39. And all the tribes of the earth shall wail over him. That this signifies that the falsities of the church will resist, is evident from the signification of wailing, as denoting to lament, to grieve, to be indignant, to be angry, to be averse from, thus also to resist; and from the signification of tribes, as denoting all truths and goods in the aggregate, and, in the opposite sense, all falsities and evils in the aggregate, concerning which we shall speak in what follows; and from the signification of the earth, as being the church (on which see above, n. 29). By all the tribes of the earth, therefore, is signified the whole church, and by their wailing over Him, is signified that truths and goods are no more, because falsities and evils are about to dominate and resist. For what the state of the church will be at its end is treated of in general in this verse, when there will be no longer any faith because no charity; that is, that the Lord will then reveal Himself, and that all will acknowledge Him who are in truths from good, and that those also shall see Him who are in falsities from evil, but that the falsities of the church will resist. (That the Apocalypse does not treat of the successive states of the church, but of its last state, or when it is at its end, may be seen above, n. 5; and that its end is when there is no faith because no charity, may be seen in the small work, The Last Judgment 33-39, and following numbers. When there is no faith because no charity, then falsities from evil reign, which offer opposition to truths from good.)

[2] Tribes are often mentioned in the Word, because the Israelitish people were divided into twelve tribes; and he who is ignorant of the internal sense of the Word supposes, that by tribes are meant the tribes of Israel; nevertheless, by tribes are not meant tribes, nor is Israel meant by Israel; but tribes mean all those who are in truths from good, and Israel means the church of the Lord. He who does not know this, will easily accept the common belief that the children of Israel were chosen before all others on the whole earth, and also that they will be introduced at last into the land of Canaan. Indeed, he will believe that heaven will consist chiefly of them; although, by the names of those tribes in the Word they are not meant, but those who are in truths from good, that is, those who belong to the church; by the twelve tribes, all, and by each one of them, some special truth and good pertaining to those who belong to the church.

[3] These things being understood, it is evident what is meant by these words in the Apocalypse:

"I heard the number of them which were sealed; and there were sealed a hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the sons of Israel. Of the tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Asher were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Naphtali were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasseh were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zebulun were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand" (7:4-8).

In this passage those who belonged to the Israelitish nation are not meant, but all those, however many they may be, who are in truths from good; for all these are sealed for heaven. The numbers one hundred and forty-four thousand and twelve thousand, also signify all, and each tribe signifies all those who are in that truth or good which is signified by its name.

(As may be evident from what is shown in Arcana Coelestia in regard to the following: what good and truth are signified by Judah, n. 3881, 6363; what by Reuben, n. 3861, 3866, 4605, 4731, 4734, 4761, 6342-6345; what by Gad, n. 3934, 3935; what by Asher, n. 3938, 3939, 6408; what by Naphtali, n. 3927, 3928 what by Manasseh, n. 3969, 5354, 6222, 6231, 6238, 6267, 6296 what by Simeon, n. 3869-3872, 4197, 4502, 4503, 5482, 5626, 5630; what by Levi, n. 3875, 3877, 4497, 4502, 4503; what by Issachar, n. 3956, 3957; what by Zebulun, n. 3960, 3961, 6383; what by Joseph, n. 3969, 3971, 4669, 6417; and what by Benjamin, n. 3969, 4592, 5411, 5413, 5443, 5639, 5686, 5688, 5689, 6440.

That all numbers in the Word signify things, see n. 482, 487, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4264, 4495, 4670, 5265, 6175, 9488, 9659, 10217, 10253.

That twelve signifies all, and all things as to truths from good, see n. 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913; also, the numbers 72, 144, 12,000, 144,000, because they arise from the number 12 by multiplication, n. 7973.

That numbers multiplied signify the same as the simple numbers from which they are produced by multiplication, see n. 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973.)

[4] He who does not know that numbers signify things, what the numbers twelve, one hundred and forty-four, and twelve thousand signify, and also what tribes and apostles signify, cannot know what is signified by those passages in the Apocalypse, where it is said, that the holy city, New Jerusalem,

"had a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and in the gates twelve angels, and names written which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; and the wall had twelve foundations, in which were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The wall was a hundred and forty and four cubits, and the length and the breadth of the city twelve thousand furlongs" (21:12, 14, 16, 17).

