397. Until their fellow-servants and their brethren, who should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. That this signifies until evils have been consummated, is plain from the signification of, they should be fulfilled, as denoting until they are consummated. And from the signification of "their fellow-servants and their brethren, who should be killed as they were," as denoting evils, for to kill them denotes evil. By fellow-servants are meant those who are in truths, and by brethren are meant those who are in goods; and by fellow-servants and brethren together are meant those who are in truths from good, for in the internal sense the two are conjoined into one. Consummation is mentioned in some passages in the Word, also when evils are consummated; but scarcely any one at this day knows what is signified thereby. In three articles above, n. 391, 392, 394, it was shown that the former heaven consisted of such as had led a moral life in externals, and yet in their internals were evil, and that they dwelt in high places in the spiritual world, and thence supposed that they were in heaven. These, because they were inwardly evil, would not tolerate among them those that were inwardly good, and this on account of the disagreement of their affections and thoughts. For all consociations in the spiritual world are effected according to the agreement of the affections, and thence of the thoughts, for angels and spirits are nothing but affections and the thoughts thence in a human form; and because those who were then on the high places, could not suffer the presence of those who were inwardly good, they, therefore, cast them out from among them, and wherever they saw them they treated them in an evil and disgraceful manner, therefore they were removed from their violence by the Lord, and concealed under heaven, and preserved. And this was taking place from the time when the Lord was in the world until this time when the judgment took place; and then those who were on high places were cast down, and those who were under heaven, raised up. The reason why the evil were so long tolerated upon high places, and the good so long detained under heaven, was that both the latter and the former might be completed, that is, that the good might amount to such a number as to be sufficient to form a new heaven, and also that the evil might fall down of themselves into hell; for the Lord casts no one down into hell, but the evil itself which is with evil spirits, casts them down (as may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 545-550). This is effected at the time when evils are consummated, that is, are completed.

[2] This also is what is meant by the Lord's words in Matthew:

"The servants of the householder coming, said, Didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? whence then are the tares? And they said, Wilt thou, therefore, that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest in gathering the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into the barn. So shall it be in the consummation of the age" (13:27-30, 42).

The consummation of the age is the last time when the judgment [takes place]; the time of harvest is when all things are consummated or completed; the tares denote evils or those in whom evils are, and the wheat denotes goods or those in whom goods are. But concerning these more may be seen in the small work concerning the Last Judgment 65-72. From these considerations it may in some degree be known why it was said to them, that they should rest yet for a little time until their fellow-servants and their brethren, who should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. By being killed is here signified the same as being slain (above, n. 392), namely, to be rejected by the evil on account of the Divine truth, and on account of their confession of the Lord.

[3] From these known circumstances it may be known what is signified by consummation, and by iniquity being consummated, in the following passages.

In Moses:

Jehovah said, "I will go down, and see whether they have made a consummation, according to the cry which is come unto me" (Genesis 18:21).

This is said of Sodom. In the same:

"For the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet consummated (fulfilled)" (Genesis 15:16).

In Isaiah:

"I have heard from the Lord Jehovih of hosts a consummation and a decision upon the whole earth" (28:22).

In the same:

"A consummation is determined, justice has overflowed. For the Lord Jehovih of hosts maketh a consummation, and a decision, in the whole earth" (10:22, 23).

In Zephaniah:

"In the fire of the zeal" of Jehovih of hosts "the whole land shall be devoured; for he shall make a consummation, and indeed speedily, with all the inhabitants of the land" (1:18).

In Daniel:

"At length upon the bird of abominations shall be desolation, and even to the consummation and decision it shall drop upon the devastation" (9:27; and elsewhere).

By consummation and decision, in these passages, is signified the last state of the church, which is when truth is no longer, because there is no good, or when there is faith no longer, because there is no charity; when such is the state of the church, then the Last Judgment is come. The reason why the Last Judgment then is come, is also that the human race is the basis or foundation of the angelic heaven, for the conjunction of the angelic heaven with the human race is perpetual, and the one subsists by the other; therefore when the basis does not correspond, the angelic heaven is shaken, therefore there is then a judgment upon those who are in the spiritual world, in order that all things, in the heavens as well as in the hells, may be reduced to order. (That the human race is the basis and foundation of the angelic heaven, and that the conjunction is perpetual, may be seen in the work concerning Heaven and Hell 291-310.) From these things it may be known, that by consummation is meant the last state of the church, when there is faith no longer because there is no charity. This state of the church is also called in the Word vastation and desolation, and by the Lord the consummation of the age (Matthew 13:39, 40, 49; 24:3; 28:20).

