31. Verse 6. And hath made us kings and priests, signifies that from Him we are in His spiritual and celestial kingdom. This is evident from the signification of "kings," as meaning those who are in truths from good; and since they constitute the Lord's spiritual kingdom, as meaning those who are in His spiritual kingdom. That these are signified by "kings" in the Word, will appear from what follows. The above is evident also from the signification of "priests," as meaning those who are in the good of love; and since these constitute the Lord's celestial kingdom, they also are those who are in His celestial kingdom. (That there are two kingdoms, into which the heavens are in general divided, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 20-28, and that the spiritual kingdom is called the Lord's regal kingdom, and the celestial kingdom His priestly kingdom, n. 24.) In any places in the prophetic Word, kings are mentioned, and he that is ignorant of the internal sense believes that by "kings" are there meant kings; kings, however, are not meant, but all those who are in truths from good, or in faith from charity, from the Lord. The reason of this is, that the Lord is the sole king, and those who from Him are in truths from good are called His "sons;" for this reason the same are meant by "princes," by "sons of the kingdom," by "sons of kings," and also by "kings;" and in a sense abstracted from the idea of persons, as it is in heaven, truths from good are meant, or, what is the same, faith from charity; since truth is of faith, and good is of charity.

[2] That kings are not meant can be seen simply from its here being said that Jesus Christ "hath made us kings and priests"; and afterwards:

And hast made us to be unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign upon the earth (Revelation 5:10);

and in Matthew:

The good seed sown in the field are the sons of the kingdom (Matthew 13:38);

the "seed of the field" are truths from good with man from the Lord (Arcana Coelestia 3373, 10248, 10249). Everyone, moreover, may perceive that the Lord will not make all those here treated of to be kings, but that he calls them kings from the power and the glory which those have who from the Lord are in truths from good. From this it can now be seen that by "king," in the prophetic Word, is meant the Lord as to Divine truth, and by "kings" and "princes," those who from the Lord are in truths from good, and as most things in the Word have also an opposite sense, that "kings" signify in that sense those who are in falsities from evil.

[3] That by "King" in the Word is meant the Lord in respect to Divine truth, is clear from the words of the Lord Himself to Pilate:

Pilate said, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest it, because I am a king. For this have I been born, and for this am I come into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Everyone that is in the truth heareth My voice. Pilate said unto Him, What is truth? (John 18:37-38).

From the question of Pilate, "What is truth," it is clear that he understood that truth was called "king" by the Lord; but as he was a Gentile, and knew nothing from the Word, he could not be taught that Divine truth is from the Lord, and that He is Divine truth; therefore, immediately after his question:

He went out to the Jews, saying, I find no fault in him; and afterwards put upon the cross, This is Jesus, the king of the Jews. And when the chiefs of the priests said unto him, Write not, The king of the Jews, but that He saith I am the king of the Jews, Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written (John 19:4, 19:14-22).

[4] When these things are understood, it may be known what is meant by "kings" in the following passages in Revelation:

The sixth angel poured out his bowl upon the great river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up, that the way might be made ready for the kings that come from the sun rising (Revelation 16:12).

The great harlot that sitteth upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication (Revelation 17:1-2).

The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings; the five are fallen, the one is, the other is not yet come. And the ten horns that thou sawest are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive power as kings with the beast for one hour. These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings (Revelation 17:9, 10, 12, 14).

And the woman whom thou sawest is the great city, which hath the kingdom over the kings of the earth (Revelation 17:18).

Of the wine of the wrath of her fornication all the nations have drunk, and the kings of the earth committed fornication with her (Revelation 18:3).

And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together, to make war against Him that sat on the horse and against His army (Revelation 19:19).

And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it (Revelation 21:24).

In these passages by "kings" are not meant kings, but all who are either in truths from good, or in falsities from evil, as was said before. Likewise in Daniel:

By the king of the south and by the king of the north, who made war against each other (Daniel 11:40

By "the king of the south" are there meant those who are in the light of truth from good, by "the king of the north" those who are in darkness from evil. (That "south" in the Word signifies those who are in the light of truth from good, see Arcana Coelestia 1458, 3708, 3195, 5672, 9642; and "north" those who are in the darkness of falsity from evil, n. 3708, and in general, in the work on Heaven and Hell 141-153, where The Four Quarters in Heaven are treated of.)

