119. And the blasphemy of them that say they are Jews, and are not. That this signifies vituperation from those who think themselves to be in the knowledges of good and truth because they have the Word, and yet it is not so, is evident from the signification of blasphemy, as being scandalous reproach and vituperation; and from the signification of Jews, as being those who are in the knowledges of good and truth from the Word; for Judah, in the highest sense of the Word, signifies the Lord as to celestial love, in the internal sense, the celestial kingdom of the Lord, and the Word, and in the external sense doctrine from the Word, which is of the celestial church (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 3881, 6363). It is therefore evident by the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not is signified scandalous reproach and vituperation from those who say that they acknowledge the Lord, and are in His kingdom, and in true doctrine because they have the Word, and yet are not; and, in general, those who say they are in the knowledges of good and truth from the Word, and nevertheless are in falsities and evils.

[2] Those who are ignorant of the internal sense of the Word, cannot but suppose that, in the prophetic parts of the Word, by Judah and the Jews are meant Judah and the Jews; but these are not there meant by these names, but all those who are in the true doctrine of the church, thus those who are in the knowledges of good and truth from the Word; and, in the opposite sense, those who are in false doctrine, thus who adulterate the truths and goods of the Word. That Judah and the Jews are not meant is evident from this consideration alone, that there is an internal sense in all the details of the Word, and also in the names of persons and places. This sense treats solely of the things of heaven and the church, therefore such things are also signified by the names Judah and Israel. And whereas a church was instituted with them in which all things were representative and significative of celestial things, therefore by their names was signified that which essentially constitutes the church, namely, in the highest sense, the Lord Himself; in the internal sense, His Word; and, in the external sense, doctrine from the Word, as said above.

It is therefore evident how much those are mistaken who believe, according to the letter, that the Jews are to be brought back into the land of Canaan, and that they are elected and destined for heaven in preference to others; whereas few from that nation are saved, because none are saved but those who believe in the Lord; and he who believes in the Lord in the world, believes in Him after his departure out of the world; but that nation altogether casts Him out from its belief.

[3] That by Judah is meant the Lord as to His kingdom and as to the Word, may be seen from the prophecy of Israel concerning his sons, which, when it is unfolded by the internal sense, shows what each tribe represented in the church. That the tribe of Judah represented the Lord's kingdom, or the church where the Word is, is quite clear from what is said concerning Judah:

"Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law-giver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be; who shall bind to the vine the foal of his ass, and to the noble vine the son of his she-ass; whilst he washeth his garment in wine, and his covering in the blood of grapes" (Genesis 49:9, 10, 11).

That the particulars mentioned signify the Lord's kingdom, or the church, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, where they are explained.

[4] He who knows that by Judah, in the highest sense, is meant the Lord, and, in the internal sense, His kingdom and Word, and in the external sense doctrine from the Word, also, in an opposite sense, those who deny the Lord and adulterate the Word, may know what is signified by Judah in many other places of the Word; as in these following:

"Hear ye, O house of Jacob, called by the name of Israel, and they have gone forth from the waters of Judah" (Isaiah 48:1).

The house of Jacob, and Israel, is the church; to go forth from the waters of Judah signifies from doctrine out of the Word, for the church is thence. (That waters denote truths of doctrine from the Word, may be seen above, n. 71.)

"The sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the sons of the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their borders. It shall come to pass in that day, that all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall go forth out of the house of Jehovah, and Judah shall sit to eternity" (Joel 3:6, 18, 20).

To sell the sons of Judah and the sons of Jerusalem to the sons of the Grecians, is to falsify the goods and truths of the church; in that day, denotes when that church is at its end and a new one established among the Gentiles; all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, signifies abundance of truths and goods from the Word, to those who are in the New Church; that these are from the Word is signified by the fountain going forth out of the house of Jehovah. It is therefore clear that by Judah who shall sit to eternity, is not meant Judah, or the Jewish nation, but all those who are in good by means of truths from the Word.

