In the most general sense, Swedenborg says that a kingdom in the Bible represents a church. In a more specific sense, a kingdom represents a church in regards to the ideas it has about the Lord and life; the truth it has. In a more specific sense yet, a kingdom represents that truth itself, the doctrinal ideas that make a church what it is.
This ties in with some other statements Swedenborg make about churches, and the fact that they are united by love and caring but divided by ideas and doctrine. If they put love and caring first, then differences in doctrine serve to make the combination better by providing variety — like different kingdoms cooperating in harmony for the good of their people. Too often, though, people tend to focus more on the differences in doctrine — like kingdoms going to war, trying to take land and resources from each other.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 2547
- ‘That you have brought great sin on me and on my kingdom’ means that thereby the doctrine of faith and all matters of doctrine would be at risk. This is clear from the meaning of ‘Abimelech’, to whom the pronoun ‘me’ refers here, as the doctrine of faith, and from the meaning of ‘kingdom’ as the truth of doctrine or that which is a matter of doctrine. That ‘a kingdom’ in the internal sense means truths of doctrine, and in the contrary sense falsities of doctrine, is clear from the Word, as in Jeremiah,
He is the One who formed all things and the sceptre of His inheritance; Jehovah Zebaoth is His name. You are to me a hammer, weapons of war, and in You I will scatter the nations, and in You I will destroy the kingdoms. Jer. 51:19, 20.
This refers to the Lord who, it is clear, is not going to scatter nations or destroy kingdoms but to do so to things meant by nations and kingdoms, namely evils and falsities of doctrine.
[2] In Ezekiel,
Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the nations to where they have gone away, and will gather them from all around, and bring them into their own land; I will make them into one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one King will be King to them all, and they will no longer be two nations, nor will they be divided any longer into two kingdoms. Ezek. 37:21, 22.
‘Israel’ stands for the spiritual Church, ‘nation’ for the good of that Church, that is, of doctrine, for by ‘nations’ goods are meant, see 1259, 1260, 1416, 1849. ‘Kingdom’ stands for the truths of that Church. The fact that ‘nations’ and ‘kingdoms’ here mean something different from nations and kingdoms is quite evident, for the children of Israel, or the Israelites, are spoken of as being gathered together and brought into the land when in fact they were dispersed among the gentile nations and became such themselves.
[3] In Isaiah,
I will confound Egypt with Egypt, and they will fight, every one against his brother, and every one against his companion, city against city, kingdom against kingdom. Isa. 19:2.
Here ‘Egypt’ stands for the reasonings based on facts concerning the truths of faith, 1164, 1165, 1186. ‘City’ stands for doctrine, in this case heretical doctrine, 402, 2268, 2449, ‘kingdom’ for falsity of doctrine. ‘City against city and kingdom against kingdom’ therefore stands for the fact that heresies and falsities will be in conflict with one another. The same is meant by the following words spoken by the Lord in reference to the close of the age, in Matthew,
Nation will be roused against nation and kingdom againstkingdom. Matt. 24:7.
This stands for evils against evils, and falsities against falsities.
[4] The things that Daniel prophesied about the four kingdoms, Chapter 2:37-46; 7:17-end; and about the kingdoms of Media and Persia, Chapter 8:20-end; and about the kingdoms of the king of the south and the king of the north in Chapter 11; and the things that John too prophesied in the Book of Revelation about kings and kingdoms, have no other meaning. Those kingdoms are used solely to mean states of the Church as regards truths and falsities. The conditions of monarchs and of earthly kingdoms in the sense of the letter are in the internal sense states of the Church and of the Lord’s kingdom. In the internal sense nothing else occurs there than spiritual and celestial things, for regarded in itself the Word of the Lord is purely spiritual and celestial; but so that it may be read and understood by man, no matter who, ideas of the things which belong to heaven are conveyed by means of such things as exist on earth.
Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 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 ‘akingdom 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 kingdomruled by priests, and finally a kingdom ruled by kings. Thekingdom 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 celestialkingdom is what is called the Lord’s Priesthood, and the spiritualkingdom 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’skingdom 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 kingdomHis 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, I Sam. 8:7, and why they were told then about ‘the right of the king’, I Sam. 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 Jewishkingdom and the Israelite kingdom. Regarding the two kingdoms in heaven, see 3635, 3883-3896, 4112, 4113, 4138.
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 1086
- And to give their kingdom unto the beast. That this signifies acknowledgment of the Word as Divine, and the foundation of the church upon it, is evident from the signification of giving akingdom, as denoting the church; for by a kingdom, in the Word, is signified the church as to truth, and by dominion the church as to good; and from the signification of the beast, as denoting the Word, concerning which see above (n. 1038). Hence to give akingdom unto the beast signifies to give the church to the Word, or, what is the same, to acknowledge the Word, and to establish and found the church upon it. From the things related in this verse, also from those related above in verses 11, 13, 16, concerning the beast, which are there explained, it is clearly evident that by the beast is signified the Word, received, but yet rejected by those meant by the whore, and, nevertheless, vindicated by others both within Babylon and without it.
Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 48
- In the kingdom. That this signifies, in the church where truths are, is evident from the signification of kingdom in the Word, as denoting heaven and the church. The reason why it denotes the church as to truth, or where truths are, is, because by the royalty of the Lord is signified the Divine truth proceeding from Him, and hence by kings are signified truths. (See above, n. 31.) It is said the church as to truth, by which is meant the church as to truths from good; the reason is, that truths are not possible without good, for truths have life from good; the truths which a man has who is not in good, are indeed actually in themselves truths, but they are not truths in him (as may be seen fully proved in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n. 11-27). [2] That kingdom in the Word signifies heaven and the church as to truths, is evident from many passages in the Word, of which I will adduce some. Thus in Matthew:
“The sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness” (viii. 12).
The sons of the kingdom there mentioned, are those who are of the church where truths do not reign, but falsities. And in the same:
“He who heareth the Word of the kingdom, and giveth no heed to it, the wicked one cometh, and taketh away that which was sown in his heart; this is that which was sown by the way-side. The field is the world; the [good] seed are the sons of the kingdom” (xiii. 19, 38).
To hear the Word of the kingdom is to hear the truths of the church; and because seed signifies truths, therefore those who receive truths are called sons of the kingdom. (That seed signifies the truth of the church see Arcana Coelestia, n. 3038, 3373, 3671, 10,248, 10,249.) In the same:
“Therefore the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth fruit” (xxi. 43).
That the kingdom of God there signifies the church as to truths, thus also the truths of the church, is clear from its being said that it should be taken from them, and given to a nation bringing forth fruit; and fruit signifies good. Again, in the same:
In the consummation of the age, “nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom” (xxiv. 7).
The consummation of the age is the last time of the church; nation against nation denotes evil against good, and kingdom againstkingdom denotes falsity against truth. (That nation signifies the good of the church, and in an opposite sense, the evil thereof, see Arcana Coelestia, n. 1059, 1159, 1258, 1260, 1416, 1849, 6005.)[3] It is evident from these things what is meant by kingdom in the Lord’s prayer,
“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also on the earth. Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory” (Matt. vi. 10, 13).
Thy kingdom come, signifies, that truth may be received thy will be done, signifies, that it may be received by those who do the will of God; thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, signifies, Divine truth from God alone; it is also said power and glory, because to Divine truth belong all power and glory (as may be seen above, n. 33). From these considerations it may be seen that thekingdom of God signifies, in many other passages of the Word, the church as to truths, also heaven, and, in the highest sense, the Lord as to the Divine Human. The reason why kingdom, in the highest sense, signifies the Lord as to the Divine Human is, that all Divine truth proceeds from Him; and the reason why kingdom signifies heaven is, that heaven, with the angels, is from no other source than the Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord’s Divine Human (see in the work, Heaven and Hell, n. 7-12, 78-86, 126-140).\\\\\
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