331. And people and nation. That this signifies those who belong to the Lord's spiritual church, and to His celestial church, is clear from the signification of people and nation in the Word. That by people are signified those who are in spiritual good, and by nation those who are in celestial good; thus those who belong to the Lord's spiritual church, and to His celestial church. That there are two kingdoms into which the heavens are divided, namely, the celestial kingdom and the spiritual kingdom, and that in the celestial kingdom are those who are in the good of love to the Lord, and in the spiritual kingdom those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbour, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 20-28). But those two kingdoms are not only in the heavens, they are also on the earth, and they are called there the celestial church and the spiritual church. Few know what is specifically signified in the Word by a people or peoples, and what specifically by a nation or nations; therefore I wish to adduce some passages from the Word where they are named together, from which it will be clear that "people" and "nations " have a distinct signification, for unless this were the case they would not be named together, as in the following passages:

[2] In Isaiah:

"The strong people shall honour thee, the city of the powerful nations shall fear thee. Jehovah will swallow up in this mountain the faces of the covering, the covering upon all peoples, and the veil spread over all nations" (25:3, 7, 8).

Here a distinction is made between peoples and nations, because peoples signify those who belong to the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and nations those who belong to His celestial kingdom; thus, those who are in spiritual good, and those who are in celestial good. Spiritual good is the good of charity towards the neighbour, and hence the good of faith, and celestial good is the good of love to the Lord, and hence the good of mutual love. The truth of this good is what is meant by the city of powerful nations, for a city signifies the doctrine of truth, or truths of doctrine. By swallowing up the covering cast over all peoples, and the veil spread over all nations, is signified that the shade which covers the understanding shall be dispersed lest the truths be seen and the goods perceived that pertain to heaven and the church.

[3] In the same:

"Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye peoples; let the earth hear, and the fulness thereof" (34:1).

Because nations signify those who are in the good of love, and peoples those who are in the good of charity and thence in the truths of faith, it is therefore said of the nations, that they should come near, and of the peoples, that they should hearken; to come near signifies to be conjoined by love, and to hearken signifies to obey, and to be instructed; therefore it is also said, let the earth hear, and the fulness thereof. By the earth is signified the church as to good, and by the fulness thereof are signified truths.

[4] In the same:

"I Jehovah have called thee, in justice, and will hold thine hand, and will give thee for a covenant to the people, for a light of the nations" (42:6).

In the same:

"Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people assemble" (43:8, 9).

In the same:

"I have given him for a witness to the peoples, a prince and law-giver to the nations" (55:4).

In the same:

"Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold, I will lift up mine hand towards the nations, and lift up my standard towards the peoples" (49:22).

In the same:

"The peoples that walked in darkness have seen a great light. Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast restored to it great joy" (9:2, 3).

And in the same:

"In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for a standard of the peoples, to it shall the nations seek. And he shall lift up a standard for the nations, and shall gather together the outcasts of Israel" (11:10, 12).

The statements contained in these passages are spoken concerning the Lord; and by peoples and nations are meant all who belong to His church; for all who belong to the Lord's church are either of His celestial kingdom or of His spiritual kingdom; besides those who are in those two kingdoms, there are no others who belong to the church. There are also two things which constitute the church, good and truth, both from the Lord; by nations those who are in good are meant, and by peoples those who are in truth; and, apart from persons, by nations are signified the goods of the church, and by peoples the truths thereof. Peoples signify the truths of the church, because spiritual good, or the good of charity towards the neighbour, in which those are who are meant by people, in its essence is truth. (As may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 8042, 10296; the reason of its being so, n. 863, 875, 895, 927, 1023, 1043, 1044, 1555, 2256, 4328, 4493, 5113, 9596. The nature, consequently, of the distinction between those who belong to the celestial kingdom, and those who belong to the spiritual kingdom, n. 2088, 2669, 2709 ¹ , 2715, 3235, 3240, 4788, 7068, 8521, 9277, 10295.)

[5] In the same:

"At that time a gift shall be brought unto Jehovah Zebaoth; a people divided and pillaged; a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, to the place of the name of Jehovah, to mount Zion" (18:2, 7).

The subject here treated of is the invitation of all to the church, therefore also people and nation are named. Mount Zion signifies the church, to which they are invited; by a people divided and pillaged, are signified those with whom truths are taken away, altered, or perverted by those who are in falsities of doctrine; by a nation meted out and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have spoiled, are signified those among whom goods are treated in like manner, rivers denoting falsities and reasonings therefrom.

[6] In Zechariah:

"As yet the peoples shall come, and the inhabitants of great cities to entreat the faces of Jehovah, and so shall come many peoples and numerous nations to seek Jehovah Zebaoth in Jerusalem" (8:20-22).

