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Numbers Chapter 2

Summary of the Spiritual Sense

1. Revelation is made that each individual of the Spiritual Church has his specific position in his own heaven according to the general principles thereof, vers. 1-2.
2. There are four general principles, namely, celestial love, ver. 3; faith from charity, ver. 10; the same in the natural degree, ver. 18; and the affirmation of truth in the natural degree, ver. 25.
3. Their principles of action are as follows: Truth immediately proceeding from good; faith from charity which is the foundation of the church; obedience to truth from the love of good; and truth which aids, derived from Divine Truth which protects man in temptations, vers. 3, 10, 18, 25.
4. All changes of state with the angels and with the man of the church are effected from the central principle of love, ver. 17.
5. The general quality, according to ordination and arrangement by the Lord, of those in the four leading divisions is described, as well as the quality of each division subordinate to these, and the quality of the whole heaven or of the whole church taken together, vers. 4-32.
6. But good itself, apart from truth, cannot be known as to its quality, ver. 33.
7. And thus the angels are always obedient to Divine Truth, or to the laws of Divine Order; and they become more and more perfected according to the ordination and arrangement of truths as depending on the state of good, ver. 34.

1.  This is evident, because by Jehovah is denoted the Divine Being as to His love, 2001; by speaking is denoted influx, 2951; by Moses is represented Divine Truth, or the Word, 7010; by Aaron is represented Divine Good, 9946; and by saying is denoted perception, 1791, 1822.

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2.  The children of Israel pitching every man by his own standard, with the ensigns of their fathers' houses, denotes that each individual of the Spiritual Church has his specific position in his own heaven, according to the general principle thereof, and according to the truth derived from its corresponding good, 3654, 1616, 8624, 683; and over against the tent of meeting pitching round about, denotes subordinate to essential Divine principles, which are immediately from the Lord, and make heaven, 3540³, 2973³.

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3.  The east side toward the sunrising, denotes the inmost heaven; 3708, 9668; the camp, denotes orderly arrangement in heaven, 4236; Judah, denotes celestial love, 3880; the standard, denotes the truth immediately proceeding, because it denotes protection from faith conjoined with love, 8624; according to their hosts, or armies, denotes according to genera and species of good in truths, 7236; and the prince of the children of Judah being Nahshon the son of Amminadab, denotes that the primary principle from which they act is this truth immediately proceeding from good, chap 1:7.

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4.  The host of Nahshon, and they that were numbered of them, being three score and fourteen thousand and six hundred, denotes that their universal quality according to ordination and arrangement is a state of rest and peace, arising from the conjunction of good and truth through victory in temptation, chap 1:27.

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5.  Those that pitch next being the tribe of Issachar, denotes that those who are in mutual love, which is celestial conjugial love, have their position in the spiritual degree of the third heaven, 3956; and the prince of the children of Issachar, being Nethanel the son of Zuar, denotes that the general principle from which they act is the good of inmost truth derived from inmost love, which is a state of profound humility, chap 1:8.

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6.  The host of Nethanel and those that were numbered of them being fifty and four thousand and four hundred, denotes that their universal quality according to ordination and arrangement, is full conjunction as to good and truth, resulting from a state of celestial love and peace internally, chap 1:29.

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7.  The tribe of Zebulun, denotes those who are in the heavenly marriage, which is the conjunction of goodness and truth, have their position in the ultimate degree of the third heaven, and are also the medium of the conjunction between the third heaven and the middle heaven, 3960-1; the prince of the children of Zebulun being Eliad the son of Helon, denotes that the general principle from which they act is truth conjoined with good and proceeding from it, chap 1:9; and the reason why Issachar and Zebulun, denote, respectively, those who are in the middle and ultimate degrees of the third heaven is because they were a part of the camp of Judah, who denotes celestial love, 3880.

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8.  The host of Eliab, and those that were numbered thereof being fifty and seven thousand and four hundred, denotes that their universal quality, according to ordination and arrangement, is full conjunction as to good and truth in the celestial heaven, including the same between the celestial and spiritual heavens, with a state of rest and peace in the Spiritual and natural degrees as well as in the celestial, chap 1:31.

