439. Of the tribe of Naphtali were sealed twelve thousand. That this signifies regeneration and temptation, is evident from the representation, and thence the signification of Napthali and his tribe, as denoting temptation, and also the state that follows it. And because temptations take place for the sake of regeneration, regeneration also is signified by Napthali. That those who are being regenerated undergo temptations, may be seen in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 187-201). That Napthali, and consequently the tribe named from him, signify temptation, and the state that follows it, and therefore also regeneration, is clear from these words of Rachel, when Bilhah her handmaid bare him:

"And Bilhah, Rachel's maid, conceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. And Rachel said, With wrestlings of God have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed; and she called his name Naphtali" (Genesis 30:7, 8).

The wrestlings of God signify spiritual temptations. And because Rachel represented the internal church, which is spiritual, and Leah, the external church, which is natural, it is evident that by Rachel wrestling with her sister and prevailing signifies combat between the spiritual man and the natural, in which all temptation consists. For the spiritual man loves and wills the things pertaining to heaven, because he is in heaven, while the natural man loves and wills the things pertaining to the world, because he is in the world, and therefore the desires of each are opposite; for this reason there is a collision or combat which is called temptation.

[2] That Naphtali here signifies temptation, and the state which follows it, and thence regeneration, is further evident from the following passages; thus from the blessing by his father Israel:

"Naphtali is a hind let loose; giving goodly words" (Genesis 49:21).

Naphtali here signifies the state after temptation, which state is full of joy from affection because the spiritual and the natural and good and truth are conjoined; for they are conjoined by temptations. A hind let loose, signifies the freedom of natural affection; giving goodly words, signifies gladness of mind. For a further explanation of these things, see Arcana Coelestia 6412, 6413, 6414),

[3] and also from the blessing pronounced on Napthali by Moses:

"And of Naphtali he said, O Naphtali, satisfied with favour, and full of the blessing of Jehovah; possess thou the west and the south" (Deuteronomy 33:23).

Here also the state after temptation is described, or that state in which man is filled with all the good of love, and with truths therefrom. For after temptations he is filled with joy, and the fructification of good, and the multiplication of truth then take place with him. To be filled with the good of love, is meant by being satisfied with the favour of Jehovah; and to be filled with truths thence, is signified by being full of the blessing of Jehovah; the resulting enlightenment and affection for truth, are signified by "possess thou the west and the south"; the affection of truth is signified by the west, and enlightenment by the south. It is said, "possess thou the west and the south" because those who are elevated into heaven, after instruction, are carried through the west to the south, thus through the affection for truth into the light of truth.

[4] The same is signified by Naphtali, in the song of Deborah and Barak, in the book of Judges:

"Zebulun, a people that devoted the soul to die, and Naphtali upon the high places of the field" (5:18).

These were the two tribes which fought against Sisera, the captain of the army of Jabin, king of Canaan, and conquered, the other ten tribes remaining at rest; and by this was represented spiritual combat against the evils which infest the church, as is also evident from the prophetic song of Deborah and Barak, in which that fact is treated of. The tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali alone fought, because Zebulun signifies the conjunction of good and truth, which makes the church, and Naphtali, combat against the evils and falsities that infest it, and resist the conjunction of good and truth, and therefore by both are signified reformation and regeneration. The heights of the field, signify the interior things of the church, from which there is combat. Zebulun and Naphtali together, also signify reformation and regeneration by means of temptations, in Isaiah (8:22; 9:1); and thence in Matthew (4:12-16).

[5] But in the highest sense, Zebulun and Naphtali signify the union of the Divine and Human in the Lord, for in the highest sense the subject is the Lord alone in regard generally to the glorification of His Human, the subjugation of the hells, and the arrangement of the heavens by Him. In this sense Zebulun and Naphtali are mentioned in David:

"They have seen thy steps, O God; the steps of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. The singers went before, the players on instruments after, in the midst of virgins playing with timbrels, Bless ye God in the congregations, the Lord from the fountain of Israel. There is little Benjamin their ruler, the princes of Judah their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali. Thy God hath commanded thy strength; shew thyself powerful, O God; this thou hast wrought for us out of thy temple at Jerusalem. Kings shall bring presents unto thee. Rebuke the wild beast of the reed, the congregation of the mighty among the calves of the peoples, trampling down pieces of silver, he scattered the people, they desire wars. Fatlings shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands unto God" (Psalm 68:24-31).

