Apocalypse Explained #432
432. Verse 5. Of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand sealed; of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand sealed; of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand sealed.
5. "Of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand sealed," signifies love to the Lord, and that all who are in that love are in heaven, and come into heaven n. 433; "of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand sealed," signifies the light of truth from that good, and that all who are in that light are in heaven and come into heaven n. 434; "of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand sealed," signifies the consequent good of life (n. 435, 436).
Heaven and Hell #34
34. Furthermore, all perfection increases towards interiors and decreases towards exteriors since interiors are nearer to the Divine, and are in themselves purer, while exteriors are more remote from the Divine and are in themselves grosser. 1 Angelic perfection consists in intelligence, wisdom, love and every good, and in the happiness therefrom, but not in happiness without these, for, without them happiness is external and not internal. Because with the angels of the inmost heaven the interiors have been opened in the third degree, their perfection immeasurably surpasses that of the angels in the middle heaven, whose interiors have been opened in the second degree.
In the same way, the perfection of the angels of the middle heaven exceeds the perfection of the angels of the outermost heaven.
Note a piè di pagina:
1. [Swedenborg's footnote] Interiors are more perfect because nearer to the Divine (Arcana Coelestia 3405, 5146-5147).
In the internal there are thousands and thousands of things that appear in the external as one general thing (Arcana Coelestia 5707).
As far as man is raised from externals towards interiors, so far he comes into light and thus into intelligence and the elevation is like rising out of a cloud into clearness (Arcana Coelestia 4598, 6183, 6313).