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9.  All that were numbered of the camp of Judah being a hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, according to their hosts; and their setting, forward first, denotes that the quality of the third heaven from celestial love is perfection of good and truth in conjunction, acquired through a full course of spiritual combat and victory, in orderly arrangement, celestial love really ruling both in the course of regeneration, and in the progressions of life in heaven to eternity; because Judah denotes celestial love, 3880; a hundred thousand and fourscore thousand, or one hundred and eighty thousand, denotes a full state of temptations, 4617; eighty-six also denotes celestial good acquired by means of temptations, 1963; four hundred, denotes conjunction, 4341; the camp, denotes orderly arrangement, 4236; and it is said "celestial love really ruling both in the course of regeneration and in the progressions of life in heaven," since the number named in this verse, is the total of the numbers named for the three tribes both in this chapter and in chapter i.; and the camp of Judah first setting forward also involves the same truth, 3324.

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10.  The south, denotes the middle heaven, 9684; the camp, denotes orderly arrangement in heaven, 4236; Reuben, denotes faith from charity and conjoined therewith, 3863²; the standard, denotes truth, 8624; according to their hosts, or armies, denotes according to genera and species of good and truth, 7236; and the prince of the children of Reuben being Elizur the son of Shedeur, denotes that the general or primary principle from which they act is faith from charity which is the foundation of the church, chap 1:5.

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11.  The host of Elizur and those that were numbered thereof being forty and six thousand and five hundred, denotes that their universal quality, according to ordination and arrangement is truth confirmed by victory in temptation both as to understanding and will in all fullness, chap 1:21.

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12.  Those that pitch next being the tribe of Simeon, denotes that those who are in the principle of obedience from the good of truth, have their position in the middle degree of the middle heaven, 3869; and the prince of the children of Simeon being Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, denotes that the primary or general principle from which they act, is obedience giving peace with God, and founded on the power of faith from charity, chap 1:6.

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13.  The host of Shelumiel and those that were numbered of them being fifty and nine thousand and three hundred, denotes that their universal quality according to ordination and arrangement is incipient conjunction and completeness as to truths, chap 1:23.

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14.  The tribe of Gad, denotes that those who are in good works, not from simple obedience, as in a state of instruction, nor from a principle of faith, as in the course of regeneration, but from the conjunction of faith and charity, have their position in the ultimate degree of the second or middle heaven, 3934; the prince of the children of Gad being Elisaph the son of Reuel, denotes that the general principle from which they act is the perfection of good and truth in conjunction derived from revelation, or from Divine knowledge, now seen from a state of charity, chap 1:14; and the reason why Simeon and Gad, denote, respectively, those who are in the middle and ultimate degrees of the second or middle heaven, is because they were a part of the camp of Reuben, who denotes faith from charity, 3863².

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15.  The host of Elisaph, and those that were numbered of them being forty and five thousand and six hundred and fifty, denotes that their universal quality, according to ordination and arrangement, is fullness of the conjunction of good and truth through temptations, chap 1:25.

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16.  All that were numbered of the camp of Reuben being a hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty according to their hosts; and then setting forward second, denotes that the quality of the second or middle heaven from faith conjoined with charity is fullness as to these, in that conjunction, as distinguished from the fullness of celestial love in the inmost heaven. Reuben, denotes faith from charity, 3863²; one hundred and fifty, denotes the end of the old church or state and the beginning of the new church or state, 812, 813, and therefore it also denotes the end of the state of being regenerated and the beginning of the new or heavenly state, and thus fullness, it being also a multiple of fifty, 2252, 5291, besides which the addition of one intensifies this idea of fullness, and implies also newness of state, 9616, 8400; four hundred and fifty, denotes conjunction and fullness, 4341, 2252; the camp denotes orderly arrangement, 4236; according to their hosts, or armies, denotes according to the genera and species of good and truth, 7236; and their setting forward second, denotes as distinguished from the fullness of celestial love in the inmost heaven, who set forth first, ver. 9.

