Let’s explore the significance of “crowns,” by looking at all the verses they appear in.

 

NOTE:  “crown of glory” starts in Proverbs 4:9.  The “crown of pride” begins in Isaiah 28:1.  The “crown of life” first mentioned in James 1:12.

 

 

Genesis 49:26; Second Samuel 14:25; Second Kings 11:12; First Chronicles 20:2; Second Chronicles 23:11; Esther 1:11; 2:17; 6:8; 8:15; Psalm 21:3; 89:39; Song Of Solomon 3:11; Jeremiah 2:16; 48:45; Ezekiel 23:42; Zechariah 6:11; Matthew 27:29; Mark 15:17; John 19:2 & 5; Revelation 4:4 & 10; 9:7; 14:14; 19:12:  NOTE:  Just meaning the crown was put on or taken from off of the top of one’s head.

 

Exodus 25:11 & 24 & 25; 29:6; 30:3 & 4; 37:2 & 11 &12 & 26 & 27; 39:30; Leviticus 8:9:  All these texts have to do with crowns of decoration for the Sanctuary articles.

 

Leviticus 8:9:  “And he put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did he put the golden plate, the holy crown; as the LORD Commanded Moses.”  NOTE:  I like “Joseph Benson’s Commentary On The Old And New Testaments” here:  “The crown signified the dignity of the high- priest, and its being termed holy, the sanctity of his person and office.  Thus he was a type of Christ, crowned with glory and honour, perfectly holy, and consecrated for evermore.”

 

Leviticus 21:12:  “Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD.”  NOTE:  Meaning he is anointed to represent Christ.

 

Deuteronomy 33:20:  “And of Gad he said, Blessed be he that enlargeth Gad:  he dwelleth as a lion, and teareth the arm with the crown of the head.”  NOTE:  Generally meaning the top of ones head; but more correctly here, with the thoughts of one’s mind.

 

Second Samuel 1:10 & 12:30:  These are king’s physical crowns.

 

Job 2:7; Isaiah 3:17:  NOTE:  Just meaning the top of one’s head.

 

Job 19:9:  “He hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my head.”  NOTE:  Meaning he had lost all his honor and respect.

 

Job 31:36:  “Surely I would take it upon my shoulder, and bind it as a crown to me.”  NOTE:  Job would regard this crown as an ornament.  In regards to “I would take it upon my shoulder,” according to “Albert Barn’s Notes On The Bible,” we read:  “That is, the book or bill which the Almighty would write in the case.  Job says that he has such confidence that what God would record in his case would be in his favor.”

 

Psalm 8:5:  “For Thou hast made Him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned Him with glory and honour.”

 

Psalm 132:18:  “His enemies will I clothe with shame:  but upon himself shall his crown flourish.”  NOTE:  The opposite of “shame” shall be his.

 

Proverbs 4:9; 16:31; Isaiah 28:5; First Peter 5:4; Isaiah 62:3:  “crown of glory” = Crowned with Salvation.

 

Proverbs 12:4:  “A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband:  but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.”  NOTE:  Meaning, a blessing.

 

Proverbs 14:18:  “The simple inherit folly:  but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.”

 

Proverbs 14:24:  “The crown of the wise is their riches:  but the foolishness of fools is folly.”  NOTE:  Intelligence.

 

Proverbs 17:6:  “Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.”  NOTE:  “Glory,” or better, blessing.

 

Proverbs 27:24:  “For riches are not for ever:  and doth the crown endure to every generation?”  NOTE:  Just as “riches are not for ever,” so this life is not.

 

Song Of Solomon 3:11:  “Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.”  NOTE:  Bathsheba gave Solomon her blessing on his wedding day.

 

Isaiah 28:1 & 3:  “crown of pride” = Inappropriate opinion of one’s self.

 

Jeremiah 13:18:  “Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down:  for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.”  NOTE:  Whatever preeminence you have.

 

Lamentations 5:16:  “The crown is fallen from our head:  woe unto us, that we have sinned!”  NOTE:  More than just falling off one’s head, this meaning is the loss of one’s Salvation.

 

Ezekiel 16:12:  “And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.”  NOTE:  More than just putting a crown upon one’s head, this crown is a crown of restoration.

