1063. Verse 10. And they are seven kings, signifies the truths of the Word falsified and profaned by such. This is evident from the signification of "kings," as being the truths of the Word (See n. 29, 31, 625, 1034); also from the mention of "seven," which has reference to what is holy, and in the contrary sense to what is profane; therefore "seven kings" signify the truths of the Word falsified and profaned. "Seven kings" have this signification because the "seven mountains" just mentioned signify the goods of the Word adulterated and profaned. For in the Word where good is treated of truth is also treated of, because of the heavenly marriage, which is the marriage of good and truth in all the particulars of it (See above, n. 238, 660, 775).

[2] One who does not know that in the Word "kings" signify truths can by no means know what is meant by "kings" in many passages in the Word, as in Daniel where it is said:

The heads and the horns of the beasts are kings or kingdoms (Daniel 7:17, 24; also in Revelation 16:12, 14; 18:3; 19:19; 21:24).

And in this chapter:

The seven heads are seven kings; the five have fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come. And the beast that was and is not is the eighth king, and is of the seven, and he goeth into perdition. And the ten horns are ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom; and other things that follow (Revelation 17:10-12).

For if kings were here meant by "kings" it could not possibly be divined by any conjecture what these expressions mean. But when it is known that "kings" signify the truths of the Word and thus the truths of the church, the meaning is plainly evident. Moreover, by the numbers so many truths are not to be understood, but such truths as are signified by the number in the spiritual sense. For if seven truths were signified by the "seven kings," and five truths by "the five kings who have fallen," and ten truths by the "ten kings" and as many "horns," from all this no spiritual sense could in any way result; therefore it must be altogether known that all numbers signify in the Word the qualities of the things which are described.

(Continuation respecting the Fourth Kind of Profanation)

[3] In this kind of profanation are those especially who read the Word and know about the Lord; because from the Lord through the Word are all things holy that can be profaned; things not from that source cannot be profaned. That is said to be profane that is the opposite of what is holy, and that offers violence to what is holy and destroys it. From this it follows that those do not belong to this kind of profanation who do not read the Word and do not approach the Lord, as is the case with the Papists, still less those who know nothing about the Lord and the Word, like the Gentiles. Those who belong to this kind of profanation appear after death at first with a face of human color, around which float many wandering stars; and those of them that had been leaders sometimes appear shining about the mouth. But as they are brought into the light of heaven, the stars and the shining of the mouth vanish, and the color of the face is changed to black, and likewise their garments. But the blackness of these profaners draws something from blue, as the blackness of the other kind of profaners draws something from red, for the reason that the latter profane the goods of the Word and of the church, while the others profane the truths of the Word and of the church. For red derives from the sun its signification of good, while blue derives from the sky its signification of truth.

"The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. For He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods." Psalm 24:1-2

Additional readings: Daniel 7:1, 15-28, John 10:1-17

Before the rise of modern science it was thought that the ocean was the basis of creation and that the world was literally founded on it, as some sort of large floating, yet stationary island. This concept, while not true literally, is a correspondential image of the truth that is conveyed in the internal sense by the words of our text.

"The word ‘earth’ or ‘land’ in the Word…denotes the people who are in it, and in fact the people of the church, thus the church itself" (Arcana Coelestia 1066). When we read, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1), a new church or spiritual development is what is meant. And when we read, "the fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon the earth, which shall be diverse from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, " not monarchical sovereignties but the states of the church are signified. So in our text the church is meant. The church is the Lord’s kingdom on earth, and it is founded upon the eternal truths of the Word in ultimates. Our text reads, "The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." Here we find the two words "earth" and "world." They are not used for literary effect, though the dual expressions that abound throughout the Word add much to its literary beauty. The earth refers to the church as to its truths and the fullness to their abundance, and the world refers to the church as to its goodness. "They that dwell therein" are the people in whom this truth and goodness dwell.

Thus we learn from these verses that the church is the Lord’s as to its good and truth. And the reason is given: "For He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods." In the Hebrew the word translated floods is the term used for large rivers; so a more accurate translation would be "founded it upon the rivers."

The seas upon which the church is founded are the knowledges of truth that are contained in the Word. We recall that rivers watered the Garden of Eden. Rivers represent doctrines drawn from the Word that make these truths applicable to life, and because both are needed, it is said that He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.

