355. Of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed. This symbolizes a will to serve and to put into practice, also in those people who will be part of the New Heaven and of the Lord's New Church.

There are three things that follow in order: love toward the Lord, wisdom, and useful endeavor, as we said in no. 352 above. So again here: mutual love, understanding or perception, and will or action. These also form a unit, so that if one is missing, the other two have no reality. A will to serve, combined with action, constitute the effect, thus the final element, in which the two prior ones are present and coexist.

Manasseh has this symbolism because Joseph, who was the father of Manasseh and Ephraim, symbolizes the spiritual component of the church, and the spiritual component of the church is goodness of will and at the same time truth in the intellect. Manasseh consequently symbolizes the volitional component of the church, and Ephraim its intellectual component.

Manasseh symbolizes the volitional component of the church because Ephraim symbolizes its intellectual component, as is clearly apparent in Hosea, where Ephraim is so often mentioned. And because Manasseh symbolizes the volitional component of the church, he also symbolizes action or practice; for will is the impetus in every action, and where impetus exists, there action takes place whenever possible.

Manasseh is mentioned in several places, as when he was born (Genesis 41:50-52); when Jacob took him in place of Simeon (Genesis 48:3-5), and blessed him (Genesis 48:15-16); and when Moses blessed him (Deuteronomy 33:17). He is mentioned as well also in Isaiah 9:19-21, and Psalms 60:7; 80:2; 108:8. From these places it can in some measure be seen that Manasseh means the volitional component of the church.

297. Everyone who thinks with some enlightenment can see that love has as its end and intends some useful endeavor, and that it produces the useful endeavor through wisdom; for love cannot produce any useful endeavor of itself, but only by means of wisdom. Indeed, what is love unless there is something that is loved? This something is useful endeavor. And because useful endeavor is that which is loved, and it is produced through wisdom, it follows that useful endeavor is the containing medium of love and wisdom.

We have already shown in nos. 209-216 and elsewhere that these three - love, wisdom and useful endeavor - follow in sequence in accordance with degrees of height, and that the last degree embraces, contains, and is the foundation of the prior degrees.

It can be seen from this that the aforementioned three elements - the Divine element of love, the Divine element of wisdom, and the Divine element of useful endeavor - are in the Lord, and that in essence they are the Lord.