687. And the four and twenty elders, who sit before God upon their thrones.- That this signifies the higher heavens in light and power from the Lord to separate the evil from the good before the day of the Last Judgment, which is shortly to come, is evident from the signification of the four and twenty elders, as denoting the higher heavens (concerning which see above, n. 322, 362, 462); and from the signification of sitting upon thrones, as denoting to be in the act of judging, for thrones signify the heavens, and sitting upon thrones signifies to judge. And because the angels of heaven do not judge, but the Lord alone, and since the Lord arranges those heavens by influx and presence in order to perform judgment therefrom upon those who have been gathered together below the heavens, therefore these words signify that the higher heavens are in light and power from the Lord to separate the evil from the good before the day of the Last Judgment.

[2] That this is the internal sense of these words is clear from what follows in this chapter, and also from what has been said above upon this subject. From the things that follow in this chapter it is plain that the higher heavens are in light and power from the Lord; this is the reason why they fell upon their faces and adored the Lord, and gave thanks that He had taken His great power and entered upon the kingdom, and why afterwards, the temple was opened in heaven, and the ark of the covenant was seen in the temple, this signifying the light there, and the former signifying the power there, from the Lord alone. It is also plain that it means to separate the evil from the good before the day of the Last Judgment, for it is said that "the nations were angered, and that Thine anger is come, and the time of judging the dead"; and afterwards, that there were lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail, which signifies the separation of the evil from the good, and the sign that the Last Judgment was at hand. Because these are the things treated of, and as the four and twenty elders sitting before God upon the thrones mean the higher heavens arranged for effecting therefrom the Last Judgment, it follows that such things are involved in these words.

[3] From what has been said above upon this subject it is clear that the higher heavens, before the Last Judgment, were brought into a state of light and power, in order that there might be influx from them into the lower parts, by means of which the evil might be separated from the good, and the evil afterwards cast down into the hells, as may be seen above (n. 411, 413, 418, 419, 426, 493, 497, 674, 675, 676).

[4] That a throne signifies in general heaven, and in particular the heavens where the spiritual kingdom of the Lord is, and in an abstract sense, the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, and that this is said of judgment, may also be seen above (n. 253, 297, 343, 460, 482). It is also shewn there, that although it is said of the four and twenty elders that they sat upon thrones, and similarly of the apostles that they should sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel, and also of the angels, that they will come with the Lord to judgment, yet it is the Lord alone who will judge. For the four and twenty elders, the twelve apostles, and the angels, mean all the truths of the church, and, briefly, the Divine Truth, from which judgment takes place. And because Divine Truth is meant by these, and all Divine Truth proceeds from the Lord, therefore judgment belongs to the Lord alone. Who cannot see that it would not be possible for any angel to judge myriads of myriads, every one according to the state of his love and faith, both in his internal man and in his external, but for the Lord alone, from the Divine which is in Him, and which proceeds from Him; also, that to judge all in the heavens, and all in the earths, belongs to infinite wisdom and infinite power, not the least part of which falls to finite beings such as angels are, and such as the elders of Israel, and the apostles of the Lord were? All of these taken together, could not judge even a single man or a single spirit. For he who is to judge must see all the states of the man who is to be judged, from infancy to the end of his life in the world, and the future state of his life afterwards to eternity; for in the entire purpose, and thence in each and every particular of judgment, there must be what is eternal and infinite, and this is in and from the Divine alone, for it is the Divine that is infinite and eternal.

[5] In the Word mention is made of walking before God, of standing before God, and, as here, of sitting before God; what standing before God signifies may be seen above (n. 414); and what by walking before God (n. 97). What sitting before God signifies, as here in reference to the four and twenty elders, is evident from the passages in the Word where to sit is mentioned. For in the spiritual world everything pertaining to man's movements or rest signifies things pertaining to his life, because they proceed therefrom. Walking and progressions relate to the movements of man, and consequently signify progress of life, or progress of the thought from a purpose of the will. But standing and sitting have reference to man's rest, and therefore signify the esse of life, from which is its existere, thus they signify causing to live. Therefore to sit upon thrones, in reference to judgment, signifies to be in the act of judging, thus also to judge; from this the expression "to sit in judgment" is used, which means to execute judgment. So "to sit upon a throne" in reference to a kingdom signifies to be king or to reign.

