AE 443 - Simeon; AE 444 - Levi; AE 445 - Issachar

AE 443 [1, 2, 3]

Of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand sealed,
(Revelation 7:7)
means obedience,
and that all who are in obedience are in heaven,
and come into heaven.
. . . The tribes of Simeon, Levi, and Issachar,
which are now mentioned,
and which constitute the third class of the sealed,
mean those who are in the first or lowest heaven,
and who come into that heaven.

Those belonging to this first or lowest heaven
are all obedient in doing the truths and goods
that are commanded in the Word
or in the doctrine of the church in which they were born,
or that they have heard
from some master or religious teacher,
from whom they have heard
that this or that is true and good, and ought to be done.
Most of these are not in truths themselves,
but in falsities from ignorance,
nevertheless these falsities
are accepted by the Lord as truths
because they have the good of life for their end,
and by this
the evils that usually cling to falsities are removed.
Such, then, are in the lowest or first heaven.

Because "Simeon" means obedience he also signifies faith,
for faith becomes faith in a person
when he obeys and does the commandments;

AE 444 [1-2, 3, 5, 11]

Of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand sealed,
(Revelation 7:7)
means good works.
This is evident from the representation
and consequent meaning of "Levi" and his tribe,
as being spiritual love,
which is called charity towards the neighbor.
"The tribe of Levi" here signifies good works
because spiritual love or charity
consists in doing things that are good,
and these are good works.
Charity, itself, viewed in itself,
is the affection of truth and good,
and where that affection is,
there is a life according to truths and goods,
for there is no affection without a life
according to the truths and goods
for which there is affection.

To live according to truths and goods
is what is meant in the Word by "doing,"
and the life itself is meant by "deeds" and "works"
which are so often mentioned in the Word;
these, therefore,
are what were represented and meant by "Levi"
and his tribe in the church with the Jews.
Because this affection is the very essential of the church,
the tribe of Levi was assigned to the priesthood . . ..

The priesthood was given to this tribe
because it represented and so meant love and charity.
Love and charity are the spiritual affection of good and truth;
since affection is predicated of love in its continuity,
for affection is the continuation of love.
This, too, is what the priesthood and its ministry
mean in the Word,
for this affection is the essential of the church,
for where it is
there the church is,
and where it is not
there the church is not;
for the affection of good and truth
is the very spiritual life of a person,
and when a person is affected by good and truth
he is in good and truth in respect to his life,
and his thought itself
is nothing but affection in a different form,
for whatever a person thinks he derives from affection;
no one can think without affection.
This is why the tribe of Levi
was appointed to the priesthood.

. . . every person acquires
knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom,
according to the affection of good and truth that is in him . . ..

. . . the Lord teaches in the Word and through the Word . . ..

AE 445 [1-2, 3]

Of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand sealed,
(Revelation 7:7)
means faith and salvation.

"Reward" is frequently spoken of in the Word,
as "that reward is to be received,"
and by it is understood eternal life, salvation,
and by many, heavenly joy;
and in the nearest sense this is the signification of "reward."
If a person is living according to the Lord's commandments,
it is permissible for him
to think of eternal life, salvation, and heavenly joy;
but it is not permissible for him
to keep his mind intent upon reward,
for if he does so he has reward as an end,
and easily falls into the thought
that by his life he deserves heaven and salvation,
and this thought causes him to have
regard to self in every particular,
and such regard to self removes him from heaven;
for so far as a person looks to self in what he does,
he does not look to heaven.
Because of this, "reward" in the Word means
that in which heaven and salvation are,
that is, in general, love and faith,
and from them intelligence and wisdom,
for in these are salvation and heaven,
and consequently heavenly joy,
so far as a person does not think about reward.
From this
the meaning of "Issachar" and his tribe can be seen.
Here faith is meant,
because "the tribe of Simeon" signifies obedience,
and "the tribe of Levi" signifies good works,
and those who are in good works from obedience
are in faith;
while such as are in the goods of life
from the spiritual affection of truth and good
are in charity,
and they who are in the goods of life
from celestial affection
are in love to the Lord.

~ Be a Wise and Understanding People ~

See, I have taught you decrees and laws
as the Lord my God commanded me,
so that you may follow them
in the land you are entering
to take possession of it.
Observe them carefully,
for this will show
your wisdom and understanding to the nations,
who will hear about all these decrees and say,
"Surely this great nation
is a wise and understanding people."
What other nation is so great
as to have their gods near them
the way the Lord our God is near us
whenever we pray to Him?
And what other nation is so great
as to have such righteous decrees and laws
as this body of laws I am setting before you today?

Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely
so that you do not forget the things
your eyes have seen
or let them slip from your heart
as long as you live.
Teach them to our children
and to their children after them.

(Deuteronomy 4:5-9)

AE 438 - Asher; AE 439 - Naphtali; AE 440 - Manasseh

AE 438 [1, 2]

Of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand sealed,
(Revelation 7:6)
means charity towards the neighbor,
and that all who are in it
are in heaven and come into heaven.

Heaven and the church are constituted, in general,
of three universal essentials, namely,
love to the Lord,
charity towards the neighbor,
and the obedience of faith;
love to the Lord
is meant by the first three tribes,
Judah, Reuben, and Gad;
charity towards the neighbor
is meant by these three tribes,
Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh;
while the obedience of faith
is meant by the three tribes next named,
Simeon, Levi, and Issachar;
the conjunction of all of these with the Lord
is meant by the last three tribes,
Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.
This, in brief, is the meaning
of all these tribes named in this order,
for their meaning is determined by
the order in which they are named.

From all this it can first be seen
that this second class of tribes, that is, the three tribes,
Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh,
mean those who are in charity towards the neighbor;
"the tribe of Asher"
meaning charity towards the neighbor;
"Naphtali"
the regeneration of those who are in that charity,
and "Manasseh"
their good of life.

AE 439 [1, 6]

Of the tribe Naphtali twelve thousand sealed,
(Revelation 7:6)
means regeneration and temptation.
This is evident from what is represented
and consequently meant by "Naphtali" and his tribe,
as meaning temptation and the state after it;
and as temptations occur
 for the sake of regeneration,
regeneration too is signified by "Naphtali."

The subjugation of the hells means
the subjugation of the natural person;
for evils from hell are in the natural person,
for in it, too,
are the delights of the love of self and of the world
and the knowledges that confirm these delights;
and when these delights are regarded as ends
and become dominant
they are against the goods and truths of the church.

From these few instances
the signification of "Naphtali" and his tribe in the Word
can be seen, namely, that it means in the highest sense
the Lord's own power,
by which He subjugated the hells and glorified His Human,
in the internal sense
temptation and the states after temptation,
and in the external sense resistance by the natural person;
therefore "Naphtali" means also
reformation and regeneration,
because these are results of temptations.

AE 440

Of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand sealed,
(Revelation 7:6)
means the goods of life therefrom.
This is evident from the representation
and consequent meaning of "the tribe of Manasseh,"
as meaning the voluntary [principle] of the church,
and the good of life therefrom.
It means the good of life
because the good of life makes one
with the voluntary of the church
or of the person of the church,
since that which a person wills
he does when he can,
for doing is nothing but the will acting,
as can be seen from the fact
that doing stops when the will stops,
and doing goes on as long as there is a will;
that which the will of a regenerated person does
is called the good of life.
For this reason, as the voluntary of the church
is meant by "Manasseh" and his tribe,
so the good of life is also meant.
Moreover, the good of life is the outcome
of charity towards the neighbor after regeneration,
which is signified by "Asher and Naphtali,"
like an effect from its cause;
for those who are in charity towards the neighbor
are regenerated by the Lord,
and those who are regenerated
are in the good of life,
since they act from charity,
and all action from charity is good of life.

