687. And the four and twenty elders, who sit before God upon their thrones.- That this signifies the higher heavens in light and power from the Lord to separate the evil from the good before the day of the Last Judgment, which is shortly to come, is evident from the signification of the four and twenty elders, as denoting the higher heavens (concerning which see above, n. 322, 362, 462); and from the signification of sitting upon thrones, as denoting to be in the act of judging, for thrones signify the heavens, and sitting upon thrones signifies to judge. And because the angels of heaven do not judge, but the Lord alone, and since the Lord arranges those heavens by influx and presence in order to perform judgment therefrom upon those who have been gathered together below the heavens, therefore these words signify that the higher heavens are in light and power from the Lord to separate the evil from the good before the day of the Last Judgment.

[2] That this is the internal sense of these words is clear from what follows in this chapter, and also from what has been said above upon this subject. From the things that follow in this chapter it is plain that the higher heavens are in light and power from the Lord; this is the reason why they fell upon their faces and adored the Lord, and gave thanks that He had taken His great power and entered upon the kingdom, and why afterwards, the temple was opened in heaven, and the ark of the covenant was seen in the temple, this signifying the light there, and the former signifying the power there, from the Lord alone. It is also plain that it means to separate the evil from the good before the day of the Last Judgment, for it is said that "the nations were angered, and that Thine anger is come, and the time of judging the dead"; and afterwards, that there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail, which signifies the separation of the evil from the good, and the sign that the Last Judgment was at hand. Because these are the things treated of, and as the four and twenty elders sitting before God upon the thrones mean the higher heavens arranged for effecting therefrom the Last Judgment, it follows that such things are involved in these words.

[3] From what has been said above upon this subject it is clear that the higher heavens, before the Last Judgment, were brought into a state of light and power, in order that there might be influx from them into the lower parts, by means of which the evil might be separated from the good, and the evil afterwards cast down into the hells, as may be seen above (n. 411, 413, 418, 419, 426, 493, 497, 674, 675, 676).

[4] That a throne signifies in general heaven, and in particular the heavens where the spiritual kingdom of the Lord is, and in an abstract sense, the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, and that this is said of judgment, may also be seen above (n. 253, 297, 343, 460, 482). It is also shewn there, that although it is said of the four and twenty elders that they sat upon thrones, and similarly of the apostles that they should sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel, and also of the angels, that they will come with the Lord to judgment, yet it is the Lord alone who will judge. For the four and twenty elders, the twelve apostles, and the angels, mean all the truths of the church, and, briefly, the Divine Truth, from which judgment takes place. And because Divine Truth is meant by these, and all Divine Truth proceeds from the Lord, therefore judgment belongs to the Lord alone. Who cannot see that it would not be possible for any angel to judge myriads of myriads, every one according to the state of his love and faith, both in his internal man and in his external, but for the Lord alone, from the Divine which is in Him, and which proceeds from Him; also, that to judge all in the heavens, and all in the earths, belongs to infinite wisdom and infinite power, not the least part of which falls to finite beings such as angels are, and such as the elders of Israel, and the apostles of the Lord were? All of these taken together, could not judge even a single man or a single spirit. For he who is to judge must see all the states of the man who is to be judged, from infancy to the end of his life in the world, and the future state of his life afterwards to eternity; for in the entire purpose, and thence in each and every particular of judgment, there must be what is eternal and infinite, and this is in and from the Divine alone, for it is the Divine that is infinite and eternal.

[5] In the Word mention is made of walking before God, of standing before God, and, as here, of sitting before God; what standing before God signifies may be seen above (n. 414); and what by walking before God (n. 97). What sitting before God signifies, as here in reference to the four and twenty elders, is evident from the passages in the Word where to sit is mentioned. For in the spiritual world everything pertaining to man's movements or rest signifies things pertaining to his life, because they proceed therefrom. Walking and progressions relate to the movements of man, and consequently signify progress of life, or progress of the thought from a purpose of the will. But standing and sitting have reference to man's rest, and therefore signify the esse of life, from which is its existere, thus they signify causing to live. Therefore to sit upon thrones, in reference to judgment, signifies to be in the act of judging, thus also to judge; from this the expression "to sit in judgment" is used, which means to execute judgment. So "to sit upon a throne" in reference to a kingdom signifies to be king or to reign.

[6] What sitting moreover signifies, in the spiritual sense, is evident from the following passages.

In David:

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, and standeth not in the way of sinners, and sitteth not in the seat of the scornful" (Psalm 1:1).

Here it is said, to walk, to stand, and to sit, because these follow one another, for to walk pertains to the life of thought from intention, to stand pertains to the life of intention from the will, and to sit to the life of the will, thus to the esse of the life. Counsel also, of which to walk is said, regards the thought; way, in which one is said to stand, regards intention, while to sit in a seat refers to the will, which is the esse of a man's life.

[7] Since Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is the very esse of the life of all, therefore to sit is said of Him.

In David:

"Jehovah shall sit to eternity" (Psalm 9:7).

In the same:

"Jehovah sitteth at the flood, and sitteth as King to eternity" (Psalm 29:10).

In the same:

"God reigneth over the nations; God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness" (Psalm 47:8).

In Matthew:

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all his holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory" (25:31).

To sit upon the throne of His glory signifies to be in His Divine Truth, from which is judgment. Similarly elsewhere in the same:

"When the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (19:28; Luke 22:30).

Since angels, also the twelve apostles, and the twelve tribes of Israel, signify all the truths of the church, and, in the highest sense, the Divine Truth, therefore to sit upon thrones does not mean that they themselves, but the Lord as to Divine Truth, from which is Judgment, will so sit; and to judge the twelve tribes of Israel signifies to judge all according to the truths of their church. It is therefore evident that to sit upon a throne, when said of the Lord, signifies to be in the act of judging, thus to judge. It is said a throne of glory, because glory signifies the Divine Truth, as may be seen above (n. 34, 288, 345, 678).

[8] In the Evangelists;

"David said in the book of Psalms, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet" (Luke 20:42, 43; Mark 12:36; Psalm 110:1).

The Lord said to my Lord, signifies the Divine itself, which is called the Father, to the Divine Human, which is the Son. Sit Thou at My right hand, signifies Divine Power, or Omnipotence by means of Divine Truth; until I make Thine enemies the footstool of Thy feet, signifies until the hells are conquered and subjugated, and the evil are cast into them, enemies meaning the hells, thus the evil, and the footstool of the feet signifies the lowest region under the heavens, under which are the hells; for the Lord, while in the world, was Divine Truth, to which belongs omnipotence, and by means of which He conquered and subjugated the hells.

[9] In the same:

"Jesus said, Henceforth shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven" (Matthew 26:63, 64; Mark 14:61, 62; Luke 22:69).

To sit on the right hand of power signifies the Divine Omnipotence of the Lord over the heavens and over the earths, after He had subjugated the hells and glorified His Human. To come on the clouds of heaven signifies by means of Divine Truth in the heavens; for after the Lord had united His Human with the Divine itself, Divine Truth went forth from Him; and He Himself is therein with angels and with men, because He is in the Word, which is Divine Truth, in which and from which is the Divine Omnipotence.

[10] And again:

"The Lord, after he had spoken with them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God" (Mark 16:19).

To sit down at the right hand of God has a similar signification, namely, His Divine Omnipotence by means of Divine Truth; from which it is clear that to sit denotes to be, and to sit at the right hand denotes to be omnipotent.

Because to sit signifies to be, therefore to sit upon a throne signifies to be king and to reign, as in Exodus 11:5; Deuteronomy 17:18; 1 Kings 1:13, 17, 20; Jeremiah 17:25; 22:2, 30; and elsewhere; similarly, "To sit on the right hand and on the left" (Matthew 20:21, 23; Mark 10:37, 40).

