284. And we shall reign upon the earth, signifies, and will be in His kingdom, He in them and they in Him. By "reigning upon the earth," nothing else is meant, than being in the Lord's kingdom, and there one with Him, according to these words of the Lord:
That all who believe in Me, may be one; and may be one as Thou Father art in Me and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us; And the glory which thou gavest Me I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and Thou in Me, that where I am, they also may be with Me (John 17:20-24).
As, therefore, they are thus one with the Lord, and, together with the Lord, constitute a kingdom, which is called the kingdom of God, it is evident that nothing else is signified by "reigning." It is said "to reign" because it was before said, "Thou hast made us kings and priests;" and by "kings" are signified they who are in wisdom from Divine truths from the Lord; and by "priests," they who are in love from Divine good from Him (n. 20); hence it is that the kingdom of the Lord is also called "the kingdom of the saints" (Dan. 7:18, 27); and it is said of the apostles, that:
With the Lord they should judge the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28).
Nevertheless the Lord alone judges and reigns; for He judges and reigns from Divine good by Divine truth, which is also from Him in them; but he who believes, that what is in them from the Lord is their own, is cast out of the kingdom, that is, out of heaven. The signification of "reigning" is the same in the following passages in Revelation:
They shall be priests of God and Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years (Rev. 20:4, 6).
And concerning those who are to enter into the New Jerusalem:
The Lamb shall enlighten them, and they shall reign for ages of ages (Rev. 22:5).