272. And they had on their heads crowns of gold. That this signifies all truths disposed into order from the Divine good, thus also all the former heavens is evident from the signification of the four-and-twenty elders sitting upon four-and-twenty thrones, clothed in white garments, as being all the truths of the heavens, thus all the heavens, both the higher and the lower, as just explained (n. 270, 271); and from the signification of a crown of gold, as being Divine good from which truths are derived, which will be treated of in what follows. All the truths of heaven and of the church are from Divine good; truths which are not from that source are not truths. Truths which are not from good are like shells without a kernel, and like a house inhabited not by men, but by wild beasts; and such are the truths which are called truths of faith, without the good of charity; the good of charity is good from the Lord, thus good Divine. Now because the elders upon the throne signify the truths of the heavens, and crowns of gold the good from which they are derived, therefore the elders were seen with such crowns. The same is signified by the crowns of kings; for kings, in a representative sense, signify truths, and the crowns upon their heads signify the goods from which the truths are derived (that kings signify truths may be seen above, n. 31); hence it is that crowns are of gold, for gold in like manner signifies good (see n. 242).

[2] That crowns signify good and thence wisdom, and that truths are the things that are crowned, is evident from the following passages. In David:

"I will make the horn of David to bud; I will ordain a lamp for mine anointed. His enemies will I clothe with shame; but upon himself shall his crown flourish" (Psalms 132:17, 18).

Here by David, and by anointed is meant the Lord, as may be seen above (n. 205); by horn is signified His power; lamp denotes the Divine truth from which is Divine intelligence; by crown is signified the Divine good from which is Divine wisdom, and from which is the Lord's government; and the enemies who shall be clothed with shame are evils and falsities.

[3] Again:

"Thou showest anger with thine anointed. Thou hast condemned his crown even to the earth" (89:38, 39).

Here also by anointed is meant the Lord, and by anger a state of temptation, in which He was when in combats with the hells. Lamentation is then described by anger and condemnation, as in the last temptation on the cross, when the Lord lamented that He was forsaken. For the cross was the last of the temptations, or combats with the hells; and after that last temptation He put on the Divine good of the Divine love, and thus united the Divine Human with the essential Divine which was in Himself.

[4] Again, in Isaiah:

"In that day shall Jehovah Zebaoth be for a crown of ornament, and for a mitre of comeliness unto the remnant of his people" (28:5).

Here by a crown of ornament is signified the wisdom which belongs to good from the Divine; and by a mitre of comeliness is meant intelligence belonging to truths from that good.

[5] Again:

"For Zion's sake will I not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her justice go forth as brightness, and her salvation burn as a lamp. Thou shalt be a crown of comeliness in the hand of Jehovah, and a mitre of a kingdom in the hand of thy God" (62:1, 3).

Here by Zion and Jerusalem is meant the church; by Zion, the church which is in good, and by Jerusalem, the church which is in truths from that good: hence it is called a crown of comeliness in the hand of Jehovah, and a mitre of a kingdom in the hand of God. The crown of comeliness denotes wisdom, which belongs to good, and a mitre of a kingdom denotes intelligence, which belongs to truth. And since by crown is signified wisdom, which belongs to good, therefore it is said to be in the hand of Jehovah; and since by mitre is signified intelligence, which belongs to truth, therefore it is said to be in the hand of God; for where good is treated of the word Jehovah is used, and where truth is treated of the word God (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 2586, 2769, 6905).

[6] In Jeremiah:

"Say unto the king and to the mistress, Let yourselves down, sit ye, because the ornament of your head is come down, the crown of your comeliness" (13:18).

Here by crown of comeliness is signified the wisdom which belongs to good, for comeliness is the Divine truth of the church (see Arcana Coelestia 9815).

[7] Again:

"The joy of our hearts is ceased: our dance is turned into mourning. The crown of our head hath fallen" (Lamentations 5:15, 16).

By the crown of the head which is said to have fallen is signified the wisdom of those who belong to the church by means of Divine truth, which wisdom has ceased, together with internal blessedness.

[8] In Ezekiel:

"He put a jewel upon thy nose and earrings upon thine ears, and a crown of ornament upon thy head" (16:12).

By Jerusalem, which is here treated of, is signified the church at its first establishment. By a jewel upon the nose is signified the perception of good; by earrings upon the ears are meant the perception of truth and obedience; and by a crown upon the head is signified wisdom therefrom. In Job:

"He has stripped me of my glory, and taken away the crown from my head" (19:9).

Here also by glory is meant intelligence derived from Divine truth, and by a crown wisdom therefrom.

[9] Also, in the Apocalypse:

"I saw, and, behold, a white horse; and he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him; he went forth conquering and to conquer" (6:2).

The white horse and He that sat on him is the Lord as to the Word; the bow signifies the doctrine of truth by which He fought. It is therefore evident that the crown, as being said of the Lord, is the Divine good which He also put on as to the Human as the reward of victory.

[10] And in another place:

"Afterwards I looked, when, behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle" (14:14).

