8715. 'And rulers of tens' means first and foremost truths in third place. This is clear from the meaning of 'rulers' as first and foremost truths, as above; and from the meaning of 'tens' also as much or many, but in a smaller degree since they come below hundreds. For the meaning of 'tens' or 'ten' also as many, see 3107, 4638.

The placement of the rulers over a thousand, over a hundred, or over ten, represented in the abstract sense, separately from any idea of numbers, many truths in first, second, and third degrees. This use of the numbers is like that found elsewhere in the Word, for example where the Lord said of the servant that he owed ten thousand talents and that the fellow-servant owed him a hundred denarii, Matthew 18:24, 28, and where He speaks of the king, about to make war against another king, considering whether He was able with ten thousand to meet the other who was coming with twenty thousand, Luke 14:31.

Likewise in John,

An angel coming down from heaven laid hold of the dragon, and bound him for a thousand years, and cast him into the abyss, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years had come to an end. The rest of the dead did not live again before the thousand years came to an end. This is the first resurrection. Revelation 20:1-3, 5, 7.

Here 'a thousand' does not mean a thousand but much, without the idea of some number.

Likewise in Moses,

Jehovah shows mercy to a thousand generations who love Him. Exodus 20:6; Deuteronomy 5:9-10; 7:9; Jeremiah 32:18.

In David,

The word He has commanded to a thousand generations. Psalms 105:8.

In the same author,

A thousand will fall at your side, and a myriad at your right hand; it will not come near you. Psalms 91:7.

In the same author,

The chariots of God are myriad on myriad ¹ , thousands of peacemakers. Psalms 68:17.

In the same author,

Our flocks are thousands, and ten thousands in our streets. Psalms 144:13.

In the same author,

A thousand years in Your eyes are as a day. Psalms 90:4.

The situation is much the same with a hundred and with ten, for a smaller number or a factor is similar in meaning to the powers of that number, 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973. For the meaning of 'a hundred' and 'ten' also as much, see 3107, 4400, 4638.

脚注:

488. As has been stated, 'days' means states in general, and 'years' states in particular. This too becomes clear from the Word, as in Ezekiel,

You have brought your days near, and you have come even to your years. Ezekiel 22:4.

This refers to people who behave abominably and sin to the fullest extent, and so 'days' has reference in this case to such people's state in general, 'years' to that state in particular.

In David,

You will add days to the king's days; and his years as generation after generation! Psalms 61:6.

This refers to the Lord and His kingdom, where again 'days' and 'years' stand for the state of His kingdom.

In the same author,

I have considered the days of old, the years of long ago. Psalms 77:5.

Here 'days of old' is states of the Most Ancient Church, and 'years of long ago' states of the Ancient Church. In Isaiah,

The day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. Isaiah 63:4.

This stands for the final times, where 'the day of vengeance' stands for a state of condemnation, and 'the year of the redeemed' for a state of blessedness.

Similarly, in the same prophet,

To proclaim the year of Jehovah's good pleasure, and the day of vengeance for our God; to comfort all who mourn. Isaiah 61:2.

Here again 'days' and also 'years' are mentioned and mean states.

In Jeremiah,

Renew our days as of old. Lamentations 5:21.

Here 'days' plainly stands for state.

[2] In Joel,

The day of Jehovah is coming, for it is near, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a tiny of cloud and gloom, as has never happened of old, nor will be again after it through the years of generation after generation. Joel 2:1-2, 11.

Here 'day' stands for a state of darkness, thick darkness, cloud and gloom - a state of individuals in particular and of all in general.

In Zechariah,

I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. On that day you will shout, each to his companion, under his vine and under his fig tree. Zechariah 3:9-10.

And elsewhere in Zechariah,

There will be one tiny, it is known to Jehovah, which is neither day nor night, and at evening time there will be light. Zechariah 14:7.

State is clearly meant here, for it is said that 'it will be a day, which is neither day nor night; at evening time there will be light'.

The same meaning is also clear from the following in the Decalogue,

Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged, and that it may be well with you in the land. Deuteronomy 5:16; 25:15.

Here 'a prolonging of days' does not mean living on into old age but a state that is happy.

[3] In the sense of the letter 'day' cannot be seen to mean anything other than a period of time, but in the internal sense it means a state. Angels, who abide in the internal sense of the Word, do not know what a period of time is, for the activity of the sun and moon with them does not produce divisions of time. As a consequence they do not know what a day or a year is, but only what states and changes of state are. This is why among angels, who abide in the internal sense of the Word, anything connected with matter, space, and time, goes unnoticed, as with the following usages in the sense of the letter in Ezekiel,

The day is near, even the day of Jehovah is near, a day of cloud; it will be a time of the nations. Ezekiel 30:3.

And in Joel,

Alas for the day! For the day of Jehovah is near, and as destruction. Joel 1:15.

Here 'a day of cloud' stands for cloud or falsity, 'a day of the nations' for the nations or wickedness, and 'the day of Jehovah' for vastation. When the concept of time is removed there remains the concept of the state of the things existing during that period of time. The same applies to the days and the years that are mentioned so many times in this chapter.