4197. 'And Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and you today; therefore he called its name Galeed' means that it will be so for ever - hence the nature of it is described a second time. This is clear from the meaning of 'a heap' as good, dealt with above in 4192, and from the meaning of 'a witness' as the confirmation of good by means of truth, and of truth derived from good, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'today' as for ever, dealt with in 2838, 3998; and from the meaning of 'calling the name' as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 2009, 2724, 3421. The particular nature of that good is contained in the name Galeed; for in ancient times when a name was given to anything the name contained the essential nature of that thing, 340, 1946, 2643, 3422. From this one may see what is meant by 'Laban said, This heap is a witness between me and you today; therefore he called its name Galeed', namely this: A testimony that the good meant here by 'Laban' was joined to the Divine good of the Lord's Natural, and therefore that the Lord was joined to the gentiles through good, it being this good that 'Laban' represents now, 4189. The truths belonging to this good are what bear witness to that conjunction; but as long as gentiles are living in this world their good is 'out of line' because they do not possess Divine truths. Nevertheless although those who are governed by that good, that is, who lead charitable lives with one another, do not have Divine truths straight from the Divine source, that is, from the Word, the good they have is not closed up but such as can be opened. What is more, it is opened in the next life when they receive instruction there in the truths of faith, and about the Lord. With Christians it is different. With those of them who lead charitable lives with one another, more so with those who are governed by love to the Lord, good straight from the Divine source is present even while they live in this world because they are in possession of Divine truths. For this reason they enter heaven without undergoing such instruction, provided that their truths have not contained falsities which must first be dispelled. But Christians who have not led charitable lives close heaven against themselves, very many doing so to such an extent that it cannot be opened. For they know truths but deny them and also harden themselves against them, if not with the lips nevertheless in their hearts.

[2] Why Laban first of all called the heap Jegar Sahadutha, its name in his own language, and after that Galeed, its name in the Canaanite language, when in fact the two have practically the same meaning, is for the sake of a bringing together and thereby a joining together. Speaking in the language or 'lip' of Canaan means responding to what is Divine, for 'Canaan' means the Lord's kingdom, and in the highest sense the Lord, 1607, 3038, 3705, as is evident in Isaiah,

On that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt which speak in the lip of Canaan and swear by Jehovah Zebaoth. On that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to Jehovah at its border; and it will be for a sign and a witness to Jehovah Zebaoth in the land of Egypt. Isaiah 19:18-20.

[3] The meaning of 'a witness' as the confirmation of good by means of truth, and of truth derived from good, and the consequent meaning of 'a testimony' as good in which truth is rooted, and truth which arises out of good, may be seen from other parts of the Word. 'A witness' is seen to mean the confirmation of good by means of truth, and of truth derived from good, from the following places: In Joshua,

Joshua said to the people, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen Jehovah, to serve Him. And they said, We are witnesses. Then put away the foreigner's gods which are in the midst of you, and incline your heart to Jehovah the God of Israel. And the people said to Joshua, Jehovah our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey. And Joshua made a covenant with the people on that day, and set them a statute and a judgement in Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone and set it up there under the oak that was in the sanctuary of Jehovah. And Joshua said to all the people, Behold, this stone will be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of Jehovah which He spoke to us; and it will be a witness to you, lest you deny your God. Joshua 24:22-27.

'A witness' in this passage clearly means a confirming - a confirming of the covenant and therefore of their being joined [to Jehovah]; for a covenant means a joining together, 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021. And since being joined to Jehovah or the Lord is not possible except through good, and since no good effecting that conjunction is possible apart from that which gains its true nature from truth, 'a witness' consequently means the confirmation of good by means of truth. The good meant in this passage consisted in being joined to Jehovah or the Lord, which came about through their choosing Him, to serve Him; and the truth by which it was confirmed was meant by 'the stone'; for 'a stone' means truth, see 643, 1298, 3720. In the highest sense 'the stone' is the Lord Himself since He is the source of all truth, and for that reason is also called 'the Stone of Israel' in Genesis 49:24, and in what is said here in Joshua, 'Behold, this stone will be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of Jehovah which He spoke to us'.

[4] In John,

I will grant My two witnesses to prophesy 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth. The are the two olive trees and the two lampstands which are standing before the God of the earth. And if anyone wishes to harm them, fire will come out of their mouth and devour their enemies. These have power to shut heaven. But when they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends from the abyss will make war with them and conquer them and kill them. But after three and a half days the spirit of life from God entered them, so that they stood up on their feet. Revelation 11:3-7, 11.

