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).

Poznámky pod čarou:

4552. 'And Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem' means an eternal casting away. This is clear from the meaning of 'hiding' as casting away and burying as dead, and from the meaning of 'under the oak' as for ever, for being a tree that lives to a very great age, 'the oak' meant, when anything was hidden under it, that which is everlasting. It also had the meaning of that which is tangled up, and above all that which is deceptive and false, because compared with everything above it the lowest part of the natural is tangled up and deceptive, inasmuch as it relies on the physical senses, and so on deceptive ideas, for its knowledge and delight. Specifically 'the oak' means the lowest part of the natural, and therefore in the good sense means the truths and goods there, and in the contrary sense the evils and falsities there.

[2] Furthermore, when falsities are being removed in the case of a regenerate person they are cast away to the lowest part of the natural. For this reason when anyone has become mature in judgement and clear-sighted, and especially when he has become intelligent and wise, those things in the natural seem to be far removed from the interior sight he has. For with one who is regenerate truths are present within the inmost part of his natural alongside the good there, which is like a small sun. Other kinds of truths which are dependent on these are distanced from them by, so to speak, their relationships by blood or through marriage to good. Deceptive truths exist in the more outlying parts, and falsities are cast away to the outermost parts. These remain with a person for ever, arranged - when he allows himself to be led by the Lord - into the kind of order that has just been described. For that ordering is a heavenly one since heaven itself is ordered in a similar way. But when a person does not allow himself to be led by the Lord but by evil, a contrary ordering exists. In his case evil together with falsities is at the centre; truths have then been cast away to the surrounding parts, and actual Divine truths to the ultimate parts. This ordering is a hellish one since hell itself is ordered in a similar way. The most outlying parts constitute the lowest of the natural.

[3] The reason why 'the oak' means falsities which are the lowest parts of the natural is that in the Ancient Church, when external worship representative of the Lord's kingdom existed, all trees of every kind had some spiritual or else celestial meaning. The olive, for example, and consequently olive oil, meant those things which belonged to celestial love; the vine and consequently wine those things that belonged to charity and from this to faith; and so on with every other kind of tree, such as the cedar, the fig, the poplar, the beech, and the oak, which too had their own individual meanings, as shown in various places in explanatory sections. It is because of the meaning these trees had in the Ancient Church that they are mentioned so many times in the Word, as also in general are gardens, groves, and forests, and that people held their worship in these, under particular trees. But because that worship became idolatrous, and the descendants of Jacob, among whom a representative of the Church was to be established, were inclined to idolatrous practices and therefore set up so many idols in such places, they were forbidden to hold worship in gardens and groves, under the trees there. Even so, these trees retained their spiritual or celestial meanings. Consequently not only the more noble trees, such as olives, vines, and cedars, but also the poplar, the beech, and the oak, when mentioned in the Word, have the same meanings as they had in the Ancient Church.

[4] 'Oaks' in the good sense means the truths and forms of good that make up the lowest parts of the natural, and in the contrary sense the falsities and evils which do so, as is clear from places where they are mentioned in the Word and understood in the internal sense, as in Isaiah,

Those forsaking Jehovah will be consumed, for they will be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired. And you will be like an oak, casting down its leaves and like a garden that has no water. Isaiah 1:28-30.

In the same prophet,

The day of Jehovah Zebaoth upon everyone uplifted or lowly, and upon all the cedars of Lebanon, and upon all the oaks of Bashan. Isaiah 2:12-13.

Anyone may recognize that 'the day of Jehovah' is not going to be a visitation upon cedars and oaks but upon people meant by those trees. In the same prophet,

He who fashions a god cuts down cedars for himself, and takes a beech and an oak and strengthens himself among the trees of the forest. Isaiah 44:10, 14.

[5] In Ezekiel,

You will acknowledge that I am Jehovah, when their slain lie in the midst of the idols around their altars, upon every high hill, on all the mountain-tops, and under every green tree, and under every entangled oak, in the place where they offered an odour of rest to all their idols. Ezekiel 6:13.

The ancients also worshipped on hills and mountains because 'hills and mountains' means heavenly love - though when idolaters do the same, self-love and love of the world are meant, 795, 796, 1430, 2722, 4210 - and also under trees because, as stated above, each had a meaning of its own depending on what kind of tree it was. 'Under an entangled oak' here means worship based on falsities constituting the lowest parts of the natural, for they exist there in an entangled condition, 2831. In Hosea,

They offer sacrifice on mountain-tops and burn incense on hills, under oak, poplar, and hard oak, because its shade is good. Therefore your daughters commit whoredom, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery. Hosea 4:13.

'Committing whoredom' means falsifying truths, and 'committing adultery' perverting forms of good - see 2466, 2729, 3399. In Zechariah,

Open your doors, O Lebanon, and let fire consume your cedars, for the cedar is fallen, for the magnificent ones are ruined. Howl, O oaks of Bashan, for the forest of Bazir has come down. Zechariah 11:1-2.