434. Of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand sealed, signifies the light of truth from that love, and that all who are in that light are in heaven and come into heaven. This is evident from the signification of "the tribe of Reuben," as being those who are in the light of truth (of which presently); from the signification of "twelve thousand," as being all things and all persons (of which above, n. 430, here all who are in the light of truth from the good of love to the Lord, which love is signified by "the tribe of Judah" (as was just shown above, n. 433; also from the signification of "the sealed," as being those who are in heaven and who come into heaven (of which also above, n. 427, 433). It has been said before, that the twelve tribes of Israel represented and thence signify in the Word all things of the church, that each tribe signifies some universal essential of the church, and that "Judah" signifies love to the Lord; but that "Reuben" signifies light from that love will be seen in what follows.

[2] "Reuben," and thence the tribe named from him, signifies in the highest sense the Lord in respect to foresight or foreknowledge; in the internal sense spiritual faith and the understanding of truth; and in the external sense, sight; and as "Reuben" in the internal sense signifies faith and understanding he also signifies the light of truth, for faith exists from the light of truth, and the understanding is illustrated by it; for where there is the light of truth there is understanding and there is faith.

[3] "Reuben," or the tribe of Reuben, has the same signification as "Peter" the apostle; for the twelve apostles in a similar manner as the twelve tribes of Israel, represented all things of the church, and each apostle some universal essential of the church; and as Peter had a similar representation with Reuben, therefore was he the first of the apostles, as Reuben was the first of the sons of Jacob. (That "Peter" signifies truth in the light, and faith, see above, n. 9, 411.)

[4] Reuben was the first of the sons of Jacob, and thence the tribe called from him is named in the first place in most passages of the Word, because he was the firstborn; and "firstborn" in the Word signifies truth from good, or what is the same thing, truth in light, and thus faith from charity. For truth and what is of faith appears to man to be first, for it enters by the hearing into the memory and is called forth therefrom into the thought; and that which a man thinks he sees and perceives by interior sight, and that which is first in sight and perception is first, but merely in appearance, not actually. Actually, good is the firstborn, or the first constituent of the church, since truth exists from good, for good forms itself in truths, and by means of truths presents itself to be seen, therefore truth is good in form. This is why truth is said to be from good and faith from charity, for that which is from anything is that thing imaged forth; and [truth] viewed in itself is good formed and born; such therefore is the meaning of "firstborn" in the spiritual sense of the Word. Moreover, with infants the good of innocence is what is first imparted by the Lord, and it is from this that man first becomes a man; and because good is of love, and man does not reflect about his love but about his thought from the memory, and because good has no quality until it is formed into truths, and without quality nothing is perceived, so it is not known that good is first, and is the firstborn; for it is good that is first conceived from the Lord with man, and it is brought forth through truths, in which good is in its own form and effigy.

[5] It is to be noted, furthermore, that the truths that man in his infancy and childhood imbibes from the Word and from doctrine therefrom, and from preaching, although they appear as truths, still they are not truths with him, they are only like shells without kernels, or like the form of the body or of the face without soul and life. These do not become truths until they are received in the will, for thus they are first received by the man and begin to live with him; for the will is the man himself, and all good is of the will, and all truth of the understanding therefrom. From this it can be seen why the tribe of Judah, which signifies the good of love to the Lord, is here named in the first place, and then the tribe of Reuben, which signifies truth in light from that good.

[6] It should be known that all light in which truth is seen is from the light of heaven which is from the Lord; the light of heaven is from the Divine good of the Lord's Divine love; the light of heaven is Divine good in form. In heaven these two are one, and are received by the angels as one, and should be received by man as one that he may have communion with the angels. (But these things may be seen more fully explained in the Arcana Coelestia, as follows: When man is regenerating, truth is in the first place and good in the second, not actually but apparently, but when he is regenerated, good is in the first place and truth in the second actually and perceptibly, n. 3324, 3325, 3330, 3336, 3494, 3539, 3548, 3556, 3563, 3570, 3576, 3603, 3701, 4243, 4245, 4247, 4337, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 4977, 5351, 6256, 6269, 6273, 8516, 10110; thus good is the first and the last of regeneration, n. Arcana Coelestia 9337. Since truth appears to be in the first place and good in the second when man is regenerating, or what is the same, when he is becoming a church, because of this appearance it was a matter of controversy among the ancients whether the truth of faith or the good of charity is the firstborn of the church, n. Arcana Coelestia 367, 2435.

