5
Out of its midst came the likeness of four living creatures. This was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man.
Ezekiel 1:5
Apocalypse Revealed #14
14. And from the seven spirits who are before His throne. This symbolically means, from the whole of heaven, where the Lord is in His Divine truth, and where His Divine truth is received.
The seven spirits mean all who are governed by Divine truth, and in an abstract sense, Divine truth itself. The number seven in the Word means all things or all people, as may be seen in no. 10 above, and the throne means the whole of heaven, as will be seen shortly. Therefore "before His throne" means where His Divine truth is; for heaven is not heaven in consequence of the angels' own qualities, but owing to the Lord's Divinity, as we have shown many times in Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Providence and Divine Love and Wisdom.
That the Lord's throne symbolizes heaven is apparent from the following passages:
Thus said Jehovah: "The heavens are My throne...." (Isaiah 66:1)
Jehovah has established His throne in the heavens... (Psalms 103:19)
He who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God... (Matthew 23:22)
Above the firmament that was over the head (of the cherubim), in appearance like a sapphire stone, was the likeness of a throne, and on (it)...the appearance of a man... (Ezekiel 1:26, cf. 10:1)
The expanse over the head of the cherubim means heaven. Further, in the book of Revelation:
To him who overcomes I will grant to sit... on My throne... (Revelation 3:21)
To be on His throne means to be in heaven. Specifically it means to be where His Divine truth reigns. Consequently, where judgment is the subject, it is also said that the Lord will sit upon His throne, for judgment is effected by means of truths.
Arcana Coelestia #197
197. With the most ancient people, who were celestial, a serpent meant being completely watchful, and so also meant their sensory perception by means of which they were to show vigilance to avoid being harmed by the evil. This is clear from the Lord's words to His disciples,
Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. Matthew 10:16.
And also 'the bronze serpent' which was raised up in the wilderness and which meant the Lord's Sensory Perception. He alone is Celestial Man, and He alone is completely watchful and provides for everybody. Whoever beheld it therefore was delivered.
