855. 'And they shall reign with Him for the thousand years' signifies that they were already in heaven when the rest who did not live again, that is, accept heavenly life, were in the world of spirits. By 'to reign with Christ' is not signified to reign with Him but to be in His kingdom or in heaven, as may be seen above (is. 284, 849). By 'the thousand years' is not signified a thousand years, but it signifies for a while, as above (n. 842). It is plain that 'the thousand years' does not signify anything else but that space of time which existed between the shutting up of the dragon in the deep and his release, because it is said that he was cast into the deep, shut up, and that a seal was set upon him for a thousand years, and at length that he was let loose (vers. 3 and 7). This same space of time is signified here also; and therefore by 'they shall reign with Christ for the thousand years' is signified that they were already in heaven when the rest of the dead 'who did not live again' (treated of in verse 5) were in the world of spirits. But these things are not comprehended by those who do not know that by the numbers in the Apocalypse are not understood numbers but things. I can definitely state that angels do not understand any number naturally, as men do, but spiritually; indeed that they do not know what a thousand years are, only that it is some interval of time, small or great, and this cannot be expressed otherwise than by 'a while'.