7988. That all the armies of Jehovah went forth from the land of Egypt. That this signifies that they who were in truth and good and were still detained there, were taken out, is evident from the signification of “going forth from the land of Egypt,” as being to be taken out and liberated from infestations (that “to go forth” denotes to be taken out, is evident; and also that “the land of Egypt” denotes infestations, see n. 7278); and from the signification of “the armies of Jehovah,” as being the truths and goods of the spiritual church, thus those who are in truth and good (n. 3448, 7236). That truths and goods are “the armies of Jehovah,” is evident in Daniel:

There went out one little horn of the he-goat, and it grew exceedingly toward the south, and toward the east, and toward comeliness; and it grew even to the army of the heavens; and some of the army and of the stars it cast down to the earth, and trampled upon them. Yea, it exalted itself even to the Prince of the army. And the army was delivered upon the continual sacrifice unto transgression, because it cast forth truth into the earth. Then I heard a holy one speaking, How long shall the holy thing and the army be given to be trampled on? He said unto me, Until the evening and the morning, two thousand three hundred; then shall the holy thing be justified (Daniel 8:9-14);

it is here clearly evident that “armies” denote truths and goods; for it is said that it “cast down to the earth some of the army and of the stars,” and afterward that it “cast forth truth into the earth,” and that “the army was to be trampled on until the evening and the morning,” that is, until the coming of the Lord.

[2] As truths and goods are the “armies of Jehovah,” therefore the angels are called His “armies” in the first Book of Kings:

Micaiah the prophet said, I saw Jehovah sitting on His throne, and the whole army of the heavens standing by Him (1 Kings 22:19).

Bless Jehovah, ye His angels, mighty in strength. Bless Jehovah, all ye His armies, ye ministers of His (Psalms 103:20-21); where the angels are called “armies” from the truths and goods in which they are. Nor were the angels only called “the armies of Jehovah,” but also the luminaries of heaven, as the sun, moon, and stars, and this because by the “sun” was signified the good of love, by the “moon” the good of faith, and by the “stars” the knowledges of good and truth. That these luminaries are called “armies” is manifest in the book of Genesis:

And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the army of them (Genesis 2:1); where by “army” are meant all the luminaries of heaven; but in the internal sense, in which is here described the new creation of man, are meant truths and goods.

[3] In like manner in David:

Praise ye Jehovah, all His angels; praise ye Him, all His armies. Praise ye Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all ye stars of light (Psalms 148:2-3).

That the “sun” denotes the good of love; the “moon” the good of faith, see n. 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495, 4060, 4696, 5377, 7083; and that the “stars” denote the knowledges of good and truth, n. 1808, 2120, 2495, 2849, 4697.

[4] That the “sun, moon, and stars” signify goods and truths, is because in heaven the Lord is a sun to the celestial angels, and a moon to the spiritual angels (n. 1521, 1529-1531, 3636, 3643, 4300, 4321, 5097, 7078, 7083, 7171, 7173), and because the angelic abodes shine like the stars, according to these words in Daniel:

Then shall the intelligent shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that make many righteous, as the stars forever and to eternity (Daniel 12:3).

[5] As from truths and goods the angels are called “the armies of Jehovah,” and so also the sun, moon, and stars; and as all truth and good proceed from the Lord; therefore in the Word the Lord is called “Jehovah Zebaoth” that is, “of armies” (n. 3448). He is so called also from the fact that He fights for man against the hells. From all this it can now be seen what is meant in the internal sense by “the armies of Jehovah.” That the sons of Jacob, who went forth out of Egypt, were not these armies, but that they represented them, is evident from their life in Egypt, in that they did not know Jehovah, not even His name, until this was told to Moses out of the bramble (Exodus 3:13-16); and also that they, equally with the Egyptians, were worshipers of a calf, as may be concluded from the thirty-second chapter of Exodus; and also from their life in the wilderness, in that they were of such a character that they could not be introduced into the land of Canaan; thus were as far as possible from being the armies of Jehovah.

