865. These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto God and unto the Lamb. That this signifies those in the New Church who are received by the Lord, is evident from the signification of those who are redeemed by the Lord, as denoting those who receive instruction from the Word, especially respecting the Lord, and who live according to it; respecting which see above (n. 860). These are also called the redeemed of the Lord; and these are the redeemed who are regenerated by the Lord; and these are they who follow the Lord, that is, are led by Him, of whom we have just treated above. And the same appears from the signification of the first-fruits of God and the Lamb, as denoting those who have given themselves to the Lord, and are adopted by Him. That these are those who belong to the New Church, is evident from this consideration, that they are called the first-fruits to God and to the Lamb. For those who are received therein, acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human, and live according to His precepts. No others, are received in the New Church, called the New Jerusalem, because those who do not believe it, and so live, are not in agreement with the life of heaven, neither with the light there, nor with the heat; for the light there is Divine truth, from which come all intelligence and wisdom; and the heat there is Divine good, from which come all love and charity. All man's affection and thought therefrom is not only within him, and constitutes his life, but is also external to him, and constitutes the sphere of his life. This is why heaven is divided into societies according to the varieties of affections and thoughts therefrom. Unless therefore the affections and the thoughts therefrom are spiritual, and are formed solely from the acknowledgment of the Lord, and from a life according to His precepts, they cannot be admitted into any society of heaven, for they are repugnant thereto. This is the reason that those who do not acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human, and do not live according to His precepts in the Word, cannot be in association with the angels of heaven. That this is the case, has been made plain to me from much experience. There were some who had thought of the Lord only as of another man, and had lived in the faith of the present day, which is a faith of the thought merely, without any good of life. But because they believed that nothing more was necessary to life eternal than to be admitted into heaven, therefore, according to their wish, they were admitted into some society; but as soon as the light of heaven struck their eyes with its lustre, their sight and also their understanding began to be entirely obscured and became stupefied. And when the heat of heaven came upon them, they began to be tormented in a direful manner, and as to the head and limbs to writhe like serpents. Therefore they cast themselves downwards, swearing that to enter heaven was hell to them, unless they were in the light and heat of heaven; and that they did not know that every one has heaven from love and thence faith, or from a life according to the Lord's precepts in the Word, and from faith in the Lord, and not in any way from faith without the life of faith, which is charity.

[2] It shall now be stated in a few words what first-fruits in the Word signify. They signify the same as the first-begotten; but the latter term is used of animals, and first-fruits of vegetables. Thus the first-begotten are what are born first, and first-fruits are from the first things produced; and both signify the spiritual good first formed, which is essentially truth from good from the Lord. The origin of this is as follows. There are two minds in man, natural and spiritual. From the natural mind alone nothing but evil is produced, and the falsity therefrom; but as soon as the spiritual mind is opened, then good is produced, and the truth therefrom; this which is first produced is meant by the first-begotten and by the first-fruits. Now because nothing born and produced from the spiritual mind is from man but from the Lord, therefore those things were sanctified to Jehovah, that is, to the Lord, because they were His, and consequently holy. And because that which is born or produced first, signifies all the things that follow in a series - as a leader the people, and a shepherd the flock - therefore by the first-begotten and the first-fruits being given to the Lord was signified that all other things were also His.

[3] But in order that this may be more clearly understood, it must be known, that the merely natural mind is formed according to the idea or image of the world, but the spiritual mind according to the idea or image of heaven; and that the spiritual mind is opened to no one, except by the acknowledgment of the Divine of the Lord, and by a life according to His precepts; and that previous to this, no good and truth are produced. But as soon as the spiritual mind is opened, then they are produced therefrom from the Lord. Therefore the first that is produced is called holy, and signifies that all things afterwards produced are also holy. From these things, it is evident that the opening of the womb or matrix signifies the opening of the spiritual mind. That this is the signification is seen also from correspondence; for the womb corresponds to the good of celestial love; concerning which correspondence see above (n. 710), and in the Arcana Coelestia 4918, 5050-5062).

[4] Since the things now mentioned were signified by the first-fruits; and since the things of harvest, as wheat, barley, and the rest, signified the goods and truths of heaven and the church; also wool, and the clean and useful beasts, therefore, of the latter the first-begotten were given to the Lord, and of the former the first-fruits. And because the high priest represented the Lord as to His priesthood, which is the good of love, therefore they were given to that priest. And consequently everything produced from corn, wine, and oil was sanctified.

But concerning those first-fruits, see the statutes for the sons of Israel in the law of Moses; as, for example, the first of the fruits of all the corn, oil, wine, and the fruit of the tree; also of the fleece, and the first-begotten of the flock and the herd; and that they were given as holy to Jehovah, and by Jehovah to Aaron, and after him to the high priest.

(Exodus 22:29; Numbers 13:20; 15:17-22; 18:8-20; Deuteronomy 18:4; 26:1, to the end).

And concerning the feast of the first-fruits of harvest, and of the first-fruits of bread

(Exodus 23:14, 15, 16, 19, 26; Leviticus 23:9-15, 20-25 Numbers 28:26, to the end; and elsewhere).

From these things it is now evident, that by first-fruits to God and to the Lamb are meant those who will belong to the New Church, called the New Jerusalem, who acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human, and live a life of love, that is, a life according to the Lord's precepts in the Word. For in the case of these and no others is the spiritual mind opened; no others, therefore, are led of the Lord, or follow Him whithersoever He goeth.

That by God and the Lamb in the Apocalypse, is meant the Lord as to the Divine itself, and at the same time as to the Divine Human, may be seen above (n. 297, 314, 343, 460, 482).

