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.

151. These things saith the Son of man, signifies the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, from which is that essential of the church. This is evident from the signification of "the Son of man," as being the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, and in respect to Divine truth, since Divine truth proceeds from Him (See above, n. 63); also as being that from which is that essential of the church, namely, the opening of the internal or spiritual man, and the conjunction thereof with the external, since everything of the church with man is from the Lord's Divine Human. For everything of love and faith, which two constitute the church, proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human, and not immediately from the Divine Itself; for what proceeds immediately from His Divine Itself, does not fall into any thought and affection of man, nor consequently into faith and love, because it is far above them. This can be seen from the fact that man is not able to think of the Divine Itself apart from the human form, except as he thinks of nature, as it were, in things least. Thought that is not determined to a certain figure is diffused in every direction, and what is diffused is dissipated. This has been given me to know most especially from those in the other life who are from the Christian world, who have thought only of the Father, and not of the Lord, that they make nature in its minutest parts their God, and finally fall away from all idea of God, consequently from the idea and faith in anything of heaven and the church.

[2] It is otherwise with those who have thought of God under the human form; these have all their ideas determined to the Divine, nor do their thoughts, like the thoughts of those mentioned before, wander in every direction. And as the Divine under the Human form, is the Lord's Divine Human, therefore the Lord bends and determines their thoughts and affections to Himself. This, because it is the primary truth of the church, unceasingly flows in out of heaven with man; consequently it is, as it were, implanted in everyone to think of the Divine under the human form, and thus to see His Divine inwardly in himself, with the exception of such as have extinguished in themselves this implanted thought (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 82). From this the reason can also be seen, why all men, whatsoever after death, when they become spirits, turn themselves to their own loves, and thus why those who have worshiped the Divine under the human form turn themselves to the Lord, who appears to them as a sun above the heavens. But those who have not worshiped the Divine under the human form, turn themselves to the loves of their natural man, all of which have reference to the loves of self and the world, thus turning backwards from the Lord; and turning oneself backwards from the Lord is turning towards hell. (That all in the spiritual world turn themselves to their own loves, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 17, 123, 142-145, 151, 153, 255, 272, 510, 548, 552, 561).

[3] All who lived in ancient times and worshiped the Divine saw the Divine in thought under the human form, and hardly anyone thought of an invisible Divine; and the Divine under the human form was even then the Divine Human. But as this Divine Human was the Divine of the Lord in the heavens and passing through the heavens, when at length heaven became enfeebled, because men, of whom heaven is made up, from internal successively became external and thus natural, therefore it pleased the Divine Itself to put on a human, and to glorify it, or make it Divine, that thus from Himself He might affect all, both those who are in the spiritual world and those who are in the natural world, and might save those who acknowledge and worship His Divine in the Human.

[4] This is clearly stated in many passages in the Old Testament Prophets, as well as in the Evangelists; of these I will cite only the following in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that hath been made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And that Light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not. It was the true Light, which lighteth every man coming into the world. He was in the world, but the world acknowledged Him not. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory (John 1:1-14).

It is plainly evident that the Lord in respect to the Human is here meant by "the Word," for it is said, "the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory." It is also evident that the Lord made His Human to be Divine, for it is said, "the Word was with God and God was the Word, and this became flesh," that is, a man. And since all Divine truth proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human, and this is His Divine in the heavens, therefore by "the Word" is also signified Divine truth; and thence He is said to be "the Light which lighted every man coming into the world." Moreover, "light" is Divine truth; and because men from being internal became so external or natural as no longer to acknowledge Divine truth or the Lord, therefore it is said that "the darkness apprehended not the light," and that "the world acknowledged Him not." (That the Word is the Lord in respect to the Divine Human and Divine truth proceeding therefrom, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 263, 304. That "light" is Divine truth, and "darkness" the falsities in which those are who are not in the light, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 126-140, 275.)

[5] That they who acknowledge the Lord and worship Him from love and faith, and are not in the love of self and the love of the world, are regenerated and saved, is also taught in these words in John:

As many as received Him, to them gave He power to be children of God, even to them that believe in His name; which were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12, 13).

Here "of bloods" means such as destroy love and charity. "The will of the flesh" is every evil from the love of self and love of the world, also man's will-proprium, which in itself is nothing but evil; "the will of man" is falsity thence that comes from that will-proprium. That those who are not in these loves receive the Lord and are regenerated and saved, is meant by its being said that those who "believe in His name become children of God," and are "born of God."

(That to "believe in the Lord's name" is to acknowledge His Divine Human and to receive love and faith from Him, see above. n. 102, 135.

That "bloods" are the things that destroy love and charity, see Arcana Coelestia 4735, 5476, 9127; that "flesh" is man's will-proprium, which in itself is nothing but evil, n. 210, 215, 731, 874-876, 987, 1047, 2307, 2308, 3518, 3701, 3812, 4328, 8480, 8550, 10283, 10284, 10286, 10732; and that man's proprium is the love of self and the love of the world, n. 694, 731, 4317, 5660.

That "man" [vir] is the intellectual, and therefore truth or falsity, since the intellectual is of the one or the other, see n. 3134, 3309, 9007.

Thus "the will of man" [viri] is the intelligence-proprium, which, when it exists from the will-proprium [which in itself is nothing but evil], is nothing but falsity, for where evil is in the will there is falsity in the understanding.

That to be "born of God" is to be regenerated by the Lord, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 173-184.

Moreover, that all in the universe, from influx out of heaven and from revelation, worship the Divine in the human form, see Earths in the Universe 98, 121, 141, 154, 158, 159, 169; likewise all angels of the higher heavens, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 78-86.)

[6] From this it can now be seen that everything of the church, thus also everything of heaven with men, is from the Lord's Divine Human. For this reason "the Son of man," who is the Divine Human, is described in the first chapter of Revelation by various representatives; and from that description the introductory sentences to each of the churches are taken (as may be seen above, n. 113, and what is said to this church in particular treats of this chief essential of the church, namely, the conjunction of the internal and external, or the regeneration of the man of the church; for it is said to the angel of this church, "These things saith the Son of God, that hath His eyes as a flame of fire."