3863. Because she said, “Jehovah has seen” in the highest sense means foresight; in an inward sense, faith; in an intermediate sense, intellect; on the surface, eyesight; in the current case, a faith granted by the Lord. This can be seen from the symbolism of seeing, discussed below.

The foregoing remarks show that the twelve tribes named for Jacob’s twelve sons symbolized every form of truth and goodness, or of faith and love, and therefore everything involved in religion. Each tribe symbolized some broad trait. So the twelve tribes symbolized twelve universal traits that embrace as subcategories each and every aspect of the church and (in a universal sense) of the Lord’s kingdom. The broad characteristic that Reuben symbolizes is faith. Faith is the first universal characteristic because when we are being reborn, or are becoming a church, we first have to learn and absorb what faith (or spiritual truth) tells us. The teachings of faith (or of truth) get us started. We are not created in such a way that we can see what heavenly goodness is on our own; we have to learn by being taught, and what we are taught is called the teachings of faith. All religious teachings focus on the way we live as their goal, so they focus on goodness, because goodness is a matter of life.

[2] The ancients debated whether the truth that characterizes faith or the goodness that characterizes love was the church’s “firstborn.” Those who held that it was faith’s truth drew their conclusion from the outward appearance, deciding truth was the firstborn because it is and must be learned first, and because it introduces us to goodness. They did not realize that in essence goodness is the firstborn and that the Lord instills it through our inner self so that we can adopt and accept the truth introduced by our outer self. Goodness contains life from the Lord. The only life truth contains comes through goodness, so that goodness is the soul of truth. Goodness lays claim to truth and robes itself in truth, as the soul does with the body. Outwardly, then, truth appears to take first place and to be the firstborn when we are regenerating, even though in essence, goodness takes first place and is the firstborn. It becomes so in reality when our rebirth is complete. To see that this is so, consult §§3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701.

[3] The theme of this chapter and those that come before it is the rebirth of the earthly dimension—at this point, the first stage of its rebirth, in which one is introduced to goodness by truth. That is why Jacob’s first son, Reuben, was named for Jehovah’s seeing, which on an inner plane symbolizes faith granted by the Lord.

Strictly speaking, faith exists in the intellect and in the will. A knowledge and understanding of the truth that composes faith is called a faith that belongs to the intellect, but the intent to act on that truth is called a faith that belongs to the will. The former, a faith that belongs to the intellect, is what Reuben symbolizes. The latter, a faith that belongs to the will, is what Simeon symbolizes.

Anyone can see that a faith that belongs to the intellect, or an understanding of truth, comes before a faith that belongs to the will, or an intent to act on truth. When something is unknown to us—as heavenly goodness is—we have to learn that it exists and understand what it is before we can want it.

[4] The idea that on the surface seeing means eyesight needs no explanation. The idea that in an intermediate sense it means intellect is also evident. The eye of our inner self is nothing but the intellect, so in everyday language we refer to the intellect as inner sight. We also speak of light in connection with the intellect (just as we speak of it in connection with outer vision), calling that light intellectual light.

The inward meaning of seeing as faith granted by the Lord is clear from the fact that the inner intellect deals only with material provided by truth and goodness, the components of faith. We are not as aware of this deeper intellect, or inner eye, which operates on the truth belonging to faith, as we are of that intellect which operates on the truth belonging to public and private life, because the former lies within the latter, in heaven’s light. Heaven’s light is in the dark as long as we live in the world’s light. Even so, it reveals itself to people who have been reborn, especially through conscience. Seeing means foresight in the highest sense, plainly, because the capacity for understanding attributed to the Lord is an infinite capacity, and foresight and infinite understanding are the same.

