4918. 'That behold, there were twins in her womb' means the two essentials of the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'twins' as the two - good and truth - dealt with in 3299; and from the meaning of 'the womb' as the place where good and truth have been conceived and are lying, and consequently the place where the essentials of the Church are lying. In the genuine sense 'the womb' means the inmost centre of conjugial love where innocence is present, for the womb corresponds to that love in the Grand Man. Now because conjugial love has its origin in the love of good and truth, which love is at the heart of the heavenly marriage, and because this marriage is heaven itself or the Lord's kingdom, and the Lord's kingdom on earth is the Church, therefore 'the womb' also means the Church. For the Church exists where the marriage of good and truth exists. This explains why 'opening the womb' means the resulting doctrines taught by the Churches, 3856, as well as the ability to receive the truths and goods of the Church, 3967; while 'going out of the womb' means being born again or being regenerated, 4904, that is, becoming the Church since one who is born again or regenerated becomes the Church.

[2] Since 'going out of the womb' means rebirth, and therefore the Church, the Lord is called in the Word 'He who formed from the womb' and 'He who brought out of the womb', and those who have been regenerated and become the Church are said 'to have been carried from the womb', as in Isaiah,

Thus said Jehovah. your Maker. He who formed you from the womb, and who helps you. Isaiah 44:2.

In the same prophet,

Thus said Jehovah, your Redeemer, He who formed you from the womb. Isaiah 44:24.

In the same prophet,

Thus said Jehovah. who formed me from the womb to be His servant, to bring back Jacob to Him, and that Israel might be gathered to Him. Isaiah 49:5.

In David,

Jehovah who brought me out of the womb. Psalms 22:9.

In Isaiah,

Hearken to Me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel who have been carried from the womb, and borne from the belly. Isaiah 46:3.

In David,

The wicked are alienated from the womb, and go astray from the belly, with lying words. Psalms 58:3.

Here 'being alienated from the womb' means alienation from the good fostered by the Church, and 'going astray from the belly' straying from the truth. In Hosea,

The pains of childbirth will come upon him, he is an unwise son, for now he does not present himself at the womb of sons. Hosea 13:13.

'Not presenting himself at the womb of sons' stands for not coming to the good of truth fostered by the Church.

[3] In the same prophet,

Their glory will fly away like a bird, away from birth, from the belly, and from conception. Hosea 9:11.

This means that the truth of the Church will perish fully - 'from birth' being that to which birth is given, 'from the belly' that which is undergoing gestation, 'from conception' that which is taking rise. In Isaiah,

I knew that you would certainly act treacherously, and that you were called [a man] of transgression from the womb. Isaiah 48:8.

This means that from the time when the Church first began he was like this. In John,

A great sign was seen in heaven - a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet. and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Carrying in the belly however, she cried out in labour, and was in anguish to give birth. Revelation 12:1-2.

'The woman' is the Church, 252, 253, 255. 'The sun' with which she was clothed is the good of love, 30-38, 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495, 4060, 4696; 'the moon' which was under her feet is the truth of faith, 30-38, 1529, 1530, 2120, 2495, 4696; 'the stars' are cognitions of good and truth, 2495, 2849, 4697 - there being 'twelve stars' because 'twelve' means all things, thus all aspects of faith, 577, 2089, 2129 (end), 2130 (end), 3272, 3858, 3913; 'carrying in the belly' is the truth of the Church that had been conceived; 'being in labour and in anguish to give birth' is the fact that it was received with difficulty.

4697. 'And the eleven stars' means cognitions of good and truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'stars' as cognitions of good and truth. The reason 'stars' in the Word means those cognitions is that they are tiny sources of light shining in the night, which send out flickers of light at that time into our sky, even as cognitions transmit glimmers of goodness and truth. This meaning of 'stars' as those cognitions may be seen from many places in the Word, as in Jeremiah,

[Thus] said Jehovah who gives the sun for light by day and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar. Jeremiah 31:35.

