10249. 'For him and his seed, [throughout] their generations' means all who receive the things which emanate from the Lord, thus who are being regenerated by Him. This is clear from the representation of 'Aaron' as the Lord in respect of Divine Good, dealt with in 9806, 9946; from the meaning of 'seed' as those who are being born from the Lord, thus who are being regenerated (for those who are being regenerated are called those who have been born from God, and also His children), though in the abstract sense, in which actual persons are not envisaged, 'Aaron's seed' means those things which emanate from the Lord, thus by which a person is being regenerated, namely forms of the good of love, and truths of faith; and from the meaning of 'generations' as other forms of good and truths which emanate from them as their parents, and descendants of these other ones. For in the internal sense of the Word 'generations' is used to mean spiritual generations, which are those of love and faith, see the places referred to in 10204.

[2] Since the Lord is meant in the representative sense by Aaron, 'Aaron's seed' is used to mean in particular those who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom, and 'generations' those who are in His spiritual kingdom; for the forms of good and the truths of love and faith in the heavens arise and emanate from the Lord as those generations from Aaron did. The fact that 'seed', 'those who have been born', and 'generations' are used to mean those who love the Lord and believe in Him, and in the abstract sense forms of the good of love and the truths of faith, is clear from very many places in the Word, of which let just the following be quoted: In Isaiah,

From the east I will bring your seed, and from the west I will gather you. Isaiah 43:5.

These words refer to Jacob and Israel, by whom in the internal sense is meant the Church, external and internal, whose seed is the truth of faith and the good of charity.

[3] In the same prophet,

I will pour out My Spirit upon your seed, and My blessing upon those who have been born from you ¹ . Isaiah 44:3.

'Upon the seed' and 'upon those who have been born' mean upon those who belong to the Church, thus upon those things which are the Church's, namely forms of good and truths, or charity and faith, since these constitute the Church with a person. In the same prophet,

In Jehovah all the seed of Israel will glory. Isaiah 45:25.

Here the meaning is similar. In the same prophet,

If He makes His soul guilt, He will see His seed. Isaiah 53:10.

This refers to the Lord, whose seed is what those who have been born from Him, thus who have been regenerated, are called. In the same prophet,

You will break out to the right and to the left, and your seed will inherit the nations. Isaiah 54:3.

Here the meaning is similar.

[4] In Jeremiah,

Behold, the days are coming in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. Jeremiah 31:27.

This verse will be unintelligible to people unless they know what 'the house of Israel and the house of Judah' means, and also what 'the seed of man and the seed of beast' means. Those whose thought does not go beyond the sense of the letter will suppose the meaning to be that man and beast were going to be multiplied in Israel and Judah; but such a meaning implies nothing at all that is holy and the Church's. Rather, 'the house of Israel' is used in that verse to mean the spiritual Church, and 'the house of Judah' to mean the celestial Church, 'the seed of man' being those Churches' internal good, and 'the seed of beast' their external good. 'Beast' means the affection for good, see in the places referred to in 9280; and when the expression 'man and beast' is used, internal and external good is meant, 7523.

[5] In Jeremiah,

As the host of heaven will be unnumbered, and the sand of the sea is immeasurable, so I will multiply the seed of David. Jeremiah 33:22.

And in David,

I have made a covenant with My chosen one, I have sworn to David, Forever ² I will establish your seed, and build your throne from generation to generation. Psalms 89:3-4.

It is not persons descended from David as their father who should be understood by 'the seed of David', for they were not multiplied to so great an extent, nor were they of such great importance that they should be multiplied as the host of heaven or the sand of the sea. On the contrary in these places as in others elsewhere the Lord in respect of Divine Truth should be understood by 'David'. So 'his seed' means those who have been regenerated by or born from the Lord, and in the abstract sense the things which those people have from the Lord, namely the truths of faith and forms of the good of charity. As regards the Lord's being meant by 'David', see 1888, 9954.

[6] In David,

A seed which will serve Jehovah will be recounted ³ to the Lord to the [next] generation. Psalms 22:30.

In Isaiah,

Their seed will become known among the nations, and those born from them ⁴ in the midst of the peoples. Isaiah 61:9.

'Seed' stands for those who have been regenerated, thus for those belonging to the Church who have the Church within them. Thus in the abstract sense, in which actual persons are not envisaged, those things which compose one who has been regenerated, or which compose the Church as it exists with the person, are meant, namely faith and charity from the Lord.

[7] And in John,

The dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her seed, who kept the commandments of God and bear testimony to Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:17.

'The dragon' is used to mean those who are about to try to destroy the Lord's Church, which is to be established after this, 'the woman' to mean that Church, and those who belong to 'her seed' to mean those who have a love of and belief in the Lord, which they have received from Him.