By peoples and nations are also here signified all those who belong to the Lord's church; by peoples, those who belong to His spiritual church, and by nations, those who belong to His celestial church. Jerusalem, to which they shall come, denotes the church.

[7] In David:

"Thou wilt set me for the head of the nations, a people I had not known shall serve me" (Psalms 18:43).

In the same:

Jehovah "shall subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet. God reigneth over the nations. The willing of the people are gathered together" (47:3, 8, 9).

In the same:

"That thy salvation may be known on the earth, among all nations. The peoples shall confess thee, O God; the nations shall be glad and shout for joy; for thou shalt judge the peoples in uprightness, and shalt lead the nations upon earth" (Psalms 67:2-5).

In the same:

"Remember me, O Jehovah, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people; that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nations" (106:4, 5).

In the same:

"I will confess thee, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing praises unto thee among the peoples" (Psalms [57]:7-9 ² ; 108:1-3).

In these passages also peoples and nations are mentioned, by whom are meant all those who are in truths and goods; the very expressions also that are used of peoples are expressions that are predicated of truths, and the expressions that are used of nations those that are predicated of goods. That no others are meant by nations, is clear also from this, that those things were said by David, who was the enemy of the Canaanitish nations.

[8] In Luke:

"Mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples; a light in revelation of the nations" (2:30-32).

In Zephaniah:

"The remnant of my people shall spoil them, and the residue of my nation shall inherit them" (2:9).

In Moses:

When the two sons struggled together in the womb; Rebecca went to enquire of Jehovah, unto whom Jehovah said, Two nations are in thy womb, and two peoples shall be separated from thy bowels (Genesis 25:22, 23).

And in the same:

"Remember the days of the age, when the Most High gave to the nations the inheritance; when he separated the sons of man, he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel" (Deuteronomy 32:7, 8).

By the sons of man are signified the same as by peoples, namely, those who are in spiritual truths and goods; therefore it is said concerning them, "When he separated the sons of man, he set the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the sons of Israel"; the sons of Israel signifying the spiritual church, and the number of them, or of the twelve tribes named from them, signifying all the truths and goods therein (see just above, n. 330); they therefore are called peoples. To separate them and to set their bounds, signifies to remove from falsities and to gift with truths; and to give the inheritance to the nations, signifies heaven and conjunction with those who are in the good of love.

[9] In Daniel:

"All peoples, nations, and tongues shall worship him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed" (7:14).

This is spoken of the Lord; and by peoples and nations are meant all those who are in truths and goods; and by all tongues are meant, of whatever doctrine or religion; for the Lord's church is universal, as it exists with all those who are in the good of life, and who from their doctrine look to heaven, and thereby conjoin themselves with the Lord (as to whom see the work concerning Heaven and Hell 318-328). Because nations signify those who are in the good of love, and peoples those who are in the good of charity and the truths of faith thence, therefore it is said, "His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom shall not pass away"; dominion in the Word being predicated of good, and kingdom of truth; therefore the Lord is called Lord from Divine good, and King from Divine truth. Besides these passages, there are also others which might be adduced to confirm [the statement], that people signify those who belong to the spiritual church, and nations those who belong to the celestial church; but here those only have been adduced in which people and nations are mentioned together. To these some shall be added in which nations are mentioned alone.

[10] In Isaiah:

"Open the gates, that the just nation which keepeth faithfulness may enter in. Thou hast added to the nation, O Jehovah, thou hast added to the nation; thou art glorified; thou hast removed all the ends of the earth" (26:2, 15).

In David:

"All the ends of the earth shall be turned towards Jehovah; and all the families of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is Jehovah's; and he is the ruler among the nations" (Psalms 22:27, 28).

In Isaiah:

"The nations shall walk to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Thy heart shall enlarge itself, that the multitude of the sea may be turned towards thee; the hosts of the nations shall come unto thee" (60:3, 4).

In the same:

"All nations shall see thy justice, and all kings thy glory" (62:2).

In these passages nations and peoples are not mentioned together, but still in the two last nations and kings [are], because by kings are signified the same as by people, namely, those who are in truths (see above, n. 31). And because by nations are signified those who are in good, and by kings those who are in truths, therefore it is said concerning nations, that they shall see Thy justice, and concerning kings that they shall see Thy glory, justice in the Word being predicated of good, and glory of truth. (That justice in the Word is predicated of Divine good, may be seen, n. 2235, 9857; and glory of Divine truth, n. 4809, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429.)

[11] From the opposite sense it is further evident that peoples signify those who are in truths, and nations those who are in good; for, in that sense, peoples signify those who are in falsities, and nations those who are in evils; as in the following passages.

