430. A hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the sons of Israel, signifies all who are in truths from good, and thence in the Lord's church. This is evident from the signification of "a hundred and forty-four thousand," as being all things, and as being said of those who are in truths from good (of which presently); also from the signification of "the tribes of Israel," as being those who are in truths from good, and thence who are in the Lord's church, "tribes" signifying truths from good, and "Israel" the church. That this is the signification of "the tribe of Israel" will be seen in the following article. "A hundred and forty-four thousand" signifies all things and all persons, and is predicated of truths from good, because that number arises out of the number twelve, and "twelve" signifies all things and all persons, and is predicated of truths from good; for greater numbers, and those made up of smaller numbers, have a similar signification as the smaller and simple numbers from which they arise by multiplication (on which see Arcana Coelestia 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973). Thus "a hundred and forty-four" and "a hundred and forty-four thousand" have a similar significance as "twelve," for a hundred and forty-four arises out of twelve multiplied into itself, and a hundred and forty-four thousand out of twelve thousand multiplied into twelve.

[2] There are simple numbers that are more significative than others, and from which the greater numbers derive their significations, namely, the numbers two, three, five, and seven; "two" signifies union, and is predicated of good; "three" signifies fullness, and is predicated of truths; "five" signifies much and something; and "seven" signifies holiness. From the number two the numbers 4, 8, 16, 400, 800, 1, 600, 4, 000, 8, 000, and 16, 000 arise; and these numbers have a similar signification as two, because they arise from that simple number multiplied into itself, and multiplied by ten. From the number three the numbers 6, 12, 24, 72, 144, and 144, 000 arise; and these numbers have a similar signification as three, because they arise from this simple number by multiplication. From the number five the numbers 10, 50, 100, 1, 000, 10, 000, and 100, 000 arise, and these numbers have a similar signification as five, because ¹ they arise from it by multiplication. From the number seven the numbers 14, 70, 700, 7, 000, and 70, 000 arise, and these numbers have a similar signification as seven, because they arise from it. As the number "three" signifies fullness, and fullness implies all, the number twelve derives from this its signification of all things and all persons; and it is predicated of truths from good because it arises out of three multiplied into four, and three is predicated of truths, and four of good, as was said above.

[3] One who does not know that "twelve" signifies all things, and that the numbers that are multiples of it have a like signification, and who does not know that each tribe signifies some universal and essential constituent of the church, can have no other idea than that simply twelve thousand of every tribe of Israel were sealed, and consequently were received or are to be received into heaven; nevertheless the "twelve thousand" here do not mean twelve thousand, nor do the "tribes" here enumerated mean the tribes of Israel; but "twelve thousand" means all, and "the tribes of Israel" those who are in truths from good, ² and thus all, wherever on the earth they may be, who constitute the church of the Lord. That this is the signification, everyone who thinks intelligently can perceive; for where now are these tribes, and where were they when this was written by John? Have they not been scattered through a great part of the globe, and excepting the tribe of Judah, it is not known to anyone where they are? And yet it is said that they are to be sealed, that they may be introduced by the Lord into heaven and be with Him (as appears in Revelation 14:1, 3-4). Furthermore, it is known that eleven of the tribes here mentioned were banished from the land of Canaan on account of their idolatries and other abominations; and so too has the whole Jewish nation, the quality of which may be seen in The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine 248). From this it can be seen that "twelve thousand" does not mean twelve thousand, nor do "tribes" mean the tribes of Israel, but they mean all who are in truths from good, thus all who are of the Lord's church. This will become still clearer from the significations of each tribe in the spiritual sense; for each tribe signifies some universal or essential of the church, in which those are who are of the church.

Moreover, the universal of each has relation to truths from good, and truths are manifold; for all who are in the heavens differ from each other in respect to good, and thence also in respect to truth, since every truth that has life in man or angel is from good and in accordance with good. Furthermore, all who are of the Lord's church are in truths from good, while those who are in truths and not in good are not of the church; for, as was just said, every truth that has life in man or angel is from good. (On this see above, n. 6, 59, 136, 242, 286, 292; and in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 11-27. That goods and truths therefrom are of infinite variety, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 56, 71, 405, 418, 486, 585, in the small work on the Last Judgment 13, ; also Arcana Coelestia 684, 690, 3241, 3267, 3470, 3519, 3744-3746, 3804, 3986, 4067, 4149, 4263, 5598, 6917, 7236, 7833, 7836, 9002). Goods and the truths from them are of infinite variety, because every angel and every man in whom is the church is his own good and his own truth therefrom; so, too, the universal heaven is arranged according to the affections that are of love to the Lord and of charity towards the neighbor, and of faith therefrom, and all good is of these affections.

