Spiritual Meaning of Crown

Spiritual Meaning of

Crown

As by the plate was signified enlightenment from the Lord's Divine good, it was also called the plate of the crown of holiness, and likewise the crown of holiness; for a crown is a representative of Divine good, and holiness denotes the Divine truth thence proceeding, as was said above. That it was called the plate of the crown of holiness, is plain in what follows in this book of Exodus:--

Lastly they made the plate of the crown of holiness of pure gold, and wrote upon it with the writing of the engravings of a signet, Holiness to Jehovah (Exod. 39:30).

That it was also called the crown of holiness, is evident from another passage in Exodus:--

Thou shalt set the miter upon his head, and put the crown of holiness upon the miter (Exod. 29:6).

He set the miter upon his head; and upon the miter, opposite the faces of it, did he set the plate of gold, the crown of holiness (Lev. 8:9).

[3] That a crown represented Divine good from which is Divine truth, is evident from the crowns of kings; for kings represented the Lord in respect to Divine truth (AC 2015, 2069, 3009, 4581, 4966, 5044, 5068, 6148); wherefore they had a crown on the head, and a scepter in the hand; for government from Divine good was represented by a crown, and government from Divine truth by a scepter.

[4] That a crown has this signification is evident from the following passages. In David:--

I will make a horn to bud unto David; I will set in order a lamp for Mine anointed. His enemies will I clothe with shame; but upon Himself shall His crown flourish (Ps. 132:17, 18);

David here denotes the Lord (AC 1888), like the anointed (AC 3008, 3009); his horn denotes power (AC 2832, 9081); a lamp denotes the Divine truth from which is intelligence (AC 9548, 9783); the crown denotes the Divine good from which is wisdom, and from which is also His government; the crown, which denotes wisdom, is said to flourish because in respect to the Human He acquired wisdom in the world by means of combats against and victories over the hells (AC 9548, 9783), which are the enemies that shall be clothed with shame.

[5] Again:--

Thou art angry with Thine anointed, Thou hast condemned His crown even to the earth (Ps. 89:38, 39);

where also the anointed denotes the Lord; anger denotes a state of temptations which existed when He was in combats with the hells; the lamentation at that time is described by anger and condemnation; as for instance the last lamentations of the Lord on the cross, that He was forsaken; for the cross was the last of the temptations, that is, of the combats with the hells; and after this last temptation He put on Divine good, and in this way united His Divine Human to the Divine Itself that was in Him.

[6] In Isaiah:--

In that day shall Jehovah Zebaoth be for a crown of adornment, and for a diadem of comeliness, to the remains of His people (Isa. 28:5);

where a crown of adornment denotes the wisdom which is of good from the Divine; a diadem of comeliness, the intelligence of truth from this good; this is predicated of Divine things with the people; the people here denote the church, because it was there.

[7] In the same:--

For Zion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness go forth as brightness, and her salvation burn as a lamp; and thou shalt be a crown of comeliness in the hand of Jehovah, and a miter of the kingdom in the hand of thy God (Isa. 62:1, 3);

by Zion and Jerusalem is meant the church, by Zion the celestial church, and by Jerusalem the spiritual church thence derived; a crown of comeliness denotes the wisdom which is of good, and a miter of the kingdom, the intelligence which is of truth; and as by a crown is signified the wisdom which is of good, therefore it is said to be in the hand of Jehovah; and as by a miter is signified the intelligence which is of truth, therefore it is said to be in the hand of God; for where good is treated of, the name Jehovah is used, and where truth is treated of, the name God (AC 2586, 2769, 6905).

[8] In Jeremiah:--

Say thou to the king and to the mistress, Renounce yourselves, sit down; for the adornment of your head is come down, even the crown of your comeliness (Jer. 13:18);

where the crown of comeliness denotes the wisdom which is of good from Divine truth, for comeliness denotes the Divine truth of the church (AC 9815). In the same:--

The joy of our heart hath ceased; our dance is turned into mourning; the crown of our head is fallen (Lam. 5:15, 16);

the crown of the head denotes the wisdom which those who are of the church have from Divine truth, by virtue of which they are more excellent than the rest of the peoples, and hence have a kind of government.

[9] In Ezekiel:--

He put a jewel upon thy nose, and earrings in thine ears, and a crown of adornment upon thine head (Ezek. 16:12);

the subject here treated of is the setting up of the church; a jewel upon the nose denotes the perception of good; earrings in the ears denote the perception of truth, and obedience; a crown upon the head denotes the wisdom thence derived. In Job:--

He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken away the crown of my head (Job 19:9);

where glory denotes the intelligence which is of Divine truth (AC 9429); the crown of the head denotes the wisdom thence derived.

[10] In the Apocalypse:--

Upon the thrones I saw four and twenty elders, clothed in white garments; who had upon their heads golden crowns. They fell down before Him that was sitting upon the throne, and worshiped Him that liveth forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne (Rev. 4:4, 10);

the four and twenty elders signify all those who are in good from truths, and in the abstract sense all goods from truths (AC 6524, 9404); the thrones denote truths from the Divine (AC 5313, 6397, 8625, 9039); the golden crowns on their heads are representatives of wisdom from the Divine, and because this is from the Divine, therefore they cast them before Him that was sitting upon the throne.

[11] As the good of wisdom is acquired by means of temptation combats, which are carried on by means of the truths of faith, therefore crowns were assigned to those who fought against evils and falsities and overcame; and for this reason also the crowns of martyrdom were badges of command from the Lord over evils. That crowns denote the rewards of victory over evils, and that for this reason they denote the goods of wisdom, because these are the rewards, is also evident from the Apocalypse:--

I saw, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon it had a bow; and there was given unto him a crown; and he went forth conquering, and to conquer (Rev 6:2);

the white horse and he that sat upon it signify the Lord as to the Word (AC 2760-2762); a bow denotes the doctrine of truth, by means of which the combat is waged (AC 2686, 2709); from this it is evident that the crown, because said of the Lord, denotes the Divine good, which is the reward of victory.

[12] And in another passage:--

Afterward I saw, and behold a white cloud; and upon the cloud one sitting like unto the Son of man, having upon his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle (Rev. 14:14);

a white cloud denotes the literal sense of the Word (AC 4060, 4391, 5922, 6343, 6752, 8781); the Son of man denotes the Divine truth which is from the Lord (AC 9807); a golden crown, the Divine good from which is the Divine truth; a sharp sickle denotes the dispersing of evil and falsity. And again:--

Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life (Rev. 2:10).

Behold I come quickly; hold fast that which thou hast, that no one take thy crown (Rev. 3:11);

the crown denotes good from truths, thus wisdom; for this belongs to the good of love from the truths of faith. From all this it can now be seen what is signified by a crown, and what by the crown of holiness, which was the plate of gold on which was engraved Holiness to Jehovah

from AC 9930

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Author: E. Swedenborg (1688-1772).

Design: I.J. Thompson, Feb 2002.