297. (5:1) And I saw in the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. That this signifies the Lord as to omnipotence and as to omniscience, is evident from the signification of the right hand when said of the Lord, as denoting omnipotence and also omniscience (concerning which we shall speak presently): and from the signification of Him that sat upon the throne, as denoting the Lord as to Divine good in heaven. For throne signifies heaven in general, specifically the spiritual heaven, and, in the abstract, the Divine truth proceeding, from which heaven is, and by which judgment is effected (as may be seen above, n. 253). The reason why the Lord is meant by Him that sat upon the throne, and also by the Lamb which took the book from Him that sat upon the throne, is, because by Him that sat upon the throne is meant the Lord as to Divine good, and by the Lamb the Lord as to Divine truth: for there are two things that proceed from the Lord as the Sun of heaven, namely, Divine good and Divine truth. Divine good from the Lord is called the Father in the heavens, and this is meant by Him that sat upon the throne; and Divine truth from the Lord is called the Son of man, but in this case the Lamb. And because Divine good judges no one, but Divine truth, it is therefore said here, that the Lamb took the book from Him that sat upon the throne. That the Divine good judges no one, but Divine truth, is meant by the Lord's words in John:

"The Father judgeth no one, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, because he is the Son of man" (5:22, 27).

By the Father is meant the Lord as to Divine good; and by the Son of man, the Lord as to Divine truth. The reason why Divine good judges no one, is, because it explores no one: but Divine truth [judges], for this explores every one. But still it must be known that the Lord Himself does not judge any one from the Divine truth that proceeds from Him, for this is united to the Divine good, so that they are one, but that a man-spirit judges himself: for it is the Divine truth received by him that judges him; and because it appears as if the Lord judges him, it is therefore said in the Word that all are judged by the Lord. This also the Lord teaches in John:

Jesus said, "And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not; for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejected me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him; the Word that I have spoken, it shall judge him in the last day" (12:47, 48).

[2] For with respect to judgment, the case is this: the Lord is present with all, and from Divine love wills to save all and also turns and leads all to Himself. Those who are in good, and thence in truths, follow, for they apply themselves; but those who are in evil, and thence in falsities, do not follow, but turn themselves away from the Lord, and to turn themselves away from the Lord is [to turn] from heaven to hell; for every man spirit is either his own good and the truth thence, or he is his own evil and the falsity thence. He who is in good and the truth therefrom, suffers himself to be led by the Lord; but he who is in evil and the falsity thence, does not suffer himself to be led. The latter resists with all his might and effort; for he wills according to his own love, which inspires and animates him; therefore his desire is to those who are in a similar love of evil. Hence it is evident that the Lord judges no one, but that the Divine truth received judges to heaven those who have received Divine truth in the heart, that is, in the love: and to hell those who have not received Divine truth in the heart, and have denied it. From these considerations it is evident how the Lord's words must be understood. "All judgment is [given] to the Son, because he is the Son of man." And elsewhere, that "he came not to judge the world but to save the world, and that the Word which he has spoken will judge him."

[3] But these things are such as do not fall into man's own intelligence, for they are amongst the arcana of the wisdom of the angels. This subject, however, is in some measure elucidated in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 545-551, where this fact is treated of, that the Lord casts no one into hell, but that the spirit himself [casts] himself thither. That it is the Lord who is meant "by him that sat upon the throne," and not another whom they distinguish from Him, and call God the Father, is evident to every one from this consideration, that there was no other Divine which the Lord called Father, but His own Divine: for this assumed the Human, therefore this was His Father; and that this is infinite, eternal, uncreate, omnipotent, God, Lord, and in nothing differing from the very Divine, which they distinguish from Him and call "the Father," is evident from the received faith, called the Athanasian; where it is also said, That none of them is greatest and least, and none of them first and last, but that they are altogether equal; and that as one is, so is the other, infinite, eternal, uncreate, omnipotent, God, Lord: and yet there are not three infinites, but one: not three eternals, but one: not three uncreate, but one: not three omnipotents, but one: not three Gods and Lords, but one.

These things are mentioned, in order that it may be known that there are not two distinct [beings] meant by "Him that sat upon the throne," and by "the Lamb," nor in what follows "by God" and "the Lamb" but that by the one is meant the Divine good, and by the other the Divine truth in heaven, both proceeding from the Lord. That the Lord is meant by Him that sat upon the throne, also appears from all the particulars of chapter four, where a throne and one sitting thereon is treated of; this may be seen explained, n. 258-295: and, moreover, in Matthew:

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory" (25:31; 19:28, 29).

Again in Ezekiel:

"And above the expanse that was over the head of the cherubim was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man sitting upon it" (1:26; 10:1)

And in Isaiah:

"I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his borders filled the temple" (6:1).

[4] Because by a throne is signified heaven, and by one sitting upon a throne, the Lord as to His Divine in heaven, therefore it is said above (in chap. Revelation 3), "To him that overcometh, I will give to sit with me on my throne," by which is signified that he shall be in heaven where the Lord is (as may be seen above, n. 253); and therefore in what follows in this chapter, it is said,

"I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne a Lamb standing" (5:6).

And in chapter 22,

"He shewed me a river of the water of life, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Revelation 22:1).

By the throne of God and of the Lamb, is meant heaven and the Lord there, as to Divine good, and as to Divine truth; God there denoting the Lord as to Divine good; and the Lamb, as to Divine truth. There is a distinction made here between them, because there are those who receive one more than the other; those who receive the Divine truth in good are saved; but those who receive the Divine truth, which is the Word, not in good, are not saved, because all Divine truth is in good, and nowhere else. Therefore those who do not receive it in good, reject and deny it, if not openly yet tacitly, and if not with the mouth yet with the heart; for the heart of such is evil, and evil rejects. To receive Divine truth in good, is to receive it in the good of charity; for those who are in that good receive.