[5] Similar things are meant by Judah in the following passages:

"I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them. Then shall the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land; for great is the day of Jezreel" (Hosea 1:7, 11).

"Then many nations shall adhere to Jehovah in that day; they shall be to me for a people, for I will dwell in thee; then Jehovah shall make Judah a heritage to himself, his portion upon the land of holiness, and shall again choose Jerusalem" (Zech. 2:11, 12).

"Jehovah Zebaoth shall visit his flock, the house of Judah, and shall make them [as] a horse of glory in the war: I will render the house of Judah powerful" (Zech. 10:3, 6).

"God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah; and they shall dwell there, and inherit it. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they who love the name of Jehovah shall dwell therein" (Psalms 69:35, 36).

"And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains, that mine elect may, possess it" (Isaiah 65:9);

besides in many other places. (That the Jewish nation is not meant in the Word in these and other places where they are called elect and heirs, may be further seen from what is adduced concerning that nation from Arcana Coelestia, in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 248.) From these considerations it is now evident what is signified by "The blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and are not."

3881. 'Therefore she called his name Judah' means the essential nature of it. This is clear from the meaning of 'name' and of 'calling the name' as the essential nature, dealt with in 144, 145, 1754, 1896, 2009, 2724, 3006, 3421. That nature is contained in the internal sense of these words spoken by Leah - 'This time I will confess Jehovah', dealt with immediately above in 3880. That is to say, in the highest sense those words mean the Lord and the Divinity of His Love, in the internal sense the Word and also the Lord's celestial kingdom, and in the more exterior sense doctrine from the Word which the celestial Church has. But as yet scarcely anyone knows that these things are meant in the Word when the name Judah is mentioned, the reason being that the historical descriptions of the Word are thought to be simply historical descriptions, and the prophetical utterances to belong among such things as have fallen into oblivion, except for some of them from which doctrinal inferences may be drawn out. No belief exists that those descriptions and utterances have a spiritual sense within them, because at the present day no knowledge exists of what the spiritual sense is, or indeed of what the spiritual is. And the chief reason for this is that the life which people lead is the natural life. This is such that when they have that life as their end in view or it is the only life they desire, it blots out both spiritual knowledge and faith - so much so that when spiritual life and a spiritual sense are spoken of, these are like something that does not really exist or else are something unpleasant and depressing which, because it does not accord with natural life, they find distasteful. Such being the condition of the human race at the present day it neither understands nor wishes to understand by the names mentioned in the Word anything else than the nations, peoples, individual persons, regions, cities, mountains, or rivers, which those names denote. Yet in the spiritual sense names mean real things.

[2] That 'Judah' in the internal sense means the Lord's celestial Church, in the universal sense His celestial kingdom, and in the highest sense the Lord Himself may be seen from many places in the Old Testament where Judah is mentioned, for example, from the following: In Moses,

You are Judah; your brothers will praise you; your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; the sons of your father will bow down to you. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey you have gone up, my son. He crouched, he lay down like a lion, and like an old lion; who will rouse him up? The sceptre will not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh comes; and to him will be the gathering of peoples. Binding his ass's colt to the vine, and the foal of his she-ass to a choice vine, he will wash his clothing in wine, and his garment in the blood of grapes. His eyes are red from wine, and his teeth white from milk. Genesis 49:8-12.

[3] Nobody can know the meaning of this prophetical declaration about Judah uttered by Jacob, who by then was Israel - not even one expression used there - except from the internal sense. He cannot know for example what is meant by 'his brothers will praise him' and 'his father's sons will bow down to him', or by 'his going up from the prey like a lion's whelp', and 'his crouching and lying down like a lion'. Nor can he know what is meant by 'Shiloh', by 'binding his ass's colt to the vine, and the foal of his she-ass to a choice vine', by 'washing his clothing in wine, and his garment in the blood of grapes', by 'eyes red from wine', or by 'teeth white from milk'. As has been stated, these expressions cannot possibly be understood by anyone except from the internal sense, yet all of them - each one - mean celestial things belonging to the Lord's kingdom, also things that are Divine. The same words also foretell that the Lord's celestial kingdom, and in the highest sense the Lord Himself, were to be represented by Judah. All these things declared by Jacob will in the Lord's Divine mercy be discussed in the explanations of the chapter in which they occur.