In Isaiah:

"Asshur, the rod of mine anger. I will send him against a hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge" (10:5, 6).

In the same:

"The voice of a multitude in the mountains; a voice of the tumult of the kingdoms of the nations gathered together. They come from a land of remoteness, from the end of the heavens. Jehovah, with the vessels of his indignation, to destroy the whole land" (13:4, 5).

In the same:

"Jehovah smiting the peoples with a plague not curable, ruling the nations with anger" (14:6).

In the same:

"By the noise of the tumult the peoples shall wander to and fro; before thy loftiness the nations shall be dispersed (33:3).

In Jeremiah:

"Behold, a people cometh from the land of the north, and a great nation shall be stirred up from the sides of the earth. They lay hold on bow and spear; it is cruel, and it has no mercy" (6:22, 23).

In Ezekiel:

"Neither will I cause thee to hear the calumny of the nations any more, and thou shalt not bear the reproach of the peoples any more" (36:15).

In David:

"Thou makest us a by-word among the nations, a shaking of the head among the peoples" (Psalms 44:14).

And in the same:

"Jehovah hath made void the counsel of the nations; he hath overthrown the thoughts of the peoples" (Psalms 33:10).

In these passages peoples signify those who are opposed to the truths of the spiritual church, thus those who are in falsities; and nations those who are opposed to the goods of the celestial church, thus those who are in evils. These things are also signified by the peoples and nations who were driven out of the land of Canaan. To these observations may be added what was said above, n. 175.

Fußnoten:

31. (Verse 6) And hath made us kings and priests. That this signifies, that from Him we are in His spiritual and celestial kingdom, is evident from the signification of kings as being those who are in truths from good, and, because these constitute the spiritual kingdom of the Lord, as being those who are in His spiritual kingdom - that such are signified by kings in the Word, will be evident from what follows; and from the signification of priests, as denoting those who are in the good of love, and, because these constitute the celestial kingdom of the Lord, as denoting those who are in His celestial kingdom. (That there are two kingdoms into which the heavens are in general distinguished, may be seen in the work, Heaven and Hell 20-28; and that the spiritual kingdom is called the regal kingdom of the Lord, and the celestial kingdom His priestly kingdom, may be seen in the same work, n. 24.) Mention is made of kings in many places in the prophetic Word, and those who are ignorant of the internal sense, believe that kings are there meant; kings, however, are not meant, but all those who are in truths from good, or in faith from charity, from the Lord; the reason is, that the Lord is the only King, and those who, from the Lord, are in truths from good, are called His sons. This is why, by princes, sons of the kingdom, sons of kings, and also by kings such are meant; and that abstractedly from persons, as is the case in heaven, truths from good are meant, or, what is the same thing, faith from charity; because truth pertains to faith, and good to charity.

[2] That kings are not meant, may be evident from the expression alone here used, namely, that Jesus Christ hath made us kings and priests; and afterwards,

"Thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth" (Apoc. 5:10);

And in Matthew:

"The [good] seed are the sons of the kingdom" (13:38)

the seed sown in the field denotes truths from good, which man has from the Lord (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 3373, 10248, 10249). Every one also may perceive that the Lord will not make all those who are there treated of kings, that He calls them kings from the power and the glory belonging to those who are in truths from good from the Lord.

From these considerations it may 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 are in truths from good from the Lord; and, as most terms used in the Word have also an opposite sense, in that sense kings signify those who are in falsities from evil.

[3] That by king in the Word is meant the Lord as to Divine truth, is evident from the words of the Lord Himself to Pilate:

"Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. For this was I born, and for this came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is in the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?" (John 18:37, 38).

From the question of Pilate, What is truth? it is evident that he understood that the Lord called truth a king; but because he was a Gentile, and knew nothing from the Word, he could not be instructed that Divine truth was from the Lord, and that He was 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 chief priests said unto him, Write not, The king of the Jews, but that he said, I am the king of the Jews, Pilate answered, What I have written, I have written" (John 19:19-22).

[4] These things being understood, it may be known what is meant by kings in the following passages in the Apocalypse:

"The sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates, and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be prepared" (16:12).

With the great whore that sitteth upon many waters, "the kings of the earth have committed fornication" (17:1, 2).

"The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings; five are fallen, the other is not yet come. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, who have not yet received the kingdom, but they receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them; for he is Lord of lords and King of kings" (17:9, 10, 12, 14).

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

"All nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of the fornication" of Babylon, "and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her" (18:3).

"And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war with him that sat on the horse, and with his army" (19:19).

"And the nations which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honour into it" (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 said above.

