270. (Verse 4) And round about the throne were four-and-twenty thrones, and upon the thrones I saw four-and-twenty elders sitting. That this signifies all truths from good in the higher heavens, arranged by the Lord before judgment is evident from the signification of the throne on which one sat, as being the Lord as to the Last Judgment (concerning which see above, n. 267; and that throne signifies judgment, see n. 253); and from the signification of four-and-twenty thrones round about it, and four-and-twenty elders upon them, as being all the truths of heaven in the aggregate, arranged before judgment. Twenty-four signify all, and thrones signify judgment, and the elders those who are in truths from good, and, in the abstract, truths from good. The reason why the higher heavens are here meant is that all those who are there are in truths from the good of love, and that in what presently follows the lower heavens are treated of. The reason why twenty-four signify all is that that number signifies the same as the number twelve, and twelve signifies all, and is said of truths (see Arcana Coelestia 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913). That the number twenty-four signifies the same as the number twelve is because it is its double, and the double signifies the same as the number from which it arises by multiplication (as may be seen, n. 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973).

[2] The same is signified by thrones upon which the twelve apostles were to sit, of which it is said in Matthew:

"Ye who have followed me in the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (19:28; Luke 22:30);

where by the twelve apostles are signified all truths in the aggregate. Similarly in the following words in the Apocalypse:

"I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them" (20:4).

Judgment being given to those that sat upon the thrones signifies that judgment belongs to the Lord alone; for by elders in the Word are signified all those who are in truths from good, and abstractly, truth from good from which is judgment.

He who believes that by elders and apostles in the Word are meant elders and apostles is much deceived; for, in the spiritual sense of the Word, persons are not perceived, but things abstractly from persons; for what is spiritual has nothing in common with persons. The case is otherwise in the sense of the letter of the Word, which is natural; in this sense persons are not only mentioned, but also the idea of a person is implied in many expressions, in order that the Word in its ultimates may be natural, and thus form a basis for the spiritual sense. The same is the case with the signification of elders as with that of infants, children, young men, old men, virgins, women, and many things of the same kind. All are thought of, in the natural sense, as persons; but, in the spiritual sense, by infants innocence is meant; by children, charity; by young men, intelligence; by old men, wisdom; by virgins are meant the affections of truth and good, and by women, the goods of the church; and so in other cases. The same may be said of the natural and spiritual sense of the term neighbour. In the natural sense, by neighbour is meant every man; but in the spiritual sense are meant good itself, truth, sincerity and justice, which are in the person. Every one who thinks in himself may know that this is the neighbour in the spiritual sense; for who loves any one from anything else but the good that is in him? for good and truth constitute the man, and cause him to be loved, and not the countenance and the body. But to return to the signification of elders. That elders signify truths from good is evident from those passages in the Word where they are mentioned.

[3] As in Isaiah:

"Then the moon shall blush, and the sun shall be ashamed, and Jehovah Zebaoth shall reign in the mount of Zion and in Jerusalem; and before his elders shall be glory" (24:23).

By the moon and the sun are meant their idolatrous worship, the falsity of their faith, and the evil of their love; by mount Zion and by Jerusalem are meant heaven and the church; by the elders are meant truth from good; therefore it is also said, that before them shall be glory; for by glory is signified the Divine truth in heaven, as may be seen above (n. 33).

[4] In Lamentations:

"My virgins and my young men are gone into captivity. I have cried to my lovers, they have deceived me; and mine elders have expired in the city" (1:18, 19).

The subject here treated of is the vastation of the church, over which there is lamentation, which vastation takes place when there is no longer any spiritual affection of truth, and consequently no intelligence in such things as pertain to the church, and hence when there is no truth. By the virgins which are gone into captivity is meant the spiritual affection of truth; by the young men intelligence; captivity denotes removal from those principles; by the elders who expired are meant the truths of the church.

[5] In Ezekiel:

"Slay to destruction the old man and the young man, and the virgin, and the infant and the women; begin from my sanctuary. Therefore they began from the men, the elders who were before the house" (9:6).

The subject here treated of is also the vastation of the church; and by an old man and a young man are meant wisdom and intelligence; by virgin is meant the affection of truth and good; by infant innocence; by women goods of the church. To slay to destruction signifies devastation; the sanctuary at which they should begin signifies the church as to the good of love and the truth of faith, which are the men, the elders who were before the house.