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17.  The tent of meeting setting forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps, denotes that all changes of state with the man of the church, and with the angels, are effected from the central principle of love, which is immediately from the Lord, because by the tent of meeting are denoted the principles that make the church and heaven, 3540'*, by its setting forward is denoted a change of state, or progression, 3335, the camp denotes in orderly arrangement, 4236, and by the camp of the Levites in the midst is denoted the central principle of love from the Lord, 3875, 3877; and as they encamp so their setting forward every man in his place by their standards, denotes that yet progress in individual life is at once in freedom and in harmony with general truths, because by "as they encamp," is denoted orderly arrangement by the Lord, 4236; so setting forward denotes progression, 3335, by each man in his place is denoted according to individual good, or love and thus in freedom, 2625, and being by their standards, denotes in harmony with general truths, and thus under Divine protection, 8624.

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18.  The west denotes the obscure good of the ultimate heaven which is celestial-natura50:3708, 9755; the camp denotes orderly arrangement in heaven, 4236; Ephraim denotes those who are in faith from charity, in truth from good, or in intelligence from affection in the inmost of the natural man, 6238, 5355; the standard denotes truth, 8624; according to their hosts, or armies, denotes according to genera and species of good and truth, 7236; and the prince of the children of Ephraim being Elishama the son of Ammihud, denotes that the general principle from which they act in obedience to truth from the love of good, chap 1:10.

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19.  The host of Elishama and those that were numbered of them being forty thousand and five hundred, denotes that their universal quality according to ordination and arrangement, is fullness of the perception of good and truth as the result of conflict and victory in temptations, chap 1:33.

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20.  The next to him being the tribe of Manasseh, denotes that those who are in the new will of good in the natural man, have their position in the middle degree of the ultimate heaven, 6238, 5351; and the prince of the children of Manasseh being Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur, denotes that the general principle from which they act is the love of reward as if from self, the knowledge of the truth, and separation from evil, derived from the Lord through the work of redemption, chap 1:10.

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21.  The host of Gamaliel, and those that were numbered of them being thirty and two thousand and two hundred, denotes that their universal quality according to ordination and arrangement, is fullness of the conjunction of charity and faith, chap 1:35.

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22.  The tribe of Benjamin, denotes that those who are in the life of truth derived from good in the natural man, have their position as the medium between the interior natural and the exterior, or between the interior celestial-natural and the exterior spiritual-natural in the ultimate heaven, 4585⁵, 4592; the prince of the children of Benjamin being Abidan the son of Gideoni, denotes that the general principle from which they act is truth from good springing from opposition to evil, chap 1:11; and the reason why Manasseh and Benjamin denote, respectively, those who are in the middle and ultimate degrees of the ultimate heaven, is because they were a part of the camp of Ephraim, who denotes those in faith from charity in the inmost of the natural man, 6238, 5355.

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23.  The host of Abidan, and those that were numbered of them being thirty and five thousand and four hundred, denotes that their universal quality, according to ordination and arrangement, is fullness of rest and peace for the natural man, as the result of conjunction with the spiritual, through the activity of ultimate spiritual life, chap 1:37.

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24.  All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim being a hundred thousand and eight thousand and a hundred according to their hosts; and their setting forth third, denotes that the quality of the ultimate heaven as to the celestial of the natural, from faith conjoined with charity, is fullness of conjunction of the natural man with the spiritual, and of the exterior natural with the interior, producing a new state of life both as to good and as to truth. Ephraim denotes faith from charity in the inmost of the natural man, 6238, 5355; one hundred, and also one hundred thousand denote fullness, 2636, 5291, and, on the same principle, eight and also eight thousand denote a new state, 2044; the camp denotes orderly arrangement, 4236; according to their hosts, denotes according to genera and species of good and truth, 7236; and their setting forward third, evidently denotes the distinction of the heaven they represent from the superior heavens.

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25.  The north denotes the obscure truth of the ultimate heaven which is spiritual-natural as distinguished from celestial-natural, 3708, 9648; Dan denotes those who are in the affirmation of truth in the natural man, 3923, 6396; the standard denotes truth, 8624; the camp denotes orderly arrangement, 4236; according to their hosts, denotes according to genera and species of good and truth, 7236; and the prince of the children of Dan being Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, denotes that the general principle upon which they act is good which aids, derived from Divine Truth which protects man in temptations, chap 1:12.

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26.  The host of Ahiezer, and these that were numbered of them, being three score and two thousand and seven hundred, denotes that their universal quality according to ordination and arrangement is fullness of the conjunction of truth with good in the natural man, producing a state of holiness and peace there, chap 1:39.

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27.  Those that pitch next to him being the tribe of Asher, denotes that those who are in exterior natural delight have their position in the obscure good of the ultimate heaven which is distinguished as spiritual-natural, 393.9, 6410; and the prince of the children of Asher being Pagiel the son of Ochran, denotes that the general principle from which they act, is opposition to evil derived from a state of trial or affliction, chap 1:13.

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28.  The host of Pagiel, and those that were numbered of them being forty and one thousand and five hundred, denotes that their universal quality according to ordination and arrangement, is delight derived from a full course of spiritual temptation, a new state, and full conjunction with truths affirmed, chap 1:41.

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29.  The tribe of Naphtali, denotes that those who are in resistance to evil in the ultimate degree of the_ natural man have their position in the lowest degree of the ultimate heaven, which is distinguished as spiritual-natural, 3928, 6413; the prince of the children of Naphtali being Ahira the son of Enan, denotes that the general principle from which they act is good derived from the truth of the Divine Word, chap 1:15; and the reason why Asher and Naphtali, denote, respectively, the obscure good of the middle degree of the ultimate heaven, which is distinguished as spiritual-natural, and in the lowest degree of the ultimate heaven thus distinguished, is because they were a part of the camp of Dan, who denotes those who are in the affirmation of truth in the natural man, 3923, 6396.

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30.  The host of Ahira and of those that were numbered of them, being fifty and three thousand and four hundred, denotes that their universal quality, according to ordination and arrangement, is fullness and completeness as to truth conjoined with good, and perfect freedom even in ultimates, chap 1:43.

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31.  All that were numbered of the camp of Dan being a hundred thousand and fifty-seven thousand, and six hundred; and their setting forth hindmost by their standards, denotes that the quality of the ultimate heaven, as to the spiritual of the natural, is a full state of heavenly rest and peace, arising from complete victory in temptations. Dan denotes those who are in the affirmation of truth in the natural man, 3923, 6396; the camp denotes orderly arrangement, 4236; one hundred and fifty thousand, denotes fullness, it being a multiple of fifty, 2252, 5291; seven thousand denotes a state of rest and peace, 851, and six hundred denotes through victory in temptations, 737; by their standards denotes according to protecting truths, 8624; and their setting forward hindmost, denotes the ultimate heaven as distinguished from the superior heavens, as is evident.

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32.  These being they that were numbered of the children of Israel, denotes the combined quality of the Spiritual Church in heaven, 10217, 3654, 3540³; by their fathers' houses, denotes ordination and arrangement from the Lord by celestial love, 3703¹, 7833; all that were numbered of the camps according to their hosts, denotes including that love as operating in every degree and on every plane, 4236, 3708¹⁵, 7236; six hundred thousand, denotes the totality of good acquired through a full course of spiritual temptations, 7973, 737; and three thousand and five hundred and fifty, denote completeness and fullness as to truths conjoined with that good, 10492, 10253.

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33.  The Levites not being numbered among the children of Israel as the Lord commanded Moses, denotes that good itself apart from truth, cannot be known as to its quality, this being according to Divine Truth from Divine Good, 3875, 3879, 10217, 2001, 5486, 7010.

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34.  The children of Israel thus doing, according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, denotes that the man of the Spiritual Church in the heavens is always obedient to Divine Good as manifested in Divine Truth, 3654, 2001, 5486, 7010; or pitching their standards, denotes that the orderly arrangements of the heavens is perfect in all respects, 1616, 8624; so they set forward, denotes progress in life more and more perfect, 3335; and every one by their families, according to their fathers' houses, denotes according to the arrangement of truths as depending on their state of good, 7833, 9807.