'The two witnesses' in this case are good and truth - that is, good in which truth is present and truth arising out of good - when both of these have been confirmed in people's hearts, as is evident from the statement that the two witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands. For 'an olive tree' means that kind of good, see 886, and 'the two olive trees' stands for celestial good and for spiritual good. Celestial good is essentially love to the Lord, spiritual good is essentially charity towards the neighbour. 'The lampstands' are the truths that belong to those two kinds of good, as will be clear when, in the Lord's Divine mercy, the lampstands are the subject. And it is these - forms of goodness and truth - which have the power to close heaven or to open it; see the Preface to Chapter 22. 'The beast out of the abyss, which is hell, will kill them' means the vastation of good and truth within the Church, and 'the spirit of life from God entered them, so that they stood up on their feet' means a new Church.

[5] Just as heaps in ancient times were set up to serve as witnesses, so later on were altars, as is clear in Joshua,

The Reubenites and the Gadites said, See the replica of the altar of Jehovah which our fathers made, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you. And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called it The Altar - a witness between us that Jehovah is God. Joshua 22:28, 34.

'An altar' means the good of love, and in the highest sense the Lord Himself, 921, 2777, 2811. 'A witness' stands in the internal sense for the confirmation of good by means of truth.

[6] Since 'a witness' means the confirmation of good by means of truth, and of truth derived from good, 'a witness' in the highest sense therefore means the Lord, for He Himself is the Divine Truth that confirms, as in Isaiah,

I will make with you an eternal covenant, even the true mercies of David. Lo, I have given him as a witness to the peoples, a prince and teacher to the peoples. Isaiah 55:3-4.

In John,

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Revelation 1:5.

In the same book,

These things says the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. Revelation 3:14.

[7] The requirement in the representative Church that the truth must always be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses, not on that of one, Numbers 35:30; Deuteronomy 17:6-7; 19:15; Matthew 18:16, originates in the Divine Law that one truth does not make good firm but many truths do so. For one truth unconnected to others does not confirm it only a number together, because from one truth it is possible to see another. One by itself does not give any form to good, and so does not manifest any essential quality possessed by good; but many in a connected series do so. For just as one musical note by itself does not constitute the melody, still less the full harmony, neither does one truth achieve anything. This is where the law requiring two or three witnesses originates, though to outward appearance it seems to have its origin in secular legislation. The one however is not contrary to the other, as is also the case with the Ten Commandments, dealt with in 2609.

[8] As regards 'a testimony' meaning good in which truth is rooted, and truth which arises out of good, this follows from what has just been said. It is also clear from the fact that the Ten Commandments written on tablets of stone are referred to by the single expression 'the Testimony', as in Moses,

Jehovah gave Moses, when He had finished speaking to him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God. Exodus 31:18.

In the same author,

Moses came down from the mountain, and the two tablets of the Testimony were in his hand; the tablets were written from the two sides of it. Exodus 32:15.

And because those tablets were placed inside the Ark, the Ark is called 'the Ark of the Testimony'; in Moses,

Jehovah said to Moses, You shall put into the Ark the Testimony which I shall give to you. Exodus 25:16, 21.

Moses took the Testimony and put it into the Ark. Exodus 40:20.

In the same author,

I will meet you, and talk to you from above the Mercy-seat, from between the two cherubs which are over the Ark of the Testimony. Exodus 25:22.

In the same author,

The cloud of incense covers the Mercy-seat which is over the Testimony. Leviticus 16:13.

In the same author,

The rods of the twelve tribes were left in the Tent of Meeting, in front of the Testimony. Numbers 17:4.

For evidence that the Ark was also called the Ark of the Testimony, see in addition to Exodus 25:22 quoted above, Exodus 31:7; Revelation 15:5.

[9] The Ten Commandments therefore were called the Testimony because they were the conditions of the covenant and so the conditions whereby God and man were joined to each other. But that joining to each other is not possible unless man keeps those commandments not only in their external form but also in their internal. What the internal form of those commandments is, see 2609; consequently it is good made firm by means of truth, and truth derived from good, that are meant by 'the Testimony'. And this being so, the tablets were also called 'the Tablets of the Covenant', and the Ark 'the Ark of the Covenant'. From this one may now see what is meant in the Word by 'the Testimony' in the genuine sense, for example in Deuteronomy 4:45; 6:17, 20; Isaiah 8:16; 2 Kings 17:15; Psalms 19:7; 25:10; 78:5, 56; 93:5; 119:2, 22, 24, 59, 79, 88, 138, 167; 122:4; Revelation 6:9; 12:17; 19:10.

