9571. 'And give light before its faces' means from the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Human. This is clear from the meaning of 'giving light' as the Divine Truth emanating from the Lord's Divine Good, for this is what gives light to heaven and the angels themselves there, and also to the Church and the people in it whose faith is founded on good (the resulting enlightenment is enlightenment of the mind, from which comes intelligence and wisdom in the truths and forms of the good of faith; the mind receives light through the Word because the Word is Divine Truth from the Lord); and from the meaning of 'faces', when this word has reference to the Lord, as all that which springs from the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Love, dealt with in 9545, 9546. It springs from the Divine Good of the Lord's Divine Human because the Lord's Divine Human is the source of the light in heaven; for His Human is heaven's Sun from which the light flows, and the light from there is Divine Truth, see 1053, 1521-1533, 1619-1632, 2776, 3094, 3138, 3167, 3190, 3195, 3222, 3223, 3337, 3339, 3341, 3636, 3643, 3862, 3993, 4060, 4180, 4302, 4408, 4414, 4415, 4419, 4527, 4598, 5400, 6032, 6313, 6315, 6608, 6907, 7174, 8644, 8707, 8861, 9399, 9407. Also the Lord is the Sun of heaven, 1053, 1521, 1529-1531, 2441, 3636, 3643, 4321 (end), 5097, 7078, 7083, 7171, 7173, 8644, 8812. The Lord's Divine Human is the source of the light in heaven because the Divine cannot be seen except under a Human form, which moreover the Lord has taught in John,

Nobody has ever seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.

And in the same gospel,

You have never heard the Father's voice nor seen His shape. John 5:37.

3773. 'And they would put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well' means that it was closed up for the time being. This is clear from what has been stated about the stone over the mouth of the well, in 3769, 3771. With regard to these considerations, namely that the Word was uncovered for the Churches and after that closed up, the position is that in the beginning, when any Church is established, the Word is in that initial period closed up to them but later on, through the Lord's provision, is opened up. And from there people learn that all doctrine is based on these two commandments, that the Lord is to be loved above everything else, and the neighbour as themselves. When these two commandments are the end in view the Word is in that case opened up, for all the Law and all the Prophets, that is, the whole of the Word, hangs on them, as does everything from them, and so everything has reference to them. And being in that case governed by the primary teachings concerning truth and good people receive light in each particular thing they see in the Word. For the Lord is present with them at that time by means of angels and is teaching them even though they are not directly aware of it, and is also guiding them into the life of truth and good.

[2] This may also be seen from the consideration that in their infancy all Churches have been such, and have from love worshipped the Lord, and have from the heart loved the neighbour. But in course of time Churches have moved away from these two commandments, and have turned away from good flowing from love and charity towards those things called matters of faith, and so have turned away from life towards doctrine. And to the extent this happens the Word is closed up. These are the factors meant in the internal sense by the words, 'Behold, a well in the field, and behold, three droves of a flock there, lying nearby it; for out of that well they watered the droves; and there was a large stone over the mouth of the well. And all the droves would be gathered there; and they would roll the stone from over the mouth of the well and water the flock; and they would put the stone back in its place over the mouth of the well'.