790. [verse 20] 'Exult over her, O heaven, and the holy apostles and prophets, for God has judged your judgment on her' signifies that now the angels of heaven, and the men of the Church who are in goods and truths out of the Word, may rejoice at heart that those who are in the evils and untruths of that form of religion have been removed and rejected. 'Exult over her, O heaven' signifies that now the angels of heaven may rejoice at heart, for exultation is joy of heart. 'And the holy apostles and prophets' signifies and together with them the men of the Church who are in goods and truths out of the Word. By 'apostles' are signified those who are in the goods and thence in the truths of the Church out of the Word, and abstractly, the goods and truths of the Church out of the Word (n. 79); and by 'prophets' are signified truths derived from good out of the Word (n. 8, 133). They are called 'holy' because 'apostles and prophets', as has been said, signify abstractly the goods and truths of the Word, which in themselves are holy because the Lord's (n. 586, 666). 'For God has judged your judgment on her' signifies because those who are in the evils and untruths of that form of religion have been removed and rejected. That no others have may be seen above (n. 786). The joy of the angels of heaven over the removal and rejection of those who are in the evils and untruths of that form of religion is treated of in the following chapter from verse 1 to verse 9; here only that they may rejoice. But the angelic joy is not derived from their damnation, but from the New Heaven and the New Church and the salvation of the faithful; which things cannot be given sooner than those have been removed, which is being done and has been done by means of the last judgment, on which subject something will be seen in the exposition of vers. 7-9 of the following chapter. From these considerations it can be established that by 'Exult over her, O heaven, and the holy apostles and prophets, for God has judged your judgment on her' is signified that the angels of heaven, and the men of the Church who are in goods and truths out of the Word, may rejoice at heart that those who are in the evils and untruths of that form of religion have been removed and rejected. Who cannot see that the apostles and prophets treated of in the Word are not here understood, these having been few and not more excellent than other men? But by them are understood all in the Lord's Church who are in goods and truths out of the Word, as also by the twelve tribes of Israel treated of above (n. 349). By 'the apostle Peter' is understood the truth (veritas) or faith of the Church, by 'the apostle James' the charity of the Church, and by 'the apostle John' the works of charity of the men of the Church.