[11] In Isaiah:

"Come down and sit upon the dust, O virgin daughter of Babel, sit on the earth, there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans; sit in silence and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for they shall no more call thee mistress of kingdoms; hear this thou voluptuous one, that sittest carelessly, saying, I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know bereavement" (47:1, 5, 8).

The subject treated of here is the profanation of good and truth; for the daughter of Babel signifies the profanation of good, and the daughter of the Chaldeans the profanation of truth; for the reason that the Divine goods and truths which are in the Word and from the Word, are used as the means of gaining dominion. For this reason the Babylonians and Chaldeans regard themselves, that is their own dominion, as ends, and the holy things of the church from the Word as means; thus they do not look to the Lord and His dominion as an end, nor to their neighbour and to love towards him. Come down and sit upon the dust and on the earth, signifies to be in evils, and in consequent damnation. Sit in silence and go into darkness, signifies to be in falsities, and in consequent damnation. To sit carelessly signifies to be in the confident belief that their dominion will continue, and that they will not perish. Not to sit as a widow, and not to know bereavement, signifies to be in no lack of followers, dependents, and worshippers. There is no throne for thee, O daughter of the Chaldeans, they shall no more call thee mistress of kingdoms, signifies that such shall no longer have dominion because of their overthrow and damnation in the day of the Last Judgment, of which this chapter treats.

[12] In the same:

"Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly, on the sides of the north" (14:13).

These things also are spoken of Babel, who is here called Lucifer, and of the lust of his profane love of ruling over all things of heaven; but what in particular is meant by exalting a throne above the stars of God, and by sitting on the mount of assembly and on the sides of the north, will be shown in the following pages when Babylon is treated of; here also to sit signifies to be, and has reference to dominion.

[13] In Ezekiel:

"All the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones; they shall sit upon the earth" (26:16):

This is said of Tyre, which signifies the church as to the knowledges of truth, but here the church vastated, in which these knowledges have been falsified; therefore by all the princes of the sea coming down from their thrones is signified that knowledges of truth shall no more reign in the men of that church, for all sovereignty belongs to Divine Truth. To come down from the thrones signifies from governing, thus not to rule; and the princes of the sea denote the knowledges of truth, and those who are in them. They shall sit upon the earth signifies that they will be in falsifications, thus in falsities; upon thrones signifies to be in the truths of heaven, and to sit upon the earth signifies to be in falsities, since under the lands (sub terris) in the spiritual world are the hells, from which evils and falsities are continually exhaling. The signification of sitting in the following passages is similar.

[14] In Luke:

"Who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death" (1:79).

In Isaiah:

"To open the blind eyes, to lead the bound out of prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house" (42:7)

In Jeremiah:

"I sat not in the council of mockers, and I rejoiced; I sat solitary because of thy hand, for thou hast filled me with indignation" (15:17).

In David:

"I have not sat with men of vanity, nor have I gone in with the hidden" (Psalm 26:4).

In Luke:

That day "shall come as a snare upon all who sit upon the faces of the whole earth" (21:35).

Since to sit signifies to be and also to abide in one state, and pertains to the will, it is therefore said in David,

"Jehovah, thou hast searched me and known me; thou knowest my sitting and my rising, thou understandest my thought afar off" (Psalm 139:1, 2).

To know his sitting has reference to the esse of life which is the will; rising, has reference to the intention therefrom; and because thought follows from the intention of the will, it is added, "Thou understandest my thought afar off."

[15] In Micah:

"Then shall he stand and feed in the name of Jehovah, and they shall sit, for now shall he increase unto the ends of the earth" (5:4).

This is said of the Lord and of the doctrine of Divine Truth from Him, which is meant by then shall he stand and feed in the name of Jehovah; and that the men of the church will be in that doctrine is signified by they shall sit; and that the doctrine of Divine Truth will endure to eternity is signified by he shall increase unto the ends of the earth.

[16] Similarly in Isaiah:

"Shake thyself from the dust, arise, sit, O Jerusalem, loose the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion" (52:2).

