437. And the sound of their wings was like the sound of many horse-drawn chariots rushing into battle. This symbolizes their reasonings, as though founded on doctrinal truths from the Word fully understood, which they had to ardently defend.

The sound of wings symbolizes reasonings, because to fly means, symbolically, to perceive and teach (nos. 245, 415). Chariots symbolize doctrinal teachings, as we are about to show. Horses symbolize an understanding of the Word (no. 298), and many horses a full understanding. Plainly to rush into battle symbolizes an ardor to fight.

That a chariot symbolizes doctrine is clear from the following passages:

The chariots of God are twenty thousand, thousands of peaceful ones, the Lord among them... (Psalms 68:17)

(Jehovah) makes the clouds His chariots, He walks on the wings of the wind. (Psalms 104:3)

O Jehovah..., ...You ride on Your horses, Your chariots are salvation. (Habakkuk 3:8)

...behold, Jehovah will come with fire, and like a whirlwind His chariots... (Isaiah 66:15)

You shall be filled at My table with horses and chariots... (Thus) I will set My glory among the nations. (Ezekiel 39:20-21)

I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem. (Zechariah 9:10)

I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms... I will overthrow the chariots and those who ride in them. (Haggai 2:22)

...set a watchman, let him declare what he sees. He saw therefore a chariot, a pair of horsemen..., a chariot of camels..., and... the chariot of a man... And he... said, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen!" (Isaiah 21:6-7, 9)

Since Elijah and Elisha represented the Lord in respect to the Word and thus symbolized doctrine drawn from the Word, as did all the prophets (no. 8), therefore they were called "the chariots of Israel and its horsemen;" and for the same reason Elisha saw Elijah taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire, and Elisha's servant saw chariots and horses of fire around Elisha (2 Kings 2:11-12; 6:17; 13:14).

See also elsewhere where chariots are mentioned, as in Isaiah 31:1; 37:24; 66:20; Jeremiah 17:25; 22:4; 46:2-3, 8-9; 50:37-38; 51:20-21.

7550. 'And in order that My name may be declared in the whole earth' means that thus the Lord may be acknowledged, where the Church exists, as the only God. This is clear from the meaning of 'name' as everything in its entirety by which the Lord is worshipped, dealt with in 2724, 3006, 6674, and since the most essential aspect of worship is the acknowledgement that the Lord is the only God, that His Human is Divine, and that from His Human emanates everything of faith and love, 'Jehovah's name being declared' means that the Lord should be acknowledged as the only God (for the Lord's Divine Human is 'the name of Jehovah', see 2628, 6887); and from the meaning of 'the earth' as the Church, dealt with just above in 7547. When it says here and in very many other places that Jehovah or the Lord desires His virtue or power to be seen, and His name to be declared, and elsewhere that He desires people to worship and adore Him in humility, it seems as though He desires to display His glory and loves to be adored for His own sake. But the truth of the matter is altogether different. It is not for His own sake but for that of the human race; He is moved not by self-glory but by love. For He wishes to be joined to the human race, and to impart eternal life and happiness to it. But this cannot be accomplished unless a person worships Him in humility; and such humble worship does not exist unless the person acknowledges and believes that he himself is dust and ashes, that is, nothing but evil, that Jehovah or the Lord is the Greatest and Most Holy One, and that of himself he does not dare to approach Him. When a person worships Him in such humility the Lord can enter in with the life of His love, bringing him heaven and eternal happiness. This is the reason why Jehovah or the Lord extols His power and glory to so great an extent in the Word.