609. Who created heaven, and the things that are therein, and the earth, and the things that are therein, and the sea, and the things that are therein.- That this signifies the Lord as to all things, interior and exterior, of heaven and the church, is evident from the signification of creating, as denoting not only to cause a thing to be, but also to give it perpetual existence, by holding it together and sustaining it by the proceeding Divine; for the heavens have existed, and do perpetually exist, that is subsist, by the Divine of the Lord, which is called the Divine Truth united to Divine Good, and this received by the angels makes heaven; for this reason when heaven is mentioned, the Lord is meant, because heaven, where the angels are, is heaven from the Lord, that is from the Divine which goes forth from Himself; this, then, is the signification here, of creating; that to create, when spoken of the church, and the men of the church, means to create anew, that is, to regenerate, may be seen above (n. 294); and from the signification of heaven, the earth, and the sea, and the things which are in them, as denoting all things, interior and exterior, of heaven and the church. Heaven, the earth, and the sea, here signify specifically, the higher and lower heavens. Since in the spiritual world the appearance of things is similar to what it is in the natural world, consequently, there are mountains, lands, and seas, and the mountains there are the higher heavens, because the angels of those heavens dwell upon mountains, and the land and sea there are the lower heavens, for the angels of these heavens dwell below the mountains upon the lands, and as it were in seas (see above, n.594:18). For this reason the angel who said these things, was seen to stand upon the earth and the sea. The reason why the earth, and the sea, and the things which are in them, also signify all things of the church, both interior and exterior, is, that in the church there are things interior and exterior, just as in the heavens there are things higher and lower, and the former correspond to the latter. That the sea and the earth signify the church as to its exteriors and interiors, may be seen above (600).

According to the sense of the letter, heaven, the earth, and the sea, mean the visible heaven, the habitable earth, and the navigable sea, and the things therein mean the birds, beasts, and fishes. But that these things are not meant by those words, is evident from this fact, that the angel was seen by John, when in the spirit, standing upon the sea and upon the earth. And what is seen in the spirit, is not seen in the natural world, but in the spiritual world, where also, as said above, there are lands and seas, and also angels and spirits therein. Concerning the appearance of seas in that world, and concerning those therein, see above (n. 342).

553. And on their heads as it were crowns like gold.- That this signifies, that they appear to themselves, when they reason, to be wise and conquerors, is evident from the signification of head, which denotes wisdom and intelligence, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of a crown of gold, as denoting a reward of victory (see above, n. 358). A crown like gold signifies the reward of victory, because kings, in ancient times, when in combats with their enemies, wore crowns of gold upon their heads, besides various other insignia which were then the mark of kings. The reason was, that kings represented the Lord as to Divine Truth, and Divine Truth fights from Divine Good; this therefore was represented by a crown of gold, while wisdom itself and intelligence were represented by the head upon which the crown was. Hence crowns were assigned to martyrs, for they fought from Divine Truth against falsities from evil, which are from hell, and came off conquerors, because they maintained the combat even unto death which they feared not. From these things it is evident, that by [the locusts] having upon their heads as it were crowns like gold, is signified, that those who are sensual men, from the persuasion of falsity in which they are, appear to themselves to be wise and conquerors.

[2] Since the locusts are described as to their heads, their faces, and their breasts, upon which were breast-plates, and as to their tails, their hair and teeth, it is important that the signification of their heads and the rest should be known.

The head, in the Word, signifies wisdom and intelligence, because these reside in it; but when those are treated of who are not in any wisdom and intelligence, because in falsities from evil, then the head signifies folly and insanity, because falsities and evils are therein and therefrom. In the present case, however, as those who are sensual and in the persuasion of falsity are treated of, the head properly signifies folly and insanity, for they see falsities as truths, and evils as goods, being perpetually in visions from fallacies. It is therefore said of them, that "on their heads as it were crowns like gold, and their faces as the faces of men," and many things that follow, all of which were appearances originating in their fantasy, wherefore, it is said, "as it were crowns," and "like gold." It is evident, from this that those appearances were not real, but fallacious appearances. For all the appearances which exist in the heavens are real, because they are correspondences. For the interior things pertaining to the affections and thence thoughts of the angels, when they pass to the sight of their eyes, are clothed in forms such as appear in the heavens, and because they are visible, they are called appearances, and are said to be correspondences, and they are real because from creation. But the case is otherwise in regard to the appearances in some of the hells, where are those who are in persuasions of falsity from evil; from these persuasions fantastic visions exist, in which there is inwardly nothing real, therefore they also vanish away upon the influx of only a single ray from the light of heaven. Of such a nature are the appearances here related concerning the locusts. But concerning appearances in the spiritual world, as well real as not real, see Heaven and Hell 170-176); as also above in the explanation (n. 369, 395).