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Discussion

In commencing our reflections on this chapter, we have to go back to the last and consider the names of the persons who were the captains of the army of each of the four camps, and the names of their fathers, because they are repeated here. It is well known that the name of a person or thing, denotes its quality; that a father denotes good, and his son truth thence derived; but the thing to be particularly noticed is the spiritual signification of the names derived from the correspondence of their meanings. For the correspondence cannot be with a mere name, but must depend upon its meaning. Hut this correspondence, whenever it occurs in the Word, must necessarily agree with the series of the things spoken of, and therefore, we find that this is the case with the names in the subject before us; and thus we have another remarkable example and an illustration of the operation of Divine Providence in the composition of the Word and also in the affairs of the Israelites. For these people were, generally speaking, quite at liberty in choosing the names of their children, and also in choosing their captains, except in some particular instances mentioned in the Word, as here; and yet it must have been providential that the name chosen, and the captain chosen in each case, was the right one for giving the correspondence required.

Let us now consider the four camps, namely, Judah, Reuben, Ephraim, and Dan. And here it is to be observed that the general correspondence of three things has to be in harmony, these being the position, the name of the camp, and the name of the leader. And as the position, or quarter, comes first, it determines the specific quality of the- other two. Now, the east, as we have seen, signifies this, the Lord, celestial love from Him and thence the inmost or third heaven. It is this love therefore that determines the position of every one in heaven, to whichever kingdom, and to whatever heaven he may belong. It is love from the Lord, and thence to th Lord, that makes heaven. And if, therefore, we know what the Lord's love is, then, and then only, shall we know what heaven is in general and in particular. It is no slight matter properly to be able to distinguish between good and evil. In general, many things may be considered good which are really evil, and the reverse. But coming to the universal thing, and thus to the universal love, which is the Lord, and is from Him, we can thus grasp the character of true love, or real goodness. The Lord's love is the love of communicating life, joy, happiness and peace; and in His pure love.

there is no shadow of selfishness. The Lord is good to every one and His tender mercies are over all His works. And this being so, it follows that such ought to be the love of man, who by creation is an image and likeness of the Lord, and should become so by regeneration. But man cannot communicate life, except mediately, and thus he can only communicate joy, happiness, peace mediately. And yet if he desires and determines to do this, from the Lord, then he will, in some measure, realize what the love of the Lord, and love to the Lord, is. And also, then he will realize that the opposite of this love, namely, selfishness, is what constitutes evil, and that it is entirely from man, by the abuse of the Lord's life or love that flows continually into him. From the Lord's love then, we know the difference between good and evil, and we know also that we ourselves are the origin of evil. But because we are human beings and are free, we are not obliged to be evil; and we may be good, like the Lord, each in his own degree, and upon his own plane if we choose. And hence now we see why the east, or why love, comes first.

But, secondly, this is the camp of Judah, who had his name from concession. And celestial angels of the third heaven are they who, in the highest and best sense, acknowledge that they have no love but the Lord's love, and that, of themselves, they are nothing but evil. But remember, we can all do this in our measure, because the Lord enters into us all, immediately from Himself, and mediately through the heavens, and never forsakes us.

And, thirdly, we must also remember that love never fights, although it is, as we shall see, the centre of the camps. And on this account it is, that there must be a captain of the camp of Judah, whose name, we have discovered, means, spiritually, the capacity to perceive the truth in the light of truth proceeding immediately from good. But even this high state is imaged in the lower heavens, and in the church generally; for the Lord says, "If any man wills to do His will, he shall know of the teaching " (John 7:17). And yet Samson, who represents the celestial man, was remarkable as a fighter, slaying a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass. The lesson is, that truth from love, operating in a lower sphere, overcomes all evil and falsity by the genuine literal sense of the Word; and therefore we observe, too, the peculiar meaning of Nahshon as a serpent in this connection, chap 1:7. The fact is that truth proceeding from love on a lower plane resists evil, very powerfully, evil from its very nature being averted from it, or repelled without conflict, and therefore the heavens are, all of them, secure against the incursions of evil spirits (Matt 10:16).

The second camp was on the south, and denotes the spiritual heaven and church, because, as the east signifies the highest state of love, so the south, where the sun is in the meridian, signifies the greatest state of light thence derived in the next lower degree, which is faith grounded in charity. And thus the spiritual heaven is derived from the celestial, and, generally, our state as to the knowledge and love of truth is derived from our state as to love and charity. Hence, then, it was the camp of Reuben, who was named from seeing, that was on the south; while the leader Elizur the son of Shedeur had a name which signifies faith, which is the foundation of the Church, and is derived from charity, chap 1:5. Our practical lesson, therefore, in this connection is, that the truth by means of which we overcome evil is from the Lord by means of the Word. For no amount of natural light only, or of natural intelligence, will enable us to see spiritually, or to discern our spiritual enemies in ourselves, which are to be overcome. The foundation of our faith must be on the Rock: "You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt 16:18).

