646. 14:16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. This symbolizes the end of the church, because it no longer had any Divine truth in it.

This is the symbolic meaning, because He who sat on the cloud symbolizes the Lord in relation to the Word (no. 642). To thrust in the sickle and reap means, symbolically, to put an end to something and execute judgment (no. 643). The harvest symbolizes the state of the church, here its last state (nos. 643, 645). And the earth symbolizes the church (no. 285).

When these symbolic meanings are combined into one, it is apparent from them that "He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth and the earth was reaped" symbolizes the end of the church, because it no longer had any Divine truth in it.

235. And they had crowns of gold on their heads. This symbolically means, which are truths of wisdom springing from love.

To be shown that a crown symbolizes wisdom, see no. 189 above, and that gold symbolizes the goodness of love, nos. 211, 913. Therefore a crown of gold symbolizes wisdom springing from love.

From that wisdom flow all the constituents of heaven and the church, constituents which are symbolized by the twenty-four elders (no. 233), and therefore crowns of gold were seen on their heads.

It should be known that the spiritual sense is abstracted from persons, as said in nos. 78, 79, 96 above. So also here.