408. Verse 15. And the kings of the earth, and the great ones, and the rich, and the commanders of thousands, and the mighty, signify all internal goods and truths, and all external goods and truths, by means of which there are wisdom and intelligence. This is evident from the signification of "kings," as being truths from good in their whole complex (of which above, n. 31; from the signification of "great ones, and the rich," as being internal goods and truths (of which presently); from the signification of "commanders of thousands and the mighty" as being external goods and truths; "commanders of thousands" meaning such goods, and "the mighty" such truths (of which also presently). It is added, "by means of which there are wisdom and intelligence," because from internal goods and truths, which are spiritual goods and truths, there is wisdom, and from external goods and truths, which are natural goods and truths from spiritual, there is intelligence. Wisdom differs from intelligence in this, that wisdom is from the light of heaven, and intelligence from the light of the world enlightened by the light of heaven; this is why wisdom is predicated of spiritual goods and truths, and intelligence of natural goods and truths; for spiritual goods and truths are from the light of heaven, because the spiritual mind or the internal mind is in the light of heaven; and natural goods and truths are from the light of the world, because the natural or external mind is in the light of the world; but so far as this mind receives the light of heaven through the spiritual mind, so far it is in intelligence. He who believes that intelligence is from the light of the world only, which is called natural light, is much deceived. Intelligence means seeing from oneself truths and goods, whether civil, moral, or spiritual, while seeing them from another is not intelligence but knowledge [scientia]. Yet that it may be known how these things are to be understood, see what is said in a preceding article n. 406, namely, that man has two minds, the one spiritual or internal, the other natural or external, and that the spiritual or internal mind is opened with those who apply the goods and truths of the Word to the life, while in those who do not apply the goods and truths of the Word to the life, that mind is not opened, but only the natural or external mind; such are thence called natural men, but the former spiritual.

To this let it be added, that so far as the spiritual or internal mind is opened, spiritual light, which is the light of heaven, flows in through it from the Lord into the natural or external mind, and enlightens that mind and gives intelligence. The goods and truths that constitute the spiritual or internal mind are meant by "the great ones and the rich," goods by "the great ones," and truths by "the rich;" and the goods and truths that constitute the natural or external mind are meant by "the commanders of thousands and the mighty," these goods by "the commanders of thousands," and these truths by "the mighty." This makes clear that these words, in the internal sense, include all things that are with man; for the extinction of all these is treated of in what follows. All things with man as well as all things in the universe have reference to good and truth; it is from these and according to these that man has all wisdom and intelligence.

[2] He who looks only to the sense of the letter cannot see otherwise than that kings and the chief men in their kingdoms are here meant, and that so many are mentioned in order to exalt that sense; but in the Word no word is meaningless, for the Divine is in all things and in everything of the Word. So these must mean things Divine, which are of heaven and the church, and which are called, in general, celestial and spiritual, and from these the Word is Divine, celestial, and spiritual. Moreover, the Word was given that by it there may be conjunction of heaven with the church, or of the angels of heaven with the men of the church (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 303-310); and such conjunction would not be possible if nothing else were meant by these words than what stands forth in the sense of the letter, namely, that the kings of the earth, the great ones, the rich, the commanders of thousands, and the mighty, as also every servant and every freeman, were to hide themselves in caves and in the rocks of the mountains, for these are natural things; but when spiritual things are at the same time understood by these there is conjunction. In no other way could angels be conjoined with men, for the angels are spiritual because they are in the spiritual world and thus both think spiritually and speak spiritually; while men are natural, because they are in the natural world, and thence think naturally and speak naturally. This is said to make known that "the kings of the earth, the great ones, the rich, the commanders of thousands, and the mighty," signify also things spiritual. That these mean spiritual things, namely, "the great ones and the rich" internal goods and truths, and "the commanders of thousands and the mighty" external goods and truths, can be seen from their signification where they are mentioned in the Word.

[3] "Great ones" in the Word signify internal goods which are the goods of the internal or spiritual man, because "great" and "greatness" in the Word are predicated of good, and "many" and "multitude" of truth (See above, n. 336, 337). Internal goods are signified by "great ones," because these four, namely, "great ones," "the rich," "the commanders of thousands" and "the mighty" signify all the goods and truths that are with man, thus the goods and truths both of the internal or spiritual man and of the external or natural man; "the great ones and the rich" meaning the goods and truths of the internal or spiritual man, and "the commanders of thousands and the mighty" the goods and truths of the external or natural man; so it is added, "every servant and every freeman," "servant" signifying the external of man, which is called the natural man, and "freeman" the internal of man, which is called the spiritual man. Like things are signified by "great ones" elsewhere in the Word (namely in Jeremiah 5:5; in Nahum 3:10; and in Jonah 3:7).