This refers to a new Church. 'Giving the sun for light by day' means good flowing from love and charity, and 'the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for light by night' means truth and cognitions.

[2] Similarly in David,

Jehovah who made the great lights, the sun to have dominion by day, the moon and stars to have dominion by night. Psalms 136:7-9.

Anyone unacquainted with the internal sense of the Word will presume that here 'the sun' is used to mean the sun of this world, and 'the moon and stars' to mean the moon and the stars, but no spiritual and heavenly meaning comes out of that presumption. Yet the Word in every individual part is heavenly. From this it is also evident that it is the goods of love and charity, and the truths of faith, together with cognitions of these, that are meant.

[3] This is similar to what occurs in Chapter 1 of Genesis, where the new creation of the heavenly man is the subject,

God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens, to make a distinction between the day and the night; and they will be for signs, and for set times, and for days and for years. And they will be for lights in the expanse of the heavens, to give light upon the earth; and it was so. And God made the two great lights, the greater light to have dominion over the day, and the lesser light to have dominion over the night, and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth, and to have dominion over the day and the night, and to make a distinction between the light and the darkness. Genesis 1:14-18.

See [in Volume One, paragraphs] 30-38.

[4] In Matthew,

Immediately after the affliction of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Matthew 24:29.

Here 'the sun' and 'the moon' mean love and charity, or good and truth, while 'stars' means cognitions - see 4060; and because the last day or last state of the Church is the subject here, 'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light' means that at that time the good of love and charity will perish, and 'the stars will fall from heaven' means that the cognitions of good and truth will perish too. That these things are meant is evident from the prophetical parts of the Word where similar descriptions occur regarding the day or state of the Church.

[5] As in Isaiah,

Behold, the day of Jehovah will come, cruel, to make the earth a waste, and He will destroy sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not shine with their light. The sun will be obscured in its rising, and the moon will not give its light. Isaiah 13:9-10.

In Joel,

The day of Jehovah is near. The sun and the moon have been darkened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining. Joel 3:14-15.

In Ezekiel,

When I have blotted you out, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars, I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. All the bright lights in heaven I will make dark over you, and I will put darkness over your land. Ezekiel 32:7-8.

And in John,

The fourth angel sounded, and a third part of the sun was struck, and a third part of the moon, and a third part of the stars, so that a third part of them was darkened and the day did not shine for a third part of it; and the night likewise. Revelation 8:12.

[6] This meaning of 'stars' as cognitions of good and truth is in addition evident from the following places: In Daniel,

Out of one horn of the he-goat of the she-goats there grew one small-sized horn and it grew exceedingly towards the south, and towards the east, and towards the glorious [land]; and it grew even towards the hosts of heaven, and it cast down to the earth some of the host, and of the stars, and trampled on them. Daniel 8:9-10.

And in John,

The great dragon drew with his tail a third part of the stars of heaven and cast them down to the earth. Revelation 12:4.

Clearly the actual stars are not meant here, the subject in Daniel and John being the state of the Church in the last times.

[7] Similarly in David,

Jehovah counts the number of stars; He gives names to them all. Psalms 147:4.

In the same author,

Praise Jehovah, sun and moon; praise Him, all stars of light. Psalms 148:3.

In John,

A great sign was seen in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Revelation 12:1.

[8] Since cognitions of good and truth are meant by 'stars', the teachings of the Church are meant too, since these are cognitions. Teaching to do with faith separated from charity in the last times is described as 'a star' in the following verses in John,

The third angel sounded, and a great star fell from heaven, burning like a torch, and It fell onto a third part of the rivers, and onto the fountains of waters. The name of the star is called Wormwood; and a third part of the waters became wormwood, and many people died in the waters, because they were made bitter. Revelation 8:10-11.

'The waters' which were made bitter by that star are truths, and 'the rivers' and 'the fountains of waters' are intelligence imparted by those truths, and wisdom from the Word. For 'waters' meaning truths, see 2702, 3058, 3424; for 'rivers' intelligence, 3051; and for 'fountains' wisdom from the Word, 2702, 3424.