The good of charity is the firstborn of the church actually, and the truth of faith only apparently, n. 3325, 3494, 4925, 4926, 4928, 4930, 8042, 8080.

And the "firstborn" in the Word signifies the first constituent of the church, which has priority and superiority, n. 3325.

For this reason the Lord is called "the Firstborn," because in Him and from Him is all the good of love, of charity, and of faith, 3325)

[7] As truth is apparently in the first place, so Reuben was the firstborn, and was named from sight, as is evident in Moses:

Leah conceived and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, Jehovah hath seen my affliction; for now my man will love me (Genesis 29:32).

Although these are historical facts, they nevertheless contain a spiritual sense; for every and each thing that is in the Word is from the spiritual world, because it is from the Lord; when these [spiritual] things are let down out of heaven into the natural world they are clothed with a correspondent natural sense, such as the sense of the letter of the Word is; therefore the nativities of the sons of Jacob signify spiritual nativities, which describe how good and truth are born in man when the Lord is regenerating him. This is why spiritual conception and birth are signified by "Leah conceived and bare a "she called his name Reuben" signifies its quality; "she said, because Jehovah hath seen" signifies in the highest sense foresight, in the internal sense faith, in the interior sense the understanding, and in the external sense sight, here faith from the Lord; "mine affliction" signifies the state of attaining to good; "for now my man will love me" signifies that the good of truth is therefrom. (But this may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia 3860-3866.)

In the original language Reuben signifies sight, and in the spiritual sense "sight" signifies the understanding of truth and faith, in the highest sense Divine foresight (as can be seen from what is shown respecting the signification of seeing and sight in the Arcana Coelestia, as follows:

"sight" in the highest sense, which has reference to the Lord, signifies foresight, n. 2807, 2837, 2839, 3686, 3854, 3863, 10428;

"sight" in the internal sense signifies faith, because spiritual sight is sight from faith, and the things that pertain to faith are the objects of sight in the spiritual world, n. 897, 2325, 2807, 3863, 3869, 5400, 10705;

also "to see" signifies to understand and perceive truth, n. 2150, 2325, 2807, 3764, 3863, 3869, 10705;

the internal sight is the understanding, and this sees through the eyes of the body; and the sight of the understanding is from the light of heaven, n. 1524, 3138, 3167, 4408, 5114, 6608, 8707, 9128, 9399, 10569).

[8] That "Reuben" signifies truth from good, or faith from charity, is evident also from the "mandrakes" that he found in the field and gave to his mother, respecting which it is thus written in Moses:

Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto Leah his mother. And Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray, of thy son's mandrakes. And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast taken away my man? and wilt thou take away my son's mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with thee tonight for thy son's mandrakes. And Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out to meet him, and said, Thou shalt come in unto me; because hiring I have hired thee with my son's mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. And she conceived, and bare Jacob a son, Issachar (Genesis 30:14-18).

One who does not know what is signified by "mandrakes," also what was represented by "Reuben," "Jacob," "Leah," and "Rachel," must be wholly ignorant of why such things occurred, and why they have been recorded in the Word; but it can be seen that there is something Divine in them that is not apparent in the sense of the letter, because they are in the Word, and in it each and everything is Divine. The spiritual sense of these things makes evident the Divine that is contained in them; in that sense "mandrakes" signify the marriage of good and truth; "Reuben" represents truth from good; "Jacob" the church in respect to truth; "Leah" and "Rachel" the church in respect to good, but "Leah" the external church, and "Rachel" the internal church; therefore the "mandrakes" found by Reuben signify the conjugial [conjugiale] of truth with good; and as that conjugial is between truth and good in the internal or spiritual man, which constitutes the internal church, and yet that truth is first given in the external or natural man, which constitutes the external church, therefore the mandrakes were found by Reuben, who represented truth from good, and were first given to Leah his mother, who represented the external church, but still Leah afterwards gave them to Rachel, who represented the internal church, that Leah might be permitted to lie with Jacob. (But this may be seen more fully explained in Arcana Coelestia 3940-3952.)

[9] Because "Reuben" represented truth from good, or faith from charity:

It was he who exhorted his brethren not to kill Joseph, wishing to deliver him out of their hand; and was greatly grieved when Joseph was not found in the pit (Genesis 37:21, 22, 29, 30).

