, truth in the will or charity, and truth in practice or good work, like Peter, James and John. As Simeon and his tribe consequently represented truth in the will, which is both charity and obedience, therefore he was given a name derived from a word meaning to hear, and to hear symbolizes both to understand truth and to will it or obey - to understand it in the phrase to "hear someone," and to will it and obey in the phrase to "listen to someone" or hearken.
[2] We will say something here about love for the neighbor or charity. Love for the neighbor is a love of obeying the Lord's commandments, especially those in the second table of the Ten Commandments, namely, you shall not kill, you shall not commit whoredom, you shall not steal, you shall not bear witness falsely, and you shall not covet anything that is your neighbor's. A person who wills not to do these things because they are sins, loves his neighbor. For someone who hates his neighbor, and who out of hatred wishes to kill him, does not love his neighbor. Someone who wishes to commit whoredom with his neighbor's wife, does not love his neighbor. Neither does someone who wishes to steal and plunder his neighbor's goods love his neighbor, and so on.
Paul, too, teaches this in these words:
...he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, "You shall not commit whoredom," "You shall not kill," "You shall not steal," "You shall not be a false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." ...Charity therefore is the fulfillment of the law." (Romans 13:8-10)
Revelation 7
1
After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree.
2
I saw another angel ascend from the sunrise, having the seal of the living God. He cried with a loud voice to the four angels to whom it was given to harm the earth and the sea,
3
saying, "Don't harm the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, until we have sealed the bondservants of our God on their foreheads!"
4
I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel:
5
of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand, of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand, of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand,
6
of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand, of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand, of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand,
7
of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand, of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand, of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand,
8
of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand, of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand, of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.
9
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.
10
They cried with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation be to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"
11
All the angels were standing around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before his throne, and worshiped God,
12
saying, "Amen! Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might, be to our God forever and ever! Amen."
13
One of the elders answered, saying to me, "These who are arrayed in white robes, who are they, and from where did they come?"
14
I told him, "My lord, you know." He said to me, "These are those who came out of the great tribulation. They washed their robes, and made them white in the Lamb's blood.
15
Therefore they are before the throne of God, they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will spread his tabernacle over them.
16
They will never be hungry, neither thirsty any more; neither will the sun beat on them, nor any heat;
17
for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shepherds them, and leads them to springs of waters of life. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."