[6] What sitting moreover signifies, in the spiritual sense, is evident from the following passages.

In David:

"Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, and standeth not in the way of sinners, and sitteth not in the seat of the scornful" (Psalm 1:1).

Here it is said, to walk, to stand, and to sit, because these follow one another, for to walk pertains to the life of thought from intention, to stand pertains to the life of intention from the will, and to sit to the life of the will, thus to the esse of the life. Counsel also, of which to walk is said, regards the thought; way, in which one is said to stand, regards intention, while to sit in a seat refers to the will, which is the esse of a man's life.

[7] Since Jehovah, that is, the Lord, is the very esse of the life of all, therefore to sit is said of Him.

In David:

"Jehovah shall sit to eternity" (Psalm 9:7).

In the same:

"Jehovah sitteth at the flood, and sitteth as King to eternity" (Psalm 29:10).

In the same:

"God reigneth over the nations; God sitteth upon the throne of his holiness" (Psalm 47:8).

In Matthew:

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

To sit upon the throne of His glory signifies to be in His Divine Truth, from which is judgment. Similarly elsewhere in the same:

"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" (19:28; Luke 22:30).

Since angels, also the twelve apostles, and the twelve tribes of Israel, signify all the truths of the church, and, in the highest sense, the Divine Truth, therefore to sit upon thrones does not mean that they themselves, but the Lord as to Divine Truth, from which is Judgment, will so sit; and to judge the twelve tribes of Israel signifies to judge all according to the truths of their church. It is therefore evident that to sit upon a throne, when said of the Lord, signifies to be in the act of judging, thus to judge. It is said a throne of glory, because glory signifies the Divine Truth, as may be seen above (n. 34, 288, 345, 678).

[8] In the Evangelists;

"David said in the book of Psalms, The Lord said to my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet" (Luke 20:42, 43; Mark 12:36; Psalm 110:1).

The Lord said to my Lord, signifies the Divine itself, which is called the Father, to the Divine Human, which is the Son. Sit Thou at My right hand, signifies Divine Power, or Omnipotence by means of Divine Truth; until I make Thine enemies the footstool of Thy feet, signifies until the hells are conquered and subjugated, and the evil are cast into them, enemies meaning the hells, thus the evil, and the footstool of the feet signifies the lowest region under the heavens, under which are the hells; for the Lord, while in the world, was Divine Truth, to which belongs omnipotence, and by means of which He conquered and subjugated the hells.

[9] In the same:

"Jesus said, Henceforth shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven" (Matthew 26:63, 64; Mark 14:61, 62; Luke 22:69).

To sit on the right hand of power signifies the Divine Omnipotence of the Lord over the heavens and over the earths, after He had subjugated the hells and glorified His Human. To come on the clouds of heaven signifies by means of Divine Truth in the heavens; for after the Lord had united His Human with the Divine itself, Divine Truth went forth from Him; and He Himself is therein with angels and with men, because He is in the Word, which is Divine Truth, in which and from which is the Divine Omnipotence.

[10] And again:

"The Lord, after he had spoken with them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God" (Mark 16:19).

To sit down at the right hand of God has a similar signification, namely, His Divine Omnipotence by means of Divine Truth; from which it is clear that to sit denotes to be, and to sit at the right hand denotes to be omnipotent.

Because to sit signifies to be, therefore to sit upon a throne signifies to be king and to reign, as in Exodus 11:5; Deuteronomy 17:18; 1 Kings 1:13, 17, 20; Jeremiah 17:25; 22:2, 30; and elsewhere; similarly, "To sit on the right hand and on the left" (Matthew 20:21, 23; Mark 10:37, 40).

