AR 348 - 144,000; AR 350 - Judah - Love; AR 351 - Reuben - Wisdom; AR 352 - Gad - Useful Endeavors

AR 348 [1, 3]

And I heard the number of those who were sealed,
one hundred and forty-four thousand.
(Revelation 7:4)

This symbolizes all people
who acknowledge the Lord as God of heaven and earth
and are governed by truths of doctrine
springing from the goodness of love,
received from Him through the Word.

These are symbolized by the number 144,000
from the twelve tribes of Israel
because the twelve tribes of Israel
symbolize a church that consists of people
who possess goodness and truth from the Lord
and acknowledge Him as God of heaven and earth.
The number 144,000 means all such.

Out of the kind of people described here
the Lord formed a new heaven
and is in the process of forming a new church.

AR 350

Of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed.
(Revelation 7:5)

This symbolizes celestial love,
which is love toward the Lord,
and this in all those people
who will be in the Lord's New Heaven and New Church.

In the highest sense Judah symbolizes the Lord
in relation to celestial love;
in the spiritual sense,
the Lord's celestial kingdom and the Word;
and in the natural sense,
the doctrine of a celestial church drawn from the Word.
Here, however, Judah symbolizes celestial love,
which is love toward the Lord;
and because it is named first in the series,
it symbolizes that love in all those people
who will be in the New Heaven
and in the Lord's New Church.

. . . because the people were of the character they were
with respect to the Word and with respect to the Lord,
the tribe of Judah symbolizes also the opposite love,
which is love of self --
properly speaking,
a love of dominating springing from a love of self --
a love which we call diabolical love.

AR 351 [1, 3]

Of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed.
(Revelation 7:5)

This symbolizes wisdom springing from celestial love
in those people who will be
in the New Heaven and in the Lord's New Church.

In the highest sense Reuben symbolizes omniscience;
in the spiritual sense,
wisdom, intelligence and knowledge, also faith;
and in the natural sense, sight.
Here, however, Reuben symbolizes wisdom,
because he comes after Judah,
who symbolizes celestial love,
and celestial love produces wisdom.
For there is no love without its partner,
which is knowledge, intelligence, or wisdom.
The partner of natural love is knowledge;
that of spiritual love is intelligence;
and that of celestial love is wisdom.

Because the tribes all symbolize their opposites as well,
so too does the tribe of Reuben;
and in an opposite sense he symbolizes
wisdom divorced from love,
and thus also faith divorced from charity.

AR 352

Of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed.
(Revelation 7:5)

This symbolizes useful life endeavors,
which are the exercises of wisdom
springing from the aforesaid love,
also in those people who will be
in the New Heaven and in the Lord's New Church.

In the highest sense Gad symbolizes omnipotence;
in the spiritual sense,
goodness of life, which also is useful endeavor;
and in the natural sense, work.
Here he symbolizes useful life endeavors,
because he comes after Reuben and Judah,
and celestial love by means of wisdom
produces useful endeavors.

There are three things that hang together
and cannot be separated:
love, wisdom and useful life endeavor.
If one is taken away, the other two collapse.