The Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles

The Lord left his apostles with instructions and with great gifts. The instructions are listed in several distinct places, but the the gifts are more scattered, both in the four gospels and in the book of Acts later, being given as the apostles needed them.

First, about the apostles... just to clarify, here I'm referring to "the disciples" as including anyone who has followed along to hear the Lord, and "the apostles" to mean the twelve men that the Lord recruited specifically, as listed in Matthew 10, Mark 3, and Luke 6.

Who were the apostles? From the lists in Matthew and Mark, which are the same, we have: Simon (Peter), James and John the sons of Zebedee, Andrew (Peter’s brother), Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew (the publican), Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, (as is Matthew, so they are brothers, too), Thaddeus, (also known as Libbeus), Simon the Canaanite (also called Simon the Zealot), and Judas Iscariot. Bartholomew is almost undoubtedly another name for Nathaniel, see John 1. The list in Luke includes another Judas, "Judas the brother of James" and doesn’t have Thaddeus.

The stories of how they were individually chosen differ, especially in the gospel of John, but that these twelve were appointed by the Lord is clear. A point of interest is that - other than Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot they are all from towns around the sea of Galilee - and perhaps those two are as well. These twelve have their names inscribed on the twelve foundations of the walls of the holy city New Jerusalem, in Revelation 21:14 in which there are also the twelve gates. These men were chosen to represent all the different states of the natural human being that can be receptive of the Lord. They are from Galilee because Galilee represents that natural state of the human mind. The number twelve in the Word represents all possible states of mankind.

What is indicated here is that all people, everywhere, can be saved or regenerated if they repent and turn to the Lord in their lives. No one is "outside" of His reach. We are born natural, everyone is, but we are so formed that our minds can be raised to what is higher, called spiritual for our conceptions of Divine truth, or Celestial for our perceptions of Divine good. But we all start in a natural state and can only move upward by listening to the Lord’s teachings in His Word, and following Him as those Apostles did.

Not all of our natural states are states of good; they can be selfish, domineering, and cruel. But the Lord said that He came "not to save the just but to call sinners to repentance". Perhaps this is why Simon the Canaanite and Judas were two that He called. Simon is little known, but in some places in the Word, "Canaan signifies an external worship without a true internal worship". (See Arcana Coelestia 1060). Can the Lord work with that - with external worship that's internally barren? Yes, as a starting point. And, even Judas, who betrayed the Lord so terribly, we are told, repented of his betrayal of the Lord. (Matthew 27:3-5)

The Lord's Instructions to the Apostles

The two most comprehensive sets of instructions are in Luke 10:1-17 where seventy Disciples are sent out two by two, apparently to a specified list of cities that Jesus intends to visit, and then in Matthew 20:1-19 where the chosen twelve Apostles are sent out to all Israel. Later, as recorded in different epistles, the Apostles go out further, through a wide region.

The basic instructions were to preach that the kingdom of heaven is near, that all should be led to repent of their sins, and that all who wish should be baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles should not take any money or extra clothing along, and they were to depend entirely on the Lord’s providence with no doubt that they shall be welcomed, fed, and sheltered. If they were welcomed, they should stay and preach the good news about the risen Lord and His teachings, and if they were not, they should shake from their feet the dust of that place and go on to a place where they were welcome. See Matthew 10, 28, Mark 13, 16, Luke 9, 10:24.

There are several assurances for the twelve. The Lord has told them to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit is sent to strengthen them, and in John 20 where the ten are gathered it is said that He breathed on them and said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit". Also, in his long talk with them in John 14, 15, 16) He assures them that his crucifixion and death are necessary to his mission and they should even rejoice that it is coming. He shows them from scripture that it has all been prophesied from long ago, (see Mark 4:34) and that what seems to them a tragedy, is truly His glorification and the end of the work He came to do. They, His twelve, are in the same steam of providence and will be protected. "Don’t be anxious," He tells them, "I will put into your mouths what you are to say, I will bring into your memories the incidents to tell to the people".

Here is a listing of the chapters and verses in John where such things are said: John 14:1-3, 10, 16-18, 26-28, 15:11, 16, 26-27, 16:7, 13-15, 22, 26-27, 33. Or simply read the three chapters and pick out your favorites.

