724. Having seven heads and ten horns. This symbolizes their intelligence gained from the Word, at first reverent, later abandoned, and at last irrational, and their continued great power drawn from the Word.

The head symbolizes intelligence and wisdom when the subject is the Lord and the Word, and in an opposite sense irrationality and stupidity, as may be seen in nos. 538, 576 above. The number seven does not symbolically mean seven, but all of something, and is predicated of something holy (nos. 10, 390). A horn symbolizes power (no. 270) and ten horns symbolize much power (no. 539). That the seven heads symbolize intelligence at first reverent, later abandoned, and at last irrational, is apparent from verses 9 and 10 in this chapter, in which the angel says what the seven heads symbolize, which we will take up below.

It is apparent from this that the beast having seven heads and ten horns symbolizes intelligence from the Word, at first reverent, later abandoned, and at last irrational, and their continued great power drawn from the Word.

390. And I saw the seven angels who stood before God. (8:2) This symbolizes the entire spiritual heaven in the Lord's presence, hearing and doing whatever He commanded.

The seven angels symbolize the whole of heaven because the number seven means, symbolically, all people or all things, and thus the whole or entirety (no. 10), and angels in the highest sense symbolize the Lord, and in a relative sense, heaven (nos. 5, 65, 342, 344) - here the spiritual heaven, as can be seen from what we said above in nos. 387, 388. To be shown that standing before God means, symbolically, to hear and do what He commands, see no. 366 above.