305. Verses 4, 5. And I wept much, that no one was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look therein. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion which is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.

"And I wept much, that no one was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look therein," signifies, grief of heart on account of the disorder and ruin of all, if no one could know, have cognisance of, and explore all men, and all things pertaining to them.

"And one of the elders" signifies, a society of heaven which [was] in wisdom above the rest; "saith unto me, Weep not," signifies lest there be grief hence; "behold, the Lion hath prevailed," signifies, that the Lord from His own power subjugated the hells, and reduced all things in the heavens to order; "of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David," signifies, by the Divine good united to the Divine truth in His Human; "to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof," signifies that He knows and has cognisance of all men and every man, and the most secret things of every one.

143. Nowadays it may seem strange that 'beasts' and 'animals' in ancient times meant affections and similar things residing with man. But because people had heavenly ideas then, and because such things are also represented in the world of spirits by animals - by such animals in fact as resemble those affections - this alone is what they therefore understood when they spoke in this fashion. And this alone is what is meant in the Word whenever beasts are mentioned in general or in particular. The whole prophetical section of the Word is full of things such as these, and therefore anyone who does not know the particular meaning of any beast cannot possibly understand what the Word contains in the internal sense. But as slated already, there are two kinds of beasts - evil ones, because they are harmful, and good ones, because they are harmless. Good beasts, such as sheep, lambs, and doves, mean good affections. Here, because the subject is the celestial man, or the celestial-spiritual man, the same applies. The fact that 'beasts' in general means affections has been confirmed from several places in the Word quoted already in 45, 46. So there is no need of further confirmation.