6534. And horsemen. That this signifies intellectual things, is evident from the signification of “horsemen,” as being things that belong to the intellect, for by a “horse” is signified the intellectual (see n. 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6125). That “horsemen” denote things that belong to the intellect or understanding, may be seen further from the following passages:

Jehovah alone did lead him; He made him ride upon the high places of the earth (Deuteronomy 32:12-13);

speaking of the Ancient Church; “to make him ride upon the high places of the earth” denotes to endow with higher understanding.

[2] In David:

In thine honor mount up, and ride upon the Word of truth, and of gentleness, and of righteousness, and thy right hand shall teach thee wonderful things (Psalms 45:4),

speaking of the Lord; “riding upon the Word of truth” denotes being in the very understanding of truth. Again:

Sing to God, praise ye His name; extol Him that rideth upon the clouds by His name Jah (Psalms 68:4);

this also is said of the Lord; the “clouds” denote the literal sense of the Word (see the preface to Genesis 18, n. 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343 at the end); “to ride upon them” is to be in the internal sense, where truth is in its intelligence and wisdom.

[3] In Zechariah:

In that day I will smite every horse with amazement, and his rider with madness, and I will open Mine eye upon the house of Judah; but will smite every horse of the peoples with blindness (Zech. 12:4); where “horse” denotes the intellectual; and “rider,” the intellect. Who does not see that “horse” here does not mean horse, nor “rider” rider; but that something is signified which can be smitten with amazement and madness, also with blindness? That this pertains to the understanding is obvious.

[4] That by “horses” and “horsemen” are signified intellectual things, and in the opposite sense reasonings and falsities thence derived, may be seen in John:

I saw and behold a white horse, and he that sat thereon had a bow, and there was given unto him a crown, and he went forth conquering. And there went forth another horse that was red, and to him that sat thereon it was given to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another, and there was given unto him a great sword. I saw and behold a black horse, and he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand. And I saw and behold a pale horse, and him that sat upon it, whose name was Death (Revelation 6:2-8).

That here the “horses” and “they that sat upon them” signify such things as belong to the understanding of truth, and in the opposite sense such things as belong to falsity, is evident from all the details. The “white horse and he that sat thereon” denotes the understanding of truth from the Word. That “he who sat upon the white horse” is the Lord as to the Word, is said in plain words (Revelation 19:11, 13, 16). The “red horse and he that sat thereon” denotes reasonings from the cupidities of evil, whereby violence is done to truths from the Word; the “black horse and he that sat thereon” denotes the intellectual of truth extinguished; and the “pale horse and he that sat upon it” denotes the consequent damnation.

[5] In the opposite sense “horses” and “horsemen” denote the intellect perverted; and the consequent falsities, as in Ezekiel:

Oholah committed whoredom under Me, and she doted on her lovers, governors and leaders, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding upon horses. Her sister Oholibah loved the sons of Asshur, governors and leaders, her neighbors, clothed in perfect attire, horsemen riding upon horses, all of them desirable young men (Ezekiel 23:5-6, 12);

“Oholah” denotes the perverted spiritual church, which is “Samaria;” and “Oholibah” the perverted celestial church, which is “Jerusalem;” for the Israelites who were of Samaria represented the spiritual church, but the Jews who were of Jerusalem represented the celestial church. The “Assyrians” and “sons of Asshur” denote reasoning against the truths of faith (n. 1186); “horsemen riding on horses” denotes the understanding perverted, whence come falsities.

[6] And in Habakkuk:

I stir up the Chaldeans, a bitter and hasty nation, that goeth into the breadth of the earth, to inherit habitations not their own; their horses are swifter than leopards, and are sharper than the evening wolves, that their horsemen may spread themselves, whence their horsemen come from far (Hab. 1:6, 8).

The “Chaldeans” denote those who are in falsities, but in externals appear to be in truths, thus the profanation of truth, and “Babylon” the profanation of good (n. 1182, 1368). “Going into the breadth of the earth” denotes to destroy truths. (That the “breadth of the earth” is truth may be seen above, n. 3433, 3434, 4482.) Hence it is evident that the “horsemen who spread themselves and come from far” denotes the things that belong to perverted understanding, thus falsities.

