443. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. That this signifies obedience, and that all those who are in obedience are in heaven, and come into heaven, is plain from the representation, and thence the signification, of the tribe of Simeon, which denotes obedience, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of twelve thousand sealed, which denotes all those who are in heaven and come into heaven; concerning this see above. The tribes of Simeon, Levi, and Issachar, now mentioned, which form the third class of the sealed, signify those who are in the first or ultimate heaven, and come into it. For, as was stated above, all those who are in heaven, and come into heaven, are treated of here; and because there are three heavens, the third or inmost, the second or middle, and the first or ultimate, therefore those are treated of who are in the third, the second, and the first heaven respectively. Those who are in the third or inmost heaven, and come into that heaven, are signified by Judah, Reuben, and Gad, who, therefore, form the first class of those that are sealed; those who are in the second or middle heaven, and come into that heaven, are signified by Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh; these, therefore, form the second class of the sealed; but those who are in the first or ultimate heaven, and come into that heaven, are signified by Simeon, Levi, and Issachar; these, therefore, form the third class of the sealed.

[2] All those pertain to the first or ultimate heaven who obey the truths and goods which are taught in the Word, or in the doctrine of the church in which they were born, or by their master or teacher, from whom they have heard that this or that is true and good, and must be done. The greater part of these are not in truths themselves, but in falsities from ignorance; these falsities are nevertheless accepted by the Lord as truths, because they have for their end the good of life, by means of which the evils that are accustomed to adhere to falsities are removed. Concerning those falsities, and those who are in them, see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 21). These, therefore, are in the ultimate or first heaven. But those who are in the second or middle heaven, are all in the spiritual affection of knowing and understanding truth and good, and in the affection of doing it; those, however, who are in the third or inmost heaven, are all in love. But we have treated of both of these above.

[3] Simeon and his tribe signify those who are in obedience, because Simeon, the father of the tribe, was so named from "hearing," and to hear signifies to obey, as is evident from these words of Leah his mother, when she bare him:

And Leah "conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because Jehovah hath heard that I am hated, he hath therefore given me this [son] also, and she called his name Simeon" (Genesis 29:33).

These words may be seen explained in the Arcana Coelestia 3867-3872), and also that to hear signifies to obey (n. 2542, 3869, 4653-4660, 5017, 5471, 5475, 7216, 8361, 8990, 9311, 9397, 9926, 10061); and above (n. 14, 108, 249). Because Simeon signifies obedience, he also signifies faith, for faith becomes faith in man when he obeys and does its precepts. Before this takes place, the knowledge of those things which he has received from the Word, from the doctrine of the church, and from preaching resembles faith, but it is not faith until he does these things; previous to this it is only of the thought from the memory, in which there is nothing of the will, consequently nothing of the man, for the will is the man himself. Therefore, when a man carries it out or obeys it, then it enters the will, thus the man himself, and becomes faith.

[4] This faith, which is obedience, is also signified by Peter, when he is called Simon, and the faith which is the affection for truth, is signified by Peter when called Simon son of Jonah (as in Matthew 16:17-19, and following verses; Mark 1:16-18, 36; 14:37, 38; Luke 5:3-11; 7:40-43; 22:31-33, and following verses; 24:34; John 1:40-42; 21:15-21).

Because Simeon in Hebrew signifies hearing, and hearkening, and therefore obedience, as stated above, and the son of Jonah truth from good, but Peter, truth itself, he is therefore called by the Lord, sometimes Peter, sometimes Simon Peter, and sometimes Simon son of Jonah. That such things are signified by those names, any one may see from the fact, that he was called by the Lord at one time Peter, at another Simon, at another, son of Jonah. This was not done without a cause and meaning. What was said to him at the time proves this; as, when he confessed that the Lord was the Son of God, and, therefore, the keys of the kingdom of heaven were given to him, he is called Simon son of Jonah (Matthew 16:17, and following verses). He is called a rock [petra], as the Lord Himself is frequently called in the prophets. He was similarly called Simon son of Jonah, when the Lord said unto him, "Lovest thou me," and he answered, "I love thee;" but soon after, when he turned himself from the Lord, and was indignant because John who signifies the good of charity followed Jesus, he was called Peter (John 21:15-21); by Peter is then signified truth apart from good, or faith separated from charity.