4697. And eleven stars. That this signifies the knowledges of good and truth, is evident from the signification of “stars,” as being the knowledges of good and truth. That “stars” have this signification in the Word is because they are small luminaries which shine at night, when they give forth into our atmosphere gleams of light, just as knowledges give forth gleams of good and truth. That such knowledges are signified by “stars,” is evident from many passages in the Word, as in Jeremiah:

Thus said Jehovah who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirreth up the sea that the waves thereof are tumultuous (Jeremiah 31:35); where a new church is treated of, and by “giving the sun for a light by day” is signified the good of love and of charity, and by “giving the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night” is signified truth and knowledges.

[2] So too in David:

Jehovah who made great luminaries, the sun to rule by day, and the moon and stars to rule by night (Psalms 136:7-9);

one who knows nothing of the internal sense of the Word will believe that by the “sun” here is meant the sun of the world, and by the “moon and stars,” the moon and stars of the world; but from this arises no spiritual and heavenly sense, and yet the Word is heavenly in every particular; from which again it is evident that the goods of love and charity, and the truths of faith, together with the knowledges of these, are what is signified.

[3] So also in the first chapter of Genesis, where the new creation of the celestial man is described:

God said, Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the heavens to distinguish between the day and the night; and let them be for signs and for stated times, and for days and for years; and let them be for luminaries in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth; and it was so. And God made two great luminaries; the greater luminary to rule by day, and the lesser luminary to rule by night; and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth, and to rule in the day and in the night, and to distinguish between the light and the darkness (Genesis 1:14-18; see (30-38) n. 30-38).

[4] In Matthew:

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

That here by the “sun and moon” are signified love and charity, or good and truth, and by the “stars” knowledges, may be seen above (n. 4060); and because the last day or the last state of the church is here treated of, by “the sun being darkened and the moon not giving her light” is signified that then the good of love and of charity will perish; and by “the stars falling from heaven,” that the knowledges of good and of truth will also perish.

[5] That these things are signified, is evident from the prophetic parts of the Word, in which similar things are said of the last state of the church, as in Isaiah:

Behold the day of Jehovah cometh cruel, to make the earth a waste, and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof shall not shine with their light; the sun shall be darkened in his rising, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine (Isaiah 13:9-10).

In Joel:

The day of Jehovah is near. The sun and the moon have been blackened, and the stars have withdrawn their shining (Joel 3:14, 16).

In Ezekiel:

When I shall extinguish thee I will cover the heavens, and I will blacken the stars thereof; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not make her light to shine, all the luminaries of light in heaven will I make black over thee, and will set darkness upon thy land (Ezekiel 32:7-8).

And in Revelation:

The fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; that the third part of them should be darkened, and the day should not shine for the third part of it, and the night in like manner (Revelation 8:12).

[6] Moreover, that “stars” are the knowledges of good and truth is plain from the following passages: in Daniel:

Out of one of the horns of the he-goat came forth a little horn, and it grew exceedingly toward the south, and toward the east, and toward adornment. And it grew even to the army of the heavens; and some of the army and of the stars it cast down to the earth, and trampled upon them (Daniel 8:9-10);

and in Revelation:

The great dragon with his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth (Revelation 12:4).

That “stars” are not meant in these passages, is evident.

In Daniel and Revelation is described the state of the church in its last times.

[7] Likewise in David:

Jehovah counteth the number of the stars; He giveth names to all (Psalms 147:4).

Again:

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

And in Revelation:

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

[8] As “stars” signify the knowledges of good and truth, they signify also the doctrinals of the church, for these are knowledges. The doctrinal respecting faith separate from charity in the last times, is thus described by a star in Revelation:

The third angel sounded, and there fell from heaven a great star burning as a torch, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; and the name of the star is called Wormwood, and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter (Revelation 8:10-11).

The waters made bitter by this star are truths, and the “rivers and fountains of waters” are intelligence thence and wisdom from the Word. (That “waters” are truths may be seen above, n. 2702, 3058, 3424; that “rivers” are intelligence, n. 3051; and that “fountains” are wisdom from the Word, n. 2702, 3424)