10360. 'And you shall keep the sabbath' means that the Lord's Divine Human is to be worshipped. This is clear from the meaning of 'keeping', when it refers to what is Divine, as worshipping; and from the meaning of 'the sabbath' in the highest sense as the union of the Divine, called the Father, and the Divine Human, called the Son, thus the Divine Human in which that union exists. The reason why 'the sabbath' means this union is that by the six days of labour which come before the seventh every state of conflict is meant; for in the spiritual sense 'labour' does not mean the kind of labour that people go out to in the world but the kind that those in the Church experience before they enter and become the Church, that is, labour that involves them in conflict with evils and the falsities of evil. Labour such as this that is meant in the spiritual sense was experienced by the Lord when He was in the world; for He engaged in conflict then against the hells, and restored them, and the heavens as well, to a state of order. At the same time He glorified His Human, that is, united it to the Divine itself that was His from conception, see 9715, 9809.

[2] The time and state when the Lord was engaged in conflicts is meant by the six days of labour; but the state when the union had been accomplished is meant by the seventh day, which is called the sabbath on account of the rest it brings, because then the Lord had rest. Consequently 'the sabbath' also means the joining together of the Lord with heaven, with the Church, with the angels of heaven, and with members of the Church. The reason for this is that all who will come into heaven must first engage in conflicts against evils and the falsities of evil; and when these have been separated those people enter heaven and are joined to the Lord, and then they have rest. The like applies to people in the world. It is well known that they must engage in conflicts or undergo temptations before they become the Church, that is, before the goodness and truth which constitute the Church have been implanted in them, thus before they have been joined to the Lord, consequently before they have rest. From all this it is evident why it is that a state of conflict is meant by six days of labour, and rest as well as a joining together by the seventh day or the sabbath.

[3] The reason why the joining together of goodness and truth is also meant by 'the sabbath' is that while a person is engaged in conflicts truths play the leading role within him; but when the truths have been joined to good, thus when good plays the leading role within that person, he has rest. This is similar to how it was with the Lord. While He was in the world and was engaged in conflict with the hells He was, in respect of His Human, Divine Truth; but when He had united His Human to the Divine itself He became also, in respect of His Human, Divine Good or Jehovah.

[4] The six days which come before the sabbath mean the conflicts that come before and are preparatory to the heavenly marriage, which is the joining together of goodness and truth, see 8510, 8888, 9431.

Regarding the former state - when truths play the leading role within a person and he is engaged in conflicts against evils and the falsities of evil, that is, the state meant by six days of labour - and regarding the latter state, when good plays the leading role within him and he is led by the Lord, meant by 'the sabbath', see 7923, 7992, 8505, 8506, 8510, 8512, 8516, 8539, 8643, 8648, 8658, 8685, 8690, 8701, 8772, 9139, 9224, 9227, 9230, 9274, 9832.

First of all the Lord made His Human, when He was in the world, Divine Truth, and afterwards Divine Good, see in the places referred to in 9199(end), 9315(end).

He achieved this through conflicts brought about by temptations, see in the places referred to in 9528(end).

[5] A person therefore who knows that 'the sabbath' serves in the highest sense to mean the union of the Divine itself within the Lord's Divine Human can recognize the meaning of statements made so many times in the Word regarding the sabbath, such as the following in Isaiah,

If you turn your foot away from the sabbath, so that you do not do your own will on My holy day, but call the sabbath delights honourable to the Holiness of Jehovah, and honour it, so that you do not do your own ways, nor find your own desire or speak [your own] words, then you will take delight in Jehovah, and I will convey you into the high places of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. Isaiah 58:13-14.

Anyone who is acquainted with the internal sense of the Word can see plainly that 'the sabbath' here is used to mean a state in which a person is joined to the Lord, thus a state when the person is led by the Lord and not by self, that is, a state which exists when good resides in him. For being led by the Lord and not by self is meant by 'turning one's foot away from the sabbath', 'not doing one's own will', 'not doing one's own ways', 'not finding one's own desire', and 'not speaking [one's own] words'. The presence of the Church and of heaven in that person is meant by the promise that he will be conveyed into the high places of the earth and will be fed with the heritage of Jacob. And the truth that the sabbath denotes the Divine Human in which there was a union is meant by the sabbath being called 'My holy day' and 'delights [honourable] to the Holiness of Jehovah'.

[6] And in Jeremiah,

If you keep the sabbath day holy, kings and princes will enter through the gates of this city, sitting on the throne of David, riding in a chariot and on horses. Jeremiah 17:24-25.

A person who has no knowledge of the internal sense of the Word will suppose that these words must be understood according to their literal meaning, which is that if people kept the sabbath holy kings and princes would enter through the gates of the city Jerusalem, riding in a chariot and on horses. But this is not how they should be understood. Rather they mean that those who worship the Lord's Divine Human in a holy manner must be governed by the Divine Truths of heaven and the Church. For 'Jerusalem' is used to mean the Church, 'kings and princes' its Divine Truths, 'the throne of David' heaven where the Lord is, 'a chariot' teachings that convey what is good and true, and 'horses' an enlightened power of understanding.