[4] The number "a hundred and forty-four thousand," or the number twelve thousand multiplied into twelve ³ signifies all truths from good, in respect to their genera and species in the whole complex, as can be seen from the meaning of the number "one hundred and forty-four," which is twelve multiplied into twelve, in the following passages in Revelation, where the city New Jerusalem is described by measures expressed in numbers. Of the measure of its wall it is said:

He measured the wall thereof, a hundred and forty-four cubits, which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel (Revelation 21:17).

"The city Jerusalem" here signifies a new church to be established by the Lord, and its doctrine; therefore all things that are mentioned, as the "wall," the "gates," and the "foundations," mean such things as belong to the church, consequently spiritual things; and as the church and its doctrine are here described in the sense of the letter by "the city Jerusalem," and a city can be measured, therefore the spiritual things of that church are designated by measures expressed in numbers, and its wall by the number "one hundred and forty-four," or by twelve multiplied into twelve, which number signifies truths from good in the whole complex; for a "wall" signifies truths defending against falsities and evils. That such is the signification of this number is clearly evident from its being said that the measure of a "hundred and forty-four cubits" is "the measure of a man, that is, of an angel." What this involves cannot be known unless it is known that measure, in the spiritual sense, has a similar signification as number, namely, the quality of the thing treated of; and that "man" signifies the reception of truth from spiritual affection, that is, from good, and intelligence therefrom; "angel" having a similar signification, since a man is an angel when he is in truths from good, and also becomes an angel after death. The number "a hundred and forty-four thousand" has a similar signification; for larger and smaller numbers, if from a similar origin, have a like signification, the larger number being made use of when the multitude is greater, or when many kinds together are included, as "a hundred and forty-four thousand," which includes all kinds of truth from good, which are signified by "twelve thousand ⁴ sealed out of every tribe;" and as the measure of the wall, which is said to be "a hundred and forty-four cubits," which includes both the gates and the foundations, which are twelve in number.

[5] So respecting the gates and the foundations it is said:

The New Jerusalem had a wall great and high, having twelve gates, and upon the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. And the wall had twelve foundations, and on them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And the foundations consisted of twelve kinds of precious stones (Revelation 21:12, 14, 19-21).

When it is known that "the New Jerusalem" means a new church, who will not perceive that the number "twelve" so often employed, means the chief and primary constituent of the church? And the chief and primary constituent of the church is truth from good, for everything of the church is from that, for truth is of its doctrine, and good is of a life according to doctrine. But the signification of "gates" and of "foundations" will be told when that chapter is explained.

[6] Because the number "twelve" signifies all things, and is predicated of truths from good, and "the New Jerusalem" signifies a new church, therefore the measurement of the city itself is indicated by a multiple of a like number, in these words:

The city lieth foursquare, and the length thereof is as great as the breadth; and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand stadia. The length and the breadth and the height are equal (Revelation 21:16).

What is signified by "length, breadth, and height" in the spiritual sense will also be told below in the explanation; "the city" means in that sense the doctrine of the church, and "twelve thousand stadia" all its truths from good.

[7] Again the number "twelve" is used here in reference to the fruits of the trees about the river, in these words:

In the midst of its street and of the river, on this side and on that, was there the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit every month (Revelation 22:2).

Since "the streets of the city" signify the truths of doctrine; "the river going forth thence" intelligence; "the tree of life" the perception of truth from good from the Lord, and "fruits" the good from which are truths, it is clear that "twelve" signifies truths from good, through which is intelligence, and of which the church is constituted.

[8] As a representative church was to be instituted among the sons of Jacob, it was provided by the Lord that he should have twelve sons (Genesis 29:32-35; 30:1-25; 35:22-26), that thus all together might represent all things of the church, and each one his part; and this is why twelve tribes sprang from them (Genesis 49:28), and these signify all things of the church, and each tribe signifies some essential of the church; so in what now follows it is said "twelve thousand were sealed out of every tribe," and these signify all who are in that essential of the church, or all who are in that kind of truth from good, since truth from good is what forms the church with all, for truth is of doctrine, and good is of the life, as was said above. (What truth from good is and what the nature of it is, may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 24.)

