404. Verse 14. And the heaven departed as a book rolled up, signifies that the spiritual man became closed up. This is evident from the signification of "heaven," as being the church in general and in particular; for the church is the heaven of the Lord on the earth; moreover, the church makes one with heaven by conjunction; therefore when "heaven and earth" are mentioned in the Word, the church internal and external is meant, for the internal of the men of the church is heaven with them, and their external is the world with them; and as "heaven and earth" signify the church internal and external so they signify the internal and external man, or the spiritual and the natural man; for as man in whom is the good of love and of faith is a church, so the church, in general exists from the men in whom the church is. This makes clear why it is that "heaven" here means the internal or spiritual man. It is said "the spiritual man," by which is meant the spiritual mind, which is the higher or interior mind of man, while the lower or exterior mind is called the natural man. The above is evident also from the signification of "departed as a book rolled up," as meaning that it became closed up; for the spiritual mind, which is, as was said, the higher or interior mind with man, is opened by truths applied to life, thus by goods, but it is closed up by falsities applied to life, thus by evils; and the closing up is as the rolling up of the scroll of a book. That this is so was made very clear by the appearances in the spiritual world when the Last Judgment was accomplished; for the mountains and the hills there then appeared sometimes to be rolled up as the scroll of a book is rolled up, and those that were upon them were then rolled down into hell. The cause of this appearance was this: that the interiors of their minds, through which somewhat of light from heaven had before flowed in, were then closed up. What takes place in general with many, takes place with everyone in particular of a like character, for in the spiritual world such as the general is, such is the particular (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 73). By "book" is meant a scroll, because in ancient times there were no types and thus no books like those at the present day, but there were scrolls of parchments; so "books" in Revelation mean scrolls, and "heaven departed as a book rolled up" means as a scroll rolled up; the same as in Isaiah:

All the host of the heavens shall waste away, and the heavens shall be rolled up as a book (Isaiah 34:4).

333. And we shall reign upon the earth, signifies the power that belongs to the Lord alone through Divine truth united to Divine good, and power and wisdom therefrom that those have who are of the Lord's spiritual and celestial kingdoms. This is evident from the signification of "to reign," as being to be in truths and goods, and thence to be from the Lord in the power to resist the evils and falsities which are from hell; and since truths and goods are from the Lord alone, and truths have all power from good, "to reign" signifies the power that belongs to the Lord alone through Divine truth united to Divine good, and the power therefrom that those have who are in the Lord's spiritual and celestial kingdoms. He who has no right understanding of the Word in the spiritual sense will suppose that such are to be like kings and priests, and are to reign with the Lord; but in the spiritual sense "kings" mean truths, and "priests" goods, abstractly from persons, that is, the truths and goods that are in persons from the Lord; from which it follows that it is truths from good that are to reign, thus the Lord alone from whom these are. The angels, indeed, are in great power, but not one of them from himself; yea, if anyone in heaven believes that he has power from himself he is instantly deprived of it, and then becomes wholly powerless. It is said in the sense of the letter that these are to reign, because the sense of the letter is personal; when therefore it is said in that sense that they are to be "kings and priests," it is also said that they are "to reign;" but in the spiritual sense everything of person is put off, and thus everything of dominion belonging to person, and dominion is left to the Lord alone.

[2] These are like those things that the Lord said to His disciples:

That they were to sit upon twelve thrones, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30);

so also what the Lord said to Peter:

That he had the keys of the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 16:19);

which does not mean that the disciples and Peter were to have that power, but the Lord alone, since in the spiritual sense the "twelve disciples" mean all the truths and goods of the church, which are from the Lord, and "Peter" means truth from good, which is from the Lord. (That "disciples" mean all truths and goods of the church, which are from the Lord, see above, n. 100, 122. That "Peter" signifies truth from good, which is from the Lord, see The Last Judgment, n.57; and above, n. 9, 206, 209. That all power belongs to truth from good, which is from the Lord, thus to the Lord alone, and that angels have power thence, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 228-233.) "We shall reign" also signifies that they have wisdom from the Lord, because "kings and priests" signify truths and goods, and all wisdom is from truths that are from good from the Lord. It is said that they shall reign upon the earth, because the "earth" means the Lord's church in the heavens and on the earth (See above, n. 304). It is clear, moreover, that "earth" here does not mean the earth, just as it is not meant that they were to be kings and priests. "To reign" signifies to be in truths from good, and thus in power and wisdom from the Lord, because "kingdom" signifies heaven and the church in respect to truths, and "king" truth from good. (That "kingdom" in the Word signifies heaven and the church in respect to truths, see above, n. 48; and "king" truth from good, also above, n. 31. "To reign" has a like signification in chap. Revelation 20:4, 6; 22:5.)