[2] That the kingdom of the Lord means the reception of Divine Good and Divine Truth, that is, with those who receive, is evident from this fact, that the Lord reigns with the angels of heaven, and with the men of the church by means of that which proceeds from Him, which is commonly called Divine Good and Divine Truth, also justice and judgment, as well as love and faith. It is by means of these that the Lord reigns; they are therefore strictly the kingdom of the Lord with those who receive them. For when these reign with angels and men then the Lord Himself reigns, because those things which proceed from Him are Himself. The Lord in heaven is nothing else than the proceeding Divine.

[3] The Lord, indeed, not only rules those who receive celestial and spiritual Divine things from Him, but also those who do not receive, as all those who are in hell; yet it cannot be said that the kingdom of the Lord is there, since they are utterly unwilling to be governed by the proceeding Divine, and according to the laws of its order; in fact, they deny the Lord, and turn themselves away from Him; but still the Lord does rule them, not as the subjects and citizens of His kingdom, but as those who are refractory and rebellious, holding them under restraints in order that they may not do evil to one another, and especially to those who belong to His kingdom.

[4] That the Lord's kingdom is that which proceeds from Him, and is received, is evident from passages in the Word where the kingdom of God is mentioned, as in the Lord's Prayer:

"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also upon the earth" (Matt. vi. 10).

That kingdom there means the reception of the Divine Good and Divine Truth which proceed from the Lord, and in which the Lord is with the angels of heaven and with men of the church, is evident, for it is said, "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also upon the earth," and the will of God is done when those things are received in the heart and soul, that is, in love and faith.

[5] And elsewhere:

"Seek ye first the kingdom of the heavens and the justice thereof, then all things shall be added to you" (Matt. vi. 33).

The kingdom of the heavens, in the spiritual sense, means the Divine Truth, and justice the Divine Good, therefore it is said, Seek ye first the kingdom of the heavens and the justice thereof. And, in the highest sense, the kingdom of the heavens means the Lord, since He is the all of His kingdom, and justice, in the same sense, signifies the Lord's merit; and because man, who is ruled by the Lord, desires and loves only those things that are of the Lord, he is, unknown to himself, for ever led to felicities; for this reason it is said, "all things shall be added to him," which means, that all things tending to salvation shall come to pass according to his desire.

[6] Since heaven is heaven from the reception of Divine Truth from the Lord, and similarly the church, so heaven and the church are meant in a general sense by the kingdom of God, and by the kingdom of the heavens; therefore those who receive Divine Truth, are called by the Lord "sons of the kingdom," in Matthew:

"The field is the world, the seed are the sons of the kingdom, the tares are the sons of the evil (mali)" (xiii. 38). That they who receive Divine Truth are meant by the sons of the kingdom is evident, for it is said, "the seed are the sons of the kingdom, and the tares are the sons of the evil (mali)," and by seed is meant Divine Truth, and by tares infernal falsity; and they are called sons, because sons, in the spiritual sense of the Word, signify truths, and, in the opposite sense, falsities (as may be seen above, n. 166).

[7] Moreover, that the kingdom of God signifies the church as to truths from good, and also heaven, may also be seen above (n. 48); and that the kingdom of God with man signifies to be in truths from good from the Lord, consequently to be in wisdom, and thence in the power of resisting falsities and evils, and thus that to reign is of the Lord alone, may also be seen above (n. 333).