The signification of all these things may be seen explained in the little work, The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine, n. 1; where it is shown, that by Jerusalem is signified the church as to doctrine; by the wall, its truths of defence; by the gates, introductory truths; by the foundations, the knowledges upon which doctrine is founded; by twelve angels, and by twelve tribes, all truths and goods collectively; the same by the twelve apostles; and by the numbers twelve, one hundred and forty-four, and twelve thousand, all things and all persons.

[5] Moreover, he who knows that such things are signified by the twelve tribes may see the mystery involved in the names of the twelve tribes being engraved upon the precious stones of the Urim and Thummim, and also the signification of the breast-plate (Exodus 28:21; 39:10-15). (This arcanum may be seen unfolded in Arcana Coelestia 3858, 6335, 6640, 9863, 9865, 9873, 9874, 9905.) He may also see what is the signification of the twelve apostles sitting upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28), namely, that the Lord alone will judge every one by truths from good (n. 2129, 6397); also what things are meant by the predictions of Israel the father, concerning his sons (Gen. 49); and also the meaning of many other passages in the Word where the tribes are mentioned (as in Isaiah 19:13; 49:6; 63:17; Jeremiah 10:16; Ezekiel 48:1, and following verses; Psalm 122:3-5; Deuteronomy 32:8; Numbers 24:2; Apoc. 5:9; 7:4-9; 11:9; 13:7; 14:6; and elsewhere).

[6] And again, the meaning of the Lord's words about the consummation of the age and His coming, may be seen:

"After the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and much glory" (Matthew 14:29, 30).

(These words may be seen explained in detail in the work, Heaven and Hell 1; and in the following passages in Arcana Coelestia, where it is shown that the twelve tribes of Israel represented, and thence signified, all truths and goods collectively, thus all things of faith and love, n. 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335; that similar things are signified by the twelve apostles, n. 2129, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397; and that they have various significations according to the order in which they are named, n. 3862, 3926, 3939, 4603, 6337, 6640, 10335.)

3934. 'And Leah said, A troop comes!' in the highest sense means Omnipotence and Omniscience, in the internal sense the good of faith, and in the external sense works. This is clear from the meaning of 'a troop' in this context. The reason 'a troop' in the highest sense means Omnipotence and Omniscience is that the word troop here denotes a large number; and when a large number is used in reference to the Lord's Divine an infinitely large number is meant, and this is nothing else than Omnipotence and Omniscience. But the term omnipotence is rooted in the idea of vastness in dimension, and omniscience in the idea of vastness in number. Omnipotence is also rooted in the idea of infinite good, or what amounts to the same, in Divine love and so in the Divine will, whereas omniscience is rooted in the idea of infinite truth, or what amounts to the same, in Divine intelligence. Why 'troop' in the internal sense means the good of faith is a question of correspondence, for good that is the good of charity corresponds to the Lord's Divine omnipotence, and truth which is the truth of faith to His omniscience.

[2] The reason why 'a troop' in the external sense means works is that these correspond to the good of faith. Indeed works are the product of that good, for the good of faith cannot exist without works, just as thinking what is good and willing it cannot exist without the doing of it. The one is the internal, the other the corresponding external. What is more, so far as works are concerned, if they do not correspond to the good of faith they are not the works of charity, nor are they the works of faith, since they are not the outcome of what should properly be within them, but dead works that have no good or truth within them. But when the external does correspond to the internal, works are either those of charity or of faith. The works of charity are those which flow from charity as their soul, but the works of faith are those which flow from faith. The works of charity are done by one who is regenerate, whereas the works of faith are done by one who is not yet regenerate but is becoming so. The same applies to affections, that is to say, to the affection for good and the affection for truth. The regenerate person does good out of an affection for that good and so from a desire for good, whereas the one who is to be regenerated does good out of an affection for truth, and so from a knowledge of good. (How these affections differ from each other has often been shown already.) From this one may see what is meant by works.

[3] Furthermore the relationship of the good of faith to works is like that of a person's will and consequent thought to his face, which, as is well known, is an image of the mind, that is, of the person's will and consequent thought. If will and thought do not present themselves in the face as their true image then hypocrisy or deceit, not will and thought, are manifested there because that person presents a different face from what he wills and thinks. It is similar with every act of the body in relation to the more internal things of thought and will. The internal side of a person lives within his external by means of act or action. If act or action does not accord with his internal it is a sign either that that act is not the product of his internal but a mere response to custom and habit, or that it is something untrue as in hypocrisy and in deceit. Here again one may see what is meant by works. Consequently anyone who professes faith, more so anyone who professes the good of faith, and yet denies works, and more so if he rejects them, is without faith and still more without charity.

