272. And they had on their heads golden crowns, signifies all truths arranged into order by Divine good, thus also all the former heavens. This is evident from the signification of "four and twenty elders sitting upon four and twenty thrones, arrayed in white garments," as being all truths of the heavens, thus all the heavens both higher and lower (of which just above, n. 270, 271); also from the signification of a "golden crown," as being Divine good, from which are truths (of which in what follows). All the truths of heaven and of the church are from Divine good; truths that are not therefrom are not truths. Truths that are not from good are like shells without a kernel, and like a house in which no man dwells, but a wild beast; such are the truths that are called truths of faith apart from the good of charity; the good of charity is good from the Lord, thus Divine good. Now as "the elders upon thrones" signify the truths of the heavens, and "golden crowns" the good from which these are, therefore the elders were seen with crowns. The "crowns of kings" have a like signification; for "kings" in a representative sense signify truths, and "crowns" upon their heads signify the good from which the truths are (that "kings" signify truths may be seen above, n. 31. For this reason the crowns are of gold, for "gold" in like manner signifies good (See above. n. 242).

[2] That "crowns" signify good and wisdom therefrom, and that truths are what are crowned, can be seen from the following passages. In David:

I will make the horn to spring forth for David; I will set in order a lamp for Mine anointed; his enemies will I clothe with shame; but upon himself shall his crown blossom (Psalms 132:17-18).

Here "David" and "anointed" mean the Lord (See above, n. 205[1-6]); "horn" His power; "lamp" is the Divine truth from which is Divine intelligence; "Crown" the Divine good from which is Divine wisdom, and from which is the Lord's government; and the "enemies," that shall be clothed with shame, are evils and falsities.

[3] In the same:

Thou showest anger with Thine anointed. Thou hast condemned even to the earth his crown (Psalms 89:38-39).

Here also "anointed" stands for the Lord, and "anger" for a state of temptation, in which He was when in combats with the hells. "Anger" and "condemnation" describe the lamentation at that time, as the Lord's last lamentation on the cross, that He was forsaken; for the cross was the last of His temptations or combats with the hells; and after that last temptation He put on the Divine good of the Divine love, and thus united the Divine Human to the Divine Itself which was in Him.

[4] In Isaiah:

In that day shall Jehovah of Hosts be for a crown of adornment, and for a diadem of splendor, unto the remnant of His people (Isaiah 28:5).

Here "crown of adornment" means wisdom that is of good from the Divine; and "the diadem of splendor" intelligence that is of truth from that good.

[5] In the same:

For Zion's sake will I not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness go forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp burneth; and thou shalt be a crown of splendor in the hand of Jehovah, and a royal tiara in the hand of thy God (Isaiah 62:1, 3).

Here "Zion" and "Jerusalem" mean the church, "Zion" the church which is in good, and "Jerusalem" the church which is in truths from that good; therefore it is called "a crown of splendor in the hand of Jehovah," and "a royal tiara in the hand of thy God;" a "crown of splendor" is wisdom that is of good, and a "royal tiara" is intelligence that is of truth; and because "crown" signifies wisdom that is of good it is said to be "in the hand of Jehovah;" and because "tiara" signifies intelligence that is of truth it is said to be "in the hand of God;" for "Jehovah" is used where good is treated of, and "God" where truth is treated of (See Arcana Coelestia 2586, 2769, 6905).

[6] In Jeremiah:

Say to the king and to the mistress, Humble yourselves, sit ye; for your headtire is come down, the crown of your splendor (Jeremiah 13:18);

a "crown of splendor" meaning wisdom that is of good ("splendor" is the Divine truth of the church, Arcana Coelestia 9815).

[7] In the same:

The joy of our heart hath ceased; our dance is turned into mourning; the crown of our head hath fallen (Lamentations 5:15, 16);

"the crown of the head that hath fallen" means the wisdom which those who are of the church have through Divine truth, which wisdom hath ceased, together with internal blessedness.

[8] In Ezekiel:

I put a jewel upon thy nose, and ear-rings on thine ears, and a crown of splendor upon thine head (Ezekiel 16:12).

This refers to Jerusalem, which is the church, here the church at its first establishment; "the jewel upon the nose" signifies the perception of good; and "the ear-rings on the ears" the perception of truth and obedience; and the "crown upon the head" signifies wisdom therefrom.

In Job:

He hath stripped from me the glory, and taken away the crown of my head (Job 19:9);

"glory" meaning intelligence from Divine truth, and a "crown of the head" the wisdom therefrom.

[9] in Revelation:

I saw, and behold a white horse; and He that sat on him had a bow, and there was given unto Him a crown; and He went forth conquering and to conquer (Revelation 6:2).

"The white horse and He that sat on him" is the Lord in respect to the Word; "the bow" is the doctrine of truth by which the combat is waged; from which it is clear that "crown," since it is attributed to the Lord, is the Divine good that He put on even in respect to the human, as a reward of victory.

[10] Again:

Afterwards I saw, and behold a white cloud; and on the cloud One sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle (Revelation 14:14);

a "white cloud" standing for the literal sense of the Word (Arcana Coelestia 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8281, 8781);

"the Son of man" meaning the Lord in respect to Divine truth;

"the golden crown," the Divine good from which is Divine truth;

and "the sharp sickle," the dispersion of evil and falsity.

[11] That a "crown" is Divine good from which is Divine truth was represented by the plats of gold upon the front of the miter that was upon Aaron, which plate was also called a "crown" and a "coronet;" it is thus described in Exodus:

Thou shalt make a plate of gold, and grave upon it with the engraving of a signet, Holiness to Jehovah; and thou shalt put it on a thread of blue, and it shall be on the miter, over against the face of it (Exodus 28:36, 37).