[5] "Kings" are also frequently mentioned by the prophets in the Old Testament; and there likewise are meant those who, from the Lord, are in truths from good, and in a contrary sense, those who are in falsities from evil; as in Isaiah:

He shall disperse ¹ many nations: kings shall shut their mouths upon Him; for that which had not been told them they have seen, and that which they have not heard they have understood (Isaiah 52:15).

In the same:

The Zion of the Holy One of Israel, thou shalt suck the milk of the nations, and shalt suck the breast of kings (Isaiah 40:14, 16).

Kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and the chief women thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth (Isaiah 49:23; and 14:9 elsewhere, as in Isaiah 14:9; 24:21; 60:10; Jeremiah 2:26; 4:9; 49:38; Lamentations 2:6, 9; Ezekiel 7:26, 27; Hosea 3:4; Zephaniah 1:8; Psalms 2:10; 110:5; Genesis 49:20).

[6] Since "kings" signify those who, from the Lord, are in truths from good, it was a custom derived from ancient times for kings, when they were crowned, to receive such insignia as signify truths from good: as for the king to be anointed with oil, to wear a crown of gold, to hold a scepter in his right hand, to be clothed with a purple cloak, to sit upon a throne of silver, and to ride with the royal insignia upon a white horse; for "oil" signifies good from which is truth (See Arcana Coelestia 886[1-2], 4638, 9780, 9954, 10011, 10261, 10268-10269); a "crown of gold" upon the head has a like meaning (n. 9930); a "scepter," which is a staff, signifies the power of truth from good (n. 4581, 4876, 4966); a "cloak" and a "robe," Divine truth in the spiritual kingdom (n. 9825, 10005); and "purple," the spiritual love of good (n. 9467); a "throne," the kingdom of truth from good (n. 5313, 6397, 8625); "silver," that truth itself (n. 1551-1552, 2954, 5658); a "white horse," the understanding enlightened from truths (See the small work on The White Horse 1-5. That the ceremonies observed at the coronation of kings involve such things, but that the knowledge thereof is at this day lost, see also Arcana Coelestia 4581, 4966).

[7] As it is known from these things what is meant by a "king" in the Word, I will add to the above:

Why the Lord, when He entered Jerusalem, sat upon the foal of an ass, and the people then proclaimed Him king, and also strewed their garments in the way (Matthew 21:1-8; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-40; John 12:14-16).

This is predicted in Zechariah:

Exult, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy king cometh unto thee, just and having salvation; riding upon an ass, and upon the foal of an ass (Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:5; John 12:15).

The reason was, that to sit upon an ass and the foal of an ass was the distinctive mark of the highest judge and of a king; as can be seen from the following passages:

My heart is towards the lawgivers of Israel, ye who ride upon white asses (Judges 5:9-10).

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgivers from between his feet, till Shiloh come; who shall bind his ass's foal to the vine, and the son of his she-ass to the noble vine (Genesis 49:10, 11).

As sitting on an ass, and the foal of an ass, was such a distinctive mark:

Judges rode upon white she-asses (Judges 5:9-10);

And his sons upon asses' colts (Judges 10:4; 12:14);

And the king himself when crowned, upon a she-mule (1 Kings 1:33);

And his sons upon mules (2 Samuel 13:29).

One who does not know the signification of "horse," "mule," and "the foal of an ass," in a representative sense, will suppose that the Lord's riding upon the foal of an ass was significative of misery and humiliation. But it signified royal magnificence; for this reason the people then proclaimed the Lord king, and strewed their garments upon the way. This was done when He went to Jerusalem, because by "Jerusalem" is signified the church (as may be seen in the little work on The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine 6; and that "garments" signify truths clothing and serving good, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 1073, 2576, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9215-9216, 9952, 10536; and in the work on Heaven and Hell 177-182).