253. (Verse 21) He that overcometh, to him will I grant to sit with me in my throne. That this signifies that he who endures to the end of life will be conjoined with heaven where the Lord is, is evident from the signification of overcoming as being to remain in the spiritual affection of truth even to the end of life (concerning which see above, n. 128), but in this case in a state of faith from charity, because that is the subject treated of. The reason why to overcome has such a signification is that a man, so long as he lives in the world, fights against the evils and falsities therefrom which pertain to him; and he who so fights, and remains in the faith of charity, even to the end of life, overcomes; and he who overcomes in the world overcomes to eternity, because a man is such after death as was his life in the world. And from the signification of to sit with me in My throne, as being to be conjoined with heaven where the Lord is; for by throne is signified heaven, and by sitting with the Lord is signified to be together with Him, thus to be conjoined to Him.

[2] In the Word mention is frequently made of a throne, and by it, when said of the Lord, is signified in general heaven, specifically the spiritual heaven, and in the abstract the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, because this constitutes heaven. Hence also a throne is predicated of judgment, since all judgment is effected from truths. That such is the signification of a throne in the Word is evident from the following passage. In Isaiah:

"Jehovah said, the heavens are my throne" (Isaiah 66:1).

In David:

"Jehovah hath prepared his throne in the heavens" (Psalms 103:19).

In Matthew:

"He that sweareth by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon" (Matthew 23:22).

That by throne is here signified heaven is evident; for it is said that heaven is Jehovah's throne, that He hath prepared His throne in the heavens, and that he who sweareth by heaven sweareth by the throne of God. Not that Jehovah, or the Lord, there sits upon a throne, but that throne is said of His Divine in the heavens; and also it sometimes appears as a throne to those to whom it is granted to look into heaven. That the Lord was thus seen is evident in Isaiah:

"I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, and his skirts filled the temple" (Isaiah 6:1).

Jehovah's skirts filling the temple signifies that the Divine truth proceeding from Him filled the ultimate of heaven and the church; for by the skirts of the Lord is signified in general the proceeding Divine, and specifically the Divine truth which is in the extremes of heaven and in the church (as may be seen above, n. 220).

[3] In Ezekiel:

Above the expanse which was over the head of the cherubs, "as it were the appearance of a sapphire stone, the likeness of a throne, and upon the likeness of the throne, a likeness as it were the appearance of a man upon it above" (Ezekiel 1:26; 10:1).

The reason why the throne appeared like a sapphire stone was, that a sapphire signified the Divine truth of the Lord proceeding from His Divine good, and hence spiritual truth pellucid from celestial good (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 9407, 9873). Thus the throne in this case signifies the whole heaven; for heaven is heaven from the Divine truth. (What cherubs signify, may be seen, n. 9277, end, 9506, 9673.)

[4] In the Apocalypse:

"Behold, a throne set in heaven, and one sat on the throne; there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices; before the throne, there was a sea of glass like unto crystal; round about the throne, were four animals full of eyes before and behind" (Revelation 4:2-6, 9, 10).

That heaven is here described as to Divine truth will be seen in the explanation of those words in the following chapter. The same is also signified in this passage:

"A pure river, clear as crystal, proceeded out of the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Revelation 22:1).

The reason why a pure river clear as crystal was seen proceeding out of the throne was that a river signifies Divine truth; so also does crystal.

[5] The same is signified in the Word by the throne of David, because by David in the prophetical parts of the Word is not meant David, but the Lord as to His royalty which is the Divine truth in the spiritual heaven, which is the second heaven.

Thus in Luke:

The angel said to Mary, "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest, and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David" (Luke 1:32).

And in Isaiah:

"Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, God, Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it in judgment and in justice, henceforth and even to eternity" (Isaiah 9:6, 7).

That David is not here meant, nor his throne upon which the Lord should sit, is plain, for the Lord's kingdom was not on earth but in heaven; therefore by the throne of David is meant heaven as to the Divine truth (as may be seen above, n. 205). The like is meant in the Psalms of David, where he speaks of his throne and of his kingdom; as in the whole of Psalm 89, where also it is said:

"I have sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever; and I will build up thy throne to generation and generation. Judgment and justice are the support of thy throne; I will set his throne as the days of the heavens" (verses3, 4, 14, 29).

