4821. 'And she conceived and bore a son' means that from this came the falsity of the Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'conceiving and bearing' as acknowledging in faith and action, dealt with in 3905, 3915, 3919, and from the meaning of 'a son' as the truth of the Church, but in the contrary sense falsity, dealt with in 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623, 3373, 4257. Consequently 'she conceived and bore a son' here means that the Church among the tribe of Judah acknowledged falsity in faith and action. The reason this son means the falsity of the Church is that he was the firstborn, and in the Ancient Churches 'the firstborn' meant the truth of faith, 352, 3325, and so in the contrary sense falsity, which was also the meaning of the firstborn among men and the firstborn among beasts in Egypt, 3325. The fact that truth is not meant but falsity is evident from what follows shortly, for in verse 7 it says, 'Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah caused him to die'. Er, this son's name, also implies the particular nature of this falsity, even as Onan, his second son's name, implies the particular nature of that meant by him, namely what is wrong or evil.

352. 'The firstborn of the flock' means the holy which is the Lord's alone. This becomes clear from the firstborn in the representative Church, where everything was holy because it had regard to the Lord, who alone is 'the Firstborn'. Love and faith deriving from it are the firstborn. All love is the Lord's and not a trace of it man's, and this is why the Lord alone is 'the Firstborn'. This was represented in the Churches of the ancient era by the requirement to consecrate the firstborn of man and of beast to Jehovah, Exodus 13:2, 12, 15. It was also represented by the tribe of Levi, which in the internal sense means love - though Levi was born later than Reuben and Simeon, who in the internal sense mean faith - being taken instead of all the firstborn and becoming the priesthood, Numbers 3:40-46; 8:14-20. That the Lord as regards His Human Essence is the Firstborn of all is clear from the following statement in David,

He will cry to Me, You are My Father, My God, and the Rock of My Salvation; I will also make Him as the Firstborn, supreme over the kings of the earth. Psalms 89:26-27.

And in John,

Jesus Christ, the Firstborn from the dead, and Prince of the kings of the earth. Revelation 1:5.

Please note that the firstborn of worship mean the Lord, while the firstborn of the Church mean faith.