[8] From this it is now clear what is signified by the "King" and by "kings," in the Word, so also what by the "Anointed," "Messiah," and "Christ;" for "Anointed," "Messiah," and "Christ," like "King," signify the Lord as to Divine truth proceeding from His Divine good; for a king is called "anointed;" and "anointed" in the Hebrew is Messiah, and in the Greek Christ. But that the Lord, as to the Divine Human, was alone "the Anointed of Jehovah," since in Him alone was the Divine good of Divine Love from conception, for He was conceived of Jehovah, but that all that were anointed were only representatives of Him (See Arcana Coelestia n. 9954, 10011, 10268-10269). But "priests" signify such good as exists in the celestial kingdom (See in Arcana Coelestia, namely, that priests represented the Lord, as to Divine good, n. 2015, 6148; that the priesthood was representative of the Lord as to the work of salvation, since this was from the Divine good of His Divine Love, see n. 9809; that the priesthood of Aaron, of his sons, and of the Levites, was representative of the work of salvation, in successive order, see n. Arcana Coelestia 10017; that from this "the priesthood," and "priesthoods," in the Word signified good of love, which is from the Lord, see n. 9806, 9809; that by the two names, "Jesus" and "Christ," is signified both His priesthood and His royalty, that is, by "Jesus" is signified Divine good, and by "Christ" Divine truth, n. 3004, 3005, 3009; that priests and likewise kings who do not acknowledge the Lord signify the opposite, namely, evil, and falsity from evil, n. 3670).

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5954. 'And to them all he gave each one changes of garments' means truths brought in touch with good. This is clear from the meaning of 'garments' as truths, dealt with below, so that 'changes of garments' are truths that are new, and truths are made new when they are brought in touch with good, for then they receive life. The subject is the joining of the natural man to the spiritual, or the external man to the internal. When the joining together is effected the truths undergo change and are made new since they receive life from the good that flows into them, see just above in 5951. 'Changing one's garments' was representative of the need to put on holy truths, and this is also the origin of 'changes of garments', see 4545.

[2] The reason why in the Word truths are meant by 'garments' is that truths clothe good in almost the same way as blood vessels contain blood or fibres contain spirit. 'A garment' also has truth as its meaning because spirits, and angels too, are seen wearing garments; and each spirit or angel is attired in a way that accords with the truths that reside with him. Those seen wearing white garments are spirits or angels whose truths of faith act as paths to good, whereas those seen wearing brightly shining garments are ones whose truths of faith radiate from good. For it is good radiated through truth that produces the shining brightness, see 5248.

[3] The wearing of garments by spirits and angels is also evident from the Word where mention is made of angels that have been seen, as in Matthew,

The appearance of the angel sitting at the Lord's tomb was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. Matthew 28:3.

In John,

On the thrones I saw twenty-four elders seated, clad in white garments. Revelation 4:4.

In the same book,

He who sat on the white horse was clothed in a garment dyed with blood, and His name is called the Word of God. His armies in heaven were following Him on white horses, clothed in linen, white and clean. Revelation 19:11, 13-14.

'Garments white as snow' and 'white linen' mean holy truths, for whiteness' and 'brightness' have reference to truths, 3301, 3993, 4007, 5319, for the reason that they are very nearly as bright as light, and the light which radiates from the Lord is Divine Truth. This explains why, when the Lord was transfigured, His garments looked like the light, as described in Matthew,

When Jesus was transfigured His face shone like the sun, and His garments became like the light. Matthew 17:2.

It is well known in the Church that 'the light' is Divine Truth; but its comparison to a garment is clear in David,

Jehovah covers Himself with light, as if with a garment. Psalms 104:2.

[4] The fact that 'garments' are truths is evident from many places in the Word, as in Matthew,

When the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man (homo) who was not wearing a wedding garment. And he said to him, Friend, how did you come in here not having a wedding garment? Therefore he was cast out into outer darkness. Matthew 22:11-13.