[4] This being the nature of the works of charity and faith, and since nobody has any charity or faith in him unless works are being done, the Word therefore mentions works so many times, as may be seen from the following places: In Jeremiah,

Your eyes have been opened upon all the ways of the sons of man, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his works. Jeremiah 32:19.

In the same prophet,

Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and make your works good. Jeremiah 35:15.

In the same prophet, I will requite them according to their work and according to the work of their hands. Jeremiah 25:14.

In Hosea,

I will visit upon him his ways, and requite him for his works. Hosea 4:9.

In Micah,

The earth will be a desolation over its inhabitants, on account of the fruit of their works. Micah 7:13.

In Zechariah,

Thus said Jehovah Zebaoth, Turn from your evil ways and from your evil works. Jehovah Zebaoth thought to deal with us according to our ways, and according to our works so He dealt with us. Zechariah 1:4, 6.

In John,

Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes indeed, says the Spirit, that they may rest from labours, for their works follow them. Revelation 14:13.

[5] In the same book,

I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged by the things written in the books, according to their works. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and hell gave up the dead that were in them. They were judged therefore every one according to their works. Revelation 20:12-13.

In the same book,

Behold, I am coming quickly, My reward with Me, to give to everyone according to his work. Revelation 22:12.

In John the Evangelist,

This is the judgement, that light has come into the world, but men preferred darkness rather than light, for their works were evil. Everyone who performs evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light lest his works should be exposed. Anyone however who does the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen, because they have been wrought in God. John 3:19-21.

In the same gospel,

The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it that their works are evil. John 7:7.

In the same gospel,

Jesus said to the Jews, If you were Abraham's sons you would do the works of Abraham. You do the works of your father. John 8:39, 41.

In the same gospel,

If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. John 13:17.

[6] In Matthew,

Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works. He who does and teaches so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:16, 19.

In the same gospel,

Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by Your name, and by Your name cast out demons, and do many mighty works in Your name? But then I will confess to them, I do not know you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity! Matthew 7:21-23.

In Luke,

The householder replying says to them, I do not know where you are from. Then you will begin to say, We ate in your presence and we drank; you taught in our streets. But He will say, I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity! Luke 13:25-27.

In Matthew,

Everyone who hears My words and does them I will liken to a wise man. But everyone hearing My words and not doing them will be likened to a foolish man. Matthew 7:24, 26.

In the same gospel,

The Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father together with His angels, and at that time He will repay everyone according to his works. Matthew 16:27.

[7] From all these places it is evident that works are what save a person or what condemn him, good works being those that save, evil those that condemn; for his works contain what he wills. Anyone who wills what is good does what is good, but anyone who does not do what is good, no matter how much he may say that he wills it, does not will it when he does not do it. It is as though he were to say, I will it, yet I don't will it. And because the will itself is contained in works, and charity belongs to the will, and faith to charity, it is evident what kind of will, that is, what kind of charity and faith, is present in someone when he does not do good works, and more so when he does the opposite of these.

[8] In addition it should be recognized that the Lord's kingdom begins in a person in the life that belongs to works, for he is then at the start of regeneration; but once the Lord's kingdom is established in him the kingdom ends in works, and then he is regenerate. Indeed the internal man is in this case present in the external in a corresponding fashion; and since works are done by the external man while charity and faith rooted in charity dwell in the internal man, works are therefore at the same time charity. And as it is in the works of the external man that the life of the internal so presents itself, therefore - when speaking about the Last Judgement in Matthew 25:32-46 - the Lord lists nothing else than works, declaring that those who have done good works will enter into eternal life and those who have done evil into a state of damnation. What has been said also shows the meaning of what one reads about John's lying at Jesus' breast and in His bosom and about His loving him more than the rest, John 13:23, 25; 21:20; for John represented good works, see the Prefaces to Genesis 18, 22. What the works of faith are, which from their appearance may be called the fruits of faith, and what the works of charity are, will in the Lord's Divine mercy be discussed more fully elsewhere.