830. 19:16 And He has on His garment and on His thigh a name written: "King of kings and Lord of lords." This symbolically means that the Lord teaches in the Word who He is, that He is the Divine truth of Divine wisdom and the Divine goodness of Divine love, thus that He is God of the universe.

The Lord's garment symbolizes the Word in respect to Divine truth, as in no. 825 above. The Lord's thigh symbolizes the Word in respect to Divine goodness. Because thighs and loins symbolize married love, and because that love is the fundamental love of all loves, therefore thighs and loins symbolize the goodness of love. That this is due to its correspondence may be seen in no. 213 above. Therefore, when a thigh is mentioned in reference to the Lord, it symbolizes the Lord in respect to the goodness of love, and here the Word as well in that respect. Having a name written symbolizes the character of the Lord, as in no. 824 above. "King of kings" means the Lord in respect to the Divine truth of His Divine wisdom, and "Lord of lords" means the Lord in respect to the Divine goodness of His Divine love. The Lord's kingdom and His dominion have the same symbolic meaning in places where both are mentioned (see no. 664 above).

[2] Because the Lord is called King of kings and Lord of lords, and this means the Lord in respect to both Divine truth and Divine good, therefore the name is said to have been written on His garment and on His thigh; and the name written on His garment symbolizes the Word in respect to Divine truth, while the name written on His thigh symbolizes the Word in respect to Divine goodness, both being contained in the Word. The Word's Divine truth is found in its spiritual sense, which is intended for angels of the intermediate or second heaven, who possess intelligence stemming from Divine truths; and the Word's Divine goodness is found in its celestial sense, which is intended for angels of the highest or third heaven, who possess wisdom stemming from Divine goods. But this latter sense is deeply hidden, being perceptible only to people who possess love toward the Lord from the Lord.

That the one on the white horse here is the Lord is explicitly said above in the book of Revelation:

These will do battle with the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings. (Revelation 17:14)

[3] That a thigh symbolizes the goodness of love, and in reference to the Lord, the Divine goodness of His Divine love, is clear from the following passages in the Word:

Righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and truth the girdle of His thighs. (Isaiah 11:5)

...over (the cherubim's) heads was... the appearance of a man (on a throne).... From the appearance of His loins and upward..., and from the appearance of His loins and downward..., (there was) the appearance of fire and of brightness all around. (Ezekiel 1:26-28)

The man on the throne means the Lord. The appearance of fire from His loins upward and downward symbolizes His Divine love, and the brightness all around symbolizes the Divine wisdom emanating from it.

(Daniel saw a man) whose loins were girded with gold of Uphaz. (Daniel 10:5)

The man was an angel having the Lord in him. Gold of Uphaz symbolizes the goodness of love.

The thighs or loins have the same symbolic meaning in Isaiah 5:27, Psalms 45:3, and elsewhere.

Regarding the correspondence of the thighs or loins with married love, which is the fundamental love of all loves, see Arcana Coelestia (The Secrets of Heaven), nos. 5050-5062.

26. 5. The Word’s spiritual meaning is granted after this only to someone who possesses genuine truths from the Lord. The reason is this: because no one can see the spiritual meaning unless he is enabled to do so by the Lord alone, and unless he possesses genuine truths from Him. For the Word’s spiritual meaning deals with the Lord alone and His kingdom, and that sense is the one possessed by His angels in heaven. It is, indeed, His Divine truth there. It is possible for a person to violate that truth if he has a knowledge of correspondences and tries to use it to explore the Word’s spiritual meaning in accord with his own intelligence. Applying some of the correspondences he knows, he may twist its meaning and use it to confirm even falsity, which would be to do injury to Divine truth, and to heaven as well. If someone tries to lay open that sense on his own, therefore, and not from the Lord, heaven is closed, and when heaven is closed, a person either sees nothing, or he becomes spiritually irrational.

[2] There is also another reason. Because the Lord teaches everyone by means of the Word, and teaches him in accordance with the truths the person already possesses and does not infuse new truths directly, therefore if the person is without any Divine truths, or if he possesses only a few truths and is caught up at the same time in falsities, it would be possible for him to use those falsities to falsify the truths — as is also commonly known to be the case with every heretic as regards just the Word’s literal sense.

Consequently, to keep people from entering into the Word’s spiritual meaning, or from twisting the genuine truth found in that sense, the Lord has set protections, meant in the Word by cherubim.

[3] That protections have been set was represented to me in the following way:

I was given to see large purses, looking like sacks, which had stored away in them a great deal of silver. Since they were open, it seemed as if anyone might take some of the silver deposited in them, even to make off with it. However, next to the purses two angels were sitting as guards. The place where the purses rested looked like a manger in a stable. In the next room I saw modest maidens, together with a chaste wife. Near that room were two little children, and I heard it said they were not to be played with in a childish way, but wisely. Afterward a harlot appeared, then a horse lying dead.

4] On seeing these images I was informed that they represented the literal meaning of the Word, which has a spiritual meaning within. The large purses full of silver symbolized concepts of truth there in great abundance. The purses’ being open and yet guarded by angels symbolized that anyone might draw concepts of truth there, but that people should take care not to falsify the spiritual meaning, which contains only truths. The manger in the stable where the purses were sitting symbolized spiritual instruction for the intellect. (A manger has this symbolism, because a horse, which feeds from it, symbolizes the intellect.)

5] The modest maidens I saw in the next room symbolized affections for truth, and the chaste wife the conjunction of truth and good. The little children symbolized the innocence of the wisdom in it (they were angels from the third heaven, all of whom appear like little children). The harlot together with the dead horse symbolized the falsification of the Word by many people today, by which all understanding of the truth has been extinguished. (A harlot symbolizes falsification, and a dead horse no understanding of truth.)