 

~ After Wandering in the Desert ~

Then we turned back and set out toward the desert
along the route to the Red Sea,
as the Lord had directed me.
For a long time we made our way
around the hill country of Seir.

Then the Lord said to me,
"You have made your way around this hill country
long enough; now turn north.
Give the people these orders:
"You are about to pass through
the territory of your brothers the descendants of Esau,
who live in Seir.
They will be afraid of you, but be very careful.
Do not provoke them to war,
for I will not give you any of their land,
not even enough to put your foot on.
I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his own.
You are to pay them in silver
for the food you eat and the water your drink.'"

The Lord your God has blessed you
in all the work of your hands.
He has watched over your journey
through this vast desert.
These forty years the Lord your God has been with you,
and you have not lacked anything.

So we went on past our brothers
the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir.
We turned from the Arabah road,
which comes up from Elath along the Ezion Geber,
and traveled along the desert road of Moab.

Then the Lord said to me,
"Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war,
for I will not give you any part of their land.
I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as a possession."

(Deuteronomy 2:1-9)

AE 434 - Reuben; AE 435 - Gad; AE 436 - A Summary

AE 434 [1, 2-3]

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

"Reuben," and so the tribe named from him,
means 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
means faith and understanding
he also means 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.

"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.

AE 435 [1-2, 5]

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

means the good of life therefrom.
. . . There is the good of life from a celestial origin,
from a spiritual origin, and from a natural origin.
The good of life from a celestial origin
is the good of life that comes from
the good of love to the Lord
through truths from that good;
the good of life is an effect of these.
Such good of life is what is here meant by
"the tribe of Gad;"
therefore it is called "the good of life therefrom,"
namely, from the good of love to the Lord,
which is meant by "the tribe of Judah,"
through truths from that good,
which are meant by "the tribe of Reuben."
The good of life from a spiritual origin
is the good of life that comes from
good of charity towards the neighbor
through truths from that good;
this good of life is meant by "Manasseh."

For the twelve tribes of Israel
are here divided into four classes,
and there are three tribes in each class,
and the three in series mean such things
as from beginning to end, or from first to last,
fully constitute that universal essential of the church
that is signified by the first tribe.
The three tribes first named,
that is, the tribes of Judah, Reuben, and Gad,
signify those things that fully constitute celestial good;
but the three following tribes, namely,
the tribes of Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh,
mean those that fully constitute spiritual good.
So it is with the tribes that follow.

Because the good of life is the good of the natural person,
therefore an inheritance was given to the tribe of Gad
beyond Jordan, together with the tribe of Reuben
and the half tribe of Manasseh;
for the land that was beyond Jordan
signified the external church.

AE 436

From this it can now be seen what
the three tribes first named, "Judah, Reuben, and Gad,"
mean in particular,
as also what they mean in the complex;
for the names of persons and places in the Word
mean things,
not only each by itself
meaning its own thing,
but in the complex they signify the thing in series.
The thing in series that is meant
by these three names, "Judah, Reuben, and Gad,"
is that all who are in love to the Lord,
and from that in truths,
and through truths in the good of life,
are in the inmost or third heaven;
for such have the three degrees of life opened;
the inmost degree is where love to the Lord has its seat,
the middle degree is where
truths from that good have their seat,
and the ultimate degree
is where the good of life has its seat.

~ Towns for the Levites ~

On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho,
the Lord said to Moses,
"Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in
from the inheritance the Israelites will possess.
And give them pasturelands around the towns.
Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands
for their cattle, flocks and all their livestock.

"The pasturelands around the towns
that you give the Levites
will extend out a thousand cubits from the town wall.
Outside the town,
measure two thousand cubits on the east side,
two thousand on the south,
two thousand on the west,
and two thousand on the north,
with the town in the center.
They will have this area as pastureland for the towns.

(Numbers 35:1-5)

AE 432 - Judah, Reuben, Gad; AE 433 - Isaiah 65:9

AE 432 [1]

Of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand sealed;
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand sealed;
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand sealed.
(Revelation 7:5)

"Of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand sealed,"
means love to the Lord,
and that all who are in that love are in heaven,
and come into heaven;
"of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand sealed,"
means the light of truth from that good,
and that all who are in that light
are in heaven and come into heaven;
"of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand sealed,"
means the consequent good of life.

AE 433 [21]

And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob,
and out of Judah an Inheritor of My mountains;
that My chosen may possess it,
and My servants dwell there.
(Isaiah 65:9)

Here "Jacob" and "Judah" do not mean
a people from Jacob and a nation from Judah,
but a church to be established by the Lord;
"Jacob" means the church that is in the good of life,
and "Judah" the church
that is the good of love to the Lord;
thus "Jacob" an external church,
and "Judah" an internal church.
"Seed" means charity and faith,
and "mountains" the goods of love.
Those who are in charity are called "chosen,"
and those who are in truths from the good of love
are called "servants,"
therefore it is said
"that My chosen may possess it,
and My servants dwell there."

~ On the Plains of Moab ~

On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho
the Lord said to Moses,
"Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
'When you cross the Jordan into Canaan,
drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you.
Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols,
and demolish all their high places.
Take possession of the Land and settle in it,
for I have given you the land to possess.
Distribute the land by lot, according to your clans.
To a larger group give a larger inheritance,
and to a smaller group a smaller one.
Whatever falls to them by lot will be theirs.
Distribute it according to your ancestral tribes.

"'But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land,
those you allow to remain
will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in our sides.
they will give you trouble in the land where you will live.
And then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.'"

(Numbers 33:50-56)
 

AE 430 - What Some Things Mean (Signify); AE 431 - The Sequence of the Twelve Tribes

AE 430 [2, 3, 4, 5]

There are simple numbers
that are more meaningful than others,
and from which the greater numbers derive their meaning,
namely, the numbers two, three, five, and seven;
"two" means union, and is predicated of good;
"three" means fullness, and is predicated of truths;
"five" means much and something;
and "seven" means holiness.
. . . As the number "three" means fullness,
and fullness implies all,
the number twelve derives from this its meaning
of all things and all persons;
and it is predicated of truths from good
because it arises out of three multiplied into four,
and three is predicated of truths,
and four of good.

. . . all who are in the heavens differ from each other
in respect to good, and so also in respect to truth,
since every truth that has life in man or angel
is from good and in accordance with good.
Furthermore, all who are of the Lord's church
are in truths from good,
while those who are in truths and not in good
are not of the church;
for, as was just said,
every truth that has life in man or angel is from good.

. . . "man" means the reception of truth
from spiritual affection,
that is, from good,
and intelligence therefrom;
"angel" having a similar meaning,
since a man is an angel when he is in truths from good,
and also becomes an angel after death.

And the chief and primary constituent of the church
is truth from good, for everything of the church is from that,
for truth is of its doctrine,
and good is of a life according to doctrine.

AE 431 [14]

The representation of heaven and the church
is determined according to the order
in which the tribes are named,
and the first name or the first tribe is the guide
that determines all things that follow,
and accordingly all things of heaven and of the church,
with variations.
This arcanum (secret) can hardly be comprehended
by anyone unless he is in spiritual thought,
nevertheless it shall be briefly explained.
If, for example, the tribe of Judah
is the first tribe that is named,
as this tribe means the good of love,
then from the good of love as the beginning,
the meanings of the other tribes that follow
are determined,
and this with variations according to the order
in which they are named;
for each tribe means some universal of the church,
and the universal admits into itself specific variations,
thus some specific variation
derived from the first from which it descends;
so in this case,
all things in the series derive their specific spiritual sense
from the good of love,
which is meant by the tribe of Judah.
So if the tribe of Reuben,
which means truth in the light and the understanding of truth,
is named first,
from this the other tribes that follow derive their meanings,
agreeing and coinciding
with the universal which each means.
It is comparatively as with colors,
that are seen tinged by the primary color
which diffuses itself into the other colors
and varies their appearance.