In like manner in Daniel, by "the king of the south," and "the king of the north," who made war against each other (11:1to the end). By the king of the south are there meant those who are in the light of truth from good, and by the king of the north those who are in darkness from evil. (That the south in the Word signifies those who are in the light of truth from good, may be seen,Arcana Coelestia 1458, 3708, 3195, 5672, 9642, and the north those who are in the darkness of falsity from evil, n. 3708, and in general in the work, 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, where also are likewise meant those who are in truths from good from the Lord, and, in an opposite sense, those who are in falsities from evil; as in Isaiah:

"He shall disperse many nations; kings shall shut their mouths upon him; because what was [not] told them they have seen, and what they have not heard they have understood" (52:15).

And in the same:

"Zion of the Holy One of Israel, thou shalt suck the milk of the nations, and shalt suck the breasts of kings" (60:16).

Also, in the same:

"Kings shall be thy nursing fathers and princesses thy nursing mothers; they shall bow down to thee with their face to the earth" (49:23).

And moreover in Isaiah 14:9; 24:21; 60:10; Jerem. 2:26; 4:9; 49:38; Lament. 2:6, 9; Ezekiel 7:26, 27; Hosea, 3:4; Zeph. 1:8; Psalm 2:10; 110:5. Falsities, Genesis 49:20.

[6] Because kings signify those who are in truths from good from the Lord, therefore it became a custom from ancient times, that kings, when they were crowned, should be distinguished by certain insignia which signify truths from good; as, for example, that the king should be anointed with oil, that he should wear a crown of gold, that he should hold a sceptre in the right hand, that he should be clothed with a crimson robe, that he should sit upon a throne of silver, and that he should ride with his insignia upon a white horse. (For oil signifies good from which is truth, as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 886, 4683, 9780, 9954, 10011, 10261, 10268; a crown of gold upon the head has a similar signification, n. 9930; a sceptre, which is a staff, signifies the power of truth from good, n. 4581, 4876, 4966; a robe and cloak signifies Divine truth in the spiritual kingdom, n. 9825, 10005; and crimson, the spiritual love of good, n. 9467; a throne, the kingdom of truth from good, n. 5313, 6397, 8625; and silver, that truth itself, n. 1551, 1552, 2954, 5658.) A white horse signifies the understanding enlightened from truths (as may be seen in the little work, The White Horse 1-5. That rituals observed at the coronation of kings involve such things, but that the knowledge thereof is at this day lost, see also n. 4581, 4966).

[7] Since it is evident from these things what is signified by 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 why 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); which 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" (9:9; Matthew 21:5; John 12:15).

The reason of this was, that to sit upon an ass, and upon the foal of an ass, was the mark of distinction belonging to a chief, judge and also to a king. This is evident from the following passages:

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

"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until 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).

Because to sit upon an ass and the foal of an ass was a sign of such rank, therefore the judges rode upon white asses (Judges 5:9, 10), and their sons upon asses' colts (Judges 10:4, and 12:14); and a king himself, when he was crowned, upon a she-mule (1 Kings 1:33), and his sons upon mules (2 Sam. 13:29). He who does not know what is signified in a representative sense by a horse, a mule, and the foal of an ass, supposes that the Lord's riding upon the foal of an ass, signified affliction and humiliation; whereas it signified regal magnificence; therefore also the people then proclaimed the Lord king, and strewed their garments upon the way. (The reason why this was done when He went into Jerusalem was because by Jerusalem is signified the church, as may be seen in the small work, The New Jerusalem and its Doctrine, n. 6; that garments signify truths clothing good, and ministering to it, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 1073, 2576, 5248, 5319, 5954, 9212, 9216, 9952, 10536, and in the work, Heaven and Hell 177-182.)

[8] From these things it is now evident what is signified by king and by kings in the Word, so also, what by the Anointed, Messiah, and Christ; for Anointed, Messiah, and Christ, just as King, signify the Lord as to Divine truth going forth from His Divine good; for a king is called the anointed, and the term signifying anointed is Messiah in Hebrew and Christ in Greek. (But that the Lord, as to His Divine Human was alone "the Anointed of Jehovah," because in Him alone was the Divine good of the Divine love from conception, because He was conceived of Jehovah; but all the anointed only represented Him, as may be seen, n. 9954, 10011, 10269. But that priests signified the good that exists in the celestial kingdom may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, where it is shown 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, because 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. 10017; that hence by the priesthood, and by priesthoods in the Word, is signified the good of love which is from the Lord, see n. 9806, 9809. That by the two names, Jesus and Christ, is signified both His priestly and His regal function, that is, by Jesus is signified the Divine good, and by Christ the Divine truth, n.3004, 3005, 3009. That priests who do not acknowledge the Lord, and also kings, represent the contrary of the above, or evil and the falsity from evil, n. 3670.)