521. [verse 16] 'And the twenty-four elders, who are sitting before God upon their thrones, fell upon their faces, and adored God' signifies the acknowledgment by all the angels of heaven that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, also the highest adoration. By 'the twenty-four elders sitting upon thrones' are signified all in heaven, specifically in the spiritual heaven (n. 233, 251); and by 'to fall upon the faces and adore God' is signified the highest adoration, and the acknowledgment that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth.