358. And a crown was given unto him. That this signifies life eternal, which is the reward of victory, is manifest from the signification of a crown, which, when spiritual combat is treated of, as in this case, denotes life eternal, which is the reward of victory. That spiritual combat is here treated of, is clear from what precedes and follows. In what precedes it is said, that He who sat upon the white horse had a bow, and by a bow is signified the doctrine of charity and faith, from which evils and falsities are fought against and dispersed. And also from what follows, in which it is said, and "He went forth conquering, and to conquer," by which is signified victory over them; hence by the crown is here signified life eternal, which is the reward of victory.

[2] The same is signified by a crown, where temptations are treated of, because temptations are spiritual combats, as in the second chapter of this book, where these [words occur]:

"Behold, it shall be that the devil will cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tempted; and ye shall have tribulation ten days; be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" (verse 10).

That wisdom and eternal happiness are here signified by a crown, may be seen above (n. 126). Wisdom and eternal happiness taken together are life eternal, for in wisdom and eternal happiness the very life of heaven consists. The same is signified by the crown of the martyrs, because they were in tribulation, and were faithful even to death, and were also in temptations, and conquered; crowns were also given to them after death, but lest they should thence arrogate honour to themselves, and thus contract haughtiness, they cast them off from their heads. Because by wars in the Word are signified wars in a spiritual sense, which are combats against evils and falsities, and by kings are signified truths from good which fight against them; hence, in ancient times, when men were in the knowledge of correspondences and representations, the kings in their battles had a crown upon the head, and a bracelet upon the arm; as is evident from the second book of Samuel:

[3] The boy the son of an Amalekite, who told David that Saul and Jonathan were dead, said, "I came upon mount Gilboa, when behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and leaders followed hard after him. And he called to me, Come and slay me. And I stood against him, and slew him, and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and I bring them to thee" (1:5-10).

The crown in battle was then a mark of combat, and the bracelet, upon the arm was a mark of power, each against evils and falsities. These combats are also signified by battles everywhere in the Word, even in the historical parts. (That the bracelet upon the arm signifies the power of truth from good, may be seen, n. 3105. What further the crowns of kings signify, and crowns in general, see n. 272.)

6524. 'The elders of his house' means the things that would accord with good. This is clear from the meaning of 'the elders' as the chief characteristics of wisdom, thus things that accord with good, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'house' as good, dealt with in 2559, 3652, 3720, 4982. The reason why 'elders' means the chief characteristics of wisdom is that in the Word 'old people' means those who are wise, and - in a sense detached from persons - wisdom. Since 'the twelve tribes of Israel' meant all truths and forms of good in their entirety, they had princes and also elders set over them. 'Princes' meant the leading truths constituting intelligence, and 'elders' the chief characteristics of wisdom, thus those of good.

[2] For the meaning of 'princes' as the leading truths constituting intelligence, see 1482, 2089, 5044. But as regards the meaning of 'elders' as the chief characteristics of wisdom, and of 'old people' as wisdom, this is evident from the following places: In David,

They will extol Jehovah in the congregation of the people, and in the assembly of the old they will praise Him. Psalms 107:32.

'The congregation of the people' stands for those who are ruled by truths constituting intelligence, since 'congregation' is used with reference to truths, 6355, as also is 'people', 1259, 1260, 2928, 3295, 3581; 'the assembly of the old' stands for those who are ruled by good, which belongs to wisdom since wisdom is concerned with life, thus with what is good, whereas intelligence is concerned with knowing, thus with what is true, 1555. In the same author,

I am wiser than the old, because I have kept Your commands. Psalms 119:100.

'The old' plainly stands for one who is wise. Likewise in Job,

In the old there is wisdom, in length of days intelligence. Job 12:12.

In Moses,

You shall rise before grey hair and respect the face of an old person. Leviticus 19:32.

This command was given because 'old people' represented wisdom.

[3] In John,

On the thrones I saw twenty-four elders seated, clad in white garments, who had on their heads crowns of gold. Revelation 4:4.

'Elders' stands for aspects of wisdom, thus of good. That these are meant by the elders is evident from the description of the elders - they sat on thrones, were clad in white garments, and had crowns of gold on their heads. 'Thrones' are truths constituting intelligence which are derived from good belonging to wisdom, 5313. 'White garments' has a similar meaning, 'garments' being truths, 1073, 4545, 4763, 5248, 5954, and 'white' that which has reference to truth, 3301, 5319. 'Crowns of gold on their heads' are forms of the good of wisdom; for 'gold' is the good of love, 113, 1551, 1552, 5658, and 'head' is the celestial, the seat of wisdom, 4938, 4939, 5328, 6436. Those who are in the third or inmost heaven, thus who are nearest the Lord, are called the wise, whereas those in the middle or second heaven, thus who are not as near the Lord, are called intelligent.

[4] In the same book,

All the angels stood around the throne, and the elders, and the four living creatures. Revelation 7:11.

Again 'the elders' stands for aspects of wisdom, as it does in the following places: In Isaiah,

The boy will uplift himself against the old man, and the despised against the honourable. Isaiah 7:5.

In the same prophet,

Jehovah Zebaoth will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders, glory. Isaiah 24:23.

In Jeremiah,

My priests and my elders breathed their last in the city, for they sought food for themselves, with which they would renew their soul. Lamentations 1:19.

In the same prophet,

Her king and her princes are among the nations; the law is no more. The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, they become silent. Lamentations 2:9-10.

In the same prophet,

They have ravished women in Zion, virgins in the cities of Judah. Princes have been hung up by their hands, the faces of the old men have not been honoured, the elders have ceased from the gate. Lamentations 5:11-12, 14.

In Ezekiel,

Misery will come upon misery, and rumour will be upon rumour. Therefore they will seek a vision from the prophet, but the law has perished from the priest, and counsel from the elders. The king will mourn, and the prince will be wrapped in stupidity. Ezekiel 7:26-27.

In Zechariah,

Old men and women will again dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and each one with his staff in his hand because of great age. ¹ Zechariah 8:4.

So that 'the elders' might represent things that constitute wisdom, some of Moses' spirit was taken and imparted to them, by which they prophesied, Numbers 11:16 and following verses.

In the contrary sense 'elders' stands for the things that are the opposites of the aspects of wisdom, Ezekiel 8:11-12.

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