A marvelous gift is mentioned in Matthew 10:13, "But blessed are your eyes for they see and blessed are your ears, for they hear…".

In the book of Acts, the Lord vividly shows the apostles that when they speak in their Galileen dialect every listener will hear their words as his own language in his ears; not gibberish, but Arabic to the Arabs, Greek to the Greeks, and Latin to the Romans.

When Peter starts to preach to a gathering of sympathetic Jews he speaks clearly and unafraid, saying that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God and that people should worship Him openly and repent of how they might have felt earlier. Peter’s talk in Acts 3 and 4 is a bold and powerful one. No more hiding behind locked doors.

The early history of the Christian church shows just how well all this worked out. You know what? The Apostles preached to the peoples in the Near East 2000 years ago, and their preaching is just as relevant today as it was then: "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Being at hand has nothing to do with the date or the state of political history in the world, it has to do with the inside of your mind. The Lord is just as close to you now as He was then, and He never turns away, though we might turn away from him. Remember that He said "behold I stand at the door and knock and if anyone hears and opens the door He will come right in." This hasn’t changed nor will it ever change, but He leaves us in freedom to ignore His knocking, if that is what we want. We have to make the choice, but He is always ready if we choose to open the door.

802. (Verse 7) And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them. That this signifies combat with those who are in truths from good, and are not a match for combinations owing to appearances, is evident from the signification of war, as denoting spiritual combat, which is that of truth against falsity and of falsity against truth (concerning which see above, n. 573, 734); hence to make war is to fight from truths against falsities, and from falsities against truths, in the present case from falsities against truths; and from the signification of the saints, as denoting those who are in truths from good (concerning which also see above, n. 204); and from the signification of conquering them, as denoting to cause them to be of their doctrine and consequently of their religion. And they accomplish this by reasonings, whereby they induce upon falsities the appearances of truth and also by passages from the sense of the letter of the Word, by which they confirm their reasonings; therefore, by those words is also signified, those who are not match for, or have not understood, their reasonings concerning how faith can be conjoined with good works, by reason of the appearances of truth induced upon falsities. From these things it is evident, that by its being given to the beast to make war with the saints, and to overcome them, is signified combat with those who are in truths from good, and are not a match for combinations due to appearances.

[2] In several places above we have treated of the reasonings by which the defenders of a faith separate from life have induced upon falsities the appearances of truth, by which they seem to themselves to have removed its disagreements with the Word; but that those disagreements were not removed, and that they have woven, as it were, an invisible spider's web, and this with the view of inducing a faith in falsities, is evident from what has been adduced above (n. 780, 781, 786, 790); and also from these things:- That in their doctrine, preaching, and writings, they labour hard to show, that faith was given as the means of salvation, because man cannot do good of himself; and that still God operates the goods in man, he being ignorant of it, by which operation the evils that the man does who is justified by faith, are not sins but natural infirmities; and that deliberate or voluntary evils are remitted either immediately, or after some repentance of the lips; and hence it follows, that by works and by doing, in the Word, is meant faith, and to have faith.

[3] This is their web, by which they induce the simple to believe that out of the treasures of wisdom or interior perception that are entrusted only to the teachers and the learned, they have drawn powerful arguments for the establishment of the doctrine of faith separated from any manifest endeavour, which is the will, of doing goods on the part of man. Thus, both with respect to themselves and the entire body of the church, they remit and relax the reins, in order that they may act and live in the indulgence of all kinds of lusts, according to their pleasure and the particular bent of their inclinations. And because this dogma is pleasing to the flesh and to the eyes, the common people easily receive it. This therefore is what is here signified by its being given to the beast to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.

But lest the rulers of the church - who are initiated into that dogma when they are initiated into the priesthood - and, by their means, the people of the church, should be infected by such poison prepared by crafty reasonings, of which they cannot but die, I desire to take up again the subject of the arguments just mentioned concerning the separation of faith from the good to be done by man, and concerning the conjunctions fallaciously contrived to connect them together, by which they proceed from something to nothing, or from truth to falsity; and I desire to place clearly before the understanding, enlightened in any degree, the detestable falsities of evil, and also the evils of falsity contained in that more than heretical dogma, and continually flow from it.