When we stand on the shore of the Atlantic, we cannot see its utmost limits; we can see but a small part of it, while rivers, which terminate in the sea, are those more particularly defined truths which terminate finally in general truths but have their source as it were in the mountains and hills of heaven. Thus these two verses with which the twenty-fourth Psalm opens in their spiritual meaning teach us that the church is founded upon the knowledge of truth and good rationally understood.

The church is founded upon the seas of the sense of the letter of the Word, or on Divine revelation, upon the whole vast, indefinable mass of knowledge expressed in the written statements of the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, but it is established upon the doctrines through which it is rationally understood—the flowing, living truths that enter the mind of each individual from God out of heaven. And just as the earth is said to be founded, built up, and established, so the church is founded on revelation and established in the hearts and minds of men as that revelation is received and understood.

The Writings of the church put this very clearly in these words: "The church is from the Word, and it is such as its understanding of the Word is…The Word is the Word according to the understanding of it with man; that is, as it is understood. If it is not understood, the Word is indeed called the Word, but with man it is not." (Doctrine of Sacred Scripture 76-77). And again, "The Word is not understood without doctrine" (Doctrine of Sacred Scripture 50). The text has a very practical lesson for us. By the truths of the Word we are brought in touch with the Lord, who is the Word. Man does not live from himself. He was created by a power outside of himself. And this same power keeps him alive from day to day and gives him eternal life.

The importance to us of truths from the Word is emphasized throughout the Writings. We are living in a time of amazing increase in knowledge about the external world, knowledge that has made this and other nations immensely prosperous. Yet only obedience to the truths that the Lord has given us can make prosperity a safe blessing. Listen to what the Writings of our church say about the truths of the Word: "Faith is formed by truth. By truth is charity to the neighbor. By truth is conscience. By truth is innocence. By truth is purification from evil. By truths is intelligence and wisdom. By truths is the beauty of angels, and thus of men internally as to the spirit. By truths is the order of heaven. By truths man becomes truly man. Yet all these come through good, and not through truths without good, and all good is from the Lord." This is a magnificent, yet exactly just description of the office of truth revealed in its strength.

The church should be the gathering and distributing point of spiritual life. Her purpose is to proclaim the Lord’s words, "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else" (Isaiah 45:22), and to draw men into a living relationship with the Lord. She is here to help us to a knowledge of what is right and just, that our hearts may be inspired with a desire to establish the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

This past year was one of the most prosperous in our nation’s history. At the beginning of every year people hope that it will be a highly prosperous one. The desire for prosperity seems to be the passion of the day. But is the world alive to the duty of self-conquest, to the duty of learning and doing the Lord’s will? What is all this abundance for? What is it worth unless well-dispositioned souls possess and administer it?

The Gospel teaches us, "A man’s life consisteth not in the things that he possesseth" (Luke 12:15). Possessions do not make the man. In these words, the Lord is trying to make us see that it is the quality of the possessor which is the important thing. Otherwise, his possessions, however great, are of no essential value to him. Even abundance of worldly learning without self-conquest cannot be a lasting blessing. Neither worldly possessions nor worldly knowledge can make a man rich.

"The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof." The earth with all its fullness was made for man. The Word was given that the way of life might be made known. The Lord came into the world to make life more abundant.

We need to know that He spoke the truth when He said, "All power is given unto Me in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18), and that He can say and He alone, "I have the keys of hell and of death" (Revelation 1:18).

The Lord cannot found and establish His church among people by whom He is not acknowledged to be the All in All. Those who claim His Divine things as their own are thieves and robbers who seek to climb up another way than the true one. But those who acknowledge that "the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein" and that without Him they can do nothing are those who enter through the door into the sheepfold, for the Lord is the Door, and it is He Who really enters and to Whom the porter opens. Those who come before Him, who put their own desires and ambitions first, do not hear the voice of the Shepherd and follow Him (John 10:1-17). But those who find their greatest strength and security in humility and in self-abnegation cannot want any good thing, for the Lord is their Shepherd and they know from the heart that "The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein: for He hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods." Enlightened by the Lord, they see and follow the truths which are born in them of the Lord and the church, and they know, acknowledge, and believe that "there is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: god shall help her, and that right early" (Psalm 46:4).