8728. 'And they will judge the people at all times' means unceasing dependence on the level above. This is clear from the meaning of 'judging' as the arrangement of truths, dealt with above in 8685, at this point the arrangement of them into descending levels, each dependent on the level above; for the rulers who were to judge the people were to be the arbiters in place of Moses in small matters. The meaning in the internal sense is that truths following one another in order from more internal to more external levels are subordinated to the truth coming directly from God; and they are accordingly a channel through which the Lord acts indirectly. But in the sense focusing specifically on persons, the subordination of angels and angelic communities one below another is meant, and their dependence on those immediately above; for they are the channel through which the Lord acts indirectly and governs people on earth. It is not however the angels who govern but the Lord through them, see 8718, 8719. To take this matter further, it should be recognized that some things also come from the angels themselves who are present with a person. But all the goodness and the truth that become the components of the person's faith and charity, that is, of his new life, come from the Lord alone, even that which comes from Him through the angels. Likewise from Him springs the whole order in which truths are arranged in constantly descending levels for that purpose. The things which come from the angels themselves are the kinds of things that accord with the person's affection. They are not in themselves forms of good; nevertheless they serve to introduce the forms of good and the truths coming from the Lord. As regards the meaning of 'at all times' as unceasing, this is clear without explanation.