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:

4459. 'Jacob's sons answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully means evil thought and intention regarding the truth and the good of the Church among the Ancients. This is clear from the representation of 'Shechem' as truth among the Ancients, or what amounts to the same, truth from the ancient Divine stock, dealt with in 4399, 4454; from the representation of 'Hamor' as the good from which that truth sprang, dealt with in 4399, 4431, 4447, 4454; and from the meaning of 'deceit' as evil thought and intention. In general deceit implies evil against another and against what he says and does, for the thought and intention of the one who is deceitful is different from that of the other person, as is also clear from the outcome of events described in this chapter. From this it is evident that 'the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully' means evil thought and intention regarding the truth and the good of the Church among the Ancients.

[2] The sons of Jacob, that is, his descendants, could have none but an evil thought and intention regarding the truth and the good belonging to the internal man, because they were interested in external things devoid of internal, 4281, 4293, 4307, 4429, 4433. They saw no value at all in internal things, and therefore utterly despised them. Such is also the nature of that nation at the present day, and so it is of all who are interested only in external things. People who are interested only in external things do not even know what it is to be interested in internal things, since they have no knowledge of what is internal. If anyone in their presence mentions that which is internal they either endorse the existence of it because they know from doctrine of its existence, though that endorsement is attributable to their deceit, or else they deny the existence of it with their lips as they do in their hearts. For they do not go further than the experiences of the senses of the external man, and as a consequence do not believe in any life after death. Nor do they believe any resurrection to be possible apart from their rising again in the physical body. That being so, they are allowed to have these thoughts concerning the resurrection, or else they would not have any at all. For they centre the whole of life in the body, not knowing that the life of their body flows from the life of their spirit which lives after death. People who are interested only in external things cannot possibly have any faith, for external things with them annihilate all thought concerning internal ones, and consequently all belief in them.

[3] Since this kind of ignorance reigns at the present day, an explanation needs to be given of what it is to be interested in external things devoid of internal. All people who are devoid of conscience are interested only in external things, for the internal man reveals itself through conscience. Anyone is devoid of conscience if he thinks and does what is true and good not for the sake of what is true and good but for the sake of his own personal position and gain, and also merely because he fears the law and fears for his own life. For if reputation, position, gain, and life were not endangered he would plunge without conscience into every unmentionable act. This is quite evident from those in the next life who were such during their lifetime. Because interior things are laid bare in that life those people are constantly endeavouring to destroy others, on account of which they are in hell, where they are held in bonds in a spiritual manner.

[4] To enable anyone to have a fuller knowledge of what is meant by an interest in external things, and what by an interest in internal ones; to enable him to know also that people who are interested only in external things cannot have any conception of what internal ones are and so cannot feel any affection for them (for nobody feels any affection for things of which he has no conception) let the following, for example, be considered. One who is least in heaven is the greatest, one who is humble is exalted, and also one who is poor and needy is rich and affluent. People who are interested only in external things cannot have any conception of these matters, for they think that the least cannot possibly be the greatest, nor the humble be the exalted, and that the poor cannot possibly be rich or the needy affluent. Yet this is precisely how it is in heaven. And because they cannot have any conception of these matters they are consequently unable to feel any affection for them; and when they reflect on them from the point of view of the bodily and worldly things which interest them they feel an aversion to them. How it is in heaven they do not know at all, and as long as they are interested only in external things they do not wish to know, nor indeed are they capable of knowing. For in heaven one who knows, acknowledges, and believes in his heart that is, with affection - that none of his power is self-derived, but that all the power he has comes from the Lord, is called the least. Yet he is the greatest because his power comes from the Lord. Similarly so with one who is humble yet exalted; for one who is humble, acknowledging and believing from affection that he has no self-derived power at all, nor any self-derived intelligence and wisdom, nor any goodness and truth, has power, an intelligent understanding of truth, and a wise discernment of good, conferred on him by the Lord more than on others. And likewise so with the poor and the needy being rich and affluent; for he is called poor and needy who believes in his heart and with affection that nothing he possesses begins in himself, nor does anything he knows and is wise in, nor does anything he has power in. In heaven he is rich and is affluent, the Lord granting him total wealth since he is wiser and richer than all others and lives in most magnificent palaces, 1116, 1626, 1627, and among the treasures constituting all the riches of heaven.

[5] Take as another example someone who is interested only in external things. Such a person cannot have any conception at all that heavenly joy consists in loving the neighbour more than himself and the Lord above all things, and that happiness depends on the amount and the quality of that love. For one interested only in external things loves himself more than his neighbour, and if he does love others it is because they show him favour; and so he loves them for a selfish reason - and he therefore loves himself in them and them in himself. A person like this cannot know what loving others more than himself is; indeed he does not wish to know, and is incapable of knowing. Consequently when told that heaven consists in such love, 548, he is repelled by the idea. Hence those who have been like this during their lifetime are unable to draw near any heavenly community; and when they do draw near, because they feel repelled by it, they cast themselves down headlong into hell.

[6] Because few at the present day know what it is to be interested in external things and what it is to be interested in internal ones, and because the majority believe that those interested in internal things cannot be interested in external ones, and vice versa, let one further example be introduced to illustrate the matter. Take the nourishment of the body and the nourishment of the soul. A person who is interested in merely external pleasures takes care of his own skin, gratifies his stomach, likes to live sumptuously, and finds that the choicest food and drink yields him the highest pleasure. A person however who is interested in internal things also takes delight in those same pleasures, but his governing affection is to nourish the body with pleasurable foods so that it may be healthy, the end in view being a healthy mind in a healthy body. His primary concern is health of mind, for which health of the body serves as a means. One who is a spiritual man does not stop there but regards health of mind or of the soul as the means provided to acquire intelligence and wisdom, not for the sake of reputation, position, or gain, but for the sake of the life after death. And one who is spiritual in a more interior degree regards intelligence and wisdom as a mediate end enabling him to serve as a useful member in the Lord's kingdom; while one who is celestial regards the same as that which enables him to serve the Lord. To him bodily food is a means to the enjoyment of spiritual food; and spiritual food is a means to the enjoyment of celestial food. And because they ought to serve in this manner those foods also correspond, and are therefore called foods. From these examples one may see what is meant by being interested only in external things and what by being interested in internal ones.

[7] The Jewish and Israelite nation, which is the subject in this chapter in the internal historical sense, apart from those who have died as children, are for the most part such. They more than all others are interested in external things, for they are governed by avarice. Those who do not love profit and gain for the sake of any use, only for the sake of gold and silver, and who focus the whole delight of life in those possessions, dwell in the outermost or lowest places, since they are entirely earthly things which they love. But those loving gold and silver because of some use these may serve are people who rise above earthly things, in accordance with that use. The use itself which a person loves is what gives direction to his life and marks him off from others, an evil use making him like one in hell and a good use like one in heaven. It is not indeed the use itself that does so but the love behind it, for everyone's life is inherent in his love.