[5] From these considerations it is evident, that Simon, when Peter is so named, has a similar signification to Simeon the son of Jacob, that is, obedience, the faith of charity, the affection for truth, and, in general, truth from good. For Simon in Hebrew signifies hearing, hearkening, and obedience, and Jonah in the same tongue signifies a dove, which, in the spiritual sense, signifies the good of charity and the son of Jonah, the truth of that good, or the faith of charity. But "rock" [petra], from which he is named Peter, signifies truth and faith, and in the opposite sense, falsity and the want of faith. See above (n. 411).

[6] That Simeon the son of Jacob, and the tribe named from him, signify obedience, and truth in the will, and thence faith, is also evident from the opposite sense, in which he signifies disobedience, and falsity in the will, and thence faith separated from the will, which is not faith; for most things in the Word have also an opposite sense, in which they signify contrary things. It is in this sense that Simeon is mentioned by his father Israel in the prophecy concerning his sons, in these words,

"Simeon and Levi are brethren; weapons of violence are their swords; into their secret let not my soul come, in their congregation let not my glory be united; because in their anger they slew a man (vir), and in their good pleasure they unstrung an ox; ¹ Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was hard; I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel" (Genesis 49:5-7).

Simeon and Levi are brethren, signifies faith separated from charity; weapons of violence are their swords, signifies that doctrinals serve to destroy the works of charity, and therefore charity itself. Into their secret let not my soul come, signifies that spiritual good does not desire to know the evils of their will. In their congregation let not my glory be united, signifies that neither does spiritual truth desire to know the falsities of their thoughts. For in their anger they slew a man, signifies that they have altogether averted themselves from truths, and in their aversion have extinguished faith. And in their good pleasure they unstrung an ox, signifies that from their depraved will they have utterly weakened external good which is of charity. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, signifies grievous turning away from good, and consequent damnation. And their wrath, for it was hard, signifies turning away from truth thence. I will divide them in Jacob, signifies that that faith must be extirpated from the external church. And scatter them in Israel, signifies from the internal church. But these things are more fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia 6351-6361).

[7] The first three sons, namely, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, were rejected and cursed by their father Israel, because in that prophecy the establishment of the church is treated of, and the church cannot be established by faith separated from charity, but by truth and good, which are from the Lord. For the church had fallen, even at that time, into the error, that merely to know the Word, and acknowledge its holiness, was the essential of the church, and not life or charity; and that the God of heaven and earth was some other than the Lord; therefore in that prophecy the first three sons, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, were rejected, because Reuben signifies faith alone, Simeon, faith without charity, and Levi, the absence of the good of charity, consequently, by those three in a series, is signified the non-existence of the church. For when faith alone is regarded as the essential of salvation, then charity is at once rejected and looked upon as of no value or importance in the work of salvation. And because those three signified those three things, therefore Israel their father, who signifies the church, rejected them. These three also destroyed the representative of a church, Reuben, by lying with Bilhah, the handmaid and concubine of his father (Genesis 35:22); and Simeon and Levi, by their slaying Hamor, his son Shechem, and the whole city, which was the nation descended from Hamor, for the sole reason that he loved their sister Dinah (Genesis 34:1 to end). This deed, in the spiritual sense, signifies that those two sons of Jacob, that is to say, that attribute of the church which was represented by them, extinguished the truth and good of the Ancient Church, which church still remained with the nation of Hamor; for that deed signifies in the spiritual sense that faith separated from charity extinguishes all the truth and good of the church. This, therefore, is the meaning of the words of Israel, "Into their secret let not my soul come, in their congregation let not my glory be united; for in their anger they slew a man (vir), and in their good pleasure they unstrung an ox." For man (vir) in the Word, signifies truth and intelligence, and ox moral and natural good. These things are more fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia 4426-4522).