1025. That 'with your seed after you' means those who are being created anew is clear from the meaning of 'seed' and also from what follows. It is clear from the meaning of 'seed', in that in the literal sense 'seed' means descendants, but in the internal sense faith; and because faith, as stated often, does not exist except where charity does so, it is charity itself that is meant in the internal sense by 'seed'. And from what follows it is clear that not only the person inside the Church is the subject but also he who is outside the Church, and so the whole of the human race. Wherever there is charity, even among gentiles furthest away from the Church, the seed is there, for heavenly seed is charity. Indeed nobody at all can do anything good from himself; everything good comes from the Lord. The good that gentiles do, who in the Lord's Divine mercy will be dealt with later on, also comes from the Lord. That the seed of God is faith has been shown already in 255. By faith, there and in other places, is meant charity from which faith flows, for no faith that is really faith exists apart from faith that is an expression of charity.

[2] The same applies elsewhere in the Word where 'seed' is mentioned; for example, where the seed of Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob is referred to, love or charity is meant. Actually Abraham represented celestial love, Isaac spiritual love, both of which belong to the internal man, while Jacob represented the same as they exist with the external man. This applies not only in prophetical but also in historical sections. In heaven it is not the historical descriptions of the Word that are perceived but the things that those descriptions mean, for the Word has been written not only for the sake of man but also for that of angels. When man reads the Word and gains from it no more than the literal sense, the angels do not gain the literal sense but the internal sense. The material, worldly, and bodily ideas man has when reading the Word become with angels spiritual and celestial ideas. While man is reading about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, for example, the angels do not have Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob in mind at all but those real things which are represented and so meant by them.

[3] The same applies with Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Angels have no knowledge of those people nor do they perceive anything else but the Ancient Church. More interior angels do not even perceive the Church, but the faith of that Church, and according to the train of thought they perceive the state of the things under discussion. Thus when 'seed' is mentioned in the Word, as here in reference to Noah, in the statement about the covenant being established with them and with their seed after them, angels do not perceive the descendants of those persons, for the man Noah never existed, only the Ancient Church bearing that name. By 'seed' angels understand charity, the essential constituent of the faith of that Church. The same applies to the historical details concerning Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; when their seed is mentioned angels in no way understand the actual descendants of those three but all people throughout the world - both those who are inside the Church and those who are outside - with whom heavenly seed, which is charity, resides. And indeed the more interior angels perceive love itself, which is the heavenly seed - by itself, abstractly.

[4] That 'seed' means love and also everyone who has love is clear from the following places which refer to Abram,

Jehovah said, To your seed I will give this land. Genesis 12:7.

And also,

All the land which you see I will give to you and to your seed even for ever. And I will make your seed as the dust of the earth. Genesis 13:15-16.

People who keep to the sense of the letter grasp no more than this - that 'seed' is used to mean Abram's descendants, and 'land' to mean the land of Canaan, especially as that land was given to his descendants. But people possessing the internal sense, as the whole of heaven does, perceive 'the seed of Abram' to be nothing other than love, 'the land of Canaan' as nothing other than the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth, and 'the land' being given to them as nothing other than its representative, which in the Lord's Divine mercy will be dealt with elsewhere. A similar usage occurs in another place which refers to Abram,

Jehovah brought him outside and said, Look up now towards heaven, and count the stars, if you are able to count them. And He said to him, So will your seed be. Genesis 15:5.

Here in like manner, because Abram represented love, which was saving faith, no other descendants are meant in the internal sense by 'his seed' but all people throughout the world who dwell in love.

[5] Similarly,

I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you. And I will give to you, and to your seed after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an eternal possession; and I will be their God. This is My covenant, which you shall keep between Me and you and your seed after you: every male among you shall be circumcised. Genesis 17:7-8, 10.

Here too 'establishing a covenant' means the conjunction of the Lord with men throughout the world by means of love, a love represented by Abram. From this it is clear what his seed means, namely all people throughout the world who dwell in love. The covenant involved the circumcision mentioned here. By this heaven never understands circumcision of the flesh but circumcision of the heart - the circumcision received by people who dwell in love. Circumcision was a representative of regeneration by means of love, as is explained clearly in Moses,

Jehovah God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, so that you will love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. Deuteronomy 30:6.

