290. And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying. (5:13) This symbolizes a confession and glorification of the Lord by angels of the lowest heavens.

That it is a confession and glorification of the Lord by angels of the lowest heavens is apparent from the series, because the preceding confessions and glorifications of the Lord were made by angels of the higher and lower heavens (nos. 275ff., 286ff.). For there are three heavens, and in each countless societies, every one of which is called a heaven.

It is apparent that angels are meant by every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and in the sea, for we are told, "I heard (them) saying," and they said "Blessing and honor and glory and strength be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!"

[2] Their being called created things accords with the style of the Word, in which all created things, both those of the animal kingdom and those of the plant kingdom, symbolize various constituents in a person - in general constituents having to do with his will or affection, and constituents having to do with his intellect or thought. They have symbolic meanings because they are correspondent forms. And because the Word was written solely in terms of things that correspond, similar things are therefore said in it about angels in heaven and people of the church. To confirm this we will cite just a few passages, as the following:

(Jesus) said (to the disciples,) "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15)

But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; and the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or... the vegetation of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will recount to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of Jehovah has done this... (Job 12:7-9)

Let heaven and earth praise (Jehovah), the seas and everything that moves in them. For God will save Zion... (Psalms 69:34-35)

Praise Jehovah from the earth, you whales and all the depths. (Psalms 148:7)

I will utterly consume everything from the face of the earth...; I will consume man and beast; I will consume the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea. (Zephaniah 1:2-3, Revelation 8:7-9)

The heavens will be glad, the earth will rejoice, the sea will pitch and roll, and all its fullness; the field will exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing before Jehovah. For He is coming, coming to judge the earth. (Psalms 96:11-13)

And so on in many other places.

[3] The text says, "every created thing," and the meaning is every reformed thing, or all reformed people. For to create means, symbolically, to reform and regenerate (no. 254).

To be shown the meaning of "in heaven," "on the earth," and "under the earth," see no. 260 above. And for the meaning of the sea, no. 238. It is apparent from this what is symbolically meant by "such as are in the sea, and all that are in them." Such things as are in the Word are meant by the fish of the sea, and these are sensual affections, which are the lowest affections of the natural self. For in the spiritual world people's affections look at a distance like fish, and as being in a sea, because the atmosphere in which they exist appears as though made of water, and thus as a sea, in the eyes of the inhabitants who dwell in the heavens and on the earth there, as may be seen in no. 238 above, and as regards fish, in no. 405.

275. The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. This symbolizes a humility and out of humility worship of the Lord on the part of the higher heavens.

There follows now a glorification of the Lord on account of the foregoing, for as we said in no. 263 above, if the Lord had not executed a last judgment and thereby put back into order everything in heaven and on earth, all would have perished.

The glorification of the Lord that follows now comes first from the higher heavens, then from the lower heavens, and finally from the lowest heavens - from the higher heavens in verses 8-10, from the lower heavens in verses 11, 12, and from the lowest heavens in verse 13. And lastly there is a confirmation and worship by the higher heavens in verse 14.

The higher heavens, then, are symbolically meant by the four living creatures and twenty-four elders, for cherubim in the midst of the throne - which the four living creatures are - symbolize the Lord in relation to the Word, while the cherubim around the throne, or the four living creatures, symbolize heaven in relation to the Word. For we are told that "in the midst of the throne, and around the throne," John saw "four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back" (chapter 4, 4:6). That is because the heavens are heavens in consequence of their reception of Divine truth from the Lord through the Word.

The twenty-four elders, too, symbolize angels in the higher heavens, since these elders were the closest ones around the throne (chapter 4, 4:4).

To fall down before the Lamb clearly means humility, and out of humility, worship.