358. And a crown was given [unto Him], signifies eternal life which is the reward of victory. This is evident from the signification of "crown," as being, when spiritual combat is treated of, as here, eternal life which is the reward of victory. That spiritual combat is here treated of is evident from what precedes and follows; in what precedes it is said that "He that sat upon the white horse had a bow," and "a bow" signifies the doctrine of charity and faith, from which one fights against evils and falsities and disperses them. It is also evident from what follows, in which it is said, "and He went forth conquering and that He might conquer," by which is signified victory over evils and falsities; therefore "crown" here signifies eternal life, which is the reward of victory.

[2] "Crown" has a similar signification where temptations are treated of, because temptations are spiritual combats, as in the second chapter of this book, where these words occur:

Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have affliction ten days; be thou faithful even till death, and I will give thee the crown of life (Revelation 2:10).

Here "crown" signifies wisdom and eternal happiness, as may be seen above n. 126. Wisdom and eternal happiness taken together are eternal life, for the very life of heaven is in wisdom and eternal happiness. The "crown" of the martyrs has a like signification because they were in affliction, and were "faithful even till death," and were also in temptations and conquered; moreover, after death crowns were given them; but lest they should on that account appropriate honor to themselves, and thus acquire haughtiness, they cast them off from their heads.

[3] Because in the Word "wars" signify wars in a spiritual sense which are combats against evils and falsities, and "kings" signify truths from good which fight against evils and falsities, in ancient times, when men had a knowledge of correspondences and representations, kings in their battles wore a crown upon the head, and a bracelet upon the arm, as can be seen in the second book of Samuel:

The young man, the son of an Amalekite, who told David that Saul and Jonathan were dead, said, I came upon Mount Gilboa, when behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and the chariots and leaders followed hard after him. And he said to me, Come and put me to death. And I stood against him, and put him to death, and I took the crown that was upon his head and the bracelet that was on his arm, and I bring them to thee (2 Samuel 1:6, 8-10).

A crown in battle has then a sign of combat, and a bracelet upon the arm was a sign of power, each against evils and falsities. These combats are also signified by battles everywhere in the Word, even in the historical parts. (That "bracelet upon the arm" signifies the power of truth from good, see Arcana Coelestia 3105. What further "crowns of kings" and "crowns" in general signify, see above, n. 272)

4217. 'And Laban went and resumed to his place' means the end of the representation by means of Laban. This is clear from the meaning of 'returning to his place' as going back to a previous state - for 'place' means state, see 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 3404 - and therefore the words used here mean the end of the representation by means of Laban. All that has been shown makes it clear that every single part of the Word has an interior content, which is of such a nature that it is suited to the perception of the angels present with man. For example, when the word 'bread' is used in the Word the angels do not call to mind material bread but spiritual bread, and so instead of bread perceive the Lord who, as He Himself teaches in John 6:33, 35, is the Bread of life. And because they perceive the Lord they perceive the things which derive from Him, and therefore His love towards the whole human race. In so doing they perceive at the same time man's reciprocal love to the Lord, for these two kinds of love are knit together within one idea occupying their thought and affection.

[2] Not unlike this are the thoughts of the person who has a holy mind, when he receives the bread in the Holy Supper; for at that time he does not think of the bread but of the Lord and His mercy, and of the things which constitute love to Him and charity towards the neighbour, because he is thinking about repentance and amendment of life. Yet the way people think about these things varies according to the degree of holiness present not only in their thought but also in their affection. From this it is evident that when 'bread' is mentioned in the Word no idea of bread presents itself to angels but the idea of love and of countless things connected with love. It is similar when wine is referred to in the Word and also received in the Holy Supper. In this case angels do not think at all of wine but of charity towards the neighbour. This being so, and since man in this way is linked to heaven and through heaven to the Lord, bread and wine have been made the symbols and unite a person who leads a holy life to heaven, and through heaven to the Lord.

[3] The same applies to every detail within the Word, and therefore the Word is the means by which man is united to the Lord. If that uniting means did not exist heaven would not be able to flow in with man - for without a means no uniting together would be possible - but would remove itself from him. And if heaven were removed it would no longer be possible for anyone to be led to that which is good, not even to physical and worldly good. Instead all restraints, including external ones, would be abolished. For the Lord governs the person in whom good dwells by means of internal restraints, which are those of conscience, whereas the person in whom evil dwells is governed solely by external restraints. If these were abolished everybody governed solely by external restraints would become insane in the way a person is insane who has no fear of the law, no fear for his life, nor any fear of losing position and gain, and so of reputation - for these are the external bonds - and so the human race would perish. This explains why the Word exists, and the true nature of the Word. The Lord's Church where the Word exists is like the heart and the lungs, and the Lord's Church where it does not exist is like all the other internal organs which get their life from the heart and lungs - see 637, 931, 2054, 2853.