[4] 1. That faith was given as the means of salvation, because man cannot do good of himself. That a man cannot do good of himself is true. And because a man cannot have any faith from himself, it follows that, as he cannot do any thing from himself, so neither can he believe any thing of himself. For what man of the church does not acknowledge that faith is from God, and not from man? Just the same things may be said of faith as of works. Concerning works it is said, that if they are from man, and as long as they are from man, they do not justify. It is the same in respect to faith, if it is from man, and as long as it is from man. And yet every one believes from himself, for he evidently thinks, and wills to think in himself, as of himself, that which is of his faith. If therefore it is the same with faith as it is with works, it follows, that the elect only can have faith and be saved. This involves predestination, as a result of which the wicked are heedless, and there is a deprivation of all hope - from which comes despair among the good. When, nevertheless, all are predestinated to heaven; and those are called the elect who learn truths and do them. But as the case is the same with faith as with good works, it also follows on this doctrine that a man cannot and ought not to act differently from an automaton, or a thing which has no life, waiting to be moved by influx from God; and so may go on thinking nothing and willing nothing that is commanded in the Word, when, nevertheless, such a man is continually willing and thinking something from himself.

And because what is from the man himself is not from God but from hell - and yet to think and will from hell is to be opposed to God, and two opposites cannot exist together at the same time - such a man becomes either foolish or an atheist. If any one after this should say that faith, because it is given to be the means of salvation, can be received by a man as of himself, he would say what is true. But to have faith, that is, to think that a thing is so, and thence to speak as of oneself, and yet not be able to will a thing because it is as of oneself, is to destroy faith; for one without the other is a nonentity. But if it be said, that justifying faith is only to believe that God the Father sent the Son in order that, by the passion of the cross, He might become our propitiation, redemption, and salvation, and that this does not involve any thing to be done, because it is imputation that saves; this - inasmuch as there is no heavenly truth in such belief, as will be demonstrated in its place - is the same as to say that a faith of falsity, which is a dead faith, justifies.

[5] 2. That still God works good in man, whilst he is ignorant thereof. That God works good in a man is true, and also for the most part whilst man is ignorant thereof; but still God gives man the power to perceive those things that are necessary to salvation. For God works in order that a man may think and speak the things that belong to faith, and may will and do those things that pertain to love; and when a man thinks, speaks, wills, and acts in this way, he cannot but think, speak, will, and act, as of himself. For God operates upon those things in a man that are from Himself in him; that is, into the truths of faith, and into the goods of love. Wherefore when God causes the former to exist in the understanding, and the latter in the will, they appear to man as his own, as it were, and as his own he brings them forth. No one can think and speak, will and act but from God; it is sufficient for a man to know and to acknowledge that these are from God. The very Divine operation frequently takes place without a man being aware of it, but he is conscious of the effects. This is meant by the statement

That a man cannot take any thing, unless it be given him from heaven (John 3:27); and by Jesus saying, "Without me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).

If man were not conscious of thinking truths and doing goods, lest they might be regarded as his own goods and truths, he would be like either an animal, or a stock, and so would not be able to think and will any thing of God or from God; consequently he could not be conjoined with God by faith and love, and live for ever. The difference between animals and men is, that animals cannot think and speak truths, and will and do good from God, but that men can; and thus they can believe the things they think, and love the things they will, and this as if of themselves. Were it not as of themselves, the Divine influx and operation would pass through them and would not be received; for a man would be like a vessel without a bottom, which retains no water. Man's thought is the receptacle of truth, and the will is the receptacle of good; and there can be no reception unless a man is conscious of it. And if there is no reception, there can be no reciprocity; for it is this which causes what is of God to be as if it were of man. Every acting thing that desires to conjoin itself with another, must necessarily have somewhat, as it were, belonging to that other with which to conjoin itself, otherwise there could be no re-action. And where there is neither action nor re-action, no conjunction is possible. The things in man with which God, the sole activity, conjoins Himself, are the understanding and the will. These faculties are man's; which, although from God, cannot but act as of themselves. It now follows, therefore, that truths and goods that do not so act, are nothing. But this shall be illustrated by examples.