That "the rich" signify internal truths, which are spiritual truths or those who are in such truths, is evident from what has been shown above (n. 118, 236). That "the commanders of thousands" signify external goods, which are the goods of the natural man, has also been shown above (n. 336); it is therefore unnecessary to say more respecting these. But that "the mighty" signify external truths, or truths of the natural man, is evident from many passages in the Word, where "the mighty" and "the strong," likewise "power" and "strength" are mentioned; this is because truths from good, and indeed truths that are in the natural man, have all power. Truths from good are what have all power, because good does not act of itself, but by truths, for good forms itself in truths, and clothes itself with them, as the soul does with the body, and so acts; it acts by truths in the natural man, because there all interior things are together, and in their fullness. (That truths from good, or good by means of truths, has all power may be seen above, n. 209, 333; and in the work on Heaven and Hell 231, 232, 539; and that all power is in ultimates, because the Divine is there in its fullness, see above, n. 346; and Arcana Coelestia 9836, 10044.) From this it can be seen that "the mighty" mean external truths, or truths of the natural man.

209. For thou hast some power, and hast kept My word, and hast not denied My name, signifies that they have power from the Lord against evils and falsities, in the measure in which they make truths from the Word to be of the life, and acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human. This is evident from the signification of "having power," as being power from the Lord against evils and falsities; and as those who are in faith from charity are treated of, it is said that they "have some power" (of which presently). It is evident also from the signification of "to keep My word," as being to make truths from the Word to be of the life; for to keep truths or commandments means not only to know and perceive them but also to will and do them, that is to keep them; and those who will and do, make the truths that they know and perceive from the Word to be of their life (See also above n. 15). It is evident also from the signification of "not denying My name," as being to acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human (See above, n. 135).

[2] It should be known that there are two principal things of the church, namely, the acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine in His Human, and making the truths from the Word to be of one's life; moreover, no one can be in the one of these unless he is at the same time in the other; for all truths that are made to be of the life are from the Lord, and this is done with those who acknowledge the Divine in His Human. For the Lord flows in with all, as well in the heavens as on the earth, from His Divine Human, and not from the Divine separately. Consequently those who in their thought separate the Divine of the Lord from His Human, and look to the Divine of the Father not as in the Human but as beside it or above it, thus separated from it, receive no influx from the Lord nor thus from heaven, for all who are in the heavens acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human (See concerning this in the work on Heaven and Hell 2-12, 59-72, 78-86. From this it is clear that all truths that are made of the life are from the Lord with those who acknowledge the Divine in His Human, that is the Divine Human. Truths become of the life when man loves them, thus when he wills them and does them, for he who loves, wills and does; in a word, truths are made of the life when man from affection lives according to them. Such truths are from the Lord because the Lord flows into the love with man, and through the love into truths and thus makes them to be of the life.

[3] Something shall now be said about the power that man has from the Lord against evils and falsities. All power that angels have and also that men have is from the Lord; and the measure in which they receive the Lord is the measure of their power. He who believes that any power against evils and falsities comes from what is man's own [proprium] is greatly mistaken; for it is evil spirits, conjoined to the hells, that induce evils and falsities thence with men, and these spirits are numerous, and each one of them is conjoined to many hells, in each of which also there are many spirits, and no one except the Lord can turn these away from man, for the Lord alone has power over the hells, and man has no power at all from himself or from what is his own [proprium]; therefore man has power to the extent that he is conjoined to the Lord by love. There are two loves that reign in the heavens and constitute the heavens, namely, love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor; love to the Lord is called celestial love, and love toward the neighbor is called spiritual love. Those who are in celestial love have much power, but those who are in spiritual love have some power; and because what is written to the angel of this church, treats of those who are in love towards the neighbor, or in charity and in faith therefrom, which love is spiritual love, it is said, "Thou hast some power."

[4] But it is to be noted, that all the power that angels and men have from the Lord is from the good of love; and since the good of love does not act from itself but through truths, therefore all power is from the good of love through truths, and with those who are spiritual, from the good of charity through the truths of faith. For good takes on a quality through truths, good without truths having no quality and where there is no quality there is neither force nor power. From this it is clear, that good has all power through truths, or charity through faith, and neither charity apart from faith nor faith apart from charity has any power. This is meant also by the keys given to Peter, for "Peter" there means, in the spiritual sense, truth from good which is from the Lord, thus faith from charity; and the "keys" given to him the power over evil and falsities. These things were said to Peter when he acknowledged the Divine of the Lord in His Human; which means, that those have power who acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human, and from Him are in the good of charity, and in the truths of faith. That these things were said to Peter when he acknowledged the Lord is shown in Matthew:

Jesus said to the disciples, Who say ye that I am? Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering said unto him, Blessed art thou Simon Bar-Jonah; for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but My Father who is in the heavens. But I also say unto thee, thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of the hells shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16:15-19).

(But of Peter and his keys, see what is said above, n. 9; also what is shown in The small work on The Last Judgment 57, and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 122; and that truth has all power from good, which is from the Lord, in the work on Heaven and Hell 228-233, 539, and Arcana Coelestia 3091, 3387, 3563, 4592, 4933, 6344, 6423, 7518, 7673, 8281, 8304, 9133, 9327, 9410, 10019, 10182).