[4] Similar examples involving the name Judah occur elsewhere, especially in the Prophets, as in Ezekiel,

You son of man, take a stick and write on it, For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions'. And take another stick and write on it, For Joseph - the stick of Ephraim and of the whole house of Israel, his companions - and join them together, one to the other into one stick for you, and they will be one in your, hand. I will make them into one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will be king to them all. My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. And they will walk in My judgements, and keep My statutes and do them. And they will dwell in the land which I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers dwelt. And they will dwell in it, they and their sons, and their sons' sons even for ever. And David My servant will be their prince for ever, and I will make with them a covenant of peace, it will be an eternal covenant with them. I will bless them, and multiply them, and I will grant My sanctuary in their midst for evermore. Thus will My dwelling-place be with them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Ezekiel 37:15-28.

Anyone who takes Judah, Israel, Joseph, Ephraim, and David in this passage to mean those actual people will believe all these things will actually take place as described in the sense of the letter. That is to say, he will believe that Israel is going to be reunited with Judah, as well as the tribe of Ephraim; also that David is going to reign as king; that in this manner they are going to dwell in the land given to Jacob for ever, and that at that time an eternal covenant will exist with them and the sanctuary will be in the midst of them for ever. But in fact the meaning of this passage has nothing whatever to do with that nation but with the Lord's celestial kingdom meant by 'Judah', and His spiritual kingdom meant by 'Israel', and with the Lord Himself meant by 'David'. From this it is quite evident that names are not used to mean actual persons but things that are celestial and Divine.

[5] The same is so with the following words in Zechariah,

Many peoples and numerous nations will come to seek Jehovah Zebaoth in Jerusalem and to placate Jehovah's face. Thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue will take hold; and they will take hold of the hem of a man of Judah, saying, We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you. Zechariah 8:22-23.

Those who take these words literally will say, as the Jewish nation believes still, that being a prophecy not yet fulfilled it is going to be fulfilled in the future. These say that they are going to go back to the land of Canaan, that many from every nation and tongue will follow them, and take hold of the hem of a man of Judah and plead to be allowed to follow. They say that at that time God - that is to say, the Messiah, whom Christians call the Lord - will be among them, to whom they must first be converted. This would be the true implication of these words if 'a man of Judah' were used to mean a man of Judah. But in fact the internal sense at this point deals with a new spiritual Church among gentiles, and 'a man of Judah' means saving faith which results from love to the Lord.

[6] That 'Judah' is not used to mean Judah but, as has been stated, means in the internal sense the Lord's celestial kingdom which was represented in the Church established among Judah or the Jews, becomes quite clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

When the Lord raises an ensign for the nations He will gather the outcasts of Israel, and will assemble the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. Then the envy of Ephraim will depart, and the enemies of Judah will be cut off. Ephraim will not envy Judah, and Judah will not harass Ephraim. Isaiah 11:12-13.

In Jeremiah,

Behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, who will reign as king, and prosper, and execute judgement and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name which they will call Him, Jehovah our Righteousness. Jeremiah 23:5-6.

In Joel,

Then you will know that I am Jehovah your God, who dwell in Zion, My holy mountain; and Jerusalem will be holy. It will happen on that day, that the mountains will drip new wine, and the hills will flow with milk, and all the streams of Judah will flow with water; and a spring will come forth from the house of Jehovah and will water the river of Shittim. Judah will abide for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. Joel 3:17-18, 20.

