435. Of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand sealed, signifies the good of life therefrom. This is evident from the representation of "the tribe of Gad," as being the good of life (of which presently); also from the signification of "twelve thousand sealed," as being that all such are in heaven and come into heaven (as explained in the two preceding articles). Before showing from the Word what in the church was represented by "Gad" and by the tribe named from him, something shall be said respecting what is meant by the good of life, which is here signified by "the tribe of Gad." There is the good of life from a celestial origin, from a spiritual origin, and from a natural origin. The good of life from a celestial origin is the good of life that comes from the good of love to the Lord through truths from that good; the good of life is an effect of these. Such good of life is what is here signified by "the tribe of Gad;" therefore it is called "the good of life therefrom," namely, from the good of love to the Lord, which is signified by "the tribe of Judah," through truths from that good, which are signified by "the tribe of Reuben." The good of life from a spiritual origin is the good of life that comes from good of charity towards the neighbor through truths from that good; this good of life is meant by "Manasseh."

[2] For the twelve tribes of Israel are here divided into four classes, and there are three tribes in each class, and the three in series signify such things as from beginning to end, or from first to last, fully constitute that universal essential of the church that is signified by the first tribe. The three tribes first named, that is, the tribes of Judah, Reuben, and Gad, signify those things that fully constitute celestial good; but the three following tribes, namely, the tribes of Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh, signify those that fully constitute spiritual good. So it is with the tribes that follow.

[3] Moreover, there are three things which fully constitute and form each universal essential, namely, the good of love, the truth from that good, and the good of life therefrom. The good of life is the effect of the other two; for unless there is a third that is brought forth, the two former can have no existence, that is, unless there is the good of life, the good of love and truth from that good can have no existence. These three are like the final cause, the effecting cause, and the effect. The good of love is the final cause, truth from that good is the effecting cause or that through which good is brought into effect, and the good of life is the effect in which the prior causes have existence; and these have no existence unless there is an effect in which they may exist and subsist. Again, these three are like the pulse of the heart, the respiration of the lungs, and the action of the body; these make a one: for if the body does not act, or does not let itself be put in action, as is the case when man dies, the other two cease. It is the same with the good of love, the truth from that good, and the good of life. The good of love is like the heart, and is also meant by "heart" in the Word; truth from that good is like the lungs, and is also meant by "breath" and "soul" in the Word; and the good of life is like the body in which the others act and live. Three like things are in everything that has existence, and when the three exist together there is full formation.

[4] What is signified by "Gad," or "the tribe of Gad," in every sense shall first be explained. In the highest sense "Gad" signifies the Lord in respect to omnipotence and omniscience; in the internal sense the good of truth; and in the external sense works therefrom, which are the good of life. "Gad" signifies such things because in each and every thing of the Word there is an inmost, an internal, and an external sense. In the inmost sense is the Lord alone for it treats of Him, of His glorifying His Human, arranging the heavens in order, subjugating the hells, and establishing the church from Himself; therefore in the inmost sense each tribe signifies the Lord in respect to some attribute and work of His; while in the internal sense heaven and the church are treated of, and doctrine is taught. But the Word in the external sense is such as it is in the sense of the letter. There are three senses in the Word, because there are three heavens; the inmost or celestial sense is for the inmost or third heaven, the internal or spiritual sense is for the middle or second heaven, and the external or spiritual-natural sense is for the first or lowest heaven.

[5] In this passage of Revelation, where the twelve tribes are mentioned, "the tribe of Gad" signifies the good of life, because it follows in order after Judah and Reuben, and "Judah" signifies the good of love, "Reuben" the truth from that good, consequently "Gad" signifies the good of life; for the good of life has existence from the good of love, through truths from that good, the good of life following as the third in order, being the effect of the two former as was said above.

Because the good of life is the good of the natural man, therefore an inheritance was given to the tribe of Gad ¹ beyond Jordan, together with the tribe of Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh; for the land that was beyond Jordan signified the external church (as was shown in the article above), and the things that go forth from the natural man belong to the external church. The church itself regarded in itself is in the internal or spiritual man; but the external church is in the external or natural man, yet these must act as a one, like cause and effect.

[6] That an inheritance beyond Jordan was given to the tribe of Gad is evident in Moses:

To Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh an inheritance was given beyond Jordan, which was a place for cattle; and it was given with the condition that they should cross over, armed, with the rest, to take possession of the land of Canaan (Numbers 32:1; 34:14).

Unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites I gave Gilead even unto the brook of Arnon within the brook and the border, and even unto the brook Jabbok, the border of the sons of Ammon; the plain also, and Jordan, and the border from Chinnereth even unto the sea, the plain, the salt sea, under the springs of Pisgah toward sunrise (Deuteronomy 3:16, 17).