[9] As the twelve tribes named from the twelve sons of Jacob represented the church, and all things belonging to it, the number "twelve," on account of such signification, was employed in various connections:

As that the princes of Israel were twelve in number (Numbers 1:44).

That these twelve princes brought to the dedication of the altar twelve chargers of silver, twelve bowls of silver, twelve spoons of gold, twelve bullocks, twelve rams, twelve lambs, and twelve goats (Numbers 7:84, 87).

Each one of these things that they brought signifies such things as have reference to truths from good. So too:

Twelve men were sent to explore the land of Canaan (Deuteronomy 1:23);

for "the land of Canaan" signifies the church. So too:

There were twelve precious stones in the breastplate of judgment, or the Urim and Thummim (Exodus 28:21; 39:14);

"precious stones" signifying truths from good. So again:

There were twelve cakes of bread placed in two rows upon the table, which were called the bread of faces (Leviticus 24:5, 6);

"bread" signifying the good of love, and the "table" its reception, thus also truth in general, since truth is what receives good. Again:

Moses built an altar below Mount Sinai, and erected twelve pillars for the twelve tribes ⁵ of Israel (Exodus 24:4);

for an "altar" signifies the good of the church, and "pillars" its truths, thence "the altar and twelve pillars" together signify all truths from good by which the church exists.

[10] Again:

Twelve men carried twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan which were set up in Gilgal, that they might be for a memorial to the sons of Israel. And also twelve stones were set up in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests that bare the ark stood (Joshua 4:1-9, 20);

"Jordan" in the Word signifying the introduction into the church, and "stones" therefrom and in its midst, the truths of the church through which introduction is effected.

[11] So again:

Elijah took twelve stones, and built an altar (1 Kings 18:31, 32);

"altar" signifying the good of the church, and "stones" its truths.

Moses sent twelve thousand of the sons of Israel, with Phinehas as commander, against Midian, and they returned with great spoil, with not a man missing (Numbers 31:5, 6, 49).

For "Midian" signifies those who are in the knowledges of truth, but not in a life according to them, therefore "twelve thousand" were sent against them. The "great spoil" taken from them, has a similar signification as the "raiment, silver, and gold," which the sons of Israel took from the Egyptians (Exodus 3:22; 12:35, 36), and a similar signification as the "unrighteous mammon" of which they should make to themselves friends (Luke 16:9, namely, the knowledges of truth therefrom, which they hold as doctrine and not in the life.

[12] So again:

Solomon placed upon twelve oxen the brazen sea that he made (1 Kings 7:25, 44);

"the brazen sea" signifying truth from good, the "water" in it, truth, and the "brass" out of which it was made, good; and "twelve oxen" signify all goods and all truths therefrom which serve as a foundation. Therefore also:

Solomon made a throne of ivory with six steps to it, and twelve lions standing upon the steps on the one side and on the other (1 Kings 10:18-20).

"The throne of Solomon" signified judgment, which is effected by truths from good, and it represented Divine truth from Divine good; "lions" signifying the truths of heaven and of the church in their power, and "twelve" all (See above, n. 253).

[13] Of Ishmael it is said:

That he should be blessed and multiplied, and that twelve princes should be born from him (Genesis 17:20; 25:16);

for the reason that "Ishmael" signified the external church with all its truths from good. Of Elisha it is said:

That Elijah found him plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he among the twelve; and that he cast his mantle upon him (1 Kings 19:19).

This was done and said because Elijah and Elisha represented the Lord in respect to the Word, in which are all truths from good; consequently when this representation was transferred from Elijah to Elisha, which was signified by his casting his mantle upon him, Elisha was seen "plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he among the twelve," which signifies the formation of the church by means of truths from good out of the Word (See above, n. 395). It is said below that:

There was seen a woman encompassed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (Revelation 12:1).

This was seen because a "woman" signifies the church and "stars" the knowledges of truth: a "crown" the good of these knowledges, and the "head" intelligence.

[14] The Lord's twelve apostles had a similar representation as the twelve tribes of Israel; namely, they collectively represented the church, and each one of them some essential of the church, and for this reason there were twelve of them.