It is commanded in the Word that man shall not commit adultery, shall not steal, shall not kill, shall not bear false witness. Now it is known that a man can do all those things of himself; and also, that he can also desist from them because they are sins. But still he cannot desist from them of himself, but from God. When, however, a man, from God, desists from them, he still thinks that he wills to desist from them because they are sins, and thus he desists from them as of himself. And when this is the case, then because he calls adultery sin, he lives in chastity and loves chastity, and this also as of himself. And because he calls theft sin, he lives in sincerity and loves sincerity, and this also as of himself. When he calls murder sin, then he lives in charity and loves charity, and this as of himself. When he calls false testimony sin, then he lives in truth and justice, and loves truth and justice, and this as of himself. And although he lives and loves these things as of himself, still he lives and loves them from God. For whatever a man does as of himself from chastity itself, from sincerity itself, from charity itself, and from truth and justice itself, he does from God; and hence they are goods. In a word, all those virtues which a man does as of himself, evils being removed, are from God, and are good. But all the things that a man does before evils are removed, although they are works of chastity, sincerity, charity, truth, and justice, still they are not good because they are from man.

Because all works, both those that are done from God as those that are not done from God, can be performed only by man, or as it were by him, it is evident why works, deeds, working, and doing, are so frequently mentioned in the Word, which would not have been mentioned and commanded at all, if they were done by God without a man being aware of it, according to the interior meaning of the doctrine of those who separate faith from good works.

[6] 3. That the evils that a man does who is justified by faith, are not sins, but infirmities of his nature; and that voluntary or deliberate evils, are remitted either immediately or after some repentance of the lips. This is the confession of those who have deeply scrutinised and investigated the mysteries of the separation of faith from good works, variously according to the keenness of the faculty that reasons and draws conclusions; they are inferences. For those who attribute everything of salvation to faith alone, and separate salvation from good works, say that they are in grace, and some that they are in God. If in grace, they conclude that evils are not seen, and if seen, that they are immediately remitted; if in God, nothing can condemn them, thus that evils are not sins, because sins condemn, these are infirmities of nature. And as evils done from the Voluntary - which in the Word are called sinning with a high hand - are not infirmities of nature, they say that they are remitted either immediately, or after some penitential expressions of the lips; because he who is in good by justification of faith has no need of repentance of life; and some also add, because they are done by permission.

These things also follow from the fact that they believe that he who is justified by faith is redeemed, purified before God, and regenerated; and that because he cannot do good of himself, the Lord's merit is ascribed and imputed to him, by virtue of which imputation, and also of redemption and regeneration, he is adopted as a son of God, and is led of God the Father and enlightened by the Holy Spirit, consequently his works are accepted, because his evils not being evils like those of others; but they do not condemn, they cannot be called sins, but infirmities, which adhere to every one, being inherited from Adam, and which, as soon as they arise, are remitted and cast out. These and various other opinions besides, are entertained by those who hold the dogma of faith alone, according to their ideas concerning the essence of faith, and the separation thereof from the goods of life, or concerning the conjunction of faith with those goods.

But to enter into a particular examination of each of these is not important, for they are all streams flowing from a false principle, from which nothing but falsities in a continual series can possibly flow. Who does not know and acknowledge, when he thinks about it, that a man should examine himself, confess his sins before God, abhor them, and afterwards lead a new life, in order that he may inherit life eternal? These things are taught in the prayers used in the churches, especially in those which are preparatory to the sacrament of the Supper; they are taught in the Word, and in all preachings from the Word; and reason, in the least degree enlightened, declares the same. But still the light of this truth is extinguished as soon as any one studies the mysteries of the doctrine [of faith alone], and thence desires to attain fame for erudition. For being led by the love of self, and the arrogance of his own intelligence, he recedes from the faith of the general body, and embraces the falsity, which destroys all the truth of the Word, and all the truth of heaven. And because such a man is believed to be learned, he attracts and seduces many; and thus he scatters the sheep which he ought to bring together, by teaching that no evil condemns him who can think and declare with confidence that Christ suffered for him, and thereby redeemed him. But that there is nothing of life in such a faith will be seen in what follows.

