358. And a crown was given [unto Him], signifies eternal life which is the reward of victory. This is evident from the signification of "crown," as being, when spiritual combat is treated of, as here, eternal life which is the reward of victory. That spiritual combat is here treated of is evident from what precedes and follows; in what precedes it is said that "He that sat upon the white horse had a bow," and "a bow" signifies the doctrine of charity and faith, from which one fights against evils and falsities and disperses them. It is also evident from what follows, in which it is said, "and He went forth conquering and that He might conquer," by which is signified victory over evils and falsities; therefore "crown" here signifies eternal life, which is the reward of victory.

[2] "Crown" has a similar signification where temptations are treated of, because temptations are spiritual combats, as in the second chapter of this book, where these words occur:

Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have affliction ten days; be thou faithful even till death, and I will give thee the crown of life (Revelation 2:10).

Here "crown" signifies wisdom and eternal happiness, as may be seen above n. 126. Wisdom and eternal happiness taken together are eternal life, for the very life of heaven is in wisdom and eternal happiness. The "crown" of the martyrs has a like signification because they were in affliction, and were "faithful even till death," and were also in temptations and conquered; moreover, after death crowns were given them; but lest they should on that account appropriate honor to themselves, and thus acquire haughtiness, they cast them off from their heads.

[3] Because in the Word "wars" signify wars in a spiritual sense which are combats against evils and falsities, and "kings" signify truths from good which fight against evils and falsities, in ancient times, when men had a knowledge of correspondences and representations, kings in their battles wore a crown upon the head, and a bracelet upon the arm, as can be seen in the second book of Samuel:

The young man, the son of an Amalekite, who told David that Saul and Jonathan were dead, said, I came upon Mount Gilboa, when behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and the chariots and leaders followed hard after him. And he said to me, Come and put me to death. And I stood against him, and put him to death, and I took the crown that was upon his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and I bring them to thee (2 Samuel 1:6, 8-10).

A crown in battle has then a sign of combat, and a bracelet upon the arm was a sign of power, each against evils and falsities. These combats are also signified by battles everywhere in the Word, even in the historical parts. (That "bracelet upon the arm" signifies the power of truth from good, see Arcana Coelestia 3105. What further "crowns of kings" and "crowns" in general signify, see above, n. 272)

1868. Il serait trop long de prouver maintenant par la Parole, que telles sont les significations de ces nations, et du reste il n'en est pas besoin ici, puisqu'elles ne sont que nommées. Il a déjà été parlé de quelques-unes, par exemple, des Réphaïm, en ce qu'ils signifient les persuasions du faux, numéros 567, 581, 1673 ; de l'Emorréen, en ce qu'ils signifient les maux, numéro 1680 ; du Canaanéen, en ce qu'il signifie les maux, voir ci-dessus, vers. 16 du Périsien, en ce qu'il signifie les faux, numéro 1574.

Dans la suite, par la Divine Miséricorde du Seigneur, il sera dit ce que signifient spécialement les autres nations à mesure qu'elles se présenteront. Quant à ce qui concerne les nations qui doivent être chassées du Royaume du Seigneur, voici ce qu'il en est.

Dans l'autre vie, les esprits mauvais et diaboliques n'ont pas de plus grand désir que de se glisser dans le monde des esprits, et d'y infester les bons esprits ; mais toutes les fois qu'ils y parviennent, ils en sont chassés ; il en est de même que chez l'homme qui est régénéré, les faux et les maux qui s'étaient emparés de lui sont subjugués et dissipés, et à leur place sont implantés les vrais et les biens qui appartiennent au Royaume du Seigneur ; c'est ce qui a été représenté par les nations expulsées de la terre de Canaan par les fils de Jacob ; et encore par les Juifs eux-mêmes qui en furent chassés à leur tour. Il en est arrivé de même autrefois à plusieurs nations qui représentaient des choses semblables ; par exemple, aux Chorites qui furent chassés de la montagne de Séir par les descendants d'Esaü, Deutéronome 2:12, 22.

Aux Avéens, qui furent chassés par les Caphtoréens, - Deutéronome 2:23.

Aux Emim ou Réphaïm, qui furent chassés par les Moabites, - Deutéronome 2:9, 10, 11 ; aux Sam-sumim, qui le furent par les Ammonites, - Deutéronome 2:19, 20, 21, et à plusieurs autres nations, dont il est parlé dans les Prophètes.

Continuation.

DE L'ECRITURE SAINTE ou DE La Parole.