The subjects treated of here in the spiritual sense, are, the coming of the Lord, the glorification of His Human, the subjugation of the hells, and consequent salvation. The celebration of the Lord, on account of His coming, is described in these words: "They have seen thy steps, O God; the steps of my God, my King, in the sanctuary. The singers went before, the players on instruments after, in the midst of the virgins playing with timbrels. Bless ye God in the congregations, the Lord from the fountain of Israel." This may be seen explained in detail above (n. 340:4). There is little Benjamin their ruler, signifies the innocence of the Lord, by which He wrought and performed all things. The princes of Judah their council, signifies the Divine Truth from the Divine Good. The glorification or union of the Divine and Human, by His own power, is signified by the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali. Thy God hath commanded thy strength; shew thyself powerful, O God; this thou hast wrought for us out of thy temple at Jerusalem, signifies that hence Divine power belongs to the Lord's Human. The temple signifies the Divine Human of the Lord, and Jerusalem the church for which He did this. Rebuke the wild beast of the reed, the congregation of the mighty among the calves of the peoples, trampling down pieces of silver, he scattered the people, they desire wars, signifies the subjugation of the hells. The wild beast of the reed and the congregation of the mighty, denote the Scientific of the natural man perverting the truths and goods of the church; the calves of the peoples denote the goods of the church; the pieces of silver the truths of the church; he scattered the people, they desire wars signifies to pervert the truths of the church and to reason against them.

[6] By the subjugation of the hells is meant the subjugation of the natural man. For in the natural man there are evils from hell, because therein are the delights of the loves of self and of the world, and the scientifics that confirm them; and these delights, when they are regarded as ends and rule, are contrary to the goods and truths of the church. That the natural man, when subjugated, supplies concordant scientifics and the knowledges of good and truth, is signified by "fatlings shall come out of Egypt"; Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands unto God. Egypt denotes the natural man in regard to scientifics, and Ethiopia, the natural man in regard to the knowledges of truth and good. From these few instances it is evident that Napthali and his tribe in the Word, signify in the highest sense, the Lord's own power, from which He subjugated the hells, and glorified His Human; in the internal sense, temptation, and the state after temptation; and in the external sense resistance from the natural man; therefore Napthali also signifies reformation and regeneration, because these are the effects of temptations.

3938. 'And Leah said, In my blessedness! for the daughters will call me blessed' in the highest sense means eternity, in the internal sense the happiness of eternal life, in the external sense the delight that belongs to the affections. This is clear from the meaning of 'blessedness', and from the meaning of 'the daughters will bless me'. That 'blessedness' in the highest sense means eternity cannot be seen except from its correspondence with the things which exist with man, for the mind cannot have any grasp of things that are Divine or infinite except through those that are finite, of which man is able to have mental images. Without mental images formed from finite things, and especially images formed from things that exist within space and time, man cannot begin to comprehend Divine things, let alone the Infinite. Without mental images formed from space and time man is not even capable of thinking anything, 3404, for as to the body, and so as to thoughts which are formed from external sensory impressions, he dwells within the confines of time. But angels, since they are not bounded by time or space, have mental images formed from states of being. This is why spatial or temporal references in the Word mean states, see 1274, 1382, 2625, 2788, 2837, 3254, 3356, 3827.

[2] But there are two states - a state which corresponds to space and a state which corresponds to time. The state which corresponds to space is a state in regard to being, while the state which corresponds to time is a state in regard to manifestation, 2625. There are two entities which constitute man, namely being (esse) and manifestation (existere). Man's being is nothing else than a recipient of the eternal which proceeds from the Lord. Indeed men, spirits, or angels are nothing else than recipients - that is, recipient forms - of life from the Lord. The actual reception of life is what the term manifestation refers to. Man imagines that he has being, and indeed that he is self-existent, when in fact he is not a self-existent being but, as has been stated, one who manifests being. Self-existent BEING occurs solely in the Lord, and that BEING is called JEHOVAH. This BEING which is JEHOVAH is the source from which all things that seem to be self-existent derive their being. But the Lord's or Jehovah's actual BEING cannot possibly be imparted to any, except to the Lord's Human. This Human was made the Divine Being, that is, it was made Jehovah. On the point that the Lord is Jehovah as to both Essences, see 1736, 2004, 2005, 2018, 2025, 2156, 2329, 2921, 3023, 3035.

[3] Manifestation too is used of the Lord, but only of the time when He was in the world and there assumed the Divine Being. But ever since He was made the Divine Being the term Manifestation could no longer be used of Him except to refer to whatever proceeds from Him. That which proceeds from Him seems like a Manifestation within Him, but it is not. Rather it is that which goes forth from Him and causes men, spirits, and angels to be forms manifesting His Being, that is, to have life. In so manifesting His Being man, spirit, or angel has life, and the life he has is eternal happiness. The happiness of eternal life is what eternity, the source of which is the Lord's Divine Being, corresponds to in the highest sense. The fact that the happiness of eternal life is what is meant in the internal sense by 'blessedness' is evident from this, as also is the fact that the delight which belongs to the affections is meant in the external sense, and so is evident without explanation.