Such persons are not unlike those whose sight is perverted, who when they see men believe them to be spectres, and when they see phantoms believe them to be men. Thus they see truths as falsities, and falsities as truths, especially if the imagination under a false light forms images in agreement with such light. They see wisdom in the delirium caused by their mysteries, not knowing that, in the world to come, those who are ignorant of these things have a better lot.

[7] 4. That by "works," and by "doing," in the Word, is meant faith and to have faith. By this they desire to persuade others that they prove everything in the Word, although they falsify everything in it. For to form a conclusion of this kind is to be inconsistent and speak falsely. It is inconsistent to say that by doing goods is meant to have faith, when nevertheless the faith received not only separates, but also excludes good works from being a means of salvation; and what is separated and excluded from anything, thus from the faith which is said not only to be something but also every thing, cannot possibly exist in it, and, consequently, cannot be understood by it. It is inconsistent also to say, that by what is saving and spiritual, which is said to belong to faith, is meant at the same time, what is not saving and not spiritual; for they call faith saving and spiritual, but works not saving, and, consequently, not spiritual. It is a false mode of speaking to say, that the Divine operation, without any co-operation on the part of man, is meant by works and by doing in the Word, when nevertheless a man is commanded to do them. It is also a false mode of speaking to say that by good works is meant the faith that is received, and is called saving, when nevertheless, that faith belongs to the thought alone and nothing thereof to the will. They say also, that works and deeds are mentioned in the Word for the sake of the simple, who do not grasp the mysteries of faith. It is, however, to be observed, that it is one thing to believe [in the existence of] any one, and another to believe in any one; as to believe that there is a God, and to believe in Him. To believe in God or in His name, signifies both to do and to have faith, as in John:

"As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, to them that believe in his name, who were born not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (1:12, 13).

Those who are born not of blood, are those who do not falsify the Word. Those who are born not of the will of the flesh, are those who are not in lusts from the love of self. Those who are born not of the will of man (vir), are those who are not in falsities from the arrogance of their own intelligence. Those who are born of God, are those who by truths from the Word, and by a life according thereto, are regenerated by the Lord. These are they who believe in the name of the Lord, and thence are called the sons of God. Such a faith is not that of the teachers of the church at this day.

573. And the number of the armies of the horsemen was two myriads of myriads.- That this signifies innumerable falsities of evil, from which and on behalf of which there are reasonings, which conspire against the truths of good, is evident from the signification of armies, as denoting the falsities of evil, of which in what follows; and from the signification of horsemen, as denoting reasonings thence; for horses, in the Word, signify the understanding of truth, and in the opposite sense, the understanding perverted and destroyed, as may be seen above (n. 355, 364, 372, 373, 381, 382); horsemen, therefore, in this sense, signify reasonings from falsities, because these are of the understanding perverted and destroyed, for truths form the understanding, but falsities destroy it; and from the signification of two myriads of myriads, as denoting that they are innumerable and conspire against the truths of good; that the term myriads signifies what is innumerable and is used in reference to truths, may be seen above (n. 336). And it is said two myriads of myriads because things innumerable that conjoin, and unite, are signified, for the number two signifies conjunction, agreement, and union, as may be seen above (n. 283, 384). The reason why it is said, against the truths of good, is that the subject treated of in what follows is the destruction of truth by the armies of such horsemen. From these considerations it is clear, that the number of the armies of the horsemen being two myriads of myriads, signifies that the falsities of evil from which, and on behalf of which reasonings exist, are innumerable and conspire against the truths of good.

[2] In the Word, the term armies (hosts) is frequently used, and also the Lord is called Jehovah of Hosts or Zebaoth, and by hosts are there signified truths from good fighting against falsities from evil, and in the opposite sense, falsities from evil fighting against truths from good. Hosts signify such things in the Word, because the wars there mentioned, both in the historical and prophetical parts, signify in the internal sense spiritual wars waged against hell and the diabolical crew there, and such wars have relation to truths and goods combating against falsities and evils, and hence it is that armies signify all truths from good, and in the opposite sense, all falsities from evil. That they signify all truths from good, is evident from this fact, that the sun, the moon, the stars, and also the angels, are called the armies of Jehovah, because they signify all truths from good in their whole extent. Also the sons of Israel, because they signify the truths and goods of the church, are called armies; and because all truths and goods are from the Lord, and He alone combats for all in heaven, and for all in the church, against falsities and evils from hell, therefore He is called Jehovah Zebaoth, that is, [Jehovah] of armies [or hosts].