~ The Tribes of Reuben and Gad and the Half Tribe of Manasseh ~

The Reubenites and Gadites,
who had very large herds and flocks,
saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead
were suitable for livestock.
So they came to Moses and Eleazar the priest
and to the leaders of the community, and said,
. . . "the land the Lord subdued
before the people of Israel --
is suitable for livestock,
and your servants have livestock.
If we have found favor in your eyes," they said,
"Let this land be given to your servants as our possession.
Do not make us cross the Jordan."

. . . Then they came up to him (Moses) and said,
"We would like to build pens here for our livestock
and cities for our women and children.
But we are ready to arm ourselves
and go ahead of the Israelites
until we have brought them to their place.
meanwhile our women and children
will live in fortified cities,
for protection from the inhabitants of the land.
We will not return to our homes
until every Israelite has received his inheritance.
We will not receive any inheritance with them
on the other side of the Jordan,
because our inheritance has come to us
on the east side of the Jordan."

Then Moses said to them,
"If you will do this --
if you will arm yourselves before the Lord for battle,
and if all of you will go armed
over the Jordan before the Lord
until He has driven His enemies out before Him --
when the land is subdued before the Lord,
you may return and be free
from your obligation to the Lord and to Israel.
And this land will be you possession before the Lord.

. . . Then Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites
and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph
the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites
and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan --
the whole land with its cities and the territory around them.

(Numbers 32:1-2, 4-5, 16-22, 33)

~ Vows ~

Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel:
"This is what the Lord commands:
When a man makes a vow to the Lord
or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge,
he must not break his word
but must do everything he said."

(Numbers 30:1-2)

AE 427 - Sealed on Their Foreheads

AE 427 [1, 2]

Till we have sealed the servants of our God
on their foreheads,
(Revelation 7:3)

means that those who are in truths from good
are first to be separated.
. . . It is from correspondence that "forehead"
means the good of love . . ..
The whole face, where the organs of
sight, smell, hearing, and taste, are situated,
corresponds to the affections
and the thoughts therefrom in general,
the eyes corresponding to the understanding,
the nose to perception,
the ears to hearkening and obedience,
and the taste to the desire to know and be wise;
but the forehead corresponds to the good of love,
from which all these are,
for it forms the highest part of the face,
and directly encloses
the front and primary part of the brain,
which is the seat of man's intellect.
This is why the Lord looks upon angels in the forehead,
and the angels look to the Lord through the eyes;
this is so because the forehead corresponds to the love,
from which the Lord looks upon them,
and the eyes correspond to the understanding
from which they look to the Lord . . ..

"To be sealed" means not to be sealed,
but to be reduced to such a state
that their quality may be recognized,
and that they may thus be conjoined with those
who are in a like state
and separated from those who are in a dissimilar state.

~ Joshua to Succeed Moses ~

Then the Lord said to Moses,
"Go up this mountain in the Abarim range
and see the land I have given the Israelites.
After you have seen it,
you too will be gathered to your people,
as your brother Aaron was,
for when the community rebelled
at the waters in the Desert of Zin,
both of you disobeyed My command
to honor Me as holy before their eyes."
(These were the waters of Meribah Kadesh,
in the Desert of Zin.)

Moses said to the Lord,
"May the Lord, the God of the spirits of all mankind,
appoint a man over this community
to go out and come in before them,
one who will lead them out and bring them in,
so the Lord's people
will not be like sheep without a shepherd."

So the Lord said to Moses,
"Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit,
and lay your hand on him.
Have him stand before Eleazar the priest
and the entire assembly
and commission him in their presence.
Give him some of your authority
so the whole Israelite community will obey him.
He is to stand before Eleazar the priest,
who will obtain decisions for him
by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord.
At his command
he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out,
and at his command they will come in."

Moses did as the Lord commanded him.
He took Joshua and had him stand
before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly.
Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him,
as the Lord instructed through Moses.

(Numbers 27:12-23)

AE 422 - What It Takes To Be In Good; AE 423 - "The Living God"

AE 422 [6]

. . . all who are in good are also in truths,
for good and truth everywhere act as one . . ..

AE 423

. . . the Lord is called "the living God" from the Divine love,
for love is a person's very life,
and the Divine love is the source of the life of all.

~ The Second Census ~

After the plague the Lord said
to Moses and Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest,
"Take a census of the whole Israelite community
by families --
all those twenty years old or more
who are able to serve in the army of Israel."
So on the plains of Moab
by the Jordan across from Jericho,
Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them and said,
"Take a census of the men twenty years old or more,
as the Lord commanded Moses."

The total number of the men of Israel was 601,730.

These are the ones counted by
Moses and Eleazar the priest
when they counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab
by the Jordan across from Jericho.
No one of them was among those
counted by Moses and Aaron the priest
when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai.
For the Lord had told those Israelites
they would surely die in the desert,
and not one of them was left
except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

(Numbers 26:1-4, 51, 63-65)

 

AE 419 - He Rebuked the Wind

AE 419 [24-26]  (signify = mean)

"There arose a great storm of wind,
and the waves beat into the boat,
so that it was now filling.
But Jesus was in the stern, slumbering on a pillow;
and they awoke Him, and said unto Him,
Do not You care not that we perish?
And He awoke, and rebuked the wind,
and said unto the sea, Be still, be dumb.
And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."
(Mark 4:37-39).

"As they sailed Jesus fell asleep;
and there came down a storm of wind on the lake,
and they were filling [with water], and were in danger;
and coming to Him they awoke Him, saying,
Master, Master, we perish.
And having awakened,
He rebuked the wind and the raging of the sea;
and they ceased, and there was a calm."
(Luke 8:23, 24)

This miracle of the Lord, like all the rest,
involves arcana (secrets) of heaven
and interior things of the church.
The difference between Divine miracles
and those not Divine
is that Divine miracles also signify Divine things,
because the Divine is in them,
while miracles not Divine signify nothing,
because there is nothing of the Divine within them;
and moreover,
in the description of the Divine miracles in the Word,
and in every particular of them,
there is a spiritual sense.
This miracle involves spiritual temptations;
"a great storm of wind,
so that the waves beat into the boat, and it was filling,"
signifies such temptations;
and that when they were in extreme fear,
"Jesus awoke, and rebuked the wind,
and said to the sea, Be still, be dumb;
and the wind ceased, and there was a great calm,"
signifies deliverance from temptations.
Moreover, every single word here
contains a spiritual sense;
but this is not the place to unfold it particularly,
but only to note that the "storm" and "tempest of wind"
signify temptations, for these are irruptions* of falsities,
or inundations of the mind by falsities.
This, too, is plain
from the rebuke of the wind and the waves,
and from the words of the Lord to the sea,
"Be still, be dumb,"
as if He were speaking to those things or those persons
that induce temptations.

Furthermore, the winds that spring up in the spiritual world
appear to arise there from different quarters,
some from the south, some from the north,
and some from the east;
those from the south
disperse truths with such as are in falsities,
and those from the east
disperse goods with such as are in evils.
The winds disperse these because the winds spring from
a powerful and strong influx of the Divine
through the heavens into the parts below,
and where the influx enters
it fills truths and goods,
that is, it fills the minds and spirits of those
who are in truths and goods with the Divine;
therefore those, the interiors of whose mind and spirit
consist merely of falsities and evils,
while exteriorly truths are mixed with falsities
and goods are mixed with evils,
cannot endure such influx from the Divine,
consequently they withdraw
into their falsities and evils which they love,
and reject the truths and goods,
which they do not love
except for the sake of self and appearance.