From this it can be seen why it is and what it signifies that the New Jerusalem (which signifies the church and its doctrine) is said:

To have twelve gates, and upon the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon which are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel; and that the wall had twelve foundations, and on these the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Revelation 21:12, 14);

the "twelve angels," the "twelve tribes," and the "twelve apostles" here meaning not angels, tribes, and apostles, but all the things of the church. Likewise it is said that:

The apostles are to sit upon twelve thrones, and judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30);

which does not mean that the apostles are to sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel, but that the Lord alone is to judge all by Divine truth from Divine good see above, n. 9, 206, 253, 270, 297, 333).

[15] He who does not know that "twelve" signifies all things cannot know the arcanum that is signified by:

The twelve baskets of fragments that remained from the five loaves and two fishes with which the Lord fed five thousand men besides women and children (Matthew 14:15-21; Mark 6:37-44; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:9-13).

Each particular here, with the numbers themselves, is significative; "the five thousand men besides women and children," signify all who are of the church that are in truths from good; the "men" signifying those who are in truths, and the "women and children" those who are in good; "loaves" the goods and "fishes" the truths of the natural man; "eating" spiritual nourishment from the Lord; the "twelve baskets of fragments" the knowledges of truth and good therefrom in all abundance and fullness.

[16] Because "twelve" signifies all things, and is predicated of truths from good, which constitute the church:

When the Lord was twelve years old He left father and mother and remained in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them and asking them questions (Luke 2:42, 46);

by which is meant the initiation and introduction of His Human into all things of heaven and the church; therefore when He was found He said:

Wist ye not that I must be in the things that are My Father's? (verse 49).

Because "twelve" signifies all things, and is predicated of truths from good, the Lord said:

Are there not twelve hours of the day? If a man walk in the day he stumbleth not (John 11:9);

"day" signifying illustration in truths from good, and the "twelve hours of the day" all things of truth from good, and "to walk" signifying to live; these words, therefore, in the spiritual sense signify that one who is living in any kind of truth from good is in illustration, and does not stray into falsities. Because "twelve" signifies all things, the Lord said:

Thinkest thou that I cannot now beseech My Father and He will cause to stand by Me more than twelve legions of angels? (Matthew 26:53).

"Twelve legions of angels" meaning the whole heaven, and "more than these" signifying Divine omnipotence.

[17] From this it can now be seen what is signified by "a hundred and forty-four thousand out of every tribe," namely, all who are in truths from good; and "twelve thousand out of each tribe" all who are in that kind of truth from good which is signified by the tribe named; consequently, that twelve thousand are not meant, nor those who are of the tribes of Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. Furthermore, it is to be known that all these, or "the hundred and forty-four thousand," mean those who were taken up into heaven before the Last Judgment; but those afterward mentioned, from verse 7:9-17to the end of this chapter, mean those that were preserved by the Lord until the Last Judgment, and were then first taken up into heaven (respecting whom see above, n. 391-392, 394, 397); for those who were in truths from good were all received into heaven before the judgment; but those who were in good, and not as yet in truths, were preserved, and in the meantime instructed and prepared for heaven. These are to be further treated of hereafter. Those who were taken up into heaven before the judgment are meant by those of whom it is said in chapter 14 of Revelation:

A Lamb was standing on the Mount Zion, and with Him a hundred and forty-four thousand, having the Father's name written on their foreheads (verse 14:1).

Of these it is said that:

No one could learn the song save the hundred and forty-four thousand bought from the earth. These are they who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins, bought from among men, the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb (verses 14:3-4); and the same are meant by those who are "of the first resurrection;" and the others are meant by those who were "of the second resurrection" (Revelation 20:4-6).

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2015. That 'kings will come out of you' means that all truth comes from Him is clear from the meaning of 'a king' as truth in both the historical and the prophetical sections of the Word, as stated in 1672 but not yet shown to be so. From the meaning of 'nations' as goods, and from the meaning of 'kings' as truths, the nature of the internal sense of the Word becomes clear, and also how remote it is from the sense of the letter. No one reading the Word, especially the historical section, believes anything other than that 'nations' referred to there means nations, or that 'kings' there means kings, and therefore that the nations mentioned there, or the kings, are the real subject of the very Word itself. But when the idea of nations and also of kings reaches angels it perishes altogether, and good and truth take their place instead. This is bound to seem strange and indeed a paradox, but it is nevertheless the truth. The matter may also become clear to anyone from the fact that if nations were meant in the Word by 'nations' and kings by 'kings', the Word of the Lord would hardly embody anything more than some historical or other piece of writing and so would be something of a worldly nature, when in fact everything in the Word is Divine and so is celestial and spiritual.