[3] That the sun, the moon, and the stars, are called armies [or hosts], is plain from numerous passages.

Thus in Moses:

"The heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them (Genesis 2:1).

So in David:

"By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth" (Psalm 33:6).

Again:

"Praise ye" Jehovah, "all his angels; praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon; praise him, all ye stars of light" (Psalm 148:2, 3).

And in Isaiah:

"All the host of the heavens shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling [fig] from the fig-tree" (34:4).

And again, in the same prophet:

"I have made the earth, and created man upon it; my hands have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded" (45:12).

And again:

"Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number; he calleth them all by name" (40:26).

So in Jeremiah:

"As the host of the heavens is not numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured:" (33:22).

In these passages, the sun, the moon, and stars, are called a host [or army], because the sun signifies the good of love, the moon, truth from good, while the stars signify the cognitions of truth and good, consequently they signify goods and truths in their whole extent, and they are called an army, because they resist evils and falsities, and continually conquer them as enemies.

[4] So in Daniel:

One horn of the he-goat "waxed great, even to the host of the heavens; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and trampled upon them. Yea, it magnified itself even to the prince of the host, and from him the continual [burnt-offering] was taken away, and the dwellingplace of his sanctuary was cast down. And the host was delivered up upon the continual [burnt-offering] for transgression, because it cast down the truth to the ground. One holy one said, How long this vision, the continual [burnt-offering], and the desolating transgression, to give both the holy place and the host to be trampled upon? And he said unto the evening morning" (8:10-14).

The signification of the he-goat, here mentioned, of his horns, and of this horn which waxed great even to the host of the heavens, may be seen above (n. 316:16, 336, 535). By the host of the heavens, which he cast down to the earth, are meant the truths and goods of heaven; for the subject here treated of is the last state of the church, when the truths and goods of heaven are thought to be of no importance, and are rejected, which is signified by their being trampled upon; wherefore it also follows, that he cast down the truth to the earth. The prince of the host means the Lord, who is also called Jehovah God Zebaoth, or of armies [or hosts]. That all worship from the good of love and the truths of faith would perish, is signified by the continual [burnt-offering] being taken away from him, and the dwelling-place of his sanctuary being cast down. That this would come to pass at the end of the church, when the Lord would come into the world, is signified by unto the evening morning, the evening denoting the last time of the old church, and the morning, the commencement of the new church.

[5] That the angels are called hosts is evident from the following passages.

Thus in Joel:

"Jehovah uttered his voice before his army; for his camp is very great" (2:11).

And in Zechariah:

"I will place a camp to my house concerning the army, because of him that goeth away, and because of him that returneth; that the exactor may no more pass through over them" (9:8).

And in David:

"Bless ye Jehovah, all ye his hosts, ye ministers of his that do his pleasure" (103:21).

And in the 1st Book of Kings:

Micah the prophet said to the king, "I saw Jehovah sitting on his throne and all the host of the heavens standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner" (22:19, 20).

So in the Apocalypse:

"His armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean" (19:14).

And again:

"I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together to make war against him that sat on the white horse, and against his army" (19:19).

The reason why angels gathered together or a consociation of them are called armies, is, that angels, like armies, signify Divine truths and goods, because they are the recipients of them from the Lord, concerning which, see above (n. 130, 200, 302).

[6] It is for the same reason also, that the sons of Israel are called armies, because they signify the truths and goods of the church.

Thus in Moses:

"Jehovah said, Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies" (Exodus 6:26).

Again:

"I will bring forth mine army, my people the sons of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments" (Exodus 7:4; 12:17).

Again:

"It came to pass even the self same day, that all the armies of Jehovah went out from the land of Egypt" (12:41).

And again:

Thou shalt number "every one going into the army" (Num. 1:3).