This makes clear what effect there is produced
by the wind coming from the east,
which is called "the east wind,"
namely, that with the evil it disperses
all the goods and truths
which they presented in external form before the world,
and all the truths which they talked about
for the sake of appearances.
This is why withering and drying up
are ascribed to that wind,
"withered" signifying where there is no good,
and "dried up" where there is no truth,
as can be seen from passages in the Word
where that wind is mentioned.

*  irruptions -- sudden violent spontaneous occurrences
(usually of some undesirable condition)

~ Balak Is Angry With Balaam ~

Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam.
He struck his hands together and said to him,
"I summoned you to curse my enemies,
but you have blessed them these three times.
Now leave at once and go home!
I said I would reward you handsomely,
but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded."

Balaam answered Balak,
"Did I not tell the messengers you sent me,
'Even if Balak gave me his palace
filled with silver and gold,
I could not do anything of my own accord,
good or bad,
to go beyond the command of the Lord --
and I must say only what the Lord says'?"

(Numbers 24:10-13)

AE 418, 419 - When the Divine Proceeding Flows In

AE 418 [2]

"The four winds" means all the Divine proceeding . . ..

AE 419

. . . when the Divine from the Lord flows in moderately
there is everywhere tranquillity and serenity,
wherein all appear such as they are
in respect to the state of their good,
for all then stand forth in light;
consequently those who are in good from a spiritual origin
are then separated from those who are in good
merely from a natural origin;
for the Lord looks upon those who are in spiritual good
and leads them, and thus separates them.
Those who are in good from a spiritual origin
are those referred to in what follows
where they are said "to be sealed on their foreheads,"
for they are spiritual, and are angels of heaven;
but those who are merely in good from a natural origin
are not good because they are not spiritual,
for the good appearing with them is evil,
because it has regard to self and the world as an end.
Such do good in external form
with reference to their own glory, honor, and gain,
and not with reference to the neighbor's good,
consequently they do good only
that they may be seen of men.
Those who are merely natural
are those who are "not sealed,"
and who are afterwards rejected.
But when the Divine from the Lord flows in intensely,
the goods with the evils are dispersed,
because these goods are in themselves not goods
but evils, and evils do not endure the influx of the Divine.

~ Balak of Moab Sends for Balaam ~

Then the Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab
and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho.

Now Balak son of Zippor
saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites,
and Moab was terrified
because there were so many people.
Indeed, Moab was filled with dread
because of the Israelites.

The Moabites said to the elders of Midian,
"This horde is going to lick up everything around us,
as an ox licks up the grass of the field."

So Balak son of Zippor,
who was king of Moab at that time,
sent messengers to summon Balaam son of Beor,
who was at Pethor, near the River,
in his native land.

. . . When Balak heard that Balaam was coming,
he went out to meet him
at the Moabite town on the Arnon border,
at the edge of his territory.
Balak said to Balaam,
"Did I not send you an urgent summons?
Why didn't you come to me?
Am I really not able to reward you?"

"Well, I have come to you now," Balaam replied.
"But can I say just anything?
I must speak only what God puts in my mouth."

(Numbers 22:1-5, 36-38)

AE 415, 417 - The Corner

AE 415

"four angels standing upon the four corners of the earth,"
(Revelation 7:1)

means the Divine proceeding from the Lord
in the whole spiritual world . . ..

AE 417 [12]

"The stone which the builders rejected
is become the head of the corner."
(Psalm 118:22;
see also Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10, 11; Luke 20:17, 18).

"The stone of the corner" means all Divine truth
upon which heaven and the church are founded,
thus every foundation;
and as the foundation is the ultimate
upon which a house or temple rests,
therefore it signifies all things.
Because "the stone of the corner"
means all things upon which the church is founded it is said
"I will lay in Zion for a foundation a stone,
a proved stone, a precious cornerstone,
of a foundation that is founded;"
(Isaiah 28:16)
and it is called also "a stone for a corner"
and "a stone of foundations;"
and because "the stone of the corner"
signifies all Divine truth upon which the church is founded,
it also signifies the Lord in respect to His Divine Human;
because all Divine truth proceeds from that;
"the builders" (or architects) who rejected that stone,
as is read in the Gospels,
are those who are of the church,
here of the Jewish Church,
which rejected the Lord,
and with Him all Divine truth;
for with them there was nothing but vain traditions
drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word
in which the truths themselves of the Word
were falsified and its goods adulterated.

~ The Bronze Snake ~

They traveled from Mount Hor
along the route to the Red Sea,
to go to Edom.
But the people grew impatient on the way;
they spoke against God and against Moses, and said,
"Why have you brought us up out of Egypt
to die in the desert?
There is no bread!
There is no water! 
And we detest this miserable food!"

Then the Lord sent venomous snakes among them;
they bit the people and many Israelites died.
the people came to Moses and said,
"We have sinned
when we spoke against the Lord and against you.
Pray that the Lord will take the snake away from us."
So Moses prayed for the people.

The Lord said to Moses,
"Make a snake and put it up on a pole;
anyone who is bitten can look at it and live."
So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole.
then when anyone was bitten by a snake
and looked at the bronze snake,
he lived.

(Numbers21:4-9)
___________

AC 3863 [5]

'The bronze serpent' represented
the Lord's external sensory perception, which is natural --
'bronze' meaning that which is natural.
Faith in Him was represented
by the restoration to life again of those who saw it,
that is, looked at it, as the Lord Himself teaches in John,

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that everyone who believes in Him
may not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:14, 15)

AE 413 - His Apparent Anger and the Last Judgments; AE 414 - To Stand

For the great day of his anger is come;
and who is able to stand?
(Revelation 6:17)

AE 413 [2, 6]

The reason why the Last Judgment is called
the great day of the anger of God, is,
because it appears to the evil,
who are cast down into hell,
as if God from anger and wrath did this,
because then destruction [overtakes] them,
which comes from above, and also from the east,
where the Lord is as a Sun,
and because then they are in
terrors, grief, and also torments.
Nevertheless there is no anger at all in the Lord,
for He is love and mercy itself, and good itself,
and pure love and essential good cannot be angry,
for this is contrary to its essence.
But this appearance is from this fact:
when the last state [of the church arrives],
which is when evils on the earth
and at the same time in the spiritual world
are so much increased
that dominion inclines on their side,
and the equilibrium between heaven and hell
is thereby destroyed,
this having perished,
the heavens where the angels are begin to labor,
then the Lord from the Sun displays His strength,
that is His love for protecting the angels,
and for restoring
the state which labors and begins to grow weak;
from which strength and power,
the Divine truth united to the Divine good,
which in its essence is the Divine love,
penetrates through the heavens to the places below,
where the evil have come together;
and because they cannot bear
such an influx and presence of the Divine love,
they begin to tremble,
to be in anguish and torment;
for thereby the goods and truths are dissipated
which they had learnt to counterfeit
in their speech and actions only in externals,
and their internals are opened,
which are nothing but evils and falsities;
and because they are diametrically opposite
to the goods and truths which flow in from the interior,
and yet they have made evils and falsities their life,
hence they experience trembling, anguish, and torment,
to such a degree, that they can no longer endure them,
from which they flee away,
and cast themselves into the hells
which are under the mountains and rocks,
where they can be in their evils and in the falsity of evils.
This is specifically meant by the words explained above:

"They said to the mountains and rocks,
Fall on us,
and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne,
and from the anger of the Lamb."
(Revelation 6:16-17)
__________

"For the day of vengeance is in My heart,
and the year of My redeemed is come.
And I have trodden the people in My anger,
and made them drunk in My wrath."
(Isaiah 63:4-6)

The combats of the Lord,
by which He subjugated the hells,
are here treated of, thus the Last Judgment,
which was accomplished by Him when He was in the world;
for by the combats,
which were temptations admitted into Himself,
He subjugated them and thus effected the Last Judgment.
This is the judgment which is meant
by the day of Jehovah's anger and wrath
in the Word of the Old Testament;
but the Last Judgment
which is at this day performed by the Lord,
is meant by the day of His anger
as mentioned in the Apocalypse.

