Podríamos decir que el amor del Señor "siempre ha sido y siempre será", pero ni siquiera eso lo cubre: el Señor está más allá del tiempo, y de hecho el tiempo vino de Él. Podríamos decir que el amor del Señor se expresa "en todas partes y en todo", pero ni siquiera eso lo cubre: el Señor está más allá del espacio y de las cosas que llenan el espacio, y de hecho tanto el espacio como las cosas provienen de Él.

Así que el amor del Señor nunca cambia: Simplemente es. Y la expresión de ese amor -lo que los Escritos llaman "verdad divina"- nunca cambia: Simplemente es.

Las personas, en cambio, cambian continuamente, como individuos y como sociedades. Nos volvemos hacia el Señor y hacia los demás; nos alejamos del Señor y nos alejamos de los demás. Nos fijamos en las cosas espirituales; nos fijamos en las cosas corporales. Eso significa que nuestra recepción del amor del Señor cambia todo el tiempo, y el amor del Señor, en su completo deseo de unirse a nosotros, adapta constantemente sus formas externas para tratar de alcanzarnos.

Eso es lo que se describe aquí, en Juan 1:6-18. La humanidad siempre había recibido la verdad divina, pero las formas se habían vuelto más externas a medida que la gente se volvía más externa. Entre las personas más tempranas e inocentes, el Señor podía fluir directamente; más tarde llegó a las personas a través de las mentes, utilizando historias simbólicas y la naturaleza como contenedor. Sin embargo, a medida que las personas se volvieron completamente externas, Su amor fluyó en la forma pétrea de las leyes de Moisés. Entendidas espiritualmente, estas leyes y las demás historias y profecías del Antiguo Testamento contienen infinitas ideas sobre el Señor y conexiones con Su amor - contienen toda la verdad divina. Pero los propios Hijos de Israel no podían entenderlo; lo mejor que podían hacer era obedecer.

Ese proceso histórico se describe en los versículos 9-13, que muestran el poder creativo y sustentador de la verdad divina (representada tanto por "la Luz" como por "la Palabra"), así como el hecho de que los que la recibieron se convirtieron en "hijos de Dios", o ángeles en el cielo. Sin embargo, con el paso del tiempo, la mayoría de la gente "no lo recibió" y "no lo conoció". De hecho, a medida que los líderes judíos retorcían los aspectos externos de las Escrituras para sus propios fines egoístas, el mundo se volvió tan malvado que, según los Escritos, la humanidad corría el peligro de perder por completo su conexión con el Señor.

Así, "la Palabra" -la verdad divina, la expresión del amor del Señor- se "hizo carne" en la forma de Jesús. En cierto modo, ésta era la forma más externa que podía adoptar la verdad divina, extendiéndose desde la realidad espiritual para darse una forma física. Pero el propósito era darle la vuelta al proceso: Jesús revelaría los significados más profundos de las Escrituras y enseñaría la verdad divina de forma más directa, a través de mandamientos de amor y cuidado. Iniciaría a la humanidad en un viaje espiritual hacia una vida más interna, más receptiva al amor del Señor.

Entonces, ¿cuál es el papel de Juan el Bautista aquí? Juan representa el significado externo y literal del Antiguo Testamento, y "dar testimonio" significa confirmar lo que es bueno utilizando las cosas que sabemos que son verdaderas. Así pues, Juan da aquí testimonio primero de "la luz", recordando a la gente de la época que la Escritura es sagrada e instándola a volver a sus formas; y más tarde de Jesús, confirmando mediante la letra de la Escritura que era el Mesías prometido, venido a ofrecernos la verdad y la gracia -que representa el deleite que sentimos en las cosas que son verdaderas- y, en última instancia, a "declararnos" al Padre, o a ponernos en contacto con el amor que es la esencia del Señor.

(Посилання: Apocalipsis Explicado 151:4, 294 [16])

151. These things saith the Son of man, signifies the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, from which is that essential of the church. This is evident from the signification of "the Son of man," as being the Lord in respect to the Divine Human, and in respect to Divine truth, since Divine truth proceeds from Him (See above, n. 63); also as being that from which is that essential of the church, namely, the opening of the internal or spiritual man, and the conjunction thereof with the external, since everything of the church with man is from the Lord's Divine Human. For everything of love and faith, which two constitute the church, proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human, and not immediately from the Divine Itself; for what proceeds immediately from His Divine Itself, does not fall into any thought and affection of man, nor consequently into faith and love, because it is far above them. This can be seen from the fact that man is not able to think of the Divine Itself apart from the human form, except as he thinks of nature, as it were, in things least. Thought that is not determined to a certain figure is diffused in every direction, and what is diffused is dissipated. This has been given me to know most especially from those in the other life who are from the Christian world, who have thought only of the Father, and not of the Lord, that they make nature in its minutest parts their God, and finally fall away from all idea of God, consequently from the idea and faith in anything of heaven and the church.

