272. And they had on their heads crowns of gold. That this signifies all truths disposed into order from the Divine good, thus also all the former heavens is evident from the signification of the four-and-twenty elders sitting upon four- and-twenty thrones, clothed in white garments, as being all the truths of the heavens, thus all the heavens, both the higher and the lower, as just explained (n. 270, 271); and from the signification of a crown of gold, as being Divine good from which truths are derived, which will be treated of in what follows. All the truths of heaven and of the church are from Divine good; truths which are not from that source are not truths. Truths which are not from good are like shells without a kernel, and like a house inhabited not by men, but by wild beasts; and such are the truths which are called truths of faith, without the good of charity; the good of charity is good from the Lord, thus good Divine. Now because the elders upon the throne signify the truths of the heavens, and crowns of gold the good from which they are derived, therefore the elders were seen with such crowns. The same is signified by the crowns of kings; for kings, in a representative sense, signify truths, and the crowns upon their heads signify the goods from which the truths are derived (that kings signify truths may be seen above, n. 31); hence it is that crowns are of gold, for gold in like manner signifies good (see n. 242). That crowns signify good and thence wisdom, and that truths [2] are the things that are crowned, is evident from the following passages. In David:
"I will make the horn of David to bud; I will ordain a lamp for mine anointed. His enemies will I clothe with shame; but upon himself shall his crown flourish" (Ps. cxxxii. 17, 18).
Here by David, and by anointed is meant the Lord, as may be seen above (n. 205); by horn is signified His power; lamp denotes the Divine truth from which is Divine intelligence; by crown is signified the Divine good from which is Divine wisdom, and from which is the Lord's government; and the enemies who shall be clothed with shame are evils and falsities. [3] Again:
"Thou showest anger with thine anointed. Thou hast condemned his crown even to the earth" (lxxxix. 38, 39).
Here also by anointed is meant the Lord, and by anger a state of temptation, in which He was when in combats with the hells. Lamentation is then described by anger and condemnation, as in the last temptation on the cross, when the Lord lamented that He was forsaken. For the cross was the last of the temptations, or combats with the hells; and after that last temptation He put on the Divine good of the Divine love, and thus united the Divine Human with the essential Divine which was in Himself. [4] Again, in Isaiah:
"In that day shall Jehovah Zebaoth be for a crown of ornament, and for a mitre of comeliness unto the remnant of his people" (xxviii. 5).
Here by a crown of ornament is signified the wisdom which belongs to good from the Divine; and by a mitre of comeliness is meant intelligence belonging to truths from that good. [5] Again:
"For Zion's sake will I not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her justice go forth as brightness, and her salvation burn as a lamp. Thou shalt be a crown of comeliness in the hand of Jehovah, and a mitre of a kingdom in the hand of thy God" (lxii. 1, 3).
Here by Zion and Jerusalem is meant the church; by Zion, the church which is in good, and by Jerusalem, the church which is in truths from that good: hence it is called a crown of comeliness in the hand of Jehovah, and a mitre of a kingdom in the hand of God. The crown of comeliness denotes wisdom, which belongs to good, and a mitre of a kingdom denotes intelligence, which belongs to truth. And since by crown is signified wisdom, which belongs to good, therefore it is said to be in the hand of Jehovah; and since by mitre is signified intelligence, which belongs to truth, therefore it is said to be in the hand of God; for where good is treated of the word Jehovah is used, and where truth is treated of the word God" (as may be seen, Arcana Coelestia n. 2586, 2769, 6905).
[6] In Jeremiah:
"Say unto the king and to the mistress, Let yourselves down, sit ye, because the ornament of your head is come down, the crown of your comeliness" (xiii. 18).
Here by crown of comeliness is signified the wisdom which belongs to good, for comeliness is the Divine truth of the church (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 9815). [7] Again:
"The joy of our hearts is ceased: our dance is turned into mourning. The crown of our head hath fallen" (Lam. v. 15, 16).
By the crown of the head which is said to have fallen is signified the wisdom of those who belong to the church by means of Divine truth, which wisdom has ceased, together with internal blessedness. [8]In Ezekiel:
"He put a jewel upon thy nose and earrings upon thine ears, and a crown of ornament upon thy head" (xvi. 12).
By Jerusalem, which is here treated of, is signified the church at its first establishment. By a jewel upon the nose is signified the perception of good; by earrings upon the ears are meant the perception of truth and obedience; and by a crown upon the head is signified wisdom therefrom. In Job:
"He has stripped me of my glory, and taken away the crown from my head" (xix. 9).
Here also by glory is meant intelligence derived from Divine truth, and by a crown wisdom therefrom. [9] Also, in the Apocalypse:
"I saw, and, behold, a white horse; and he that sat on him had a bow, and a crown was given unto him; he went forth conquering and to conquer" (vi. 2).
The white horse and He that sat on him is the Lord as to the Word; the bow signifies the doctrine of truth by which He fought. It is therefore evident that the crown, as being said of the Lord, is the Divine good which He also put on as to the Human as the reward of victory.
[10] And in another place:
"Afterwards I looked, when, behold, a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle" (xiv. 14).
A white cloud signifies the Word in its literal sense (see Arcana Coelestia, n. 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8281); the Son of man denotes the Lord as to Divine truth; a golden crown, the Divine good from which the Divine truth is: and the sharp sickle denotes the dissipation of evil and falsity. [11] That a crown denotes Divine good from which is the Divine truth, was represented by the plate of gold upon the front of the mitre which was upon Aaron, which plate was also called a crown and a coronet, concerning which it is thus written in Exodus:
"Thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and ,rave upon it the engravings of a signet, Holiness to Jehovah; and thou shalt put it upon a thread of purple, and it shall be on thy mitre, over against the region of the face" (xxviii. 36, 37).
(That this plate was called a crown of holiness and a coronet, may be seen Exod. xxix. 6, xxxix. 30; Levit. viii. 9; but what was specifically signified thereby may be seen in Arcana Coelestia, n. 9930-9936, where the terms are explained.)
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