[8] Hence also Simeon is passed over in the blessing of Moses (Deuteronomy 33), and instead of him, Ephraim and Manasseh are mentioned, who signify the truth and good of the church. But although Simeon and Levi were such, yet they elsewhere signify the faith of charity, and charity; Simeon, the faith of charity, and Levi, charity. In fact, the tribe of Levi was appointed to the priesthood. For the character of the person who represents is of no importance, provided he be in external worship according to the laws and statutes, representation looking not to the person, but to the thing and nothing more is required in the person than the external in worship; concerning this see Arcana Coelestia 665, 1097, 1361, 3147, 3670, 3881, 4208, 4281, 4288, 4292, 4309, 4444, 4500, 6304, 7048, 7439, 8588, 8788, 8806, 9229). The tribe of Simeon, therefore, in this passage of the Apocalypse, and also elsewhere in the Word, signifies obedience, the faith of charity, the affection for truth, and, in general, truth from good, as stated above. That Simeon and his tribe, when mentioned in a good sense, signify in the highest sense, providence; in the internal sense, faith in the will; in the interior sense, obedience; and in the external sense, hearing, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 3869).

Fußnoten:

1361. The fact that the Church became representative as the result of idolatry nobody is able to know unless he knows what a representative is. The things that were represented in the Jewish Church, and in the Word, are the Lord and His kingdom, and therefore the celestial things of love and the spiritual things of faith. These are the things that are represented, in addition to many things that go with them, such as everything belonging to the Church. Those that represent are either persons or else things in the universe or on this earth; in short, all things that are objects of the senses, so much so that scarcely any object is incapable of being representative. It is a general law of representation however that no attention is paid to the representative person or thing, but to the actual subject being represented.

[2] For example: Every king who has lived - in Judah or Israel, or even in Egypt and elsewhere - could represent the Lord Their royal status itself is representative, and thus the worst king of all was able to represent Him, such as the Pharaoh who promoted Joseph over the land of Egypt, or Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, Daniel 2:37-38, or Saul and all the other kings of Judah and Israel, no matter what kind of men they were. The anointing of them, by virtue of which they were called 'Jehovah's anointed', carried that representation with it. In the same way all priests, however many there were, represented the Lord. Their priestly status itself is representative. This applies even to priests who were evil and immoral, for in representatives no attention is paid to the character of the person involved. And not only human beings but also animals were representative, for example all those used in sacrifice. Lambs and sheep represented celestial things, doves and turtle doves spiritual, as did rams, he-goats, young bulls, and oxen, though these latter represented lower types of celestial and spiritual things.

[3] Nor, as has been stated, was it just living creatures that were representative but also inanimate objects, such as the altar and even the stones of the altar; also the Ark and the Tabernacle together with everything in it; and the Temple too together with everything in it, a fact that anyone is capable of seeing. The lamps, the loaves, and Aaron's garments were accordingly representative. And not only these but also all the religious ceremonies in the Jewish Church. In the Ancient Churches representatives extended to every object of the senses, such as mountains and hills, and valleys, plains, rivers, streams, springs, reservoirs, woods, trees in general, and every kind of tree in particular, so that every single tree had some definite meaning. Once the Church of meaningful signs had come to an end these things became representatives. These considerations make clear what is to be understood by representatives. And seeing that not only human beings, no matter who or of what character, but also animals and even inanimate objects, could represent celestial and spiritual things - which are things belonging to the Lord's kingdom in heaven and those belonging to the Lord's kingdom on earth - it is consequently clear what a representative Church is.

[4] Representatives were such that to spirits and angels all things that were carried out according to the prescribed ritual appeared holy, as when the high priest, who had washed himself with water, ministered dressed in the robes of his office, and stood before the lighted candles, no matter what kind of man he was, even the most immoral and an idolater at heart. And the same applied to all other priests, for, as has been stated, in representatives no attention is paid to the person, but only to the actual thing being represented. The representation was completely abstracted from the person, as it was from the oxen, young bulls, or lambs that were sacrificed, or from the blood that was poured out around the altar, or again from the altar itself, and so on.

[5] This representative Church was established after all internal worship had perished, when worship became not only wholly external but also idolatrous It was established so that heaven might be joined in some measure to the earth, that is, the Lord might be joined to human beings by means of heaven. And this came about after conjunction by means of the internal things of worship had perished. The nature of this conjunction by means of representatives alone will in the Lord's Divine mercy be discussed later on. Representatives do not start until the next chapter, where every single thing from then on is purely representative. At the moment the subject is the state of those who were their forefathers, before some of them and their descendants became representative, whose worship, as shown above, was idolatrous.