349. Sealed out of every tribe of Israel. This symbolizes the heaven and Lord's church formed from those people.

A tribe symbolizes religion as regards goodness of life, and every tribe symbolizes the church in respect to every good of love and every truth springing from that good, which produces goodness of life. For there are two elements which form the church: the goodness of love and doctrinal truth. The marriage of these two constitutes the church. The twelve tribes of Israel represented and so symbolized the church with respect to that marriage, and each tribe represented and so symbolized some universal truth accompanying goodness or some goodness accompanying truth present in that marriage.

But what each tribe symbolized has not been revealed previously to anyone, nor could it have been revealed, lest an ill-connected exposition profane the holiness that lies within these things when joined together, since their symbolism depends on their conjunction.

[2] They have one symbolism in the order in which they are listed according to their births (Genesis 29, 30, 35:18). The order there is: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, Benjamin.

They have another symbolism in the order in which they are listed when they went into Egypt, namely, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Gad, Asher, Joseph, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali (Genesis 46:8-25).

Still another symbolism in the order in which they were blessed by their father Israel, namely, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Joseph, Benjamin (Genesis 49).

Still another symbolism in the order in which they were blessed by Moses, namely, Reuben, Judah, Levi, Benjamin, Joseph, Ephraim, Manasseh, Zebulun, Gad, Dan, Naphtali, Asher (Deuteronomy 33) - Ephraim and Manasseh being listed there, and not Simeon or Issachar.

[3] Still another symbolism in the order in which they encamped and set out, namely, the tribes of Judah, Issachar and Zebulun on the east side, the tribes of Reuben, Simeon and Gad on the south side, the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin on the west side, and the tribes of Dan, Asher and Naphtali on the north side, with the tribe of Levi in the middle (Numbers 2:1-34).

And still another symbolism in the order in which they are listed elsewhere, as in Genesis 35:23-26, Numbers 1:5-16; 7:1-89; 13:4-15; 26:5-57; 34:17-28, Deuteronomy 27:12-13, Joshua 15; 16; 17; 18; 19, Ezekiel 48:1-35.

Consequently, when Balaam saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes, he said, "How good are your tents, O Jacob, and your tabernacles, O Israel" (Numbers 24:1-4ff.).

[4] On the breastpiece of judgment, namely, the Urim and Thummim, containing twelve precious stones according to the names of the children of Israel (Exodus 28:15-21), the symbolism of the tribes in their arrangement depended on the inquiry to which they provided a response.

But what they symbolized in the order in which they are mentioned here in the book of Revelation, which is still another order, will be told in what follows.

Tribes symbolize religion, and the twelve tribes the church and everything pertaining to it, because "tribe" and "scepter" are, in Hebrew, the same word, ¹ and a scepter means a kingdom, and the Lord's kingdom is heaven and the church.

Poznámky pod čarou:

The Lord in essence is perfect love expressed as perfect wisdom. He created us so that He could love us, give us love and wisdom of our own, and thus be united with us. This is the ultimate blessing, for us to receive His love and wisdom and to be together with Him, and all other forms and meanings of "blessing" flow from it. This flow, however, takes many different forms in the Bible. When people receive the Lord's blessing, it illustrates how His love and wisdom flow into us in forms that fit the spiritual state people represent in the Word. When people bless the Lord, it indicates an acknowledgment that life and all its gifts come from Him and shows a desire to accept them and be conjoined. When people bless each other, it represents the desire to share good desires and true ideas as much as possible.