Again it is said:

That the camp should be pitched around the tent of meeting, and also that they should set out according to their armies (Num. 2:3, 9, 24);

and again,

that the Levites were chosen to wait upon the service (militia) to do the work in the tent of meeting (Num. 4:3, 23, 30, 39).

The sons of Israel were called the armies of Jehovah, because they represented the church, and signified all its truths and goods, as may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 5414, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833, 5879, 5951, 6637, 6862, 6868, 7035, 7062, 7198, 7201, 7215, 7223, 7957, 8234, 8805, 9340). They were called armies in the plural, because each tribe was called an army, as is evident in Moses, for when it was commanded that all should be numbered according to their armies, they were numbered according to their tribes (Num. 1:3, and following verses). Similarly when the camp was pitched around the tent of Meeting, according to the tribes, it is said "according to their armies" (Num. 2:3, 9, and following verses). The tribes were called armies, because the twelve tribes taken together represented all the truths and goods of the church, and each tribe some universal essential of it; see above (n. 431).

[7] From these considerations it is evident, that the truths and goods of heaven and the church are meant by armies in the Word; and from these things the reason why Jehovah is called in the Word, Jehovah Zebaoth, and Jehovah God Zebaoth, that is, of armies, is perfectly clear (as in Isaiah 1:9, 24; 2:12; 3:1, 15; 5:7, 9, 16, 24; 6:3, 5; 8:13, 18; 14:22, 23, 24, 27; 17:3; 25:6; 28:5, 22, 29; 29:6; 31:4, 5; 37:16; Jerem. 5:14; 38:17; 44:7; Amos 5:16; Haggai 1:9, 14; 2:4, 8, 23; Zech. 1:3; Malachi 2:12; and various other places).

[8] From these things it is now evident, that armies signify the truths and goods of heaven and the church in their whole extent; and because most things in the Word have also an opposite sense, so also have armies, in which sense they signify falsities and evils in their whole extent. This will appear from the following passages of the Word.

Thus in Jeremiah:

"Upon the roofs" of the houses "they have burned incense unto all the host of the heavens, and have poured out drink-offerings unto other gods" (19:13).

And in Zephaniah:

"They worship the host of the heavens upon the house tops" (1:5).

And in Moses:

"Lest thou bow thyself and worship the sun, and moon, and the stars, and all the host of the heavens" (Deuteronomy 4:19; 17:3).

And in Jeremiah:

"They shall spread" the bones brought out from the sepulchre "before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of the heavens, whom they have loved, and whom they have served" (8:2).

Here by the host of the heavens, are meant the sun, moon, and stars, because these signify all goods and truths in the aggregate, but, in this case, all evils and falsities in the aggregate; for the sun, in the opposite sense, as here, signifies all evil springing from the love of self, the moon, the falsity of faith, while the stars signify falsities in general. That by the sun, moon, and stars, in the natural world, when they are worshipped instead of the sun and moon of the angelic heaven, are signified abominable evils and falsities, may be seen in Heaven and Hell 122, 123), and also above (n. 401, 402, 525). And since truths from good fight against falsities from evil, and, on the contrary, falsities from evil against truths from good, therefore they are called armies. There is therefore continual combat, because evils and falsities continually exhale from the hells, and endeavour to destroy the truths from good that are in heaven, and from heaven, and which continually offer resistance. For everywhere in the spiritual world there is an equilibrium between heaven and hell; and where an equilibrium exists, there two forces continually act against each other, one acting and the other reacting, and continual action and reaction is continual combat; but an equilibrium is always provided by the Lord, as may be seen in the Heaven and Hell 589-596, and n. 597-603). And because there is such a continual combat between heaven and hell, therefore, as all things of heaven are called armies, so also are all things of hell.

All things of heaven have reference to goods and truths, and all things of hell, to evils and falsities. Hence it is that in the following passages hosts signify the falsities of evil.

[9] Thus in Isaiah:

"The anger of Jehovah is against all nations, and his wrath against all their army; he hath devoted them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter" (34:2).

Here nations signify evils, and army, falsities from evil; the total destruction of these is signified by he hath devoted them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.

[10] Again:

"The voice of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; the voice of the tumult of the kingdoms of nations gathered together; Jehovah Zebaoth leadeth the army" (13:4).