(This may be seen explained in Arcana Coelestia 4731-4738, and n. 4761-4766.)

[10] Because "Reuben" or his tribe signified truth from good, or faith from charity:

The camp of that tribe in the wilderness was to the south, and the camp to the south was called the camp of Reuben (Numbers 2:10-16);

for the encampments of the tribes of Israel represented the arrangements of the angelic societies in heaven, and the angelic societies have their dwelling places in quarters according to their states in respect to good and truth (See above, n. 422), and in the southern quarter there those dwell who are in the light of truth from good; and because the tribe of Reuben represented truth from good or truth in light, it encamped on the south.

[11] Because truth from good, which the tribe of Reuben represented, is in the natural man, to the tribe of Reuben an inheritance beyond Jordan was given (See Numbers 32, Deuteronomy 3:12-20; Joshua 13 end; Leviticus 18:7); for by "the land of Canaan" the church was represented and thus signified in the Word, that region of it beyond Jordan signifying the external church, the region on this side, Jordan the internal church, and the river Jordan the boundary between them; and it is truth from good, or faith from charity that constitutes the church, truth from good in the natural man constituting the external church; and because the tribe of Reuben represented this constituent of the church, therefore to that tribe an inheritance beyond Jordan was given. Why inheritances beyond Jordan were given also to the tribe of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh will be told in what follows.

[12] The conjunction of these two churches, namely, the external and the internal, which is like the conjunction of the natural and the spiritual man, was represented, and in the spiritual sense is described by:

The altar that the sons of Reuben, of Gad, and of Manasseh built beside the Jordan, about which there was a strife between these tribes and the other tribes; but it was said that the altar should be for a witness that although they dwelt beyond Jordan, they nevertheless served Jehovah in common with the rest; therefore they called that altar a witness between us that Jehovah is God (Joshua 22:9-34 to end).

For "the Jordan" signified the medium between the external and the internal of the church; "the land of Canaan on this side Jordan" signifying the internal church, and "the land beyond Jordan" the external, and this also was represented by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, which had their inheritances there; while that altar signified the common worship of the two churches, and thus conjunction thereby.

[13] That "Reuben" signifies truth in the natural man is evident also from the prophecy of Deborah and Barak in the book of Judges:

In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of the heart. Why did you stay among the campfires to hear the whistling for the flocks? In the districts of Reuben there was much searching of heart. Gilead dwelt ¹ beyond the Jordan (Judges 5:15-17).

This no one can understand unless he knows what the prophecy treats of, and what is signified by the "districts," "Reuben," "the campfires," "the whistling for the flocks," and "Gilead." This treats of the church among the sons of Israel in a state of vastation; and "the districts of Reuben" signify both all truths and all goods that are in the natural man; "the campfires" signify cognitions and knowledges there; "the whistling for the flocks" signify the perceptions and thoughts thereof; and "Gilead" signifies the natural man. When this is known, what these things mean in the spiritual sense becomes evident, namely, that when the church is destroyed the natural man with the things in it is separated from the spiritual man, whereas it ought to be conjoined to it; and when it is conjoined, there are truths there from good, by which truths there is a combat against the falsities from evil, for the natural man must combat against them from the spiritual man. "The statutes of the heart" and "the searchings of the heart" signify the truths from good, which are in the natural man from the spiritual man, "heart" signifying the good of love, and "the statutes and searchings of the heart" all things that are determined and arranged in the natural man from good in the spiritual man. This is said respecting Reuben because his tribe dwelt beyond Jordan in Gilead; and it was not conjoined with Deborah and Barak when they fought against Sisera, but only Issachar and Zebulun, "Sisera" in the spiritual sense meaning the falsity from evil destroying the church.

[14] "Reuben" signifies the light of truth, and the understanding of the Word therefrom, in Moses:

Let Reuben live and not die; yet his men shall be a number (Deuteronomy 33:6).

Here "Reuben" means the understanding of the Word illustrated by light from heaven; and because there are a few who receive such illustration it is said of Reuben, "Yet his men shall be a number," "number" signifying fewness and a few.