And in Joshua:

Moses gave to the sons of Gad that Jazer should be their border, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the sons of Ammon, even unto Aroer that is before the faces of Rabbah; and from Heshbon unto Ramath of Mispeh, and Betonim (Joshua 13:24-28).

The signification of "Gad" can be seen not only from the passages in the Word where Gad is mentioned, but also from the lands given to that tribe for an inheritance, where these also are mentioned in the Word, as Heshbon, Jazer, Rabbah, Ramath of Mispeh, the brook of Arnon, Chinnereth, the springs of Pisgah, and many other places. What these lands signify in the spiritual sense no one can know unless he knows the signification of "the tribe of Reuben, of Gad, and of the half tribe of Manasseh," to whom these lands were given for a possession; for they signify such things as are signified by those tribes in a wide and in a restricted sense.

[7] As in Jeremiah:

Against the sons of Ammon: Hath Israel no sons? Hath he no heir? Why then hath their king inherited Gad, and his people dwelt in the cities thereof? Therefore behold, the days come in which I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon; and it shall become a heap of desolation, and her daughters shall be burned with fire, and Israel shall be heir unto them that were his heirs. Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is devastated; cry out, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird ye with sackcloth; lament, and wander about among the walls, for their king shall go into exile, and his priests and his princes together (Jeremiah 49:1-3).

Unless one knows what is signified by "Gad" and by "Israel," he cannot know what is here signified by "the sons of Ammon," by "Heshbon," and by "Rabbah;" for Rabbah, Heshbon, and half of the land of Ammon were given to the tribe of Gad for an inheritance; therefore those lands signify such things in particular as are signified in general by Gad; for it is said "Why then hath the king of the sons of Ammon inherited Gad, and his people dwelt in the cities thereof?" For all names of lands, of regions, of cities, of rivers, and of peoples, in the Word signify the things of the church. "Gad" here signifies the good of life according to the truths of doctrine; "Israel" the church in respect to truth; "the sons of Ammon" signify the falsifications of truth; "Heshbon" signifies the fructification of truth in the natural man; "the daughters of Rabbah" signify the affections of truth in the natural man, and "Ai" the doctrine of truth. When these things are known, the spiritual sense of these words follows in this series: "Against the sons of Ammon" signifies against the falsifications of truth; "hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir?" signifies, are there in the church no knowledges of truth and good? "Israel" meaning the church, "his sons" truths, and "heir" the good of truth; "why then hath their king inherited Gad, and his people dwelt in the cities thereof?" signifies, why hath truth falsified destroyed the good of life, and also perverted the doctrinals according to which is life? "Behold, the days come, in which I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, and it shall become a heap of desolation," signifies the destruction of that doctrine, that is, of truth falsified, and the destruction of those who are in it; "and her daughters shall be burned with fire," signifies that the affections of that doctrine shall become lusts of evil; "and Israel shall be heir unto them that were his heirs," signifies that the church in respect to goods is to perish; "howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is devastated," signifies that there is no longer any fructification of truth from good, because the doctrine of truth is destroyed; "cry out, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird ye with sackcloth, lament," signifies that there are no longer any affections of truth; "and wander about among the walls," signifies thought and life from falsities; "for their king hath gone into exile," signifies because truth is no more; "and his priests and his princes together," signifies that both goods and the truths of good are no more. This makes clear that "the lands of the inheritance of Gad" signify similar things in particular as "Gad" does in general, and that the significations of the lands mentioned in the Word can be known from the signification of the tribes to which they were given for inheritance. The lands that it is said would be given for an inheritance to the tribe of Gad, in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 48:27), mean something else; evidently the tribe of Gad is not meant, but such a constituent of the church as is signified by "Gad," for there was then no tribe of Gad, nor will there be.

[8] That "Gad" signifies the good of life from the truths of doctrine is evident from the blessing of that tribe by Moses:

To Gad he said, Blessed is he who hath given breadth to Gad; as a lion he dwelleth, and he teareth the arm, yea, the crown of the head, and he seeth the firstfruits for himself; for there is the portion of the hidden lawgiver; whence came the heads of the people; he hath executed the righteousness of Jehovah, and judgments ² with Israel (Deuteronomy 33:20, 21).

Here the good of life according to truths from the Word, and the influx of heaven into that good are described by "Gad;" the influx of truth from the Lord into that good is signified by "Blessed is he who hath given breadth to Gad;" "breadth" signifying truth, "Gad" the good of life, and "Blessed" the Lord. To be safe from falsities is signified by "as a lion he dwelleth;" to be nourished by truths external and internal is signified by "he teareth the arm, yea, the crown of the head," for "the arm" and "the crown of the head" in sacrifices have this signification; that these truths are from things primary is signified by "he seeth the firstfruits for himself;" truths Divine that lie hidden therein are signified by "for there is the portion of the hidden lawgiver;" intelligence therefrom is signified by "whence came the heads of the people;" good works therefrom are signified by "he hath executed the righteousness of Jehovah;" and truths of the church therefrom are signified by "His judgments with Israel."