[6] In Lamentations:

"The faces of the old men were not honoured. The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their singing" (5:12, 14).

The old men signify the wisdom which is of good; the elders, the truths which are from good; the young men, intelligence. That the God of Israel was seen having "under His feet as it were the work of sapphire," by Moses, Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders, and not by the rest (Exodus 24:9-12), signified that the Lord is seen only by those who are in good, and in truth from good (as may be seen in the explanation of the passage in Arcana Coelestia 9403-9411). These are the things which the seventy elders of Israel represented, and which are signified by the four-and-twenty elders sitting upon as many thrones. The same things also are signified by the twelve apostles, concerning whom it is said that they should sit upon thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (That the twelve apostles signify all truths from good, may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 2129, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397; that the same are signified by the twelve tribes of Israel, n. 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335, and also by the elders of Israel, n. 6524, 6525, 6890, 7912, 8578, 8585, 9376, 9404.)

3272. 'Twelve princes of their peoples' means all the first and foremost features of that spiritual Church. This is clear from the meaning of 'twelve' as all things of faith and so of the Church, dealt with in 577, 2089, 2129 (end), 2130 (end); from the meaning of 'princes' as first and foremost features, dealt with in 1482, 2089; and from the meaning of 'peoples' as those who are governed by truths, dealt with in 1259, 1260, and so those who belong to the spiritual Church, for they are said to be those with whom truths predominate. The fact that all numbers in the Word mean real things becomes quite clear from the number twelve which occurs so many times. Whenever that number is used in the Word it means all things. For example, the twelve tribes in the Old Testament and the twelve apostles in the New mean all things of faith, and so all things of the Church. Here 'twelve princes' accordingly means all the first and foremost features of that Church which are represented by just so many sons of Ishmael.

[2] That the number twelve means those things becomes clear from what has been introduced in the places mentioned above, as well as from the following in the Word: In John,

I heard the number of the sealed out of every tribe of Israel - twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Judah, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand sealed out of the tribe of Gad, and so on. Revelation 7:4-6, and following verses.

Here 'twelve thousand sealed out of every tribe' means nothing else than that everyone who receives faith, that is, who receives the good that accompanies it, is saved. In the same book,

A woman encircled with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Revelation 12:1.

'A woman' stands for the Church, 252, 253, 'the sun' for celestial love, 'the moon' for spiritual love, 30-38, 1529, 1530, 2441, 2495. 'Twelve stars' stands for all things of faith - 'stars' being cognitions of good and truth, which are matters of faith, 2495, 2849.

[3] In the same book,

The holy city New Jerusalem, having twelve gates, and above the gates twelve angels, and names written which are those of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel. The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. He measured the city with the measuring rod, twelve thousand stadia. And he measured its wall, a hundred and forty-four cubits (twelve twelves), which is the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The twelve gates were twelve pearls. Revelation 21:12, 14, 16-17, 21.

Here nothing else is meant by the holy city than the Lord's spiritual kingdom, and by the gates, wall, and foundations the things that constitute charity and faith, all of which things are meant by the frequently mentioned number twelve. The fact that neither the twelve tribes nor the twelve apostles are meant literally may be recognized by anyone. In the same book,

In the middle of its street, and of the river, on this side and on that, was the tree of life bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit each month. Revelation 22:2.

'Twelve fruits' means all things of charity.

[4] In Matthew,

Jesus said, Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on His throne of glory, will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Matthew 19:28.

Here 'the apostles' is not used to mean the apostles, nor 'thrones' to mean thrones, nor 'tribes' tribes, but matters of faith in their entirety, see 2129. Furthermore when the twelve tribes are referred to in the Old Testament Word they mean all things of the Church. The same applies to the twelve stones set according to the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, in the Urim and Thummim, Exodus 28:21; to the twelve loaves of the presence that were laid out on the table, Leviticus 24:5-6; and so on with every other reference to twelve. Also the names themselves of the twelve sons of Jacob or Israel contain all things of faith, as will be seen in the Lord's Divine mercy in Chapters 29, 30 below.