This is said of the establishment of a new church by the Lord; that church, together with its doctrine, is here signified by Jerusalem, and by the daughter of Zion; to reject falsities and evils and to be in truths and goods is signified by shaking herself from the dust, arising and sitting, also by loose the bands of the neck, O captive daughter of Zion, bands of the neck signifying falsities, that prevent the entrance of truths.

[17] That to sit is an expression significative of the existence and permanence of the state of an object and of life, is evident from those passages in the Word where the expressions to sit before Jehovah, to stand before Him, and to walk before Him, occur. To sit before Jehovah denotes to be with Him, thus also to will and to act from Him; and to stand before Him denotes to have regard for and to understand what He wills; while to walk before Him denotes to live according to His precepts, thus from Him. Because to sit involves such things, therefore the corresponding Hebrew word signifies to remain and to dwell. Because to sit has this signification, therefore an angel of the Lord was seen sitting upon the stone, which he had rolled away from the entrance to the tomb (Matthew 28:2); and also angels were seen in the tomb, sitting one at the head, and the other at the feet (John 20:12; Mark 16:5). The things that were seen were representative of the Lord's glorification and of introduction into heaven by Him; for the stone which was placed before the sepulchre, and was rolled away by the angel, signifies Divine Truth, consequently the Word, which was closed by the Jews, but opened by the Lord. That stone signifies truth, and, in the highest sense, Divine Truth, may be seen above (n. 417) and in Heaven and Hell 534:3). And because a sepulchre and pre-eminently the sepulchre where the Lord was, signifies, in the spiritual sense, resurrection and also regeneration, and angels in the Word signify Divine Truth, therefore angels were seen, sitting one at the head and the other at the feet, the angel at the head signifying Divine Truth in primaries, and the angel at the feet Divine Truth in ultimates, both proceeding from the Lord, by means of which, when received, regeneration takes place, and there is a resurrection. That to be buried, burial and a sepulchre, signify regeneration and resurrection, may be seen above (n. 659); and that angels, in the highest sense, signify the Lord as to Divine Truth, and in the relative sense the recipients of Divine Truth, and thus, abstractly, Divine truths from the Lord (n. 130, 200, 302). Moreover it is also said that "they sat before Jehovah" when they were in great joy; they were also said to sit when in great sorrow, the reason being that sitting has reference to the esse of man, which pertains to his will and love. That they wept and sat before may be seen in Judges (20:26; 21:2),

417. Four angels standing on the four corners of the earth. That this signifies the Divine proceeding from the Lord in the whole spiritual world, is plain from the signification of angels, for they denote the Divine which proceeds from the Lord; concerning which see above, n. 130, 200, 302; and from the signification of the four corners of the earth, which denote the whole spiritual world. By four corners is signified the spiritual world, because there are lands there just as on our globe; for in that world, as is the case on our earth, there are mountains, hills, rocks, plains, valleys, and many other things. This has been often stated above. And as the Last Judgment upon all in the spiritual world is treated of in the Apocalypse, and in this place the separation of the good from the evil, therefore that world is meant by the earth. The reason why the earth also signifies the church, as frequently stated before, is, that the appearance of the land (terra) in the spiritual world is exactly in agreement with the state of the church with spirits and angels there. The appearance is the most beautiful where the angels of the superior heavens dwell, and beautiful also where the angels of the lower heavens dwell, but it is totally wanting in beauty where evil spirits dwell. For where the angels dwell, are gardens, fruit gardens, flower-beds, palaces, and everything in heavenly form and harmony, whence pleasantnesses issue forth, imparting inmost delight to the mind; but where evil spirits are, every place is marshy, stony, and barren, and they live in huts of a vile appearance, and also in caverns and dens.

