1997. 'I will multiply you more and more' means endless fruitfulness of the affection for truth. This becomes clear from the meaning of 'multiplying' as having reference to truth, dealt with in 43, 55, 913, 983. And because it refers to the Lord it means the endless fruitfulness of truth that flows from good, dealt with already in 1940. There are two types of affection - the affection for good and the affection for truth. The affection for good consists in doing good from a love of good, the affection for truth is doing good from a love of truth. At first glance these two types of affection seem to be identical, but they are quite distinct and separate from each other in essence as well as in origin. The affection for good, or doing good from a love of good, belongs strictly to the will, whereas the affection for truth, or doing good from a love of truth, belongs strictly to the understanding; thus these two types of affection are as distinct from each other as will and understanding. The affection for good springs from celestial love, but the affection for truth from spiritual love. The description 'affection for good' cannot be used except in reference to the celestial man, while 'affection for truth' is used in reference to the spiritual man. What the Celestial is and what the celestial man, and what the Spiritual or the spiritual man is, has been adequately shown in Volume One. The Most Ancient Church, which existed before the Flood, was stirred by the affection for good, but the Ancient Church, which existed after the Flood, was stirred by the affection for truth, for the former was a celestial Church, but the latter a spiritual Church. All angels in heaven are either celestial or spiritual. The celestial are stirred by the affection for good, the spiritual by the affection for truth. To the former the Lord appears as the Sun, to the latter however as the Moon, 1529-1531, 1838. The latter affection, that is, the affection for truth, the Lord united to the affection for good, which consists in doing good from a love of good, when He united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence. Consequently 'multiplying more and more' means endless fruitfulness of truth deriving from good.

55. Verse 28 And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, ¹ and over every living thing that creeps upon the earth.

Because the most ancient people applied the term Marriage to understanding and will, or faith and love, when joined together, they gave the name Fruitfulness to any good resulting from that marriage, and Multiplication to any truth. For this reason similar expressions occur in the Prophets, as in Ezekiel,

I will multiply upon you man and beast, and they will multiply and be fruitful, and I will resettle you ² to be as in your ancient times, and I will bless you more than in your former times, and you will know that I am Jehovah, and I will cause man to walk upon you, even My people Israel. Ezekiel 36:8-11.

Here 'man' is used to mean the spiritual man, who is also called Israel, 'ancient times' the Most Ancient Church, 'former times' the Ancient Church which came after the Flood. The reason why 'multiplying', which relates to truth, comes first and why 'being fruitful', which relates to good, follows is that the subject is the person who is to be regenerated, not one who has been regenerated.

[2] When the understanding is coupled to the will, or faith to love, the individual is called by the Lord in Isaiah 'a married land',

Your land will no more be called Desolate, but you will be named My-good-pleasure-is-in-her, and your land, Married; for Jehovah will take His pleasure in you, and your land will be married. Isaiah 62:4.

The resulting fruits which are matters of truth are called 'sons', and the fruits which are matters of good are called 'daughters'. This recurs very frequently in the Word.

[3] The earth is 'being filled' when there are many goods and truths, for when the Lord is 'blessing' and 'saying' - that is, when He is at work - the increase of good and truth is limitless, as the Lord says,

The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; it is indeed the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of all plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air ³ come and nest in its branches. Matthew 13:31-32.

'A grain of mustard seed' is the good a person has before he becomes spiritual. It is 'the smallest of all seeds' because he imagines that he himself is the source of the good he does. In reality what he does of himself is nothing but evil, yet because he is in a state of being regenerated there is some element of good, though it is quite 'the smallest of all'. Later on when faith is being joined to love it grows larger and becomes 'a plant'. Once it has finally been joined to love it develops into a tree, and at that point 'the birds of the air, ³ which here are truths or intellectual concepts, 'nest in its branches', which are facts.

[4] A person is involved in conflict not only when becoming spiritual, but also when he is spiritual. Hence the statement, 'Subdue the earth, and have dominion over it'.

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