'Jerusalem' means the Church, see 2117, 3654.

'Kings' means Divine Truths, 1672, 2015, 2069, 3009, 4575, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148.

'Princes' means primary truths, 1482, 2089, 5044.

'David' means the Lord, 1888, 9954.

'The throne' means heaven, 5313.

'A chariot' means teachings conveying what is good and true, 5321, 8215.

'Horses' means a power of understanding that receives enlightenment, 2760-2762, 3217, 5321, 6534.

[7] Because 'the sabbath' meant the Lord in respect of the Divine Human, in which there was a union, it was decreed that the loaves of the Presence should be set in order on the table every sabbath, Leviticus 24:8. (It is well known in the Church that the Lord's Divine Human should be understood by 'bread'.) For the same reason the Lord, when in the world, calls Himself the Lord of the sabbath, Matthew 12:7, 8; Mark 2:27-28; Luke 6:1-5.

[8] For the same reason also the Lord, when He was in the world and united His Human to the Divine itself, did away with the sabbath as an occasion on which representative worship or the kind of worship established among the Israelite people took place, and made the sabbath day a day for instruction in teachings about faith and love. This is what the following words in John imply,

Jesus healing a certain man on the sabbath day said to him, Take up your bed and walk. And he took up the bed and walked. The Jews said that he ought not to carry a bed on the sabbath day. And they sought to kill the Lord, because He broke the sabbath. John 5:8-11, 18.

'The healing of one who is sick' means the purification of a person from evils and the falsities of evil; his 'bed' means religious teachings; and 'walking' means 'life'.

[9] Every healing from sickness carried out by the Lord implies purification from evils and falsities, or restoration of spiritual life, see 8364(end), 9031(end), 9086.

'Walking' means life, 519, 1794, 8417, 8420.

The fact that 'bed' means religious teachings is clear from places in the Word where a bed is mentioned, and also from representatives in the next life. When a bed is seen there and someone is lying on it, the teachings on which that person relies are meant. Consequently beds which are most highly adorned are seen there; these belong to those who rely on truths springing from good. Yet the fact that things such as these are meant by the Lord's words no one can know without the aid of the internal sense; for when the Lord spoke He used correspondences and so images carrying a spiritual meaning, since the Divine was the Source of the things He said.

6397. 'Will judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel' means that it is one of the truths in general which the tribes of Israel represent. This is clear from the meaning of 'judging' as truth exercising its proper function, dealt with below; from the meaning of 'people' as those governed by truth, dealt with in 1259, 1260, 2928, 3295, 3581, 4619, at this point those guided by truth but not as yet by good, since they are Dan, that is, the people of Dan, 6396; and from the representation of 'the tribes of Israel' as all truths and forms of good in general, dealt with in 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060, 6335. Consequently 'will judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel' means that the truth which 'Dan' represents is one of the general truths that 'the tribes of Israel' represent. The reason why 'judging his people' means truth exercising its proper function is that all truths in general are represented by 'the tribes of Israel', as may become clear from the paragraphs referred to above; and since truths are what act as judges, 'judging his people' means truth exercising its proper function.

[2] In the Word one reads the description that the twenty-four elders will sit on thrones and judge nations and peoples, and that the twelve apostles will similarly sit on thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel. A person with no knowledge of the internal sense of the Word will think that precisely that is going to happen. But how those descriptions should be understood becomes clear when one knows from the internal sense what 'the twenty-four elders', 'the twelve apostles', and also 'thrones' mean, namely all truths in their entirety, in accordance with which judgement is effected. The same goes for one's understanding here of 'judging his people as one of the tribes of Israel'. The meaning is not that these or any other elders among them will act as judges, but that the actual truths meant by them, therefore the Lord alone since every truth comes forth from Him, will do so. The reference to the twenty-four elders who will sit on thrones and act as judges occurs in John as follows,

Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders seated, clad in white garments, who had crowns of gold on their heads. Revelation 4:4; 11:16.

In the same book,

I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgement was given to them. Revelation 20:4.

The reference to the twelve apostles occurs in Matthew,

Jesus said, You who have followed Me, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Matthew 19:28.

And in Luke,

I bestow on you, just as My father bestowed on Me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Luke 21:29-30.

Here neither the twenty-four elders nor the twelve apostles are what are really meant but all truths and forms of good in general, as may be recognized from the consideration that nobody, not even any angel, can judge anyone; for no one except the Lord alone can know what a person is or ever will be like interiorly. With regard to the twelve apostles, that they had a similar meaning to the twelve tribes, which was all truths and forms of good in their entirety, see 2129, 2553, 3488, 3858 (end). From all this it is now evident that 'Dan will judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel' means that the truth represented by 'Dan' is one of the general truths by means of which judgement is effected.