254. As I also have overcome, and sit with My Father in His throne, signifies comparatively as Divine good is united to Divine truth in heaven. This is evident from the signification of "overcoming," as being in reference to the Lord Himself, to unite Divine good to Divine truth. Because this was effected through temptations and victories, it is said, "as I also have overcome." (That the Lord united Divine good to Divine truth through temptations admitted into His Human, and then through continued victories, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 201, 293, 302.) "To sit with My Father in His throne" signifies Divine good united to Divine truth in heaven, because "Father," when said by the Lord, means the Divine good that was in Him from conception, and "Son" the Divine truth, both in heaven, "throne" meaning heaven (See above). This Divine of the Lord in the heavens is called Divine truth, but it is Divine good united to Divine truth. (That this is so, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 13, 133, 139-140.)

[2] There is a comparison made between the men of the church and the Lord Himself, in His saying, "He that overcometh I will give to him to sit with Me in My throne, as I also have overcome and sit with My Father in His throne," because the Lord's life in the world was an example according to which the men of the church are to live, as the Lord Himself teaches in John:

I have given unto you an example that ye also should do as I have done to you. If ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them (John 13:15, 13:17).

So in other places the Lord compares Himself with others; for example, in John:

Jesus said, Even as the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you; abide ye in My love, as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love (John 15:9-10).

In the same:

They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. As Thou didst send Me into the world, even so sent I them into the world (John 17:16, 17:18).

In the same:

As the Father hath sent Me, even so send I you (John 20:21).

In the same:

The glory which Thou hast given Me I have given unto them; that they may be one even as We are one, I in them, Thou in Me. Father, those whom Thou hast given Me, I will that where I am they also may be with Me, that they may behold My glory which Thou hast given Me. I have made known unto them Thy name, and will make it known that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them (John 17:22-24, 17:26).

The Lord spoke of His conjunction with men in the same way as He spoke of His conjunction with the Father, that is, the conjunction of His Human with the Divine that was in Him, for the reason that the Lord is not conjoined with what is man's own [proprio], but with His own that is with man. The Lord removes what is man's own [proprium], and gives of His own, and dwells in that. That this is so is known in the church, as is clear from the customary prayer and exhortation to those who come to the sacrament of the Supper, in which are these words:

If with a true penitent heart and lively faith we receive that holy sacrament (for then we spiritually eat the flesh of Christ, and drink His blood), then we dwell in Christ, and Christ in us; and we are one with Christ, and Christ with us. (See also John 6:56. But these things may be better understood from what is shown in the work on Heaven and Hell 11-12.) From this it follows that as the Divine of the Lord received by angels and by men makes heaven and the church with them, they are one with the Lord, as He and the Father are one.

[3] That the meaning of these words of the Lord, that "He sitteth with His Father in His throne," may be more clearly seen, it must be known that "God's throne" is heaven (as was shown in the preceding article), and that heaven is heaven from the Divine that proceeds from the Lord, and this Divine is called Divine truth, but is Divine good united to Divine truth (as was said above). The Lord Himself is not in heaven, but is above the heavens, and is seen by those who are in the heavens as a sun. He is seen as a sun because He is Divine love, and Divine love is seen by the angels as solar fire; this is why "sacred fire" in the Word signifies love Divine. From the Lord as a sun light and heat proceed: the light that proceeds, since it is spiritual light, is Divine truth; and the heat, since it is spiritual heat, is Divine good. This, namely, the Divine good, is what is meant by "the Father in the heavens." (That the Lord is the Sun of Heaven, and that the light and heat therefrom are Divine truth united to Divine good, may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 116-125, 126-140; and that Heaven is Heaven from the Divine that proceeds from the Lord, n 7-12.) From this what is meant in the Word by "the Father in the heavens" and by "Heavenly Father" can be seen. Thus in Matthew:

Do good to your enemies, that ye may be sons of your Father who is in the heavens (Matthew 5:44, 45).

In the same:

Ye shall be perfect, as your Father in the heavens is perfect (Matthew 5:48).

In the same:

Ye who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children; how much more shall your Father who is in the heavens give good things to them who ask Him (Matthew 7:11).

In the same:

He that doeth the will of the Father who is in the heavens shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 7:21).

In the same:

Every plant which the heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up (Matthew 15:13).

Also in other places (as in Matthew 5:16; 6:1, 6, 8; 12:50; 16:17, 18:14, 19, 35; Mark 11:25, 26; Luke 11:13).