[7] In Zechariah,

On that day I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. And on the house of Judah I will open My eyes, and every horse of the peoples I will strike with blindness. And the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, I will strengthen for myself the inhabitants of Jerusalem in Jehovah Zebaoth their God. On that day I will set the leaders of Judah like a hearth of fire in sticks of wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they will devour to the right and to the left all the peoples round about, and Jerusalem will yet again be inhabited in her own place, in Jerusalem. And Jehovah will save the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitant of Jerusalem, may not exalt itself over Judah. On that day Jehovah will protect the inhabitant of Jerusalem, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of Jehovah in front of them. And I will pour out over the house of David and over the inhabitant of Jerusalem a spirit of grace. Zechariah 12:4-10.

This refers to the Lord's celestial kingdom, where truth should not have dominion over good but ought to be subordinate to it, truth being meant by 'the house of David' and 'the inhabitant of Jerusalem', and good by 'Judah'. From this it is evident why first it is said that 'the glory of the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitant of Jerusalem, will not exalt itself over Judah', and after this that 'the house of David will be like God, and like the angel of Jehovah', and that 'a spirit of grace will be poured out over it and over the inhabitant of Jerusalem'. For such is the state when truth is subordinate to good or faith to love. 'The horse which will be struck with panic, and the horse of the peoples with blindness' is self-intelligence, see 2761, 2762, 3217.

[8] In the same prophet,

On that day there will be on the horses' bells, Holiness to Jehovah. And the pots in the house of Jehovah will be as the bowls before the altar. And every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holiness to Jehovah Zebaoth. Zechariah 14:20-21.

This refers to the Lord's kingdom. In Malachi,

Behold, I am sending My angel, who will prepare the way before Me, and suddenly there will come to His temple the Lord whom you are seeking, and the angel of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming. Who can endure the day of His coming? Then the minchah of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to Jehovah, as in the days of old and as in former years. Malachi 3:1-2, 4.

This plainly refers to the Coming of the Lord. The meaning is that Judah and Jerusalem's minchah was not, as is well known, acceptable but that worship flowing from love, Judah's minchah, and worship flowing from faith rooted in love, Jerusalem's minchah, are acceptable.

[9] In Jeremiah,

Thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, Again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I turn again their captivity: Jehovah bless you, O habitation of righteousness, O holy mountain! And Judah and all its cities will dwell in it together. Behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, in which I will sow the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. Behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, in which I will make with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah a new covenant, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers. Jeremiah 31:23-24, 27, 31-32.

In David,

The Lord chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved, and built His sanctuary as the heights, as the earth He founded it for ever. Psalms 78:68-69.

[10] From these places and very many others which have not been mentioned one may see what 'Judah' means in the Word. They show that 'Judah' does not mean the Jewish nation, for that nation was anything but the celestial Church or the Lord's celestial kingdom; for so far as love to the Lord, charity towards the neighbour, and faith; went they were the worst nation of all. This has been so from their earliest forefathers, namely the sons of Jacob, even to the present day. But in spite of this such people were able to represent the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord's kingdom, see 3479-3481. For in representations no attention is paid to the person who represents, only to what is represented by him, 665, 1097 (end), 1361, 3147, 3670.

[11] But when they did not adhere to the religious observances commanded by Jehovah or the Lord but deviated from them into acts of idolatry they no longer represented those things but such as are contrary to them, namely those of hell and the devil, according to the Lord's words in John,

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. John 8:44

Such is the meaning of 'Judah' in the contrary sense, as becomes clear from the following: In Isaiah,

Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, because their tongue and their works are against Jehovah, to provoke the eyes of His glory to anger. Isaiah 3:8.

In Malachi,

Judah has acted faithlessly, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, and Judah has profaned the holiness of Jehovah, for he loved and married the daughter of a foreign god. Malachi 2:11.

And in addition in the following places - Isaiah 3:1 and following verses;

8:7-8; Jeremiah 2:28; 3:7-11; 9:26; 11:9-10, 12; 13:9; 14:2; 17:1; 18:11-13; 19:7; 32:35; 36:31; 44:12, 14, 26, 28; Hosea 5:5; 8:14; Amos 2:4-5; Zephaniah 1:4; and many times elsewhere.