[2] These things are mentioned to show that "the earth," in the proximate sense, means the spiritual world; nor could any other earth (terra) appear to John, for it was seen by him when he was in the spirit. Man also, when in the spirit, cannot see any thing on our Earth (tellus), but only what is in the spiritual world. Therefore John saw four angels, and they were standing on the four corners of that earth. Four angels were seen, because by their standing on four corners is signified the Divine which proceeds from the Lord in the whole spiritual world, for that entire world has four quarters; these are the eastern, western, southern, and northern, that world being thus divided. Those who are in the good of love to the Lord dwell in the eastern quarter, and also in the western, but the former in the clear good of love because they are in the interior [good of love]; the latter, in the obscure good of love, because they are in the exterior [good of love]; in the southern quarter dwell those who are in the clear light of truth, and in the northern those who are in an obscure light of truth. Concerning these quarters see Heaven and Hell 141-153, where they are treated of. And since all things have reference to the good of love, and to the truth from that good, or generally to good and truth, therefore by those four quarters are also meant all things of heaven and the church. Those quarters are also meant in the Word by the four winds, here also by the four corners. It is therefore evident, that the angels were not seen standing on the four corners of the earth, but in the four quarters. They are called the four corners, because corners signify the extremes, and the extremes signify all things, because they include all.

[3] That corners signify quarters is evident from these passages in the Word, where quarters are described by corners, as in the following:

In Moses:

"For the tabernacle thou shalt make twenty boards for the south corner southwards. And for the second side of the tabernacle, towards the north corner, twenty boards," and so forth (Exodus 26:18, 20; 27:9, 11; 36:21, 23, 25).

Here the south corner denotes the southern quarter, and towards the north corner, the northern quarter, for there were twenty boards for each side.

So in Ezekiel:

"By the border of Dan, from the east corner unto the west corner, Asher one. And thence by the border of Asher, from the east corner even unto the corner towards the west," and company (48:1-8).

In the same prophet:

"These the measures; the north corner four thousand and five hundred, and the south corner as many, and the east corner as many, and the west corner as many, by the boundary to the east corner towards the west, and so forth" (48:16, 17, 23-25, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34; also 47:17-20).

Again, in Moses:

"Ye shall measure from without the city the corner towards the east two thousand cubits, and the south corner as many, and the west corner as many, and the north corner as many" (Num. 35:5; also in Joshua 15:5; 18:12, 14, 15, 20).

In these passages, by the east, the south, the west, and the north corners are meant the sides facing the eastern, southern, western, and northern quarters; from which it is evident, that by the four angels standing upon the four corners of the earth, is not meant upon its four corners, but in its four quarters. Similarly in another passage in the Apocalypse, it is said:

Satan "shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth" (20:8).

[4] The reason why four corners are mentioned, and not the four quarters, is that corners signify all things, since they are the extremes; for the extremes embrace all things from the centre to the ultimate circumferences; for they are the ultimate boundaries. It was for this reason that horns were placed upon the four corners of the altar, and that blood was poured on them, and thus the whole altar expiated; as is evident from Exodus 27:2; 29:12; 30:2, 3, 10; 38:2; Leviticus 4:7, 18, 25, 30, 34; 16:18, 19; Ezekiel 41:22; 43:20.

[5] That corners signify all things, because they signify the extremes, for the reason stated above, that the extremes include and embrace all things, is clearly evident from certain statutes given to the sons of Israel; as for instance, that they should not round off or shave the corner of their head (Leviticus 19:27). That they should not cut off the corner of their beards (Leviticus 19:27; 21:5).

Again:

And when they reaped the harvest of their land, they should not wholly reap the corner of the field (19:9; 23:22).

Why such statutes were given them cannot be understood, unless it be known what the hair of the head, the beard, a field, and also a corner mean. The hair of the head, and the beard, signify the ultimate of the life of man, which is called the Corporeal Sensual; a field signifies the Church; and reaping, the truth of doctrine. Wherefore, by these [statutes], it was represented that the extremes should be preserved, because they signify all things; for unless there are extremes, intermediates cannot be held together, but are dissipated, just as the interiors of man would be scattered unless they were enclosed by the skin. The same is the case in every thing and therefore also in regard to the signification of the hair of the head, the beard, and the harvest of the field. That the hair of the head signifies the extreme of the life of man, which is called the Corporeal Sensual, may be seen above (n. 66), and that the same is signified by the beard, see the Arcana Coelestia 9660); that extremes or ultimates, signify all things in the aggregate, thus the whole (n. 10044, 10329, 10335). Now since a field signifies the church, and harvest the truths of the church, therefore by their not wholly reaping the corner of the field when they reaped the harvest, is meant the preservation of all those things which are signified by the harvests of the field.