AE 414

. . . the expression, to stand,
like [the expressions] to walk and to sit,
in the Word, mean to be and to live;
and to stand, the same as to consist and subsist.

~ The Levites ~

The Lord said to Aaron . . .
"From now on
the Israelites must not go near the Tent of Meeting,
or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die.
It is the Levites who are to do
the work at the Tent of Meeting
and bear the responsibility for offenses against it.
This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.
They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites.
Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance
the tithes that the Israelites present
as an offering to the Lord.
That is why I said concerning them:
'They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.'"

(Numbers 18:20, 22-24)

 

AE 412 - His Faces

AE 412 [2, 3-4, 11, 15-16]

That the face, when said of Jehovah or the Lord,
means the Divine love, and so the Divine good,
is plain from the following passages.

"Make thy faces to shine upon thy servant;
save me for thy mercy's sake."
(Psalm 31:16)

To make the faces shine,
means to enlighten Divine truth from Divine love . . .
by making Thy faces shine upon Thy servant,
is meant to enlighten the Divine truth from the Divine good;
therefore also it is added, "save me for thy mercy's sake";
mercy being of the Divine good.

"God be merciful unto us, and bless us;
and cause His faces to shine upon us."
(Psalm 67:1)

By the light of the faces of Jehovah or of the Lord,
is meant the Divine truth from the Divine love,
as said above,
and from that intelligence and wisdom,
for from the Divine truth,
or the Divine light in the heavens,
are all the intelligence and wisdom,
both of angels and men;
consequently by making Thy faces to shine upon us,
by lifting up upon us the light of Thy faces,
and by causing Thy faces to shine, i
s signified to enlighten in Divine, truth,
and to gift with intelligence and wisdom.

The same is meant
in the blessing of the sons of Israel, in Moses:

"Jehovah bless thee, and keep thee;
Jehovah make his faces shine upon thee,
and be merciful unto thee;
Jehovah lift up His faces upon thee,
and give thee peace."
(Numbers 6:24-26)

By, making His faces shine, and being merciful,
is meant to enlighten in Divine truth,
and to impart intelligence and wisdom;
and by lifting up His faces, and giving peace
is meant to fill with Divine good, and to gift with love.
Both are necessary to make people wise;
for all those who are in the spiritual world
are enlightened by the light
which [proceeds] from the Lord as a Sun,
but still they alone become intelligent and wise,
who are at the same time in love,
because the good of love receives truth,
for they are conjoined
since they mutually agree with and love each other.
Therefore only those see the Sun in heaven
who are in love;
others [see] only the light.
To be merciful,
which is said of the enlightenment of the faces,
is also said of truth in the Word,
and peace, which is said of the lifting up of the faces,
is said of good.

. . . The interior things
of the church, of the Word, and of worship,
are meant by
seeing, seeking, and beseeching the faces of Jehovah . . ..

"Jehovah spoke unto Moses face to face,
as a man speaks to his companion."
(Exodus 33:11; 34:10).

It should, however, be known,
that no person, nor even any angel,
can see the Lord's face, because it is Divine love,
and no one can bear the Divine love,
such as it is in itself;
for to see the Lord's face would be like
letting the eye into the very fire of the sun,
in which case it would instantly perish;
such also is the Divine love viewed in itself;
therefore the Lord appears to those
in the interior heavens as a Sun,
and that Sun is encompassed with many radiant circles,
which form coverings one above another,
in order that the Divine love may proceed
tempered and moderated to the angels in heaven,
and that the angels may thereby bear it;
the Lord therefore appears as a Sun
only to the angels of the higher heavens,
but to the angels of the lower heavens
He appears only as light,
and to the rest as a moon.
Still, however,
the Lord does appear to the angels in heaven,
but then it is under an angelic form;
for He fills an angel with His own aspect,
and thus with His presence afar off,
and this in various places,
but everywhere accommodated
to the good of love and faith
with those to whom He appears;
thus the Lord was seen by Gideon,
also by Manoah and his wife,
likewise by Moses, and by the Israelitish people.
This therefore is what is meant
by their seeing Jehovah face to face,
and by their seeing Jehovah and not dying.
That the face itself, as to the interiors of His Divine love,
was not seen, is plainly evident
from what was said to Moses, namely,

"That no one can see Jehovah's face and live."
(Exodus 33:20)

and yet it is said that they saw Jehovah face to face;
from which it is plainly evident,
that to see Jehovah's faces,
in the passages adduced above,
means to see Him in the interior things
of the Word, of the church, and of worship,
which yet is to see Him in externals from internals.

~ Keeping the Sabbath Holy ~

While the Israelites were in the desert,
a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.
Those who found him gathering wood
brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly,
and they kept him in custody,
because it was not clear what should be done to him.
Then the Lord said to Moses,
"The man must die.
The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp."
So the assembly took him outside the camp
and stoned him to death,
as the Lord commanded Moses.

(Numbers 15:32-36)
__________

AC 8495

A Sabbath holy to Jehovah is the morrow.
(Exodus 16:23)

That this means the conjunction of good and truth to eternity,
is evident from the meaning of "the Sabbath,"
as being the conjunction of good and truth);
and from the meaning of "the morrow," as being to eternity.
He who does not know what the Sabbath represented,
and thus what it means,
cannot know why it was accounted
the most holy of all things.
But the reason why it was accounted most holy
was that in the supreme sense it represented
the union of the Divine and the Divine Human in the Lord;
and in the relative sense
the conjunction of the Divine Human of the Lord
with the human race.
Consequently the Sabbath was most holy.
And because it represented these things,
it also represented heaven
in respect to the conjunction of good and truth,
which conjunction is called "the heavenly marriage."
And as the conjunction of good and truth
is effected by the Lord alone,
and nothing of it by man,
and as it is effected in a state of peace,
therefore it was most severely forbidden
that person should then do any work,
insomuch that the soul which did this was to be cut off,
as we read in Moses:

You will keep the Sabbath, because it is holy to you;
he that profanes it, dying shall die;
for whosoever does work during it,
that soul shall be cut off from the midst of his people.
(Exodus 31:14)

Therefore one was stoned
who merely picked up sticks on that day.
(Numbers 15:32-36)

AE 411 - Our Rock

AE 411 [10, 11]

"Let the words of my mouth,
and the meditation of my heart,
be well-pleasing in Thy sight, O Jehovah,
my Rock, and my Redeemer."
(Psalm 19:14)

By Jehovah, the Rock,
is meant the same as by Jehovah God,
namely, the Lord as to Divine good and Divine truth;
and [He is called] Redeemer from regeneration,
which is effected by means of the Divine truth.
The words of the mouth mean the understanding of truth,
and the meditation of the heart the perception of good.