[5] The inner-level symbolism of seeing—for which Reuben was named—as faith imparted by the Lord becomes clear from many passages in the Word, of which the following could be quoted. In Moses:

Jehovah said to Moses, “Make yourself a snake and put it on a standard, and it will happen that all who have been bitten and see it will live.” Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a standard, and it happened that if a snake bit a man and he laid eyes on the bronze snake, he lived again. (Numbers 21:8, 9)

The bronze snake represented the Lord’s outer, sensory plane, or his earthly dimension; see §197. Bronze means the earthly level (§§425, 1551). The revival of people who saw or laid eyes on the snake represented faith in the Lord, and he himself teaches this in John:

As Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so must the Son of Humankind be lifted up, so that anyone who believes in him will not be destroyed but have eternal life. (John 3:14, 15)

[6] In Isaiah:

The Lord said, “Go, and tell this people, ‘Listen—listen!—but do not understand, and see—see!—but do not know.’ Make the heart of this people fat and make their ears heavy and smear their eyes, to prevent them from seeing with their eyes and hearing with their ears and understanding in their heart.” (Isaiah 6:9, 10)

Clearly, seeing—seeing!—and not knowing means understanding that a thing is true without acknowledging it. Smearing their eyes to prevent them from seeing with their eyes means keeping them from understanding truth. The Lord’s words in Matthew 13:13, 14, [15] and John 12:36, 37, 39, 40 show that in this passage seeing symbolizes faith in him.

[7] In Ezekiel:

Son of humankind, you are living in the middle of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see but do not see, who have ears to hear and do not hear. (Ezekiel 12:2)

Having eyes to see but not seeing stands for being able to understand faith’s truth but being unwilling to act on it because of evil. Evil is what the rebellious house stands for, and it lends falsity a deceptive light while engulfing truth in darkness, as Isaiah says:

This is a rebellious people, deceptive offspring, offspring [who] did not want to hear the law of Jehovah, who said to seers, “You are not to see!” and to those beholding a vision, “You are not to see accurately for us! Speak flattery to us; see illusions.” (Isaiah 30:9, 10)

In Isaiah:

This people, walking in darkness, have seen great light; those settling in the land of death’s shadow—light has shone on them. (Isaiah 9:2)

Seeing a great light stands for accepting and believing the truth that faith teaches. People with faith are said to have heavenly light shine on them because the light in heaven is divine truth coming from divine goodness.

[8] In the same author:

Jehovah has poured out a spirit of slumber on you and has closed your eyes; the prophets and your heads—the seers—he has put hoods over. (Isaiah 29:10)

Closing someone’s eyes stands for closing the ability to understand truth. For the symbolism of an eye as the intellect, see §2701. Putting hoods on seers means on people who know and teach religious truth. “Seers” was once the term for prophets, and prophets mean both people who teach and the religious truth they teach; see §2534. In the same author:

Priest and prophet err through strong drink, they err among seers, they stagger in judgment. (Isaiah 28:7)

The meaning is similar. The judgment in which they stagger means religious truth; see §2235. In the same author:

The eyes of the seeing will not blink, and the ears of the hearing will listen closely. (Isaiah 32:3)

The meaning is similar.

[9] In the same author:

Your eyes will regard the king in his beauty; they will see a land of great distances. (Isaiah 33:17)

To regard the king in his beauty stands for regarding religious truth that comes from the Lord, which is called beautiful because of its goodness. To see a land of great distances stands for seeing good done out of love. (A king means religious truth; see §§1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 3670. A thing is called beautiful because of its goodness; §§553, 3080, 3821. A land is good done out of love; §§620, 636, 3368, 3379.) In Matthew:

Fortunate are the clean at heart, because they are the ones who will see God. (Matthew 5:8)

Seeing God means believing in him, of course, so it means looking on him with faith. People with faith see God from their faith, because God is in their faith, and the part of their faith that is truly faith is God.

[10] In the same author:

If your eye makes you stumble, dig it out; it is better for you to enter life one-eyed than to be sent into fiery Gehenna having two eyes. (Matthew 18:9)

Obviously the eye here is not an eye and is not to be dug out, because it is not our eye that makes us stumble but our understanding of truth, this being what the eye means here (§2701). It is better not to know or grasp faith’s truth than to know and grasp it and yet live a life of evil, and this is meant by its being better to enter life one-eyed than to be sent into fiery Gehenna having two eyes.