[6] That corners signify all things because they are extremes, is also evident from the following passages in Moses:

"I will cast them into the farthest corners, I will make the remembrance of them cease from among men" (Deuteronomy 32:26).

To cast into the farthest corners signifies to deprive of all good and truth; therefore it is also said, "I will make the remembrance of them to cease from among men," which signifies, that they no longer possess any thing of spiritual life, which comes to pass when man remains only in the ultimates of life, called the Corporeal Sensual; in this condition are very many, who have not attained to anything of spiritual life. Such persons then become not unlike beasts, which have no other life, with this difference, that a man, because he is born a man, can speak and reason, but he does this from the fallacies of the senses, or of the outermost things of nature, the world, and the body. This is what is meant here by being cast into the farthest corners.

[7] In Jeremiah:

"And their camels shall be a prey, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil; and I will scatter them into every wind into the cut off of the corner; and I will bring their destruction from all the passages thereof, saith Jehovah" (49:32).

These things are said concerning the devastation of Arabia and Hazor by the king of Babylon, and by Arabia and Hazor are signified the knowledges of good and truth, and by the king of Babylon evil and falsity vastating. The vastation of all confirmatory scientifics and of the knowledges of good and truth, is signified by their camels being a prey, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil; for camels denote confirmatory scientifics, and cattle the knowledges of good and truth. The vastation of all things pertaining to good and truth, until none remains, is signified by, "I will scatter them into every wind into the cut off of the corner;" the cut off of the corner denoting the extremes where good and truth no longer exist. That evils and falsities will then break in on every side, is signified by, "I will bring their destruction from all the passages thereof." For in the spiritual world, where the evil are, ways from the hells lie open on all sides, and through these, evils and falsities therefrom break in; and all who are in similar evils and falsities pass through the same ways, and associate with them. These things are said in order that it may be known what is meant by "I will bring their destruction from all the passages." By their becoming a prey and a spoil, as well as by being scattered and destroyed, is signified devastation.

[8] In the same prophet:

"Behold, the days come, in which I will punish all them which are circumcised in their uncircumcision; Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the sons of Ammon, and Moab, and all the utmost of the corner, that dwell in the wilderness; for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart" (9:25, 26).

Here, by "all the utmost of the corner," are signified those who are in the ultimates of the church separated from interior things, interior things being spiritual, therefore, those who are in sensual things only, which are the ultimates of the natural man. Concerning the nature and quality of those who are merely sensual, see the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem. (n. 50).

These are signified by the cut off of the corner, because corners signify the quarters of the spiritual world, and those quarters signify all the goods and truths of heaven and the church, as previously stated. The dwellings of spirits and angels in that world, are so arranged, that those who possess the greatest wisdom and intelligence dwell in the midst, and those who are successively in less and less, from the midst even to the outmost boundaries, and this gradation proceeds accurately according to distances from the centre. In the outermost parts are those who have no wisdom and intelligence, and beyond these those who are in evils and the falsities thence. The latter are those denoted by the cut off of the corner; and because there are deserts there they are said to dwell in the wilderness. Concerning these gradations in the spiritual world, see Heaven and Hell 43, 50, 189). The same are signified by the uncircumcised nations, and by the house of Israel uncircumcised in heart; for the uncircumcised signify those who, being without love and charity, and therefore without good, are consequently in the loves of self and of the world; and those who are in these loves are in the ultimates of the natural man, which are altogether separated from spiritual things; they are therefore "the cut off of the corner that dwell in the wilderness." By Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon and Moab, are meant all those who by means of those loves have separated themselves from the goods and truths of the church; therefore they are beyond the influence of these truths, and are thus the cut off of the corner. The same is signified by the cut off of the corner in Jeremiah (25:23).