In the contrary sense however 'seed' means those who are set against the things which the Church possesses, thus who are immersed in evil and consequent falsities, and in the abstract sense it means evils and falsities, as in Isaiah,

Woe to a sinful nation, a seed of evil ones! Isaiah 1:4.

In the same prophet,

Sons of the sorceress, seed of the adulterer, are you not those born of transgression, the seed of deceit? Isaiah 57:3-4.

And in the same prophet,

The seed of evil-doers will never be named. Isaiah 14:20.

脚注:

9457. 'And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying' means instructions regarding the holy things of heaven which had to be represented. This is clear from the verses that follow, for the things which Jehovah told Moses mean the holy things of heaven that were to be represented. Among the Israelite people a Church was being established in which outward forms would exist displaying in a representative fashion the celestial realities belonging to the good of love, and the spiritual realities belonging to the good and truth of faith, as such realities exist in heaven and ought to do so in the Church. From all this it is clear that 'Jehovah spoke' means instructions regarding the holy things of heaven which had to be represented. Since the matters described in the verses that follow are representative of the celestial and spiritual realities from the Lord in the heavens, something needs to be said about what a representative Church is and why it exists.

[2] There are three heavens - the inmost or third, the middle or second, and the lowest or first. In the inmost heaven the good of love to the Lord reigns, in the middle heaven the good of charity towards the neighbour reigns, and in the lowest the things which are thought, spoken, and come into being in the middle and inmost heavens are represented. The representatives there are countless, such as paradise parks, gardens, forests, fields, plains, as well as cities, palaces, and houses; also flocks and herds, as well as very many kinds of animals and birds; and countless other phenomena. These appear before the eyes of angelic spirits in that heaven more plainly than any such things do on earth in the light at midday; and what is astonishing, those spirits also discern what realities are meant by the things which appear.

[3] Such phenomena also appeared to prophets when their inner sight, which is the sight of the spirit, had been opened, for instance the horses that appeared to Zechariah, 6:1-8; the living creatures which were cherubs, and afterwards the new temple and everything in it that appeared to Ezekiel, Chapters 1, 9, 10, 40-48; the lampstand, thrones, living creatures (which again were cherubs), horses, new Jerusalem, and very many other phenomena, which appeared to John and are described in the Book of Revelation; and similarly the fiery horses and chariots that appeared to Elisha's servant, 2 Kings 6:17. Things such as these are constantly making their appearance in heaven before the eyes of spirits and angels. They are natural forms in which the inward things of heaven terminate and are given shape. The things which present themselves visually before the spirits and angels' actual eyes in this way are representations.

[4] A representative Church exists therefore when the holy, inner realities of love and faith which are derived from the Lord and look towards the Lord present themselves by means of visual forms in the world, such as those which are the subject in this and following chapters - the ark, the mercy-seat, the cherubs, the tables there, the lampstand, and everything else that was part of the tabernacle. For that tabernacle was constructed in such a way that it might represent the three heavens and everything there, the ark which contained the Testimony representing the inmost heaven and the Lord Himself there. This is why, when Moses was shown on the mountain the form it should take, Jehovah said at the same time, To the end that they may make for Him a sanctuary and He may dwell in their midst, verse 8. Everyone endowed with any ability to think on a deeper level can see that Jehovah could not have dwelt in a tent but that He dwells in heaven, and that this tent is called the sanctuary only because it presents an image of heaven, and the celestial and spiritual realities there. Let everyone ask himself, What would it have been for Jehovah, Creator of heaven and earth, to dwell in a small dwelling-place that was made of wood, overlaid with gold, and surrounded by curtains, if heaven and the things of heaven had not been represented there in outward forms?

[5] For the realities which are represented in outward forms do indeed reveal themselves in a similar way in the lowest or first heaven before the spirits there. But those in the higher heavens perceive the inner things that are being represented, which, as has been stated, are the celestial realities belonging to love to the Lord and the spiritual realities belonging to faith in the Lord. It was things of this nature that filled heaven when Moses and the people, moved by outward holiness, venerated that tent as the dwelling-place of Jehovah Himself. From this it is evident what a representative was, and also that by means of it heaven, and so the Lord, was present with mankind.

[6] A representative Church therefore was established among the Israelite people, when the ancient Church came to an end, in order that by means of such representatives heaven, and so the Lord, might be joined to the human race. (If the Lord did not join Himself to people through heaven they would cease to exist; for it is as a result of this joining of Himself to them that people possess the life they have.) Those representatives however were no more than outward means serving to conjoin, yet to which the Lord joined heaven in a wondrous manner, 4311. But when the joining together through those means also was about to perish the Lord came into the world and laid bare the actual realities which were being merely represented up to then, that is, the inner realities which belong to love to and faith in Him. These realities themselves now effect that joining together. But the only means by which such a joining together is effected at the present day is still the Word, since this has been written in such a way that every single part of it has a correspondence and as a consequence represents and serves to mean the Divine realities present in the heavens.