[4] That "Father" means the Divine good can be seen also from this passage in Matthew:

Despise not one of these little ones; for their angels do always behold the face of My Father who is in the heavens (Matthew 18:10);

that "they behold the face of the Father who is in the heavens" signifies that they receive Divine good from the Lord; that they do not see His face is evident from the Lord's words in John:

That no one hath ever seen the Father (John 1:18; 5:37; 6:46).

The same can be seen from this passage in Matthew:

Call no man your Father on the earth, for one is your Father who is in the heavens (Matthew 23:9).

It is plain that no one is forbidden to call his father on the earth "father," nor is this here forbidden by the Lord; but this was said because "Father" means the Divine good, and:

No one is good except the one God (Matthew 19:17).

(The Lord spoke thus because "Father" in the Word of both Testaments means in the spiritual sense good, see Arcana Coelestia 3703[1-23], 5902, 6050, 7833, 7834; and also heaven and the church in respect to good, n. 2691, 2717, 3703, 5581, 8897; and "Father," when said by the Lord, means the Divine good of His Divine love, n. 2803, 3704, 7499, 8328, 8897)

7973. 'Around six hundred thousand men on foot' means all aspects of the truth and good of faith in their entirety. This is clear from the meaning of the number 'six hundred thousand' as all aspects of faith in their entirety, for this number is a multiple of six and also of twelve, and 'twelve' means all aspects of faith and charity, 577, 2089, 2129 (end), 2130 (end), 3272, 3858, 3913. This is why Jacob's sons were twelve in number, why their descendants were divided into the same number of tribes, and also why the Lord chose twelve disciples, that is to say, in order that they might represent all aspects of faith and charity. Regarding the tribes, see 3858, 3862, 3926, 3979, 4060, 6335, 6737, 6640, 7876, 7891; and regarding the disciples, 3354, 3488, 5858 (end), 6397.

[2] At this point 'six hundred thousand' has a similar meaning because a larger or smaller number that is a multiple or a factor carries a meaning similar to that of the simple numbers that are being multiplied or divided, 5291, 5335, 5708. This is plainly evident from the number twelve. Whether this is divided into six or multiplied into seventy-two, 144 (which is twelve twelves), 12000, or 144000, the meaning is similar, as with 144000 in John,

I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of Israel - out of each tribe twelve thousand. Revelation 7:4-5 and following verses.

Here 'the children of Israel' is not used to mean the children of Israel, 'tribes' the tribes, or 'the number' a number, but to mean the kinds of things contained in the internal sense, namely all aspects of faith and charity. Each tribe in particular accordingly means one kind or one group, in keeping with the explanations at Genesis 29, 30.

[3] Similarly with the following in the same author,

Behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him 144000, having His Father's name written on their foreheads. They were singing a new song before the throne, and no one could learn the song except 144000 bought from the earth. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. These were bought from men (homo), being the first fruits to God and the Lamb. Revelation 14:1, 3-4.

From this description it is evident that those governed by charity are meant by 144000. It is also evident that the sole purpose of this number is to indicate the state and its essential nature. That number is similar to twelve in what it indicates, for it is the product of 12000 and it multiplied.

[4] It is similar with the smaller number 144, Which is twelve times twelve, in the same author,

He measured the wall of the holy Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven, 144 cubits, which is the measure of a man (homo), that is, of an angel. Revelation 21:2, 17.

'The wall of the holy Jerusalem' is not in the spiritual sense a wall; instead it is the truth of faith defending things of the Church, see 6419; and this also is why it is said to have been '144 cubits'. It is plainly evident that such must be meant, since it says 'it is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel'. 'Man' and 'angel' mean every aspect of the truth and good of faith.

[5] The same is also evident from the twelve precious stones that the foundation of the wall consisted of, and from the twelve gates, each of which was a pearl, Revelation 21:19-21. For by 'precious stones' truths of faith that spring from the good of charity are meant, 643, 3720, 6426, and similarly by 'gate' and also by 'pearl'. From this it is now clear that a smaller or larger number carries a meaning similar to the simple number that is divided or multiplied. As regards the fact that all numbers in the Word mean spiritual things, see 481, 487, 575, 647, 648, 755, 813, 1963, 1988, 2075, 2252, 3252, 4164, 4495, 4670, 5265.

[6] From these considerations one may now see that the number 'six hundred thousand' men going out of Egypt also means such things. But scarcely anyone is able to believe that such are meant by this number because it refers to a historical event; and any historical event fixes the mind all the time on the external sense and draws it away from the internal sense. Nevertheless that number too means such spiritual things, for there is not a part of a word, not even indeed one jot or one tittle in the Word, that is not in itself holy, because it holds what is holy within it. Anyone at all can see that there is nothing holy about a merely historical event.