575. The days of humankind will be one hundred twenty years means that they ought to have traces of faith left. In verses 3, 4 of the last chapter I said that days and years symbolize those times and states [§§482, 487-488], and that the earliest people used different combinations of numbers to symbolize the state of the church and changes in that state [§487:2]. But their method of calculating numbers for the affairs of their church is part of the knowledge that has been lost.

Likewise in the present verse the number of years comes up, and no one can have any idea what the numbers mean without knowing what significance lies hidden in the individual numbers from one to twelve and beyond. It is obvious that they involve some other, hidden meaning, since a life span of 120 years is inconsistent with earlier verses. People in later times did not live a mere 120 years either, as can be seen from those living after the Flood. Chapter 11 says of Shem that he lived 500 years after fathering Arpachshad, that Arpachshad lived 403 years after fathering Shelah, that Shelah also lived 403 years after fathering Eber, and that Eber lived 430 years after fathering Peleg. Chapter 9, verse 28, says that Noah lived 350 years after the Flood. And so on.

What the number 120 involves can be seen only from its factors, ten and twelve. To be specific, it symbolizes remaining traces of faith. In the Word the number ten — and tenths or tithes as well — symbolizes and represents a remnant preserved by the Lord in the inner self, the remnant being holy because it belongs to the Lord alone. The number twelve symbolizes faith, or all aspects of faith taken as a whole. The number compounded out of these symbolizes a remnant of faith.

482. The inner meaning of the years and numbers of years that come up in this chapter is not as yet recognized by anyone. Those who concentrate on the literal meaning consider the years to be time-related, but none of the chapters from here to the twelfth contains any history that is literally accurate. Each and every detail instead has a different kind of content. As with the names [§470], so also with the numbers.

The number three occurs frequently throughout the Word, as does the number seven, and each time they occur they symbolize something whose circumstances are holy or sacrosanct. The periods of time and other features involved entail or represent those circumstances. The meaning is the same for short periods as it is for long periods; just as the parts make up the whole, so the smallest fractions make up the largest aggregates. There has to be uniformity across the different magnitudes for a whole to develop out of the parts or for an aggregate to emerge from the pieces in a compatible way.

[2] In Isaiah, for example:

Now has Jehovah spoken, saying, "In three years (corresponding to a hired servant's years) the glory of Moab will be abased." (Isaiah 16:14)

In the same author:

The Lord said to me, "In one more year (corresponding to a hired servant's years) all the glory of Kedar will be consumed." (Isaiah 21:16)

This means both the shortest and the longest periods. In Habakkuk:

Jehovah, I have heard of your fame; I have been awed, Jehovah, by your work. In the middle of the years, bring it to life. In the middle of the years, please make it known. (Habakkuk 3:2)

The middle of the years stands for the Lord's Coming. In regard to shorter periods, it stands for every instance in which the Lord comes — when we are being reborn, for example. In regard to somewhat longer periods, it stands for a time when the Lord's church rises up anew. Isaiah also calls this the year of the redeemed:

The day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of my redeemed has come. (Isaiah 63:4)

The thousand years in which Satan was to be fettered (Revelation 20:2-3, 7) and the thousand years of the first resurrection (Revelation 20:4-5, 6) likewise mean not a thousand years but the state of those people. Just as a day is taken to refer to a state, as shown before [§23], so are years; and the number of years describes the states in some way. This clarifies the fact that the intervals mentioned in this chapter also involve the prevailing states, since the state of perception in each church was different from that in another. The differences in their ability to perceive was a result of differences in character — both inherited character and character developed through living.