6648. 'And multiplied and became very very numerous' means that they increased enormously in truths from good. This is clear from the meaning of 'multiplying' as increasing in truths, dealt with in 43, 55, 913, 983, 2846, 2847; and from the meaning of 'became numerous' as further branching out, thus a constant increase in truth. The reason why it is an increase in truth from good is that the subject now is the Church when it has been established. For so far as the establishment of the Church with a person is concerned, it happens as follows: While it is being established the person is governed by truths, and through them good increases. But once the Church has been established with him he is governed by good, and from good by truths, which are then constantly increasing. Little increase takes place while he lives in the world, because in the world concerns about food and clothing and about other matters prevent it. But in the next life the increase is vast, and goes on for evermore; for there is no end to wisdom from the Divine. In this way the angels are constantly being made more perfect, and in that same way all entering the next life are made into angels; for every aspect of wisdom is capable of infinite expansion and the aspects of wisdom are infinite in number. From this it may be seen that wisdom can go on increasing for evermore and still not reach very far beyond the first degree, the reason for this being that the Divine is the Infinite, and what has its origin in the Infinite is inevitably like that.

913. 'Let them spread out into the earth' means the action of the internal man into the external, while 'be fruitful' means increases in good, 'and multiply' increases in truth, and 'over the earth' means with the external man. This is clear from the train of thought and also from what has been stated and shown already about the meaning in the Word of 'being fruitful' as having reference to goods, and of 'multiplying' to truths. That 'the earth' means the external man has in like manner been shown already, so there is no need to pause and confirm these points. Here the subject is the action of the internal man into the external after a person has been regenerated. That is to say, when good starts 'to be fruitful' and truth 'to multiply', the external man is rendered correspondent or obedient. Until then this is not possible because the desires of the body are incompatible with goods, and the illusions of the senses with truths. The former annihilate the love of good, the latter the love of truth. The fruitfulness of good and the multiplication of truth take place in the external man - the fruitfulness of good in his affections, the multiplication of truth in his memory. The external man is here called 'the earth' into which mankind spreads out and over which they are fruitful and multiply.