[2] Take merely the statement in the present verse about Abraham's being made fruitful, nations being made of him, and kings coming out of him. What else is this but something purely worldly and nothing at all heavenly? Indeed these assertions entail no more than the glory of this world, a glory which is absolutely nothing in heaven. But if this is the Word of the Lord then its glory must be that of heaven, not that of the world. This also is why the sense of the letter is completely erased and disappears when it passes into heaven, and is purified in such a way that nothing worldly at all is intermingled. For 'Abraham' is not used to mean Abraham but the Lord; nor is 'being fruitful' used to mean his descendants who would increase more and more but the endless growth of good belonging to the Lord's Human Essence. 'Nations' do not mean nations but goods, and 'kings' do not mean kings but truths. Nevertheless the narrative in the sense of the letter remains historically true, for Abraham was indeed spoken to in this way; and he was indeed made fruitful in this way, with nations as well as kings descending from him.

[3] That 'kings' means truths becomes clear from the following places: In Isaiah,

The sons of the foreigner will build up your walls, and their kings will minister to you. You will suck the milk of nations, and the breast of kings will you suck. Isaiah 60:10, 16.

What 'sucking the milk of nations and the breast of kings' means is not at all evident from the letter but from the internal sense, in which being endowed with goods and instructed in truths is meant. In Jeremiah,

There will enter through the gates of this city kings and princes seated on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses. Jeremiah 17:25; 22:4.

'Riding in chariots and on horses' is a prophecy meaning the abundance of things of the understanding, as becomes clear from very many places in the Prophets. Thus the prophecy that 'kings will enter through the gates of the city' means in the internal sense that they were to be endowed with truths of faith. This sense of the Word is the heavenly sense into which the worldly sense of the letter passes.

[4] In the same prophet,

Jehovah has spurned in His fierce indignation king and priest. The gates of Zion have sunk into the ground, He has destroyed and broken in pieces her bars. King and princes are among the nations; the law is no more. Lamentations 2:6, 9.

Here 'king' stands for the truth of faith, 'priest' for the good of charity, 'Zion' for the Church, which is destroyed and its bars broken in pieces. Consequently 'king and princes among the nations', that is, truth and what belongs to truth, will be so completely banished that 'the law is no more', that is, nothing of the doctrine of faith will exist any more. In Isaiah,

Before the boy knows to refuse evil and to choose good, the ground will be abandoned which you loathe in the presence of its two kings. Isaiah 7:16.

This refers to the Lord's Coming. 'The land that will be abandoned' stands for faith which at that time would not exist. 'The kings' are the truths of faith which would be loathed.

[5] In the same prophet,

I will lift up My hand to the nations and raise My ensign to the peoples; and they will bring your sons in their bosom, and your daughters will be carried on their shoulder. Kings will be your foster fathers and their queens your wet-nurses. Isaiah 49:22-23.

'Nations' and 'daughters' stand for goods, 'peoples' and 'sons' for truths, as shown in Volume One. That 'nations' stands for goods, 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849, as does 'daughters', 489-491, while 'peoples' stands for truths, 1259, 1260, as does 'sons', 489, 491, 533, 1147. 'Kings' therefore stands for truths, in general by which they will be nourished, and 'queens' for goods by which they will be suckled. Whether you speak of goods and truths or of those who are governed by goods and truths it amounts to the same.

[6] In the same prophet,

He will spatter many nations, kings will shut their mouths because of him, ¹ for that which has [not] been told them they have seen, and that which they have not heard they have understood. Isaiah 52:15.

This refers to the Lord's Coming. 'Nations' stands for those who are stirred by an affection for goods, 'kings' those who are stirred by an affection for truths. In David,

Now, O kings, be intelligent; be instructed, O judges of the earth. Serve Jehovah with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son lest He perhaps be angry and you perish in the way. Psalms 2:10-12.

