300. And a crown was given to him. This symbolizes a token of their combat.

A crown symbolizes a token of combat because in ancient times kings wore crowns into battle, as can be seen from historical accounts, and to some degree from 2 Samuel 1:10, where we read that a man said to David concerning Saul, that when Saul was about to die in battle, he took the crown upon his head and the armlets upon his arms. And from what is related about the king in Rabbah and David in 2 Samuel 12:29-30.

Moreover, because trials or temptations are the kind of spiritual battles which the martyrs endured, therefore they were given crowns as tokens of their combat (no. 103).

It is apparent from this that a crown here symbolizes a token of their combat, on which account the statement also follows, "and he went out conquering and to conquer."

108. "'These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword.'" This symbolizes the Lord in relation to doctrinal truths from the Word, by which evils and falsities are dispelled.

In the preceding chapter where the Son of Man is described, who is the Lord in relation to the Word, we are told that a sharp two-edged sword was seen to issue from His mouth (verse 16). This symbolizes a dispersion of falsities by the Lord by means of the Word and doctrine drawn from it, as may be seen in no. 52 above.

The declaration here is made to people and concerning people who place everything having to do with the church in good works only, and not anything in doctrinal truths; and because they ignore or have little regard for doctrinal truths, even though those truths are indispensable, they are later told, "Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth" (verse 16 in this chapter).