The third camp was on the west; and from the references we learn that the west denotes a state of good in obscurity, that quarter being where the sun sets. And thus the camp of Ephraim was there, because he was the son of Joseph born in Egypt, and therefore he denotes those who are in intelligence from affection in the inmost of the natural man which, compared with the state of the spiritual man, is relatively obscure, and thus he signifies the intelligence derived from the good of those in the ultimate heaven. And if we consider the name of the leader of this camp, we find that its signification is harmonious with that of the quarter and the camp. For Elishama the son of Ammihud, means God hearing, and people of praise, and therefore he signifies obedience to Truth from the love of good, while Ephraim means fruitfulness, and thus denotes the same, chap 1:10. And indeed, obedience may be called the peculiar good of the ultimate heaven and the natural man, just as charity, and love to the Lord are the peculiar goods of the spiritual and celestial heavens, and of the spiritual and celestial man respectively. Hence, then, we learn that simple obedience to the commandments of the Lord in the Word, from a principle of religion, without the strong affection for truth which distinguishes the spiritual, or the ardent love of good which distinguishes the celestial man, secures admission into heaven, and gives conjunction with the Lord because it involves those higher loves, and is their expression.

And, lastly, now, the fourth camp was on the north, and denotes, as we have learned, the obscure truth of the ultimate heaven and of the natural man. But this was the camp of Dan, and Dan was named from judging, and denotes the affirmation of truth, while the leader's name, Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai, means the brother who aids, and the people of the Almighty, and thus spiritually, good which aids derived from Divine Truth which protects man in temptations, chap 1:12; and this is perfectly harmonious with the name of the quarter, and the name of the camp. But it may be thought, what is meant by the affirmation of truth, which according to the reference, is the first thing of the church with him who is to be regenerated? It means that truth in general, wherever and whatever it is, ought to be obeyed, because it is the universal law of both the natural and spiritual worlds from the Divine Being. It must surely be quite clear to every one that unless this affirmation is made in the first place, and that unless the Divine Being is thus acknowledged, a man will not feel himself under any obligation to obey the truth; for he cannot feel himself responsible to a mere law, although he may be sensible that to violate it brings pain and discomfort. But when he feels and acknowledges that all the laws of order in the universe are from the Divine Being, then he affirms the truth and begins to obey it from religion, and not only because disobedience is painful, or obedience is advantageous.

And this consideration shows us now, that these four camps according to the order in which they are named describe all the heavens from the highest to the lowest, and thus also all the principles which form the human mind into a heaven by beginning at the lowest step of the ladder of progress, and then advancing to the highest. For every one may embody all these principles in his life, since each human being may become a heaven in the least form, according to his degree, as an angel in any of the four. And we see from this study, moreover, how each sentence in the Word is truly correspondential; wonderfully harmonious, and in a perfect series. And hence, we can see, therefore, the importance, spiritually, of what is said about the tent of meeting setting forward, with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps. For, in the highest sense, Levi denotes the Lord, and the pure love proceeding from Him; and it is this love that gives conjunction with Him, this conjunction being signified by the name Levi, which means cleaving or adhering.

But, finally, only a few words are necessary in regard to the numbering of the camps. For a careful consideration of the correspondence of the numbers, as given in their proper places, shows that the quality of each heaven is correctly described thereby, according to the genius of those who constitute it, and according to the conjunction of one heaven with another. And the whole of this interesting account clearly shows, how perfectly the unity and the variety of the heavens is maintained, and also that the perfection of each heavenly society, and of every individual therein is constantly intensified and increased to eternity through the most perfect combination and adjustment of general and particular uses. Let each of us, therefore, while in our preparatory states on earth, be stimulated by our reading of the Word in its higher senses, to a more earnest co-operation with the Lord in the work of our eternal salvation.