"Everyone who hears my words,
and does them,
I will liken him unto a prudent man,
who built his house upon a rock;
and the rain descended,
and the floods came,
and the winds blew,
 and beat upon that house;
yet it fell not;
for it was founded upon a rock."
(Matthew 7:24-25; Luke 6:48)

By the house founded upon a rock are meant the church,
and the people of the church,
who have founded their doctrine and life
upon the Divine truth which is from the Lord,
thus upon those things that are in the Word,
[and] who, consequently,
are in truths from good from the Lord.
It is said, who are in truths from good,
because the Divine truth is received
only by him who is in good.
To be in good is to be in the good of life,
which is charity,
therefore it is said,
"He who hears my words and does them";
to do the Lord's words is the good of life.
For truth, when a person does it, becomes good,
because it enters the will and love,
 and that which becomes of the will and love,
is called good.
The temptations, in which such a person of the church
does not fall but conquers,
are signified by,
"the rain descended, the floods came,
the winds blew and beat upon the house;
and yet it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock";
for in the Word, by floods of waters, and showers,
and also by whirlwinds, are signified temptations;
it is indeed a comparison, but it should be known,
that all comparisons in the Word
are equally from correspondences,
as are the things not said comparatively.
From these things it is now quite clear,
that by a rock in the Word is meant the Lord
as to Divine truth, or Divine truth from the Lord.

~ Miriam and Aaron Talk Against the Lord's Most Humble Servant ~

Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses
because of his Cushite wife,
for he had married a Cushite.
"Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?" they asked.
"Hasn't He also spoken through us?"
And the Lord heard this.

(Now Moses was a very humble man,
more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.)

At once the Lord said to Moses, Aaron and Miriam,
"Come out of the Tent of Meeting, all three of you."
So the three of them came out.
Then the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud;
He stood at the entrance to the Tent
and summoned Aaron and Miriam.
When both of them stepped forward, He said,
"Listen to My words:

"When a prophet of the Lord is among you,
I reveal Myself to him in visions,
I speak to him in dreams.
But this is not true of My servant Moses;
he is faithful in all My house.
With him I speak face to face,
clearly and not in riddles;
he sees the form of the Lord.
Why then were you not afraid
to speak against My servant Moses?"

The anger of the Lord burned against them,
and he left them.

When the cloud lifted from above the Tent,
there stood Miriam -- leprous, like snow.
Aaron turned toward her and saw that she had leprosy;
and he said to Moses, "Please, my lord,
do not hold against us the sin
we have so foolishly committed.
Do not let her be like a still born infant
coming from its mother's womb
with its flesh half eaten away."

So Moses cried out to the Lord,
"O God, please heal her!"

The Lord replied to Moses,
"If her father had spit in her face,
would she not have been in disgrace for seven days?
Confine her outside the camp for seven days;
after that she can be brought back."
So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days,
and the people did not move on til she was brought back.

After that, the people left Hazeroth
and encamped in the Desert of Paran.

(Numbers 12)

AE 409 - A Freeman & Bondservant; The Lord Bends

AE 409 [1, 2]

The reason why the spiritual person is meant by a freeman,
and the natural person by a bondservant,
is, that the spiritual person is led by the Lord out of heaven,
and to be led by the Lord is freedom,
and the natural person obeys and serves it,
for it executes what the spiritual person wills and thinks.
Bondservant is mentioned
in many passages in the Word,
and he who does not know that by bondservant
is meant what is subservient to, and effective of,
those things that the spiritual person wills and thinks,
may suppose that by a bondservant
there is meant one who is in servitude,
thus according to the common acceptation of bondservant;
but that it is subserving and effecting which is meant . . ..
When servant is mentioned in the Word in this sense,
then the natural person,
which is meant,
is no otherwise a servant
than the body is the servant to its soul.
And because subserving and effecting
are meant by a servant,
therefore also servant is not only said of the natural person
respectively to the spiritual,
but also of people who perform service for others,
and of angels who execute God's commands,
indeed of the Lord Himself,
as to His Divine Human when He was in the world;
it is also used of truths from good,
because good acts and effects by means of truths,
and because truths perform the service to good
which [good] wills, and which it loves, and so forth.
__________

. . . the Lord . . . leads people gently,
bending and not breaking them,
thus withdrawing them from evils,
and leading them to good;
therefore neither does He chastise and punish . . ..

~ Two Silver Trumpets ~

The Lord said to Moses:
"Make two trumpets of hammered silver,
and use them for calling the community together
and for having the camps set out.
When both are sounded,
the whole community is to assemble before you
at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
If only one is sounded,
the leaders -- the heads of the clans of Israel --
are to assemble before you.
When a trumpet blast is sounded,
the tribes camping on the east are to set out.
At the sounding of a second blast,
the camps on the south are to set out.
the blast will be the signal for setting out.
To gather the assembly,
blow the trumpets,
but not with the same signal.

"The sons of Aaron, the priests,
are to blow the trumpets.
This is to be a lasting ordinance for you
and the generations to come.
When you go into battle in your own land
against an enemy who is oppressing you,
sound a blast on the trumpets.
Then you will be remembered by the Lord your God
and rescued from your enemies.
Also at your times of rejoicing --
your appointed feasts and New Moon festivals --
you are to sound the trumpets
over your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings,
and they will be a memorial for you before your God.
I am the Lord your God."

(Numbers 10:1-10)

AE 406 - To Live Spiritually

AE 406 [14]

. . . to live spiritually
is to live only according to truths and goods from the Word,
and from revelation out of heaven.

~ The Passover ~

The Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai
in the first month of the second year
after they came out of Egypt.
He said, "Have the Israelites
celebrate the Passover at the appointed time.
Celebrate it at the appointed time,
at twilight on the fourteenth day of this month,
in accordance with all its rules and regulations.


So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover,
and they did so in the Desert of Sinai
at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month.
The Israelites did everything
just as the Lord commanded Moses.

(Numbers 9:1-5)

AE 405 - The Devil

AE 405  [55] It is said in the Evangelists that:

"The devil took Jesus up into a high mountain,
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world,
and their glory,
and he tempted Him there."
(Matthew 4:8; Luke 4: 5)

By this is meant,
that the devil tempted the Lord by the love of self,
for this is meant by a high mountain;
for the three temptations described in those passages
mean and involve all the temptations
that the Lord sustained when He was in the world;
for the Lord by temptations
admitted into Himself from the hells,
and by victories at the time,
reduced all things in the hells to order,
and also glorified His Human, that is, made it Divine.
The reason that all the Lord's temptations
were described in so few words, is,
because He has not otherwise revealed them;
but yet they are amply described
in the internal sense of the Word
(but concerning the Lord's temptations
see what has been adduced in the
Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 201, 293, 302).
__________

(Usually, the references are deleted for these posts.
However, all these references to the Arcana Coelestia
are being retained here.)

NJHD 201 -  Of the Lord's temptations:

The Lord beyond all others*
endured the most grievous and dreadful temptations,
which are but little described
in the sense of the letter of the Word,
but much in the internal sense
(n. 1663, 1668, 1787, 2776, 2786, 2795, 2814, 9528).
The Lord fought from the Divine love towards
the whole human race
(n. 1690, 1691, 1812, 1813, 1820).
The love of the Lord was the salvation of the human race
(n. 1820).
The Lord fought from His own power
(n. 1692, 1813, 9937).
The Lord alone was made justice and merit,
 by the temptations,
and victories which He gained therein from His own power
(n. 1813, 2025-2027, 9715, 9809, 10019).
By temptations the Lord united the Divine itself,
which was in Him from conception,
to His Human, and made this Divine,
as He makes man spiritual by temptations
(n. 1725, 1729, 1733, 1737, 3318, 3381, 3382, 4286).
The temptations of the Lord
were attended with despair at the end
(n. 1787). The Lord,
by the temptations admitted into Himself,
subjugated the hells,
and reduced to order all things in them,
and in heaven,
and at the same time glorified His Human
(n. 1737, 4287, 9315, 9528, 9937).
The Lord alone fought against all the hells
(n. 8273).
He admitted temptations into Himself from thence
(n. 2816, 4295).
The Lord could not be tempted as to the Divine,
because the hells cannot assault the Divine,
wherefore He assumed a human from the mother,
such as could be tempted
(n. 1414, 1444, 1573, 5041, 5157, 7193, 9315).
By temptations and victories
He expelled all the hereditary from the mother,
and put off the human from her,
until at length He was no longer her son
(n. 2159, 2574, 2649, 3036, 10830).
Jehovah, who was in Him from conception,
appeared in His temptations as if absent
(n. 1815).
This was His state of humiliation
(n. 1785, 1999, 2159, 6866).
His last temptation and victory,
by which He fully subjugated the hells,
and made His Human Divine,
was in Gethsemane and on the cross
(n. 2776, 2803, 2813, 2814, 10655, 10659, 10828).
"To eat no bread and drink no water for forty days,"
means an entire state of temptations
(n. 10686).
"Forty years," "months," or "days,"
signify a plenary (absolute) state of temptations
from beginning to end;
and such a state is meant by the duration of the flood,
"forty days";
by Moses abiding "forty days" upon Mount Sinai;
by the sojourning of the sons of Israel
"forty years" in the desert;
and by the Lord's temptation in the desert "forty days"
(n. 730, 862, 2272, 2273, 8098).

* The translator omits the phrase "beyond all others."
But the Latin, "prae omnibus" requires it.

NJHD 293

The Lord came into the world
that He might save the human race,
which otherwise would have perished in eternal death;
and He saved them by this,
that He subjugated the hells,
which infested every person
coming into the world and going out of the world;
and at the same time by this,
that He glorified His Human:
for thus He can keep the hells in subjugation to eternity.
The subjugation of the hells,
and the glorification of His Human at the same time,
were effected by means of temptations
admitted into the human which He had from the mother,
and by continual victories therein.
His passion on the cross
was the last temptation and full victory.

NJHD 302

The glorification of the Lord's Human,
and the subjugation of the hells,
were effected by temptations.

The Lord more than all
endured the most grievous temptations.
The Lord fought from His Divine love
toward the human race
(n. 1690, 1691, 1812, 1813, 1820).
The Lord's love was the salvation of the human race
(n. 1820).
The hells fought against the Lord's love
(n. 1820).
The Lord alone, from His own proper power,
fought against the hells, and overcame them
(n. 1692, 1813, 2816, 4295, 8273, 9937).
Thence the Lord alone became justice and merit
(n. 1813, 2025-2027, 9715, 9809, 10019).
The last temptation of the Lord
was in Gethsemane and on the cross,
at which time He gained a full victory,
by which He subjugated the hells,
and at the same time glorified His Human
(n. 2776, 2803, 2813, 2814, 10655, 10659, 10828).
The Lord could not be tempted as to the Divine itself
(n. 2795, 2803, 2813, 2814).
Therefore He assumed an infirm human from the mother,
into which He admitted temptations
(n. 1414, 1444, 1573, 5041, 5157, 7193, 9315).
By means of temptations and victories
He expelled all that was hereditary from the mother,
and put off the human which He had from her,
till at length He was no longer her son
(n. 2159, 2574, 2649, 3036, 10830).
Jehovah, who was in Him,
appeared in temptations as if absent,
and this so far as He was in the human from the mother
(n. 1815).
This state was the Lord's state of humiliation
(n. 1785, 1999, 2159, 6866).
The Lord by temptations and victories
arranged all things in the heavens into order
(n. 4287, 4295, 9528, 9937).
By the same means
He also united His Human with His Divine,
that is, He glorified His Human
(n. 1725, 1729, 1733, 1737, 3318, 3381,
3382, 4286, 4287, 4295, 9528, 9937).
__________

AE - Apocalypse Explained
NJHD  -  The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine

signify = means;  signified = meant

~ Moses Dedicates the Tabernacle ~

When Moses finished setting up the tabernacle,
he anointed it and consecrated it and all its furnishings.
He also anointed and consecrated
the altar and all its utensils.
Then the leaders of Israel,
the heads of families who were the tribal leaders
in charge of those who were counted, made offerings.

. . . When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting
to speak with the Lord,
he heard the voice speaking to him
from between the two cherubim
above the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony.
And he spoke with Him.

(Numbers 7:1-2,89)
 

AE 405 - The Mount of Olives and Other Mountains

AE 405 [24, 25, 28]

Because the mount of Olives,
which was before Jerusalem eastward,
meant the Divine love,
and Jerusalem eastward
the Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good,
. . . therefore the Lord usually abode upon that mount;
as is evident in Luke:

Jesus "was in the day-time teaching in the temple;
and at night He went out,
and abode in the mount that is called
[the mount] of Olives."
(Luke 21:37; 22:39; John 8:1)

He did all tings from the Divine love,
for the Mount of Olives signified it;
for whatever the Lord did in the world represented,
and whatever He spoke signified.
. . . representatives and significatives
being in the ultimates.
___________

Because a mountain signified the good of love,
and when said of the Lord,
the Divine good of the Divine love,
and from that good proceeds the Divine truth;
therefore Jehovah, that is, the Lord,
descended upon mount Sinai,
and promulgated the law.
(promulgate - made widely known)
For it is said that

He came down upon that mount,
on the top of the mount.
(Exod. 19:20; 24:17);

and that there He promulgated the law.
(Exodus 20)

Here also by Sinai in the Word is meant
Divine truth from the Divine good,
[and] also by the law there promulgated.
And therefore also:

The Lord took Peter, James, and John
into a high mountain,
when He was transfigured.
(Matthew 17:1; Mark 9:2);

and when He was transfigured,
He appeared in the Divine truth from the Divine good;
for His face, which [shone] as the sun,
represented the Divine good,
and His raiment, which was as the light, the Divine truth;
and Moses and Elias, who appeared, meant the Word,
which is Divine truth from the Divine good.
__________

. . . mount Zion and Jerusalem were built
as much as possible
according to the form of heaven . . ..
__________
Broadly:

Things correspond -- sheep and innocence

Actions represent -- kneeling and humbleness

Words signify (mean) -- the word "sheep" means "innocence."
_________

~ The Nazirite ~

The Lord said to Moses,
"Speak to the Israelites and say to them:
'If a man or a woman wants to make a special vow,
a vow of separation to the Lord as a Nazirite,
he must abstain from wine and other fermented drink
and must not drink vinegar made from wine
or from other fermented drink.
He must not drink grape juice or eat grapes or raisins.
As long as he is a Nazirite,
he must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine,
not even the seeds or skins.

"'During the entire period of his vow of separation
no razor may be used on his head.
He must be holy
until the period of his separation to the Lord is over,
he must let the hair of his head grow long.
Throughout the period of his separation to the Lord
he must not go near a dead body.
Even if his own father or mother or brother or sister dies,
he must not make himself
ceremonially unclean on account of them,
because the symbol of his separation to God
is on his head.
Throughout the period of his separation
he is consecrated to the Lord.'"