[11] In the same author:

Your eyes are fortunate because they see, and your ears because they hear. Truly, I say to you that many prophets and upright people wanted to see what you see but did not see it. (Matthew 13:13-17; John 12:40)

Seeing stands for knowing and understanding different points of faith in the Lord, so it stands for faith. [The people the Lord was talking to] were fortunate not because they had seen him and his miracles but because they believed. This can be seen from the following words in John:

I said to you that you have actually seen me and do not believe. This is the will of him who sent me, that all who see the Son and believe in him should have eternal life. No one has seen the Father, except the one who is with the Father; this one has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you: anyone who believes in me has eternal life. (John 6:36, 40, 46, 47)

Seeing and not believing stands for knowing religious truth and not accepting it. Seeing and believing stands for knowing and accepting it. “No one has seen the Father, except the one who is with the Father” means that we cannot acknowledge divine goodness except through divine truth. The Father is divine goodness, and the Son, divine truth (see §3704), which leads to the inner meaning, that no one can have heavenly goodness without acknowledging the Lord.

[12] Likewise in the same author:

God has never been seen by anyone; the only-born Son, who is in the Father’s embrace, is the one who has revealed him. (John 1:18)

And in the same author:

Jesus said, “Whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as the light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in the dark.” (John 12:45, 46)

This passage plainly says that seeing means believing, or having faith. And in the same author:

Jesus said, “If you know me, you also know my Father; and from now on you know him and have seen him; whoever believes in me has seen the Father.” (John 14:7, 9)

In the same author:

The world cannot accept the Spirit of Truth, because it does not see him or know him. I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you will live too.

(John 14:17, 18, 19)

Seeing stands for having faith, since only through faith is the Lord seen. Faith is the eye of love, because we see the Lord from love through faith. Love is the life force within faith, which is why the Lord says, “You will see me; because I live, you will live too.”

[13] In the same author:

Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, in order that those who do not see may see but those who see become blind.” The Pharisees said, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind you would have no sin. But now you say, ‘We see!’ So your sin remains.” (John 9:39, 40, 41)

Those who see stand for people who think they understand more than anyone else does. The text says that they will become blind—in other words, will reject faith. People wallowing in falsity and people who lack knowledge are the ones described as not seeing, or being blind; see §2383. In Luke:

To you it has been given to know the mysteries of God’s kingdom, but to the rest, in parables, so that seeing, they would not see, and hearing, they would not hear. (Luke 8:10)

Likewise. In the same author:

I say to you, there are certain ones of those standing here who will not taste death until they see God’s kingdom. (Luke 9:27; Mark 9:1)

Seeing God’s kingdom stands for believing. In the same author:

Jesus said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Humankind but will not see it.” (Luke 17:22)

This is about the close of the age, or the church’s last days, when there is no longer any faith.

[14] In the same author:

It happened when Jesus reclined [at table] with them that, taking the bread, he blessed it, and breaking it he handed it to them. Their eyes, though, were opened, and they recognized him. (Luke 24:30, 31)

This meant that what is good makes the Lord visible, in a way that truth without goodness does not, bread meaning good that is done out of love (§§276, 680, 2165, 2177, 3478, 3735, 3813).

These passages and many others show that in an inner sense seeing means faith granted by the Lord. No genuine faith exists other than faith imparted by the Lord. Faith received from him gives us the ability to see—that is, to believe. By contrast, faith from ourselves, or faith gained by our own independent effort, is not faith. It makes us see falsity as truth, and truth as falsity. If it allows us to see truth as truth, we still do not see it, because we do not believe it, since we see ourselves rather than the Lord in it.

[15] The fact that seeing means having faith in the Lord is plain from frequent earlier remarks about the light of heaven:

that because heaven’s light comes from the Lord, it brings with it understanding and wisdom and therefore faith in him (since understanding and wisdom enfold faith in the Lord within them). To see by heavenly light as angels do, then, cannot mean anything but faith in the Lord, and the Lord himself is present in that light because it radiates from him. Heaven’s light is also the light that shines within the conscience of people who believe in the Lord, even though they are unaware of the fact as long as they are living in their body, at which time the world’s light obscures heaven’s light.