6343. Thou art my strength. That this signifies power in good by means of faith, is evident from the representation of Reuben, who here is “thou,” as being faith in the understanding (see n. 6342); and from the signification of “strength,” as being the power that is in good. As regards power, namely, the power of thinking and willing, of perceiving, of doing what is good, of believing, and of dissipating falsities and evils, it is all from good through truth; good is the principal, and truth is only the instrumental (see n. 3563, 4931, 5623). That there is signified the power that is in good, is because “strength” signifies this power, whereas “forces” signify the power of truth; hence it is that by “the beginning of my forces,” as presently follows, is signified the first power in truth; for the word by which “forces” are expressed in the original, is in the Word predicated of truth; but the word by which “strength” is expressed, is predicated of good.

[2] That the Word is holy, and in its interiors most holy, is very evident from the fact that in every detail of the Word there is the heavenly marriage, that is, the marriage of good and truth, thus heaven; and that in every detail of the inmost sense there is the marriage of the Lord’s Divine Human with His kingdom and church; nay, in the supreme sense there is the union of the Divine Itself and the Divine Human in the Lord. These most holy things are in every detail of the Word-a manifest proof that the Word has descended from the Divine. That this is so may be seen from the fact that where mention is made of good, mention is made of truth also; and where the internal is spoken of, the external also is spoken of. There are also words which constantly signify good, and words which constantly signify truth, and words which signify both good and truth; and if they do not signify them, still they are predicated of them, or involve them. From the predication and signification of these words it is plain that, as before said, in every detail there is the marriage of good and truth, that is, the heavenly marriage, and in the inmost and supreme sense the Divine marriage which is in the Lord, thus the Lord Himself.

[3] This appears everywhere, but not evidently except in passages where there are repetitions of the same thing, with only a change of words, as in this chapter, where it is said of Reuben, “Thou art my strength, and the beginning of my forces;” also, “excellent in eminence, and excellent in power.” Here “strength” relates to good, and “forces” to truth; and “excellent in eminence” to truth, and “excellent in power” to good. So in the following verse, of Reuben: “Thou wentest up on thy father’s bed; then thou profanedst it; he went up on my couch.” So in what follows with respect to Simeon and Levi: “Cursed be their anger, for it was vehement, and their wrath, for it was hard; I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel” (verse 7); where “anger” signifies a turning away from good, and “wrath” a turning away from truth; and “Jacob” is the external of the church, and “Israel” is its internal. Also with respect to Judah: “Thy brethren shall celebrate thee; thy father’s sons shall bow down to thee” (verse 8). Again: “He binds his young ass unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washes his clothing in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes” (verse 11). With respect to Zebulun: “He shall dwell at the haven of the seas, and he shall be at the haven of ships” (verse 13). With respect to Dan: “He shall be a serpent upon the way, an arrow-snake upon the path” (verse 17).

[4] Like things frequently occur in the Psalms and in the prophets, as in Isaiah:

Babel shall not be inhabited to eternity, neither shall it be inhabited even to generation and generation. Her time is near, and it shall come, and her days shall not be prolonged” (Isaiah 13:20, 22).

Seek ye from above in the book of Jehovah, and read ye; no one of these shall be missing, the one shall not long for the other; for with the mouth He hath commanded, and His spirit it hath gathered them. And the same hath cast the lot for them, and the hand hath distributed to them by rule. They shall possess it even eternally, to generation and generation shall they dwell therein” (Isaiah 34:16-17);

and so in a thousand other passages. He who does not know that the expressions in the Word are significative of spiritual and celestial things, and that some are said of good, and some of truth, cannot but believe that such expressions are mere repetitions, said merely to fill up, and therefore in themselves useless; and from this it is that they who think wrongly about the Word, regard such expressions as ground for contempt; when yet the veriest Divine things are stored therein, namely, the heavenly marriage, which is heaven itself; and the Divine marriage, which is the Lord Himself. This sense is the “glory” in which the Lord is, and the literal sense is the “cloud” in which is this glory (Matthew 24:30; Luke 21:27 nesis 18, and also n. 5922)