[9] Again, in Moses:

"There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall break in pieces the corners of Moab" (Num. 24:17).

By the corners of Moab are meant all things signified by Moab. By Moab are signified those who are in the ultimates of the Word, of the church, and of worship; and in the opposite sense, those who adulterate such things by looking to themselves, and regarding their own honour in every one of these things. The corners of Moab, therefore, mean adulterations of the Word, and consequently of the church and worship, as they exist with those who are of such a character. Similar things are signified by the corner of Moab in Jeremiah (48:45).

[10] In Zephaniah:

"A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high corners" (1:16).

Here, "a day of the trumpet and alarm," signifies spiritual combat against evils and falsities. The fenced cities signify confirmatory false doctrinals, and the high corners those things which favour their loves. Hence the signification of "a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high corners" is evident.

Again:

"I will cut off the nations; their corners shall be laid waste; I will make desolate their streets, that none passeth by; and I will lay waste their cities, so that there is no inhabitant" (3:6).

The destruction of all the goods of the church, is signified by "I will cut off the nations" and "their corners shall be laid waste." Nations mean the goods of the church, and corners, being the extremes (as above), all things belonging to it. By "I will make desolate their streets," and by "their cities shall be laid waste," is signified the destruction of the truths of doctrine; streets denoting truths and cities doctrinals; the total destruction, until no good and truth remain, is signified by there being no inhabitant, none to pass by; for to pass by is used in the Word of truths, and to inhabit of goods.

[11] In the book of Judges:

"Then all the sons of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, and the corners of all the people, even all the tribes of Israel, stood together in the assembly of the people of God" (20:1, 2).

That "the corners of all the people stood together in the assembly of the people of God," signifies all from every side, or from every quarter, is evident from its being said, that all the sons and all the tribes of Israel went out, and that the congregation was gathered together from Dan even to Beersheba. But in the spiritual sense, by "the corners of all the people" are meant all the goods and truths of the church; and similarly also by all the tribes of Israel from Dan even to Beersheba, are signified those things from ultimates to primaries (prima), and by the assembly of the people of God, is signified consultation concerning the things of the church. For in the historical parts of the Word, equally as in the prophetical, there is everywhere a spiritual sense. Therefore in the historical sense, by corners are signified quarters, such as are in the spiritual world; but in the spiritual sense, for the reason stated above, they signify all the truths and goods of the church.

[12] From these considerations the signification of corner stone in the following passages is evident:-

In Isaiah:

"He will lay in Zion a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone of sure foundation" (28:16).

In Jeremiah:

"And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone of foundations" (51:26).

In Zechariah:

Out of Judah, "the corner, out of him the nail, out of him the battle bow" (10:4).

In David:

"The stone which they rejected is become the head of the corner" (Psalm 118:22). Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10, 11; Luke 20:17, 18.

Corner stone signifies all Divine Truth upon which heaven and the church are founded, thus every foundation; and, because the foundation is the basis upon which a house or temple rests, it therefore signifies all things. Because by corner stone are signified all things upon which the church is founded, it is therefore said, "He will lay in Zion a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone of sure foundation." It is also called a stone for a corner and a stone of foundations; and because corner stone signifies all Divine Truth upon which the church is founded, it therefore also signifies the Lord as to the Divine Human because from That all Divine Truth proceeds. The builders, or architects, who rejected that stone, as we read in the Evangelists, mean those who are of the church, in this case, of the Jewish church, which rejected the Lord, and together with Him all Divine Truth; for there remained with them nothing but vain traditions from the sense of the letter of the Word, in which the very truths of the Word were falsified, and its goods adulterated. That ultimates signify all things, and the reason of this signification, may be seen in the Arcana Coelestia 634, 5897, 6239, 6451, 6465, 9216, 9824, 9828, 9836, 9905, 10044, 10099, 10329, 10335, 10548).