That the Lord is there meant by David, may be seen above (n. 205.) The like is also signified by the throne of glory, where it is said of the Lord; for glory signifies Divine truth; as in Matthew:

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

(That glory signifies the Divine truth in heaven, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 4809, 5922, 8267, 8427, 9429, and above, n. 33.)

Hence it is clear what is signified by the throne of glory in Jeremiah:

"Do not disgrace the throne of thy glory" (Jeremiah 14:21, and Jeremiah 17:12); by which is signified that Divine truth should not be disgraced. The same is meant by Jerusalem being called the throne of Jehovah; for by Jerusalem is signified the church as to doctrine, and doctrine is Divine truth. Hence it is also clear how these words in Jeremiah are to be understood:

"At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah, and all the nations shall be gathered together unto it" (Jeremiah 3:17).

In David:

"Jerusalem is builded; whither the tribes go up. And there are set the thrones for judgment, the thrones of the house of David" (Psalms 122:3-5).

In Ezekiel:

"The glory of Jehovah came into the house by the way of the gate whose face was toward the east; he said unto me, Son of man, behold the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the sons of Israel for ever" (Ezekiel 43:4, 7).

(That Jerusalem signifies the church as to doctrine, thus the Divine truth in the heavens and on earth, for this makes the church, may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 3654, 9166, and above, n. 223.) Because all judgment is effected from truths, and judgment in the heavens from Divine truth, therefore a throne is also mentioned where the Lord is treated of as to judgment, as above in Matthew (25:31), and in David (Psalms 122:3-5); and moreover in David:

"O Jehovah, thou hast executed my judgment; thou sattest on the throne, a judge of justice; thou hast rebuked the nations, thou hast destroyed the wicked: Jehovah shall sit for ever; he will prepare his throne for judgment" (Psalms 9:4, 5, 7).

[6] It is also said in the Word throughout, that others shall sit upon thrones as well as the Lord; but still by such thrones are not meant thrones, but Divine truths. Thus in the first book of Samuel:

"He raiseth up the depressed out of the dust, and lifteth up the needy out of the dunghill, to set them among princes, and he will make them inherit the throne of glory" (1 Samuel 2:8).

In the Apocalypse:

The four-and-twenty elders who were before the throne of God, upon their thrones (Revelation 11:16).

In another place:

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

And in Matthew:

"Ye which have followed me in the regeneration, 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" (Matthew 19:28, and Luke 22:30).

By thrones are there meant Divine truths, according to, and from which all are to be judged. By twelve and by twenty-four are signified all, and they are said of truths; by elders and disciples are also signified Divine truths, as also by the tribes. When these things are known it will be evident what is meant by thrones in the passages here adduced; also by that which is now treated of: "He that overcometh, to him will I give to sit with me in my throne." (That twelve signifies all, and is predicated of truths may be seen, Arcana Coelestia 577, 2089, 2129, 2130, 3272, 3858, 3913; that the same is signified by twenty-four, because that number is double the number twelve, and arises thence by multiplication, n. 5291, 5335, 5708, 7973. That by the elders of Israel are signified all those in the church who are in truths from good, n. 6524, 6525, 6890, 7912, 8578, 8585, 9376, 9404: similarly by the twelve disciples of the n. 2129, 3354, 3488, 3858, 6397; also by the twelve tribes, n. 3858, 3926, 4060, 6335, 7836, 7891).

[7] From these considerations it is evident what was represented by the throne built by Solomon, concerning which it is thus written in the first book of the Kings:

"Solomon made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. The throne had six steps, and the head of the throne was round; and behind it were hands on the one side and on the other near the place of the seat, and two lions standing near the hands; and there were twelve lions standing upon the six steps, on the one side and on the other: there was not the like made in any kingdom" (1 Kings 10:18-20).

Here by ivory is signified the Divine truth in ultimates: by the head being round, the correspondent good; by the gold with which it was overlaid is signified Divine good from which is Divine truth. By the six steps are signified all things from first to last; by the hands is signified all power; by the lions are signified the truths of the church in their power: by twelve, all. Because throne, where it is said of the Lord, signifies heaven as to all Divine truth, so in an opposite sense it signifies hell as to all falsity. In this opposite sense, it is mentioned above (Revelation 2:13; Isaiah 14:9, 13; 47:1; Hagg. 2:22; Dan. 7:9; Luke 1:52; and elsewhere).