(Numbers 6:1-8)

AE 403 - The Fig-Tree

AE 403 [1, 9, 15]

As a fig-tree casts her untimely figs,
when she is shaken by a mighty wind.
(Revelation 6:13)

. . . every person is born natural from his parents,
but becomes spiritual from the Lord;
this is called to be born again, or regenerated.
And because he is born natural,
therefore the knowledges he absorbs from infancy,
before he becomes spiritual,
are implanted in his natural memory.
But as he advances in years,
and begins to view rationally
the knowledges of good and truth
he has absorbed from the Word or from preaching,
if he then leads an evil life,
he seizes upon and examines the falsities
that are the opposite of and contrary to these knowledges;
then as he is gifted with a talent for reasoning,
he reasons from falsities
against the knowledges of his infancy and childhood,
and as a result these are cast out,
and falsities succeed in their place.
This, therefore, is what is signified by,
"The stars shall fall to the earth,
as a fig-tree casts her untimely figs,
when she is shaken by the wind."
__________

"Is there not yet seed in the barn,
and even to the vine and fig-tree,
and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree?"
(Haggai 2:9)

By these words, in the spiritual sense,
is meant that goods and truths are yet remaining;
all goods and truths
from primaries to ultimates are meant by
the vine, the fig-tree, the pomegranate, and the olive-tree;
by the vine, spiritual good and truth;
by the fig-tree, natural good and truth;
by the pomegranate,
the knowing and perceptive faculty in general,
and specifically
the knowledges and perceptions of good and truth;
and by the olive-tree,
the perception of celestial good and truth;
the barn means where those things are,
either the church, or the person in whom the church is,
or the mind of a person, which is the subject.
__________

"And when all these things begin to come to pass,
look up, and lift up your heads.
And He spoke a parable;
Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees;
when they now have shot forth,
you see and shall know of your own selves
that summer is now near.
So also you,
when you shall see these things,
know that the kingdom of God is near."
(Luke 21:28-31; Matthew 24:32; Mark 8:28, 29)

The subject here treated of is the consummation of the age,
which is the Last Judgment,
and the signs that precede are enumerated;
these are meant by,
"when all these things begin to come to pass."
That a new church will then commence,
which will be external in the beginning, is meant by,
"Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees,
when they have shot forth."
This parable or similitude was related,
because the fig-tree means the external church,
and the trees mean the knowledges of truth and good.
The kingdom of God, which then is near,
means the Lord's New Church;
for at the time of the Last Judgment,
the old church perishes, and a new commences.

~ What the Kohathites Are to Cover With a Blue Cloth ~

"This is the work of the Kohathites in the Tent of Meeting:
the care of the most holy things.
When the camp is to move,
Aaron and his sons are to go in
and take down the shielding curtain
and cover the Ark of the Testimony with it.
Then they are to cover this with the hides of sea cows,
spread a cloth of solid blue over that
and put the poles in place.

"Over the table of the Presence
they are to spread a blue cloth
and put on it the plates, dishes and bowls,
and the jars for drink offerings;
the bread that is continually there is to remain on it.
Over these they are to spread a scarlet cloth,
cover that with the hides of sea cows
and put its poles in place.

"They are to take a blue cloth
and cover the lampstand that is for light,
together with its lamps, its wick trimmers and trays,
and all the jars for the oil used to supply it.
Then they are to wrap it and all its accessories
in a covering of sea cows
and put it on a carrying frame.

"Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth
and cover that with hides of sea cows
and put them on a carrying frame.

(Numbers 4:4-12)
__________

AE 576 [3]

When the camp set forward in the wilderness,
Aaron and his sons spread a cloth of blue over the ark,
over the table of faces,
over the lampstand and the lamps,
over the golden altar,
and over all the vessels of ministry.
(Numbers 4:6, 7, 9, 11, 12)
This is because Divine truth proceeding from Divine love,
which is signified by "the cloth of blue,"
embraces and protects
all the holy things of heaven and the church,
which the things covered represent.

AE 401 [35] - Seeds on Stony Ground

AE 401 [35]

"Other seeds fell upon stony places,
where they had not much earth;
and when the sun was risen they were scorched;
and because they had no root, they withered away".
(Matthew 8:5, 6; Mark 4:5, 6)


By the seeds are meant truths from the Word,
or those which a person receives from the Lord,
for it is afterwards said,
that it is the Son of Man that sows.
By stony places is meant an historical faith,
which is the faith of another in a person,
for he believes it to be true,
not because he sees it in himself,
but because another, in whom he trusts, has said it.
By ground is meant spiritual good,
because this receives truths, as ground does seeds.
By the sun being risen is meant the love of self;
and by the seed being scorched and withering away,
are meant to adulterate and to perish.
For this reason it is clear
what is meant by these words of the Lord in a series,
namely, that the truths implanted from infancy
from the Word or from preaching,
when a person begins to think from himself,
are adulterated and perish by lusts from the love of self.
All things, indeed, in the Word, are truths,
but they are adulterated by
the ideas of the thought concerning them,
and their application,
from which truths, with such, are not truths
except as to the utterance of them only.
The reason why this is so,
is that all the life of truth is from spiritual good,
and spiritual good resides in the higher or interior mind,
which is called the spiritual mind.
This mind cannot be opened with those
who are in the love of self,
for they look to themselves in everything.
If they raise their eyes to heaven,
still the thought of their spirit dwells on self,
and, consequently, from the fire of its own glory,
it excites things sensual, external, and corporeal,
which have been taught from childhood
to imitate such affections
as pertain to the spiritual person.

~ Moses, Aaron, & Aaron's Family ~

This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses
at the time the Lord talked with Moses on Mount Sinai.

The names of the sons of Aaron were
Nadab the firstborn and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
Those were the names of Aaron's sons,
the anointed priests,
who were ordained to serve as priests.
Nadab and Abihu, however,
fell dead before the Lord
when they made an offering with unauthorized fire
before Him in the Desert of Sinai.
They had no sons;
so only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests
during the lifetime of their father Aaron.

(Numbers 3:1-4)

AE 401 - Sun , Moon, & Stars and Precious Stones

AE 401 [23, 25]

"Praise Jehovah, all His angels;
praise Him, all his hosts;
praise Him, sun and moon;
praise Him, all you stars of light;
praise Him, you heaven of heavens."
(Psalm 148:1-4).

By praising Jehovah is meant to worship Him.
By the angels are meant those
who are in Divine truths from the good of love,
for such are angels.
By all the hosts are meant goods and truths
in their whole compass.
By the sun and moon are meant the good of love
and the truth from that good.
By the stars of light are meant
the knowledges of truth from good.
By the heavens of heavens are meant goods and truths
both internal and external.
Because a person worships the Lord
from those things that he has from the Lord,
thus from the goods and truths which he has,
and because person also is a person from them,
it is therefore said to them,
namely, to the sun, moon, and stars,
by which are meant goods and truths,
that they shall praise, that is, worship Jehovah.
Who does not know that the sun, moon, and stars
do not praise, that is, worship?
__________

"I will make your suns a ruby,
and your gates into stones of carbuncle,
and all your border into stones of desire."
(Isaiah 54:12).

These things are said of the Gentiles outside the church,
from whom a new church was to be established by the Lord.
By, "I will make thy suns a ruby," is meant,
that goods [shall be] brilliant from the fire of love,
suns there denoting the goods of love,
and the ruby denoting a brilliance as from fire.
By, "I will make thy gates into stones of carbuncle,"
(a carbuncle is often a red garnet)
is meant, that truths [shall be] resplendent from good,
gates denoting the introductory truths,
specifically the doctrinals that are from good.
For all genuine truths of doctrine proceed from good,
and are goods;
and carbuncle stones signify their brightness from good,
all precious stones signifying truths from good,
[and] the color, brightness, and fire thereof,
indicating the quality of truth from good. By,
"I will make all their border into stones of desire,"
is meant, that the scientific truths
which pertain to the natural person,
shall be pleasant and delightful from good;
for by a border is meant the same as by a foundation,
and this is the natural person,
because in the things there
the goods and truths of the spiritual person are terminated,
and stones of desire
denote truths pleasant and delightful from good.
By these are meant the goods and truths of the Word
which those have who belong to the New Church,
[and] which will be of such a nature.