270. Having seven horns. This symbolizes the Lord's omnipotence.

The Word often mentions horns, and a horn everywhere symbolizes power. Consequently, when a horn is mentioned in connection with the Lord, it symbolizes omnipotence. Seven horns are specified, because seven symbolizes all (no. 10), thus all power or omnipotence.

That a horn symbolizes power, and when mentioned in connection with the Lord, omnipotence, can be seen from the following passages:

You who rejoice over nothing, who say, "Have we not taken horns for ourselves by our own strength?" (Amos 6:13)

I said... to the wicked, "Do not lift up the horn. Do not lift up your horn on high...." All the horns of the wicked I will cut off; the horns of the righteous shall be exalted. (Psalms 75:4-5, 10)

Jehovah... has exalted the horn of your adversaries. (Lamentations 2:17)

The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken... (Jeremiah 48:25)

...you have pushed with side and shoulder, and struck all the weak sheep with your horns... (Ezekiel 34:21)

(Jehovah) has exalted the horn of His people... (Psalms 148:14)

(Jehovah God of hosts,) the glory of their strength..., He has exalted our horn. (Psalms 89:17)

The brightness (of Jehovah God) will be like the light; He will have horns ¹ coming from His hand, and the hiding of His power there. (Habakkuk 3:4)

...My arm shall strengthen (David)..., and in My name his horn shall be exalted. (Psalms 89:21, 24)

...Jehovah, my strength..., my rock...(my) horn... (Psalms 18:1-2, cf. 2 Samuel 22:3)

Arise..., O daughter of Zion; for I will make your horn iron..., that you may break in pieces many peoples. (Micah 4:13)

(The Lord) has destroyed in His wrath the strongholds of the daughter of Judah..., (and) He has cut off... every horn of Israel. (Lamentations 2:2-3)

Powers are also symbolized by the horns of the dragon in Revelation 12:3; by the horns of the beast rising up out of the sea in Revelation 13:1; by the horns of the scarlet beast upon which the woman sat in Revelation 17:3, 7, 12; by the horns of the ram and the goat in Daniel 8:3-12, 20-22. The last symbolized the power of Divine truth in the church. And conversely, that that power would perish, by the horns of the altars in Bethel, in Amos:

...I will visit punishment on the transgressions of Israel, I will visit destruction on the altars of Bethel, so that the horns of the altar are cut off and fall to the ground. (Amos 3:14)

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8487. 'And the sun grew hot, and it melted' means its disappearance gradually as craving increased. This is clear from the meaning of 'the sun growing hot' as craving that is increasing, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'melting' as disappearing. The reason why 'the sun grew hot' means craving that was increasing is that 'the sun' in a good sense means heavenly love. It means this because the Lord is the Sun in the next life, the heat which comes from it being the good of love, and the light the truth of faith. (For more about that Sun - that it is the Lord and that heavenly love comes from it - see 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 2120, 2441, 2495, 3636, 3643, 4060, 4321 (end), 4696, 5084, 5047, 5377, 7078, 7083, 7171, 7173, 7270.) Therefore 'the sun' in the contrary sense means self-love and love of the world, and the heat from the sun or its 'growing hot' in that sense means craving.

[2] The nature of the occurrence described here - that the good of truth, meant by 'the manna', disappeared gradually as craving increased, meant by its melting when the sun grew hot - must be explained briefly. The good of truth or spiritual good is indeed imparted to a member of the spiritual Church undergoing regeneration; but that good kills off every delight belonging to self-love and love of the world that has constituted his life previously, since they are contrary to each other. This being so, pure good of truth cannot remain for long with that person, but is modified by the Lord by means of the delights belonging to the two loves constituting his life previously. For if that good were not modified in this way it would hold no delight for him and so would be loathsome. This is what heavenly good is like initially with those undergoing regeneration. To the extent therefore that the delights of self-love and love of the world rise up, the good of heavenly love disappears, since, as has been stated, they are contrary to that good. So the reverse also occurs.

[3] This explains why in heaven there are changes of states, to which changes of times and seasons in the world correspond, 8426, and why such changes return those who are there to the delights that go with natural pleasures. For without such change of states the good of heavenly love would become so to speak dry and worthless. It is different when it is modified by natural delights, at once or in stages. This is why at first, when the children of Israel were given the man[na] every morning they were also given the selav in the evening; for 'the selav' means natural delight, and also the delight that goes with craving, 8452.

[4] But it should be recognized that the cravings to which those in heaven return when their evening comes are not cravings that are contrary to heavenly good, but ones that are to some extent in accord with it. For there are the delights of conferring benefits rather lavishly and getting some glory out of doing so, delights however which hold goodwill and the desire to serve others. Then there are the delights of opulence in home decor and personal dress, and very many other delights like these. Such delights are not ones that destroy the good of heavenly love, though they do nevertheless eclipse it. But eventually - depending on the degree the person's regeneration reaches - they become the lowest levels of heavenly good. At this point they are no longer spoken of as cravings but as delights. The fact that the good of heavenly love unless modified by such delights becomes so to speak dry, and after that is loathed as being so to speak worthless, is meant by the reaction of the children of Israel who, when they were no longer given the selav, called the manna dry food and worthless food. Their doing so is referred to in Moses as follows,

The rabble who were in the midst [of the people] had a strong craving, and so the children of Israel also wept repeatedly and said, Who will feed us with flesh? But now our soul is dry; there is nothing at all except the man[na] for our eyes [to look] at. Numbers 11:4, 6.

In the same author,

The people spoke against God and against Moses, Why have you caused us to come up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, nor water; now our soul loathes this most worthless bread. Numbers 21:5.

And elsewhere in the same author,

Jehovah afflicted you, and caused you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor your fathers knew, in order that He might teach you that man does not live by bread only, but that man lives by every utterance of the mouth of Jehovah. Deuteronomy 8:3.

[5] 'Manna' is similar in meaning to 'unleavened bread', which means good pure and free from falsities, 8058. That bread is for a similar reason called the bread of misery, ¹ Deuteronomy 16:3.

From all this one may now see how to understand the disappearance of the good of truth gradually as craving increased, meant by the melting of the man[na] when the sun grew hot.

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