From these words it is clear what circumcision is in the internal sense. Consequently wherever circumcision is mentioned it is used to mean nothing other than love and charity, and the life deriving from these.

[6] That 'the seed of Abraham' means all people throughout the world who have love is also clear from the Lord's words to Abraham and to Isaac - to Abraham after he had shown his willingness to sacrifice Isaac as commanded,

I will certainly bless you and I will certainly multiply your seed as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your seed will inherit the gate of your enemies, and in your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Genesis 22:17-18.

Here it is quite clear that 'seed' is used to mean all people throughout the world who have love.

[7] Just as Abraham represented celestial love, as has been stated, so Isaac represented spiritual love; consequently 'the seed of Isaac' means nothing else than all with whom spiritual love, or charity, resides. Of them the following is said,

Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your seed I will give all these lands, and I will fulfil the oath which I swore to Abraham your father, and I will cause your seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and I will give to your seed all these lands, and in your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed. Genesis 26:3-4, 24.

This clearly means all nations who dwell in charity. Celestial love was represented by Abraham as 'the father' of spiritual love represented by Isaac, for what is spiritual is born from what is celestial, as shown already.

[8] Since Jacob represented the external features of the Church which arise from those that are internal, and so represented all things in the external man that have their origins in love and charity, 'his seed' therefore means all people throughout the world whose worship is external containing internal worship, and whose charitable acts contain charity from the Lord. Concerning that seed Jacob was told, after he had seen the stairway in a dream,

I am Jehovah, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land on which you are lying I will give to you and to your seed, and your seed will be as the dust of the earth. And in you, and in your seed, will all the families of the ground be blessed. Genesis 18:13-14; 32:12; 48:4.

[9] That 'seed' has no other meaning becomes clear from the following places, in addition to those quoted from the Word in 255. In Isaiah,

You, Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham, My friend. Isaiah 41:8.

This refers to the regeneration of man. When the distinction is made between Israel and Jacob, as it is frequently, 'Israel' means the internal spiritual Church, 'Jacob' the external features of the same Church. Both are called 'the seed of Abraham', that is, of the celestial Church, because celestial, spiritual, and natural follow one another consecutively. In Jeremiah,

I had planted you as a wholly excellent vine, a seed of truth. How have you turned from Me into the degenerate [branches] of a strange vine? Jeremiah 2:21.

This refers to the spiritual Church, which is 'an excellent vine', whose charity, that is, faith deriving from charity, is called 'a seed of truth'.

[10] the same prophet,

As the host of heaven is unnumbered, and the sand of the sea immeasurable, so I will multiply the seed of David My servant, and the Levites ministering to Me. Jeremiah 33:22.

Here 'seed' clearly stands for heavenly seed, for 'David' means the Lord. The fact that the seed of David was not like the unnumbered host of heaven, or the immeasurable sand of the sea, is well known to everyone. In the same prophet,

Behold, the days are coming, says Jehovah, and I will raise up for David a righteous branch and He will reign as King, act with understanding, and execute judgement and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell with confidence. And this is His name which they will call Him, Jehovah our Righteousness. Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says Jehovah, and men will say no longer, As Jehovah lives who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt, but, As Jehovah lives who brought up and led the seed of the house of Israel out of the land of the north. Jeremiah 23:5-8.

Here entirely different things are meant from those that appear in the letter - David, Judah, and Israel do not mean David, Judah, and Israel, but David means the Lord, Judah that which is celestial, and Israel that which is spiritual. Consequently 'the seed of Israel' means people who have charity, that is, faith inhering in charity.

[11] In David,

You who fear Jehovah, praise Him! all the seed of Jacob, glorify Him! stand in awe of Him, all the seed of Israel! Psalms 22:23-24.

Here 'seed of Israel' is used to mean no other seed than the spiritual Church. In Isaiah,

Its stump will be the holy seed. Isaiah 6:13.

'Holy seed' stands for remnants, which are holy because they are the Lord's. In the same prophet,

I will bring forth seed from Jacob, and from Judah the possessor of My mountains, and My chosen ones will possess it, and My servants will dwell there. Isaiah 65:9.

This refers to the celestial Church, external and internal. In the same prophet,

They will not generate in sudden terror. They will be the seed of the blessed of Jehovah, and their offspring with them. Isaiah 65:23.

This refers to the new heavens and a new earth, that is, to the Lord's kingdom. People who are there, having been generated, or regenerated, from love, are called 'the seed of the blessed of Jehovah'.