327. Saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof. That this signifies that the Lord from His Divine Human has Omnipotence and Omniscience, is evident from all that has preceded: for the subject hitherto treated of is that the Lord from His Divine Human has Omnipotence and Omniscience, and that thence judgment belongs to Him. That this is meant by, "Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof," is evident from the series of the things explained from the beginning of this chapter to the present verse, which I desire to cite in order, namely, that by, "I saw in the right hand of him that sat upon the throne," is signified the Lord as to Omnipotence and Omniscience, n. 297; by "a book written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals," is signified the state of the life of all in heaven and in the earth altogether hidden, n. 299, 300; by, "I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?" is signified exploration, whether there is any such as know and perceive the state of the life of all, (n. 302, 303; by "no one in heaven, or on earth, or under the earth, was able to open the book," is signified that no one [could] in the least from himself, n. 304; by, "Behold! the lion who is of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof," is signified that the Lord from His own power subdued the hells, and reduced all things in the heavens to order, and this by Divine good united to Divine truth in His Human, (n. 309, 310; by, "I saw a lamb having seven horns, and seven eyes," is signified the Lord as to the Divine Human, [and] that from it He has Omnipotence and Omniscience, n. 314, 316, 317; and by, "He came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne," is signified that those things are from His Divine Human, n. 319. Hence it is now clear, that here by, "Thou art worthy to take the book, and to loose the seals thereof," is signified that the Lord from the Divine Human has Omnipotence and Omniscience.

8770. 'And you will be for Me a kingdom of priests' means that at that time the good of truth will be [with them]. This is clear from the meaning of 'a kingdom of priests' here as spiritual good, which is the good of truth, that is, the good that a member of the spiritual Church is brought to by means of truth. The reason why 'a kingdom of priests' means this good is that these words are addressed to the house of Jacob and the children of Israel, who represent the spiritual Church, external and internal - the house of Jacob representing the external Church, and the children of Israel the internal Church, 8762. Also 'a kingdom' means truth, 1672, 2547, 4691, while 'priests' means good, since the Lord's Priesthood, which was represented by priests, means Divine Good, and the Lord's Kingship, which was represented by kings, means Divine Truth, 1728, 2015 (end), 3670, 6148.

[2] In the representative Church among the descendants of Jacob there was first a kingdom ruled by judges, after that a kingdom ruled by priests, and finally a kingdom ruled by kings. The kingdom ruled by judges represented Divine Truth emanating from Divine Good, whereas the kingdom ruled by priests, who were also judges, represented Divine Good from which Divine Truth emanates, and the kingdom ruled by kings represented Divine Truth without Divine Good. But when the office of king also had some of the priestly functions attached to it, kings then also represented Divine Truth containing good in the measure that priestly functions were linked to the office of king.

[3] All this was brought about in the Jewish Church to the end that the states of heaven might thereby be represented. For in heaven there are two kingdoms, one being called the celestial kingdom, and the other being called the spiritual kingdom. The celestial kingdom is what is called the Lord's Priesthood, and the spiritual kingdom is what is called His Kingship. In the latter Divine Truth reigns, in the former Divine Good. And since the representation of the celestial kingdom began to perish when the people asked for a king, therefore - to ensure that something representing the Lord's kingdom in the heavens might nevertheless continue to exist - the Jews were separated from the Israelites. The Jewish kingdom then represented the Lord's celestial kingdom, and the Israelite kingdom His spiritual kingdom.

[4] If people know these things they are able to know why the changes in forms of government took place one after another among the descendants of Jacob. They are also able to know why, when the people asked for a king, they were told by Jehovah through Samuel that in doing so they rejected Jehovah so that He should not reign over them, 1 Samuel 8:7, and why they were told then about 'the right of the king', 1 Samuel 8:11 and following verses, which describes Divine Truth without Divine Good. If people know the things mentioned above they can also know why some priestly functions were conferred on David, and also why after Solomon's time the kingdom was divided into two, into the Jewish kingdom and the Israelite kingdom. Regarding the two kingdoms in heaven, see 3635, 3883-3896, 4112, 4113, 4138.