[15] That "Reuben" signifies truth from good, or faith from charity, is evident also from the contrary sense, in which he is also mentioned. In that sense "Reuben" signifies truth separate from good, or faith separate from charity; and truth without good is not truth except merely in respect to expression and sound, for it is merely a matter of knowledge, having its seat in the memory of the natural man, thus only in the entrance to man, and not within him in his life. The memory of the natural man is merely an entrance to him, and what is in it does not become truth in him until he wills it and does it; then it first enters and receives life; not till then does the light from heaven flow in and illustrate. It is similar with faith separate from charity, for truth is of faith, and good is of charity.

[16] That "Reuben" in the contrary sense signifies faith separate from charity can be seen from his adultery with Bilhah his father's concubine, which is thus described in Moses:

It came to pass while Israel dwelt in the land Ephrath Bethlehem, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heard (Genesis 35:22).

"Ephrath Bethlehem" signifies the spiritual church, which is in truths from good, or in faith from charity; Reuben's adultery signifies the rejection of the good of charity from the truths of faith, for truth is profaned when it is not conjoined with its own good, which is the good of charity, since it is then conjoined with the love of self and the world, which is adulteration. All adulteries (of which many kinds are enumerated in Leviticus 18:6-23) correspond to the adulterations of good and truth. That the adultery committed by Reuben corresponds to faith separate from charity has been made known and testified to me by things heard and seen in the spiritual world, where such a sphere of adultery is perceived to go forth from those who have separated charity from faith in doctrine and life.

[17] Because this too was signified by "Reuben," the birthright was taken away from him by his father and given to Joseph and his sons. That it was taken from Reuben is evident from these words of his father:

Reuben my firstborn, thou art my power and the beginning of my might, excelling in eminence and excelling in strength. Light as water, thou shalt not excel, because thou wentest up to thy father's bed, then profanedst thou it; he went up to my couch (Genesis 49:3, 4).

"Reuben my firstborn" signifies faith, which is apparently in the first place, or truth born of good; "thou art my power and the beginning of my might" signifies that thereby good has its potency and truth has its first potency; "excelling in eminence and excelling in strength" signifies that from this is glory and power; "light as water" signifies that it is not so with faith separate from charity; "thou shalt not excel" signifies that such faith has neither glory nor power, "because thou wentest up to thy father's bed" signifies because the truth of faith separated from the good of charity has a filthy conjunction; "then profanedst thou it" signifies conjunction with the love of self and the world and with evil therefrom, which is a profane conjunction; "he went up to my couch" signifies the contamination of spiritual good in the natural. (This is fully explained in Arcana Coelestia 6341-6350.)

[18] That the birthright was therefore given to the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, is meant by these words of Israel the father to Joseph:

Now thy two sons born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came into Egypt, they are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine (Genesis 48:5).

And in the first book of Chronicles:

Reuben was the firstborn; but because he defiled his father's bed his birthright was given unto the sons of Joseph the son of Israel (1 Chronicles 5:1, 2).

For "Ephraim" in the Word has a similar signification with "Reuben," namely, the understanding of truth, and truth in the light. It is said "Ephraim and Manasseh shall be the sons of Israel, even as Reuben and Simeon," because "Reuben" signifies the understanding of truth, and "Simeon" the will of truth, similar with "Ephraim" and "Manasseh." From this it can now be seen what universal essential of the church is signified in the Word by "Reuben."

Imibhalo yaphansi:

8495. 'A holy sabbath to Jehovah shall tomorrow be' means the joining together of goodness and truth into eternity. This is clear from the meaning of 'sabbath' as the joining together of goodness and truth, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'tomorrow' as into eternity, dealt with in 3998. Anyone who does not know what the sabbath represented, and what it was consequently a sign of, also cannot know why it was held to be the holiest institution of all. It was held to be the holiest because in the highest sense it represented the union of the Divine and the Divine Human within the Lord, and in the relative sense the joining together of the Lord's Divine Human and the human race. This is why the sabbath was the holiest. And since it represented those realities it also represented heaven in respect of the joining together of goodness and truth, that is, the joining together called the heavenly marriage. And since the joining together of goodness and truth is accomplished by the Lord alone and nothing at all of it by man, and since it is accomplished in a state of peace, people were most strictly forbidden to do any work on that day. The prohibition was so strict that the soul who did do any was to be cut off. This is stated in Moses as follows,

You shall keep the sabbath, for it is holy to you. He who profanes it must certainly die; for everyone who does work on that day, this soul shall be cut off from the midst of his people. Exodus 31:14.