[2] It is otherwise with those who have thought of God under the human form; these have all their ideas determined to the Divine, nor do their thoughts, like the thoughts of those mentioned before, wander in every direction. And as the Divine under the Human form, is the Lord's Divine Human, therefore the Lord bends and determines their thoughts and affections to Himself. This, because it is the primary truth of the church, unceasingly flows in out of heaven with man; consequently it is, as it were, implanted in everyone to think of the Divine under the human form, and thus to see His Divine inwardly in himself, with the exception of such as have extinguished in themselves this implanted thought (See in the work on Heaven and Hell 82). From this the reason can also be seen, why all men, whatsoever after death, when they become spirits, turn themselves to their own loves, and thus why those who have worshiped the Divine under the human form turn themselves to the Lord, who appears to them as a sun above the heavens. But those who have not worshiped the Divine under the human form, turn themselves to the loves of their natural man, all of which have reference to the loves of self and the world, thus turning backwards from the Lord; and turning oneself backwards from the Lord is turning towards hell. (That all in the spiritual world turn themselves to their own loves, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 17, 123, 142-145, 151, 153, 255, 272, 510, 548, 552, 561).

[3] All who lived in ancient times and worshiped the Divine saw the Divine in thought under the human form, and hardly anyone thought of an invisible Divine; and the Divine under the human form was even then the Divine Human. But as this Divine Human was the Divine of the Lord in the heavens and passing through the heavens, when at length heaven became enfeebled, because men, of whom heaven is made up, from internal successively became external and thus natural, therefore it pleased the Divine Itself to put on a human, and to glorify it, or make it Divine, that thus from Himself He might affect all, both those who are in the spiritual world and those who are in the natural world, and might save those who acknowledge and worship His Divine in the Human.

[4] This is clearly stated in many passages in the Old Testament Prophets, as well as in the Evangelists; of these I will cite only the following in John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not anything made that hath been made. In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. And that Light shineth in the darkness; and the darkness apprehended it not. It was the true Light, which lighteth every man coming into the world. He was in the world, but the world acknowledged Him not. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory (John 1:1-14).

It is plainly evident that the Lord in respect to the Human is here meant by "the Word," for it is said, "the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory." It is also evident that the Lord made His Human to be Divine, for it is said, "the Word was with God and God was the Word, and this became flesh," that is, a man. And since all Divine truth proceeds from the Lord's Divine Human, and this is His Divine in the heavens, therefore by "the Word" is also signified Divine truth; and thence He is said to be "the Light which lighted every man coming into the world." Moreover, "light" is Divine truth; and because men from being internal became so external or natural as no longer to acknowledge Divine truth or the Lord, therefore it is said that "the darkness apprehended not the light," and that "the world acknowledged Him not." (That the Word is the Lord in respect to the Divine Human and Divine truth proceeding therefrom, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 263, 304. That "light" is Divine truth, and "darkness" the falsities in which those are who are not in the light, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 126-140, 275.)

[5] That they who acknowledge the Lord and worship Him from love and faith, and are not in the love of self and the love of the world, are regenerated and saved, is also taught in these words in John:

As many as received Him, to them gave He power to be children of God, even to them that believe in His name; which were born, not of bloods, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12, 13).

Here "of bloods" means such as destroy love and charity. "The will of the flesh" is every evil from the love of self and love of the world, also man's will-proprium, which in itself is nothing but evil; "the will of man" is falsity thence that comes from that will-proprium. That those who are not in these loves receive the Lord and are regenerated and saved, is meant by its being said that those who "believe in His name become children of God," and are "born of God."

(That to "believe in the Lord's name" is to acknowledge His Divine Human and to receive love and faith from Him, see above. n. 102, 135.

That "bloods" are the things that destroy love and charity, see Arcana Coelestia 4735, 5476, 9127; that "flesh" is man's will-proprium, which in itself is nothing but evil, n. 210, 215, 731, 874-876, 987, 1047, 2307, 2308, 3518, 3701, 3812, 4328, 8480, 8550, 10283, 10284, 10286, 10732; and that man's proprium is the love of self and the love of the world, n. 694, 731, 4317, 5660.

That "man" [vir] is the intellectual, and therefore truth or falsity, since the intellectual is of the one or the other, see n. 3134, 3309, 9007.

Thus "the will of man" [viri] is the intelligence-proprium, which, when it exists from the will-proprium [which in itself is nothing but evil], is nothing but falsity, for where evil is in the will there is falsity in the understanding.

That to be "born of God" is to be regenerated by the Lord, see The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem 173-184.

Moreover, that all in the universe, from influx out of heaven and from revelation, worship the Divine in the human form, see Earths in the Universe 98, 121, 141, 154, 158, 159, 169; likewise all angels of the higher heavens, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 78-86.)

[6] From this it can now be seen that everything of the church, thus also everything of heaven with men, is from the Lord's Divine Human. For this reason "the Son of man," who is the Divine Human, is described in the first chapter of Revelation by various representatives; and from that description the introductory sentences to each of the churches are taken (as may be seen above, n. 113, and what is said to this church in particular treats of this chief essential of the church, namely, the conjunction of the internal and external, or the regeneration of the man of the church; for it is said to the angel of this church, "These things saith the Son of God, that hath His eyes as a flame of fire."