Los primeros cinco versos de Juan 1 ("El Verbo era Dios") muestran cómo el amor infinito del Señor fluye hacia nosotros a través de su humanidad divina en formas que pueden crear e inspirar, lo que los Escritos llaman verdad divina - y que como la gente se apartó repetidamente Él proyectó su humanidad en forma física como Jesús para llegar a ellos una vez más.

En este versículo comenzamos a ver cómo la gente puede interactuar con esa verdad y volverse hacia el Señor.

Entonces, ¿por qué, te preguntarás, empieza con Juan el Bautista? Porque Juan representa el significado externo y literal de la Palabra del Señor: las historias, leyes y profecías reales de la Biblia. Estos elementos externos forman un contenedor para la inspiración espiritual que hay en su interior, y tenemos que ser capaces de sostener el contenedor para poder participar en su contenido.

"Hombre" representa aquí la verdad, o las expresiones de amor en forma de ideas, cosas conformadas a nuestro intelecto. "Dios" representa lo externo del Señor, que es el poder que proyecta en forma de verdad divina. Y "nombre" representa todas las cualidades del elemento espiritual completo que se describe.

Así podemos ver que el significado literal de la Biblia -y las palabras y acciones externas de Jesús durante su vida física- fueron verdaderas proyecciones del amor perfecto del Señor en las formas más externas. Y tenemos que abrazarlas para abrirnos a las verdades más profundas de nuestro interior.

6297. 'And his seed will be the fullness of nations' means that truth - the truth of faith - will be predominant. This is clear from the meaning of 'seed' as faith and charity, dealt with in 1025, 1447, 1610, 1940, 2848, 3187, 3310, 3373, 3671, in this case faith since it refers to Ephraim; and from the meaning of 'the fullness of nations' as an abundance, thus that it will be predominant. 'Fullness' in the Word means the entire whole or, where it does not mean the entire whole, an abundant part; and it is used with reference both to truth and to good. For 'a multitude' is used with reference to truth, but 'greatness' to good, thus 'fullness' with reference to both, as in Jeremiah,

Behold, waters rising out of the north which will become like a deluging stream, and they will deluge the land and its fullness, the city and those who dwell in it. Jeremiah 47:2.

'The land and its fullness' stands for the entire whole, both of truth and of good, constituting the Church. 'The city and those who dwell in it' is therefore added, for 'the city' means truths, and 'those who dwell in it' forms of good, 2268, 2451, 2712.

[2] In Ezekiel,

They will eat their bread with anxiety, and drink their waters with astonishment, so that her land may be devastated of its fullness. Ezekiel 12:19.

'Land' stands for the Church, and 'fullness' for the goodness and truth there. The fact that both are meant is evident from the words immediately before, which say that they will eat bread with anxiety and drink waters with astonishment. For 'bread' means the good of love, and 'waters' the truth of faith, which are referred to as 'the fullness' of the land.

[3] Similarly in Amos,

I hate the pride of Jacob and his palaces, therefore I will shut up the city and its fullness. Amos 6:8.

In David,

The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours. The world and the fullness of it You have founded. Psalms 89:11.

And elsewhere in the same author,

The earth is Jehovah's and the fullness of it, the world and those who dwell in it. He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Psalms 24:1-2.

Here also 'the fullness' stands for truth and goodness. 'The earth' stands for the Church in a specific sense, 'the world' for the Church in an overall sense. Jehovah's founding of the world upon the seas means basing it on things that contribute to knowledge, 28, and His establishing it upon the rivers means basing it on those that lead to intelligence, 3051. Is anyone unable to see that it is not Jehovah's founding of the world on the seas or His establishing of it upon the rivers that is meant? For the world is not founded or established on them, and therefore anyone who thinks the matter over can see that something other than 'the seas' or 'the rivers' is meant and that this something other is a spiritual or internal facet of the Word.