This was why the one who merely gathered sticks on that day was stoned, Numbers 15:32-36. It is also why the command regarding the sabbath is the third of the Ten Commandments, coming immediately after the two regarding holy worship of Jehovah, Exodus 20:8; Deuteronomy 5:12. And it is why the sabbath is called 'an eternal covenant', Exodus 31:16; for 'a covenant' means a joining together, 665, 666, 1023, 1038, 1864, 1996, 2003, 2021, 6804.

[2] From all this one may now see what is meant in the internal sense by the things said about the sabbath in the following places, as in Isaiah,

Blessed is the person keeping the sabbath so that he does not profane it. Thus said Jehovah to the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths and choose that in which I delight, and hold fast to My covenant, I will give those in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an eternal name which will not be cut off. Whoever keeps the sabbath so that he does not profane it, and those who hold fast to My covenant, I will bring them onto My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Isaiah 56:2-7.

From these words it is evident that those who are joined to the Lord are meant by those who keep the sabbath holy. That they will be in heaven is meant by the promise that those in Jehovah's house will be given a place and a name better than sons and daughters, an eternal name which will not be cut off, and that they will be brought onto the holy mountain.

[3] In the same prophet,

If you turn away your foot from the sabbath, so that you do not do your own will on My holy day, but call the sabbath, Delights holy to Jehovah, honourable, 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. Isaiah 58:13-14.

What was represented by the requirement that they should not do any work on the sabbath day is clearly evident here, namely that they must not do anything that begins in themselves, only what begins in the Lord. For the angelic state in heaven is such that they do not will or do, they do not even think or utter, anything that begins in themselves or what is properly their own. This is what their being joined to the Lord consists in. Not doing anything that begins in themselves is meant when it says that they should not do their own will, nor do their own ways, nor find their own desire, nor speak [their own] words. This state existing with the angels is the heavenly state itself; and when they are in it they experience peace and rest. Also the Lord has rest, for when they have been joined to Him their labour ceases; they now abide in the Lord. These things are meant by the words 'so shall you call the sabbath, Delights holy to Jehovah' and that they will take delight in Jehovah. The Lord's rest is meant where it says that after creating on six days 'He rested on the seventh day', Genesis 2:2.

[4] The same things are meant by the following words in Jeremiah,

If you most certainly hear Me, so that you do not bring a burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, and you keep the sabbath day holy, so that you do not do any work in it, then there will enter through the gates of this city kings and princes seated on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men (vir) of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city will be inhabited forever. Jeremiah 17:24-25

'Work on the sabbath' means everything that springs from the self. The state of people who are not led by self but by the Lord is what 'there will enter through the gates of the city kings and princes seated on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses' describes. 'Kings' means the truths of faith, 'princes' leading aspects of them, 'seated on the throne of David' the fact that they come from the Lord, and 'chariots and horses' religious teachings and intellectual concepts belonging to faith. It should be recognized that everything coming from a person's self is bad, and everything coming from the Lord is good. The fact that everything, in the case of those who are led by the Lord, flows in, down to the smallest particle of life in both their understanding and their will, thus down to every single part of the faith and charity they possess, see what has been shown abundantly from experience in 2886-2888, 6053-6058, 6189-6215, 6307-6327, 6466-6495, 6598-6626, 6982, 6985, 6996, 7004, 7055, 7056, 7058, 7147, 7270.

[5] As regards the sabbath and its being a representative of the joining together of the Lord and the human race, this is clear in Ezekiel,

I gave them My sabbaths, in order that they might be a sign between Me and them, to know that I am Jehovah who sanctifies them. Ezekiel 20:12.

See too Exodus 31:13. Therefore also it was forbidden to kindle fire on the sabbath day, Exodus 35:3, because 'fire' meant all that composed life, and 'kindling fire' that which composed life beginning from self. From all that has been stated it is evident that the Lord is Lord of the sabbath, in accordance with His words in Matthew 12:1-9. It is evident too why a large number of healings by the Lord were performed on sabbath days, Matthew 12:10-14; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-12; 13:10-17; 14:1-6; John 5:9-18; 7:22-23; 9:14, 16; for the sicknesses from which the Lord healed people involved spiritual sicknesses which exist as a result of evil, 7337, 8364.