That this plate was called a "crown of holiness" and a "coronet," see Exodus 39:30; Leviticus 8:9. (But what was specially signified thereby, see Arcana Coelestia 9930-9936, where the particulars are explained.)

270. Verse 4. And around the throne were four and twenty thrones, and upon the thrones I saw four and twenty elders sitting, signifies all truths from good in the higher heavens, arranged by the Lord before judgment. This is evident from the signification of "throne" on which was "One sitting," as being the Lord in respect to the Last Judgment (on which see just above, n. 267; and that "throne" signifies judgment, see n. 253. Also from the signification of "the four and twenty thrones around it, and four and twenty elders on them," as being all the truths of heaven in the complex, arranged before judgment. "Four and twenty" signifies all, "thrones" judgment, and "elders" those who are in truths from good, and abstractly truths from good. The higher heavens are here meant, because all who are in them are in truths from the good of love, and because the lower heavens are treated of in what immediately follows. ("Twenty-four" signifies all, because that number signifies the like with the number "twelve," and "twelve" signifies all, and is predicated of truths, see Arcana Coelestia 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913. The number "twenty-four" signifies the like with the number "twelve," because it is the double thereof, and the double of a number signifies something similar as the number from which it arises by multiplication, as may be seen, n. 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973.)

[2] The like is signified by "the thrones upon which the twelve apostles were to sit," of which in Matthew:

Ye who have followed Me in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30);

the "twelve apostles" signifying all truths in the complex. Likewise in the following words in Revelation:

I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them (Revelation 20:4).

"Judgment was given to those who sat upon thrones" signifies that judgment belongs to the Lord alone, for "elders" in the Word signify all who are in truths from good, and abstractly, truths from good by which is judgment. He who supposes that "elders" and "apostles" in the Word mean elders and apostles is much mistaken; in the spiritual sense of the Word no persons are perceived, but things abstractly from persons, for what is spiritual has nothing in common with persons. It is otherwise in the sense of the letter of the Word, which is natural; in that sense not only are persons mentioned, but the idea of person is implied in many expressions, in order that the Word in its ultimates may be natural, and thus be a basis for the spiritual sense. It is the same with the signification of "elders" as with that of "infants," "children," "young men," "old men," "virgins," "women," and many words of that kind; in the natural sense these are all thought of simply as persons; but in the spiritual sense "infants" mean innocence, "children" charity, "young men" intelligence, "old men" wisdom, "virgins" the affection of truth and good, and "women" the goods of the church; and so in other cases.

The same is true of the natural and spiritual senses of "neighbor;" in the natural sense "neighbor" means any man whatever; but in the spiritual sense the good, truth, sincerity, and justice itself that are in the person. Everyone who reflects can see that this is the neighbor in the spiritual sense; for who loves a person for any other reason? For good and truth make the man, and cause him to be loved, and not the countenance and body.

[3] But to return to the signification of "elders." That "elders" signify truths from good can be seen from the passages in the Word where they are mentioned. In Isaiah:

Then the moon shall blush, and the sun be ashamed, and Jehovah of Hosts shall reign in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem; and before His elders shall be glory (Isaiah 24:23).

The "moon" and "sun" mean their idolatrous worship and the falsity of faith and the evil of love; "Mount Zion" and "Jerusalem" mean heaven and the church; "the elders" mean truths from good; it is therefore said, "before them shall be glory," for "glory" signifies Divine truth in heaven (See above n. 33).

[4] In Lamentations:

My virgins and my young men have gone into captivity. I have cried to my lovers, they have deceived me; and mine elders expired in the city (Lamentations 1:18-19).

Here the vastation of the church is treated of, over which there is lamentation; there is such vastation when there is no longer any spiritual affection of truth, and thence no intelligence in such things as pertain to the church, and when there is then no truth. The "virgins," that are gone into captivity, mean the spiritual affection of truth, "the young men" intelligence; "captivity" is removal from this affection and intelligence; the "elders," who expired, mean the truths of the church.

[5] In Ezekiel:

Slay to destruction the old man, the young man, and the virgin, and the infant and the women; begin from My sanctuary; therefore they began from the elders who were before the house (Ezekiel 9:6).

Here too, the vastation of the church is treated of; an "old man" and "young man" mean wisdom and intelligence; "virgin" means the affection of truth and good; "infant" innocence; "women" the goods of the church; "to slay to destruction" signifies devastation; the "sanctuary," from which they should begin, is the church in respect to the good of love and the truth of faith, which are "the elders who are before the house."

[6] In Lamentations:

The faces of the old men were not honored. The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their music (Lamentations 5:12, 14).

"Old men" signify the wisdom that is of good; "elders," the truths that are from good; "young men," intelligence. That the God of Israel was seen:

Under His feet as a work of sapphire, by Moses, Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy elders, and not by the rest (Exodus 24:1, 9-12);

signified that the Lord is seen solely by those who are in good and in truths from good (See the explanation of the passage in The Arcana Coelestia 9403-9411). This is what the seventy elders of Israel represented, and what the "four and twenty elders" sitting upon as many thrones signified; this also is what the "twelve apostles" signify, of whom it is said that "they are to sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

(That the "twelve apostles" signify all truths from good, Arcana Coelestia 2129, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397;

that the "twelve tribes of Israel" have a like signification, n. 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335;

likewise the "elders of Israel," n. 6524, 6525, 6890, 7912, 8578, 8585, 9376, 9404)