A white cloud signifies the Word in its literal sense (see Arcana Coelestia 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8281); the Son of man denotes the Lord as to Divine truth; a golden crown, the Divine good from which the Divine truth is: and the sharp sickle denotes the dissipation of evil and falsity.

[11] That a crown denotes Divine good from which is the Divine truth, was represented by the plate of gold upon the front of the mitre which was upon Aaron, which plate was also called a crown and a coronet, concerning which it is thus written in Exodus:

"Thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it the engravings of a signet, Holiness to Jehovah; and thou shalt put it upon a thread of purple, and it shall be on thy mitre, over against the region of the face" (28:36, 37).

(That this plate was called a crown of holiness and a coronet, may be seen Exodus 29:6, 39:30; Leviticus 8:9; but what was specifically signified thereby may be seen in Arcana Coelestia 9930-9936, where the terms are explained.)

4287. 'For as a prince you have contended with God and with men, and have prevailed' means repeated victories in conflicts over truths and goods. This is clear from the meaning of 'contending as a prince' as overcoming in conflicts, in this case conflicts that accompany temptations since these are the subject at present; and from the meaning of 'with God and with men' as conflicts over truths and goods, to be dealt with below.

[2] The subject in the highest sense being the Lord, it is He who is meant in that sense by 'one contending as a prince with God and with men', for by His own power He suffered all temptations and through them overcame the hells. Indeed He allowed into Himself all the hells in their order, and even the angels, as will be explained later on. In so doing he brought into order everything in the heavens and in the hells, and at length glorified Himself, that is, made the Human within Him Divine.

[3] From this it is evident that in the highest sense the Lord is meant by Jacob and Israel, as shown immediately above in 4286. Not only has He Himself 'contended as a prince', that is, has suffered all the conflicts brought about by temptations and has overcome in them, but also He suffers them in every individual human being. But see what has been stated many times already on these matters in the following references,

The Lord suffered the severest temptations, greater than anybody else has done, 1663, 1668, 1787, 2776, 2786, 2795, 2816.

Unlike any others the Lord fought out of Divine love, 1690, 1691 (end), 1789, 1812, 1813, 1820.

The Lord fought against hereditary evil from the mother, so that at length He was not her son; even so, no evil of His own doing was attached to Him, 1444, 1573, 2025, 2574, 2649, 3318 (end).

Through the conflicts brought about by temptations and through repeated victories the Lord arranged all things into the form which heaven possesses, 1928.

And through repeated victories in conflicts brought about by temptations He united the Divine Essence to the Human Essence, 1616, 1737, 1813, 1921, 2025, 2026, 2500, 2523, 2632, 2776.

The Lord suffers the temptations that take place in man, subduing evil and the hells, 987, 1661, 1692 (end).

[4] The arcanum that 'contending with God and with men' means being tempted over truths and over goods is one that is not open to view in the letter. It is clear to anyone, and will also be evident from the explanation given below, that it was not God with whom Jacob contended, for it cannot be said of anyone that he contends with God and prevails. But the internal sense teaches what 'God' and 'men' mean here - that 'God' means truth, and 'men' good. The reason for this is that 'God' in the internal sense means truth, and therefore whenever truth is dealt with the name God is used, 2586, 2769, 2807, 2822, whereas the term 'man' is used to mean good. And 'man' means good because the Lord is the only Man and anyone else is called such by virtue of Him, 49, 288, 565, 1894. A further reason is that by virtue of Him heaven is man and is called the Grand Man, 684, 1276, 3624-3649, 3741-3750. And this also was why the Most Ancient Church which was governed by celestial good was referred to as Man, 478.

[5] Therefore whenever good is dealt with in the Word, 'man' (homo) means good, as in Isaiah,

I will make the male person (vir homo) more rare than gold, and man (homo) than the gold of Ophir. Isaiah 13:12.

In the same prophet,

The inhabitants of the land will be scorched and few male persons (vir homo) left. Isaiah 24:6.

'Male persons' stands for spiritual good or the good of truth. 'Man' stands for good. In the same prophet, The highways have been laid waste, the wayfarer has ceased. He has broken the covenant, he has despised the cities, he has no regard for the male person (vir homo). Isaiah 33:8.

In Jeremiah,

I looked to the earth, and behold, that which is void and empty, and towards the heavens, and they had no light I looked, and behold, there was no man; and all the birds of the air had flown away. Jeremiah 4:23, 25.

In the same prophet, behold, the days are coming, said Jehovah, in which I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. Jeremiah 31:27.

In Ezekiel,

Your merchants [traded] in the souls of men and vessels of bronze, giving these for your merchandise. Ezekiel 27:13.

In the same prophet, You, O my flock, the flock of My pasture, you are men; I am your God. Ezekiel 34:31.

In the same prophet, They will be cities laid waste, filled with the flock of mankind. Ezekiel 36:38.

In these places 'man' (homo) stands for people who are governed by good, and so stands for good, since good is what causes anyone to be 'man'. Truth however which is grounded in good is referred to in the Word as 'a male person' (vir homo) and also as 'the son of man'.