[11] In Isaiah:

"Come down and sit upon the dust, O virgin daughter of Babel, sit on the earth, there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans; sit in silence and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for they shall no more call thee mistress of kingdoms; hear this thou voluptuous one, that sittest carelessly, saying, I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know bereavement" (47:1, 5, 8).

The subject treated of here is the profanation of good and truth; for the daughter of Babel signifies the profanation of good, and the daughter of the Chaldeans the profanation of truth; for the reason that the Divine goods and truths which are in the Word and from the Word, are used as the means of gaining dominion. For this reason the Babylonians and Chaldeans regard themselves, that is their own dominion, as ends, and the holy things of the church from the Word as means; thus they do not look to the Lord and His dominion as an end, nor to their neighbour and to love towards him. Come down and sit upon the dust and on the earth, signifies to be in evils, and in consequent damnation. Sit in silence and go into darkness, signifies to be in falsities, and in consequent damnation. To sit carelessly signifies to be in the confident belief that their dominion will continue, and that they will not perish. Not to sit as a widow, and not to know bereavement, signifies to be in no lack of followers, dependents, and worshippers. There is no throne for thee, O daughter of the Chaldeans, they shall no more call thee mistress of kingdoms, signifies that such shall no longer have dominion because of their overthrow and damnation in the day of the Last Judgment, of which this chapter treats.

[12] In the same:

"Thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly, on the sides of the north" (14:13).

These things also are spoken of Babel, who is here called Lucifer, and of the lust of his profane love of ruling over all things of heaven; but what in particular is meant by exalting a throne above the stars of God, and by sitting on the mount of assembly and on the sides of the north, will be shown in the following pages when Babylon is treated of; here also to sit signifies to be, and has reference to dominion.

[13] In Ezekiel:

"All the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones; they shall sit upon the earth" (26:16):

This is said of Tyre, which signifies the church as to the knowledges of truth, but here the church vastated, in which these knowledges have been falsified; therefore by all the princes of the sea coming down from their thrones is signified that knowledges of truth shall no more reign in the men of that church, for all sovereignty belongs to Divine Truth. To come down from the thrones signifies from governing, thus not to rule; and the princes of the sea denote the knowledges of truth, and those who are in them. They shall sit upon the earth signifies that they will be in falsifications, thus in falsities; upon thrones signifies to be in the truths of heaven, and to sit upon the earth signifies to be in falsities, since under the lands (sub terris) in the spiritual world are the hells, from which evils and falsities are continually exhaling. The signification of sitting in the following passages is similar.

[14] In Luke:

"Who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death" (1:79).

In Isaiah:

"To open the blind eyes, to lead the bound out of prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house" (42:7)

In Jeremiah:

"I sat not in the council of mockers, and I rejoiced; I sat solitary because of thy hand, for thou hast filled me with indignation" (15:17).

In David:

"I have not sat with men of vanity, nor have I gone in with the hidden" (Psalm 26:4).

In Luke:

That day "shall come as a snare upon all who sit upon the faces of the whole earth" (21:35).

Since to sit signifies to be and also to abide in one state, and pertains to the will, it is therefore said in David,

"Jehovah, thou hast searched me and known me; thou knowest my sitting and my rising, thou understandest my thought afar off" (Psalm 139:1, 2).

To know his sitting has reference to the esse of life which is the will; rising, has reference to the intention therefrom; and because thought follows from the intention of the will, it is added, "Thou understandest my thought afar off."

[15] In Micah:

"Then shall he stand and feed in the name of Jehovah, and they shall sit, for now shall he increase unto the ends of the earth" (5:4).

This is said of the Lord and of the doctrine of Divine Truth from Him, which is meant by then shall he stand and feed in the name of Jehovah; and that the men of the church will be in that doctrine is signified by they shall sit; and that the doctrine of Divine Truth will endure to eternity is signified by he shall increase unto the ends of the earth.

[16] Similarly in Isaiah:

"Shake thyself from the dust, arise, sit, O Jerusalem, loose the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion" (52:2).