Here the voice of a multitude in the mountains, signifies falsities from evils, a multitude denoting falsities, and mountains denoting evils. Like as of a great people, signifies the appearance as it were of truth from good, the words, like as, denoting appearance, "people" denoting those who are in truths, and thus truths, while great is used in reference to good. The voice of the tumult of the kingdoms of nations gathered together, signifies dissension in the church springing from evils and falsities thence, the voice of the tumult denoting dissension, kingdoms, the church as to truths and falsities, and nations gathered together, as to evils and the falsities therefrom conspiring against the goods and truths of the church. Jehovah Zebaoth leadeth the army, signifies that it is accomplished by the Lord, for this is ascribed to the Lord, as is plain from the fifth verse immediately following in which it is said: "Jehovah cometh with the weapons of his anger, to destroy the whole land." This is attributed to the Lord just as evil, the punishment of evil, and the destruction of the church are also ascribed to Him in other passages of the Word, because such is the appearance of things, for the sense of the letter of the Word is written according to appearances. But in the spiritual sense, such things mean that the man of the church himself does them.

[11] Again, in Jeremiah:

"Spare ye not her young men; give to the curse all her host" (51:3).

The subject here treated of is Babylon; and by not sparing her young men, is signified the destruction of confirmed falsities. By giving to the curse all her army, is signified the total destruction of falsities from evils pertaining to her, thus the destruction of Babylon. Falsities from evil are signified also by the army of the Chaldeans, and the army of Pharaoh (Jeremiah 37:7-11, and following verses);

and in Moses, by

"The waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh" (Exodus 14:28; 15:4);

this is explained above (n. 355:37), and in the Arcana Coelestia 8230, 8275).

[12] So in Daniel:

"The king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and after the end of the times of the years he shall come with a great army and with much riches. And he shall stir up his powers and his heart against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall stir himself up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand" (11:13, 25).

The subject treated of in that chapter is the war between the king of the north and the king of the south, and by the king of the north are meant those within the church who are in the falsities of evil, and by the king of the south, those within the church who are in the truths of good; there collision and combat at the end of the church, in the spiritual sense are described by their war; therefore by the army of the king of the north are meant falsities of every kind, and by the army of the king of the south truths of every kind.

[13] So in Luke:

"When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the devastation thereof is nigh" (21:20).

In that chapter the Lord speaks of the consummation of the age, which signifies the last time of the church. Jerusalem means the church as to doctrine; and its being compassed with armies, means the possession of it by falsities. That then the destruction of it comes, and presently the last judgment, is signified by its desolation being then nigh. It is supposed that these things were said concerning the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, but from the details of the chapter it is evident that it treats of the destruction of the church at its end; similarly in Matthew 24 from the first verse to the last, an explanation of which is given in the Arcana Coelestia. Nevertheless this is not opposed to the literal meaning concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, but that destruction represented and therefore signified the destruction of the church at its end; this is confirmed by every detail in the chapter, considered in the spiritual sense.

[14] Again, in David:

"God hath cast off, and put us to shame; and he hath not gone forth with our armies. Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy" (Psalm 44:9, 10).

Here by God not going forth with their armies, signifies that he did not defend them, because they were in falsities of evil, for armies denote falsities of evil; therefore it is said that they were cast off, and put to shame, and made to turn back from the enemy, the enemy denoting evil from hell.

[15] Again, in Joel:

"I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the canker-worm, and the grasshopper, and the palmer-worm, my great army which I sent among you" (2:25).

That the great army signifies falsities and evils of every kind, is evident from this fact, that by those destructive little creatures, - the locust, the canker-worm, the grasshopper, and the palmer-worm, are signified the falsities and evils which vastate or consume the truths and goods of the church, as may be seen above (n. 543:9), where this passage is explained, and where it is shown that the locust and grasshopper signify the falsities [and evils] of the sensual man. The signification of armies in the Word in both senses is now evident from these things. Similar things are signified by hosts (or armies) in the historical parts of the Word, for they, as well as the prophetical parts, contain a spiritual sense; but it shines forth less clearly because the mind, being detained in the historical circumstances, can be scarcely elevated above the worldly things therein so as to see the spiritual things which are stored up in them.