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.

4925. 'That behold, his brother came out' means the truth of good. This is clear from the meaning of 'brother' as that which is kindred, by virtue of good, dealt with in 3815, 4267, and so the truth of good. The truth of good is that truth which is rooted in good, or that faith which is rooted in charity. Dealt with here in the internal sense is the birthright in the case of those who are being born again or regenerated by the Lord, and therefore the birthright within the Church. It has been a matter of argument since most ancient times as to which is the firstborn, whether this is the good of charity or whether it is the truth of faith. Unseen while a person is being born again and becoming a Church, good conceals itself within the interior man and reveals itself solely within some affection which does not pass into the conscious feelings of the external or natural man until he has been born again. But truth reveals itself, for this does enter his conscious feelings and lodges in the memory belonging to the external or natural man. This explains why many have fallen into the error that truth is the firstborn, and at length even thinking that truth is the vital element of the Church, so vital that truth which is called faith can save a person without the good of charity.

[2] From this one error very many others have been derived which have infected not only what is taught but also life, such as the error that no matter what kind of life a person leads he can be saved provided he has faith. A further derivative error is that very wicked people are accepted into heaven provided that in the final hour before they die they declare their belief in those things which are matters of faith; and another such error is that, irrespective of the kind of life one has led, one is accepted into heaven solely by grace. Because people hold to this teaching they fail at length to know what charity is or to have any concern about what it is, till in the end they do not believe in the existence of it, or consequently in the existence of heaven and hell. The reason for this is that faith without charity, or truth without good, teaches a person nothing; and the more it departs from good, the more foolish it makes him. For good is what the Lord flows into and through which He flows, imparting intelligence and wisdom and consequently a superior ability to see, and also perception whether something is really true or not.

[3] From these considerations one may now see the position with regard to the birthright, namely that in actual fact it belongs to good but appears to belong to truth. This is what the birth of Tamar's two sons is used to describe in the internal sense. 'The twice-dyed thread' which the midwife bound on the hand that came out means good, as shown in 4922; 'coming out first' means priority of place, 4923; 'withdrawing the hand' means that good concealed its own power, as stated immediately above [in 4924]; 'his brother came out' means truth; 'you have made a breach upon yourself means this truth's apparent separation from good; 'afterwards his brother came out' means that good is in actual fact first; and 'on whose hand was the twice-dyed thread' means the acknowledgement that good is first. For it is not until after a person has been born again that good is acknowledged to be first, at which point that person's actions spring from good, and his view of truth and what this is like springs from the same.

[4] These are the matters contained within the internal sense, in which teaching is given regarding the good and truth with a person who is being born anew, namely that good in actual fact occupies first place but truth appears to do so, and that good is not seen to occupy the first place while a person is being regenerated but is plainly seen to do so once he has been regenerated. But there is no need to explain these matters any further since they have been explained already - see 3324, 3325, 3494, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4243, 4244, 4247, 4337; and the fact that controversy has taken place since ancient times over whether the birthright belonged to good or to truth, that is, to charity or to faith, 2435.

[5] Because in the highest sense the Lord is the firstborn, and therefore love to Him and charity towards the neighbour are the firstborn, the law was for that reason laid down in the representative Church that firstborn things were Jehovah's: in Moses,

Sanctify to Me all the firstborn, that which opens the womb among the children of Israel; with man and with beast let them be Mine. Exodus 13:2.

You shall make over to Jehovah all that opens the worm', and every firstling of a beast; however many males you have they shall be Jehovah's. Exodus 13:12.

All that opens the womb is Mine; therefore among all your cattle, you shall give the male. that among oxen and small cattle which opens [the womb]. Exodus 34:19.

All that opens the womb among all flesh which they bring to Jehovah, from men and from beasts, shall be yours. Nevertheless you shall surely redeem all the firstborn of men. Numbers 18:15.

Behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from the midst of the children of Israel, instead of every firstborn, that which opens the womb, from the children of Israel, so that the Levites may be Mine. Numbers 3:12.

[6] Because the firstborn is the one that opens the womb, the expression 'that which opens the womb' is therefore added, when the firstborn is mentioned in these places, so as to mean good. It is evident that this expression means good from the specific details contained in the internal sense, especially from those which are recorded regarding the sons of Tamar: Zerah is said to have opened the womb with his hand, and 'Zerah' represents good, as is also clear from the twice-dyed thread placed on his hand, dealt with in 4922. In addition to this 'the womb', to which the expression 'opened' is applied, means the place where good and truth, consequently the Church, lie, see 4918, while 'opening the womb' means supplying the power which enables truth to be born.

[7] Because the Lord is the only firstborn - He being Good itself, and His Good being the source of all truth - Jacob, who was not the firstborn, was therefore allowed to purchase the birthright from Esau his brother so that he might represent Him. Also, because this was not sufficient, he was called Israel, so that by this name he might represent the good of truth; for 'Israel' in the representative sense means good which comes through truth, 3654, 4286, 4598.