This is said of the establishment of a new church by the Lord; that church, together with its doctrine, is here signified by Jerusalem, and by the daughter of Zion; to reject falsities and evils and to be in truths and goods is signified by shaking herself from the dust, arising and sitting, also by loose the bands of the neck, O captive daughter of Zion, bands of the neck signifying falsities, that prevent the entrance of truths.

[17] That to sit is an expression significative of the existence and permanence of the state of an object and of life, is evident from those passages in the Word where the expressions to sit before Jehovah, to stand before Him, and to walk before Him, occur. To sit before Jehovah denotes to be with Him, thus also to will and to act from Him; and to stand before Him denotes to have regard for and to understand what He wills; while to walk before Him denotes to live according to His precepts, thus from Him. Because to sit involves such things, therefore the corresponding Hebrew word signifies to remain and to dwell. Because to sit has this signification, therefore an angel of the Lord was seen sitting upon the stone, which he had rolled away from the entrance to the tomb (Matthew 28:2); and also angels were seen in the tomb, sitting one at the head, and the other at the feet (John 20:12; Mark 16:5). The things that were seen were representative of the Lord's glorification and of introduction into heaven by Him; for the stone which was placed before the sepulchre, and was rolled away by the angel, signifies Divine Truth, consequently the Word, which was closed by the Jews, but opened by the Lord. That stone signifies truth, and, in the highest sense, Divine Truth, may be seen above (n. 417) and in Heaven and Hell 534:3). And because a sepulchre and pre-eminently the sepulchre where the Lord was, signifies, in the spiritual sense, resurrection and also regeneration, and angels in the Word signify Divine Truth, therefore angels were seen, sitting one at the head and the other at the feet, the angel at the head signifying Divine Truth in primaries, and the angel at the feet Divine Truth in ultimates, both proceeding from the Lord, by means of which, when received, regeneration takes place, and there is a resurrection. That to be buried, burial and a sepulchre, signify regeneration and resurrection, may be seen above (n. 659); and that angels, in the highest sense, signify the Lord as to Divine Truth, and in the relative sense the recipients of Divine Truth, and thus, abstractly, Divine truths from the Lord (n. 130, 200, 302). Moreover it is also said that "they sat before Jehovah" when they were in great joy; they were also said to sit when in great sorrow, the reason being that sitting has reference to the esse of man, which pertains to his will and love. That they wept and sat before may be seen in Judges (20:26; 21:2),

426. Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees. That this signifies lest the good everywhere perish with the evil, is evident from the signification of hurt not, as denoting lest they should perish, concerning which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of the earth, the sea, and the trees, which denote everywhere in the spiritual world, even to its ultimates, with those in whom there is any perception (see above, n. 420), consequently the good with the evil, wherever they are. That this is the meaning of these words, is evident from the series of things in the spiritual sense. For the separation of the good from the evil is the subject that now follows, and this separation is signified by the sealing of the servants of God on their foreheads, and by the twelve thousand of every tribe, and by those who appeared clothed in white robes; for the present chapter treats of all these. Both the latter and the former mean the good, who must first be separated from the evil, before the evil are cast down into hell. As the separation of the good from the evil, and the casting out of the evil into hell, is caused by the Divine influx from the Lord as the Sun, and as the separation of the good from the evil is effected by a gentle and modified influx, and the casting down of the evil into hell by a strong and powerful influx (as may be seen above, n. 413:2, 418:1, 419:1), therefore the former influx, by which the good are separated from the evil, is the subject of these three verses, while the good who are separated are treated of in the rest of the chapter, to the end.

[2] But something shall first be said here concerning the fact, that unless the good are separated from the evil, before the latter are cast down into hell, they would perish with them, because the good not having yet been taken, but being about to be taken to heaven, after the casting out of the evil, have been brought into a somewhat intimate communication with the evil by means of the external worship of the latter. For, as we have stated above, and shown in the small work on The Last Judgment 51, 70), the evil, who had been tolerated till the Last Judgment, were in external worship but not in any internal worship. By lip and gesture they had made a show and pretence of the holy things of the Church, but in soul and heart they were untouched; therefore they had communication by means of external worship with those who were also interiorly good. On account of this communication the evil could not be cast down until the good had been separated from them, for otherwise, the good, with whom the evil were conjoined by means of external worship, would have been injured, that is, they would have perished, because the evil would have drawn them away with them.