[4] But it is the delight belonging to the affections for truth and good, a delight which corresponds to the happiness of eternal life, that is meant. All affections have their own delights, but the nature of the affections determines that of the delights. The affections for evil and falsity have their own delights as well, and before a person is regenerated and receives from the Lord the affections for truth and good those delights seem to be the only delights, so much so that people believe that no other delights are possible, and consequently that if these were taken away from them they would perish completely. But people who do receive from the Lord the delights which belong to the affections for truth and good gradually see and perceive the true nature of the delights of that life which they had believed to be the only possible delights - that they are by comparison worthless, indeed foul. But the more he enters into the delights that belong to the affections for truth and good the more a person begins to despise those delights in evil and falsity, and at length to loathe them.

[5] I have on occasions spoken to spirits in the next life whose delights have been those of evil and falsity, and I have been allowed to tell them that they do not have life until these delights are taken away from them. But as with people like them in the world those spirits have said that if they were deprived of such delights they would no longer have any life at all. I have been allowed to reply however that that is just when that life begins, and with that life happiness such as exists in heaven, which compared with any other happiness defies description. But this they have been unable to grasp because of unbelief in anything which they do not actually know. They are like all those in the world who are governed by self-love and love of the world and who do not therefore have any charity. They know the delight that belongs to self-love and love of the world, but not the delight that belongs to charity. Consequently they have no knowledge at all of what charity is, and have less idea still of any delight residing within charity, when in fact the delight belonging to charity is the delight which fills the whole of heaven and is the producer of the blessedness and happiness there. And if you are willing to believe it, it is also the producer of intelligence and wisdom together with the delights that go with them, for the Lord enters with the light of truth and with the flame of good, and therefore with intelligence and wisdom, into the delights belonging to charity. But falsities and evils reject, stifle, and pervert those delights, and thereby cause stupidity and madness. These considerations show the identity and the nature of the delight which belongs to the affections and corresponds to the happiness of eternal life.

[6] People of the present day and age imagine that if only a person has the confidence received through faith even in his final hour before death, then regardless of whatever affection has been pre-eminent throughout the whole course of his life, he can enter heaven. I have on occasions spoken to spirits who have lived and believed as these people do. When they enter the next life they at first think of nothing else than of being able to enter heaven, irrespective of their previous life, that is to say, irrespective of the fact that by means of that life they have acquired the delight that belongs to the affection for evil and falsity arising out of self-love and love of the world, which loves constituted the ends they had in view. I have been allowed to tell them that everyone is able to be admitted into heaven, for the Lord denies heaven to none. But whether they have the ability to live in that place they will be able to know if admitted. Some who were resolute in the belief were admitted. But because the life that belongs to love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour reigns in heaven, which life enters into the whole sphere of life and the happiness there, when they arrived they began to feel a pain, for they were unable to breathe in such a sphere and began to become aware of the foulness of their own affections, and so to suffer hellish torment. As a consequence they hurried away from there, saying that they wanted to get right away from it, amazed that heaven should be what to them was hell. This shows the essential nature of the two different delights, and that people whose delight has been that of the affection for evil and falsity cannot in any way be among those whose delight has been that belonging to the affection for good and truth, and that the two delights are opposites, like heaven and hell, see 537-539, 541, 547, 1397, 1398, 2130, 2401.

[7] Furthermore as regards the happiness of eternal life, no one who is moved by the affection for good and truth is able when he is living in the world to perceive that happiness, but only a certain delight instead. The reason why he is unable to do so is that he is confined to the body, and when confined in the body he is subject to worldly cares and as a consequence to anxieties. These prevent the happiness of eternal life, which is inwardly present in him, being manifested in any other way, for when that happiness passes from the inward parts of his being into cares and anxieties which reside in his outward parts, it sinks into the cares there and the anxieties, and becomes a kind of obscure delight. Nevertheless it is a delight that holds blessedness within it, and happiness within that. Being content in God constitutes such happiness. But once a person casts aside the body, and at the same time those worldly cares and anxieties, the happiness which has been so lying hidden in obscurity within his more internal man comes forward and reveals itself.

[8] As the term affection is used so often, let a definition of what that term means be given here. Affection is nothing else than love, yet it is an extension branching out of it. For the affection anyone has, whether for evil and falsity or for good and truth, stems from love. And as this love is present with and exists in every single part of a person it, is not perceived as love but is varied according to circumstances and according to the states, and the changes of these states, through which that person is passing. And this is unceasingly the case in everything he wills, thinks and does. This extension from love is what is called affection, and it is this extension which reigns in a person's life and which produces every delight residing with him. And in producing his every delight it produces his actual life, for a person's life is nothing else than the delight which belongs to his affection, and so is nothing else than the affection which belongs to his love. Love constitutes man's willing, and from this his thinking, and thereby his acting.