[9] "Gad" signifies the good of life because he was named from the Hebrew word for "troop" (Genesis 30:10, 11), "gad" in the Hebrew meaning troop, and "troop" in the spiritual sense signifies works; and the good of life consists in doing the goods which are works (respecting which seeArcana Coelestia 3934). In the blessing given by Israel his father it is thus said in Moses:

Gad, a troop shall ravage him; and he shall ravage the heel (Genesis 49:19).

What "Gad" here signifies may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia 6403-6406); also (in n. 6405) what is signified by these words in Isaiah:

Ye are they that forsake Jehovah, that forget the mountain of My holiness, that arrange a table for Gad, and fill a drink-offering for Meni (Isaiah 65:11).

Voetnoten:

4314. In the internal historical sense 'he was limping on his thigh' means that with those descendants goods and truths had been destroyed completely. This is clear from the representation of Jacob, to whom 'he' refers here, as his descendants, dealt with in 4281, and from the meaning of 'limping on the thigh' as those who are without any good or consequently any truth, dealt with in 4302. Here therefore 'he was limping on his thigh' means that with those descendants goods and truths had been destroyed completely.

[2] The nature of that nation is made very plain by many things which the Lord Himself spoke in parables and which in the internal historical sense were said of that nation, as in the following,

In the parable about a certain king who was settling the account with the servant who showed no mercy towards another. Matthew 18:23-end.

In the parable about the householder who let his vineyard out to vine-dressers and went abroad; and the vine-dressers seized the servants he sent, beating one with rods, killing another, and stoning another. At length he sent his son whom they cast out of the vineyard and killed. When the scribes and Pharisees heard this parable they realized that He was speaking about themselves. Matthew 21:33-45; Mark 12:1-9; Luke 20:9 and following verses.

In the parable about the man who gave talents to his servants and how the servant who received one talent went and hid it in the ground. Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-27.

In the parable about those who came upon the man who had been wounded by the robbers. Luke 10:30-37.

In the parable about those who were invited to the great supper and all of whom made excuses, and of whom the master said, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my supper. Luke 14:16-24.

In the parable about the rich man and Lazarus. Luke 16:19-end.

In the parable about those who despised others compared with themselves. Luke 18:10-14

In the parable about the two sons, one of whom said, I will go off into the vineyard, but did not go, and in which Jesus said, Truly I say to you, Tax collectors and prostitutes will go into the kingdom of heaven before you. Matthew 21:28-32.

[3] The Lord states plainly what that nation was like in Matthew 23:13 onwards, towards the end of which passage He says,

You witness against yourselves that you are the sons of those who slew the prophets; and you are filling up the measure of your fathers. Matthew 23:31-33.

In Mark,

Jesus said to them, Rightly did Isaiah prophesy concerning you, This people honours Me with their lips, but their heart is very far away from Me. In vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men, forsaking the commandment of God. Mark 7:6-13.

In John,

The Jews answered Jesus that they were the seed of Abraham. But Jesus said to them, You are from your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not take a stand on the truth because the truth is not in him. When he speaks a lie he speaks from the things that are his own, for he is the teller of a lie and the father of it. John 8:33, 44.

Because their nature was such they are also called 'a wicked and adulterous generation', Matthew 12:39, as well as 'a brood of vipers', Matthew 3:7; 23:33; Luke 3:7; and in Matthew,

O brood of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil? Matthew 12:34.

[4] The fact that with that nation not even any natural good was left is meant by the fig tree referred to in Matthew,

Jesus seeing a fig tree by the wayside went to it but found nothing on it but leaves only, therefore He said to it, Let no fruit from now on ever be born from you! Therefore the fig tree withered at once. Matthew 21:19.

'A fig tree' means natural good, see 217. From all these places it may be seen that with that nation goods and truths had been destroyed completely.

[5] Goods and truths are said to have been destroyed when none exist interiorly. Goods and truths which are visible externally derive their being and their life from those that are internal. The nature of internal goods and truths therefore determines that of external ones, however these present themselves to human eyes. There are some people whom I knew during their lifetime and who during that period were to outward appearance zealous for the Lord, for the Church, for their country and the common good, and for what was right and fair; and yet in the next life these same people are among those in hell. Indeed I have been astonished to find them among the most evil ones there. The reason why they were there was that interiorly they had been filthy and profane, and that they had pretended to be zealous for the sake of reputation, so as to gain important positions and also to acquire wealth. Thus they had been zealous for selfish reasons and not for the things which they professed with their lips. Consequently when those external things are laid aside, as happens when people die, internals are laid bare and one sees what those people have been like inwardly; for during their lifetime they had concealed their internals from the eyes of the world. These are the considerations that are meant by the statement that goods and truths have been destroyed completely.