[3] This the Lord taught also in Matthew:

"The kingdom of the heavens is likened unto a man who sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares, and went his way. But when the blade sprang up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. And the servants of the householder came, and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares? He saith unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? but he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up 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 up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn" (Matthew 13:24-30).

By the man who sowed is meant the Lord; by the field are meant the church and the spiritual world, where both the good and the evil are; the good seed and the wheat mean the good, and the tares the evil. That they could not be separated until the time of the Last Judgment, on account of the conjunction referred to above, is meant by the answer given to the servants, who wished to gather up the tares beforehand, that is, to separate the evil from the good, "Lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest." The harvest is the Last Judgment. That this is the signification, the Lord Himself teaches, where He says, "He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the sons of the kingdom; the tares are the sons of the evil (mali) ¹ ; the harvest is the consummation of the age. As, therefore, the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be in the consummation of the age" (Matthew 13:37-40). It is evident, that the householder who sowed the good seed in his field means the Lord, who there calls Himself the Son of man; and that "the field is the world" means the church and the spiritual world, where both the evil and the good are. That the spiritual world is meant is evident from the words, "The kingdom of the heavens is likened unto a man who sowed good seed in his field." The kingdom of the heavens is the spiritual world and the church.

It is evident also from this fact that the words refer to the Last Judgment, and a last judgment takes place in the spiritual world, and not in ours, as shown in the small work on The Last Judgment. The good seed and the wheat are the good, called "the sons of the kingdom"; the tares are the evil there, called the sons of the evil [one]; and the harvest, the period when separation takes place, is the time of the Last Judgment, for it is said, "the harvest is the consummation of the age." The consummation of the age is the time of a last judgment, as may be seen above (n. 397). That the tares shall then be gathered into bundles and burned, and the wheat gathered into the barn, signifies, that the evil, according to the class and species of their evil, have to be gathered together, and cast into hell, which takes place with the evil when they are rejected, and is meant by their being gathered into bundles. That the good are to be preserved, is meant by the wheat being gathered into the barn, for where the good are gathered together is denoted by "the barn." From these things it is clear, that a complete separation of the good from the evil takes place at the time of a last judgment, and that it cannot take place before on account of the conjunction above mentioned, otherwise the good would perish with the evil; for it is said, "Nay, lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them"; and it is further said, "Let both grow together until the harvest," which is the consummation of the age. Now, since the separation of the good from the evil is effected by a gentle and modified influx of the Divine which proceeds from the Lord, and the casting out of the evil into hell by a strong and intense influx of the Divine, it is plain how all the particulars contained in the first three verses of this chapter are to be understood, when from the spiritual sense it is known what is signified by the winds which were to be restrained, lest the earth, the sea, or any tree, should be hurt, before the servants of God had been sealed on their foreheads.

[4] How this separation takes place shall also be explained, in a few words. When the good are being separated from the evil, which is effected by the Lord by means of a modified influx of His Divine, and by looking into those things which pertain to spiritual affection with angels and spirits, then the Lord causes those who are interiorly, and therefore also exteriorly good, to turn themselves to Him, and so away from the evil, and on turning themselves away they become invisible to the evil; for in the spiritual world it is a common experience for one to become invisible when one turns away from another. This being the case, the evil are separated [from the good], and at the same time also from that holiness which they had externally counterfeited, and then they look towards hell into which they are also soon cast. More may be seen upon this subject in Heaven and Hell 17, 123, 142, 144, 145, 151, 153, 251, 255, 272, 510, 548, 561). That the evil who possessed the power of being in external worship, or in external piety and holiness, although not so internally, were tolerated until the Last Judgment, and no longer, and the reason why, may be seen in the small work on The Last Judgment 59 70).

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