416. Verse 1. And after these things I saw, signifies a new perception as to the state of heaven before the Last Judgment. This is evident from what follows in this chapter, which treats of the separation of the good from the evil; for before the Last Judgment occurs the good are separated from the evil by the Lord, and are led away; and because this is involved in the things that were seen, so all this is here signified by "after these things I saw."

Hands in the Bible represent power, the force with which things are put into action. To be specific, they represent the power of spiritual good -- which is the love of others and serving others -- expressed through spiritual truth -- which is an understanding and knowledge of what it is to love and serve others. This is in contrast to the feet, which represent power on the natural level, and a “rod,” which represents the power of the hand passed down into external or natural ideas. In a few cases in the Bible, hands also represent communication and a drawing together. This is true when people lift their hands to heaven or to Jehovah, and also when the Lord touches children or touches people to heal them.