 

Ezekiel 21:26:  “Thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown:  this shall not be the same:  exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high.”  NOTE:  This is loss of one’s Salvation.

 

Nahum 3:17:  “Thy crowned are as the locusts, and thy captains as the great grasshoppers, which camp in the hedges in the cold day, but when the sun ariseth they flee away, and their place is not known where they are.”  According to “Albert Barnes Notes On The Bible,” “ ‘The crowned’ are probably the subordinate princes, of whom Sennacherib said, ‘Are not my princes altogether kings?’  Isa. 10:8.  It has been observed that the headdress of the Assyrian Vizier has the ornament which ‘throughout the whole series of sculptures is the distinctive mark of royal or quasi-royal authority.’  Continuing on, “One such Jeremiah Jer. 51:27, in a prophecy in which he probably alludes to this, bids place over the armies of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz, to marshall them against Babylon, against which he summons the cavalry like the rough locust.”

 

Zechariah 6:14:  “And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the Temple of the LORD.”  NOTE:  The meaning appears to be this, that the crown made for Joshua should be delivered to the persons mentioned here and in Zechariah 6:10, to be laid up in the Temple of the Lord, as a memorial of this typical transaction.  They are crowns of “glory,” Zechariah 6:13.

 

Zechariah 9:16:  “And the LORD their God shall save them in that day as the flock of his people:  for they shall be as the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.”  NOTE:  “stones” is the subject not the “crown.”

 

 

First Corinthians 9:25:  “And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.  Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.”  NOTE:  A crown that will not last or survive the test of time.  In a more permanent sense, loss of one’s Salvation.

 

Philippians 4:1:  “Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.”  NOTE:  Paul considered the Philippian converts to be his earthly crown.  No physical crown could match it.

 

First Thessalonians 2:19:  “For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?  Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His Coming?”  NOTE:  Not a physical crown, but just the “joy” of “rejoicing.”

 

Second Timothy 2:5:  “And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.”  NOTE:  The crown of overcoming – Salvation.

 

Second Timothy 4:8:  “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day:  and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His Appearing.”  NOTE:  Meaning Salvation.

 

Hebrews 2:9:  “But we see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.”

 

James 1:12 & Revelation 2:10:  “crown of life.” NOTE:  Meaning Salvation.

 

Revelation 3:11:  “Behold, I come quickly:  hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.”  NOTE:  That “no man” entice you with the cares or desires of this world and one lose one’s Salvation.

 

Revelation 6:2:  “And I saw, and behold a white horse:  and He that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto Him: and He went forth conquering, and to conquer.”  NOTE:  The crown of power to “conquer.”

 

Revelation 12:1:  “And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:”  NOTE:  Here is my Revelation 12:1 Note:  The Greek word for “crown” used here is “stephanos,” meaning a “crown of victory.” Like that portrayed in Revelation 12:10, as opposed to a “kingly crown,” as found in verse 3, which is translated from the Greek word “diadema.”  It is interesting to note that although the Roman soldiers thought they were putting, as it were, a kingly crown upon the head of Christ in Matthew 27:29, Matthew uses the Greek word “stepanos” to denote the “victors crown” “of thorns” given to Christ, considering Jesus to be victorious even in this humiliating event.

 

“twelve stars” = Because of the symbolism used in Revelation of God’s people comprising twelve “tribes” (see especially Chapter 7), I believe these “twelve stars” to symbolize God’s people (see verse 4) and ultimately the twelve divisions of the 144,000 (see also Dan. 12:3) who are victorious; and also the twelve apostles whose names make up the gates upon the New Jerusalem (see Rev. 21:14).

 

Revelation 12:3:  “And there appeared another wonder in Heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.”  NOTE:  Here is my Daniel 7:8 Note:  “three of the first horns plucked up by the roots” = The nations of the Heruli, Vandals, Ostrogoths conquered.  See Daniel 7:20 where, “three fell,” [of the “ten horns”] and Daniel 7:24 where, “he shall subdue three kings.”  Notice that they were not just “plucked up,” but they were “plucked up by the roots,” meaning that they were destroyed, as history confirms.  The wars against the “three” nations began in 476 A.D. and ended in 538 A.D. when Pagan Rome passed over to Papal Rome once these “three” enemies were taken care of.

 

Revelation 13:1:  “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.”  See my Revelation 12:3 Note above.