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.)

48. And in the kingdom, signifies in the church where truths are. This is evident from the signification of "kingdom" in the Word, as being heaven and the church. It means the church in respect to truth, or where truths are, because by the royalty of the Lord is signified Divine truth proceeding from Him, and therefore by "kings" are signified truths (See what is shown above, n. 31). It is said the church in respect to truth, by which is meant the church in respect to truths from good; and for the reason that there are no truths without good, for truths have their life from good. Truths with a man who is not in good are indeed truths in themselves, but they are not truths in him (as may be seen abundantly shown in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, 11-27).

[2] That "kingdom" in the Word signifies heaven and the church in respect to truths, is evident from many passages in the Word, some of which I will cite.

Thus in Matthew:

The sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness (Matthew 8:12);

the "sons of the kingdom" here are those of the church where truths do not prevail, but falsities.

In the same:

He that heareth the Word of the kingdom, and giveth not heed to it, the evil one cometh, and snatcheth away that which hath been sown in his heart. This is he that was sown by the wayside. The field is the world; the seed are the sons of the kingdom (Matthew 13:19, 38).

"To hear the Word of the kingdom" is to hear the truths of the church; and because "seed" signifies truths, they who receive truths are called "sons of the kingdom." (That "seed" is the truth of the church, see Arcana Coelestia 3038, 3373, 3671, 10248, 10249.)

In the same:

Therefore the kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth fruit (Matthew 21:43).

It is evident that "the kingdom of God" here signifies the church in respect to truths, thus also the truths of the church, from its being said that "it should be taken away from them, and given to a nation bringing forth fruit;" "fruit" is good.

Again in the same:

In the consummation of the age, nation shall be stirred up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom (24:[3], 7).

The consummation of the age" is the last time of the church, "nation against nation" is evil against good, and "kingdom against kingdom" is falsity against truth. (That "nation" is the good of the church, and in the opposite sense the evil there, see Arcana Coelestia 1059, 1159, 1258-1260, 1416, 1849, 6005)

[3] From this it is plain what is meant by "kingdom" in the Lord's prayer:

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also upon the earth. Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory (Matthew 6:10, 13).

"Thy kingdom come" is a prayer that truth may be received; "Thy will be done," that it may be received by those who do God's will; "Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory," means Divine truth from God alone; it is also said "power and glory," because Divine truth has all power and glory (See above, n. 33). From all this it can be seen what "the kingdom of God" signifies in very many passages in the Word, namely, the church in respect to truths, and also heaven, and in the highest sense the Lord in respect to the Divine Human. "Kingdom," in the highest sense, signifies the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, because from Him all Divine truth proceeds; and "kingdom" signifies heaven, because heaven with the angels is from no other source than from the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 7-12, 78-86, 126-140).