Who exactly are meant by the one 'not wearing a wedding garment', see 2132. In Isaiah,

Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion, put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for no more may there come in to you the uncircumcised and the unclean. Isaiah 52:1.

'Beautiful garments' stands for truths that spring from good.

[5] In Ezekiel,

I clothed you with embroidered cloth, and shed you with badger, and I swathed you in fine linen and covered you with silk. Your garments were fine linen, and silk, and embroidered cloth You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. Ezekiel 16:10, 13.

This refers to Jerusalem, by which is meant at this point the spiritual Ancient Church, which was established by the Lord after the celestial Most Ancient Church breathed its last. The truths bestowed on that Church are described as 'garments'. 'Embroidered cloth' is factual knowledge. When such knowledge is genuine it also manifests itself in the next life as embroidered cloth and as lace, as I have also been allowed to see. 'Fine linen' and 'silk' are truths springing from good; but in heaven those fabrics are utterly bright and transparent because they are in the light there.

[6] In the same prophet,

Fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt was your sail, and violet and purple from the islands of Elishah was your covering. Ezekiel 27:7.

This refers to Tyre, by which the cognitions of truth and good are represented, 1201. When genuine ones, these are 'fine linen with embroidered work from Egypt'. Resulting good, which is the good of truth, is meant by 'violet' and 'purple'.

[7] In David,

All glorious is the king's daughter, in her clothing with gold interweavings; in embroidered robes she will be led to the king. Psalms 45:13-14.

'The king's daughter' stands for the affection for truth. 'Her clothing with gold interweavings' stands for truths that have good within them. 'Embroidered robes' stands for the lowest truths. In John,

You have a few names in Sardis, who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with Me in white ones, for they are worthy. He who conquers will be clad in white garments. Revelation 3:4-5.

'Not soiling one's garments' stands for not defiling truths with falsities.

[8] In the same book,

Blessed is he who is awake and keeps his garments, so that he may not walk naked, and men see his shame. Revelation 16:15.

'Garments' in a similar way stands for truths. Truths of faith drawn from the Word are what are meant, strictly speaking, by 'garments'. Anyone who has not acquired those truths from there - or who has not, as gentiles do, acquired truths or something like them from the religion to which he belongs - and applied them to life, is not in touch with good, no matter how much he may think that he is. For having no truths from the Word or from what his religion teaches he allows himself to be led by reasonings received as much from evil spirits as from good ones, and cannot thus be given protection by the angels. This is what is meant by being awake and keeping one's garments, so that one may not walk naked and men see one's shame.

[9] In Zechariah,

Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and so stood before the angel, who said to those standing before him, Remove the filthy garments from upon ¹ him. But he said to him, See, I have caused your iniquity to pass away from you, by putting on you a change of garments. Zechariah 3:3-4.

'Filthy garments' stands for truths defiled by falsities deriving from evil. Once these were removed therefore and others were put on, the words 'See, I have caused your iniquity to pass away from you' are used. But anyone can recognize that iniquity does not pass away through a changing of garments, from which anyone may also deduce that a changing of garments was a representative act, as was also the washing of garments, which was commanded when people were purified, for example when they drew near Mount Sinai, Exodus 19:14, or when they were cleansed from impurities, Leviticus 11:25, 40; 14:8-9; Numbers 8:6-7; 19:21; 31:19-24.

[10] Cleansings from impurities are effected by means of the truths of faith since they teach what good is, what charity is, what the neighbour is, and what faith is. They also teach the existence of the Lord, heaven, and eternal life. Without truths to teach them people have no knowledge of these things or even of their existence. Who left to himself knows other than this, that the good which goes with self-love and love of the world is the only kind of good in a person? For both constitute the delight of his life. Can anyone know except from the truths of faith about the existence of another kind of good that can be imparted to a person, namely the good of love to God or the good of charity towards the neighbour? Can anyone know that those kinds of good have heavenly life within them, or that those kinds of good flow in from the Lord by way of heaven in the measure that the person ceases to love himself more than others and the world more than heaven? From all this it becomes clear that the purification which was represented by the washing of garments is effected by means of the truths of faith.

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