'Kings' stands for people who are governed by truths, and who by virtue of truths are also in many places called 'king's sons'. 'The Son' here stands for the Lord, and he is called the Son here because he is Truth itself, and the source of all truth.

[7] In John,

They will sing a new song, You are worthy to take the Book and to open its seals. You have made us kings and priests to our God so that we shall reign on the earth. Revelation 5:9-10.

Here people who are governed by truths are called 'kings'. The Lord also calls them 'the sons of the kingdom' in Matthew,

He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the seed are the sons of the kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the evil one. Matthew 13:37-38.

In John,

The sixth angel poured out his bowl over the great river Euphrates and its water was dried up to prepare the way of the kings who were from the east. Revelation 16:12.

'Euphrates' clearly does not mean the Euphrates, nor does 'kings from the east' mean kings from that quarter. What 'Euphrates' does mean may be seen in 120, 1585, 1866, from which it is evident that 'the way of the kings who were from the cast' means truths of faith that derive from goods of love.

[8] In the same book,

The nations that are saved will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory and honour into it. Revelation 21:24.

Here 'nations' stands for people who are governed by goods, 'kings of the earth' for those who are governed by truths, which is also evident from the fact that the details here are prophetical, not historical. In the same book,

With the great harlot seated on many waters the kings of the earth have committed whoredom and have become drunk with the wine of her whoredom. Revelation 17:2.

And elsewhere in the same book,

Babylon has given all nations drink from the wine of the fury of her whoredom; and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her. Revelation 18:1, 3, 9.

Here similarly it is clear that 'the kings of the earth' does not mean kings, for the subject is the falsification and adulteration of the doctrine of faith, that is, of truth, which are 'whoredom'. 'Kings of the earth' stands for truths that have been falsified and adulterated.

[9] In the same book,

The ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom but are receiving authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These will be of one mind, and they will hand over power and authority to the beast. Revelation 17:12-13.

That 'kings' here does not mean kings may also be evident to anyone. If kings were meant, then 'ten kings receiving authority as kings for one hour' would be quite unintelligible, as similarly with the following words in the same book,

I saw the beast and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered to make war with Him who was sitting on the horse, and with His army. Revelation 19:19

In verse 13 of the same chapter it is stated explicitly that the One who was sitting on the horse was The Word of God, against which the kings of the earth are said to have been gathered. 'The beast' stands for goods of love that have been profaned, 'kings' for truths of faith that have been adulterated; these are called 'kings of the earth' because they exist within the Church - 'earth' meaning the Church, see 662, 1066, 1067, 1262. 'The white horse' stands for the understanding of truth, 'He who was sitting on the horse' for the Word. This matter is plainer still in Daniel 11, describing the war between the king of the south and the king of the north, by which is meant the conflict of truths with falsities. Here such conflicts are described as a war that took place in history.

[10] Since 'a king' means truth, what is meant in the internal sense when the Lord is called King, and also a Priest, is made clear; and what essential quality of the Lord was represented by kings, and what by priests, is also made clear. 'Kings' represented His Divine Truth, and 'priests' His Divine Good. All the laws of order by which the Lord governs the universe as King are truths, while all the laws by which He governs the universe as Priest and by which He rules even over truths themselves are goods. For government from truths alone condemns everyone to hell, but government from goods lifts them out of that place and raises them up into heaven; see 1728. Because, in the Lord's case, these two - truths and goods - are joined together, they were also represented in ancient times by kingship and priesthood combined, as with Melchizedek who was at one and the same time king of Salem and priest to God Most High, Genesis 14:18. And at a later time among the Jews where the representative Church was established in a form of its own He was represented by judges and priests, and after that by kings.

[11] But because 'kings' represented truths which ought not to be paramount for the reason, already stated, that they condemn, the very idea was so objectionable that the Jews were reproached for it. The nature of truth regarded in itself has been described in 1 Samuel 8:11-18, as the rights of a king; and previous to that, in Moses, in Deuteronomy 17:14-18, they had been commanded through Moses to choose genuine truth deriving from good, not spurious truth, and not to pollute it with reasonings and factual knowledge. These are the considerations which the directive concerning a king given in the place in Moses referred to above embodies within itself. No one can possibly see this from the sense of the letter, but it is nevertheless evident from the details within the internal sense. This shows why 'a king' and 'kingship' represented and meant nothing other than truth.

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