261. 11. While in the World, the Lord Fulfilled Everything in the Word; by Doing So He Became the Word or Divine Truth Even on the Last or Outermost Level

The fact that in the world the Lord fulfilled everything in the Word, and by doing so became divine truth or the Word even on the last or outermost level, is what the following words in John mean:

And the Word became flesh and lived among us; and we saw his glory, glory like that of the only begotten child of the Father. He was full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

"Becoming flesh" means becoming the Word on the last or outermost level.

When the Lord was transfigured, he showed his disciples his qualities as the Word on the last or outermost level (Matthew 17:2 and following; Mark 9:2 and following; Luke 9:28 and following). There it says that Moses and Elijah appeared in glory. "Moses" means the Word that was written by Moses, and the historical Word in general. "Elijah" means the prophetical Word. The Lord was represented as the Word on the last or outermost level to John as well (). All the details of that description of the Lord mean the last or outermost features of divine truth or the Word.

The Lord was of course the Word or divine truth before he came, but only on the first or inmost level. We read, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1-2). When the Word became flesh, however, the Lord became the Word even on the last or outermost level. This is why the Lord is called the First and the Last (Revelation 1:8, 11, 17; 2:8; 21:6; 22:12-13; Isaiah 44:6).

217. 1. The precious stones that constituted the foundations of the New Jerusalem mean the truths in the Word's literal meaning. In 209 above I mentioned that precious stones exist in the spiritual world just as they do in the physical world; their spiritual origin is the truths in the Word's literal meaning. This seems unbelievable, but it is nevertheless the truth. As a result, whenever precious stones are named in the Word, in the spiritual meaning they stand for truths. We are told that the foundations of the wall around the city, the New Jerusalem, were constructed of precious stones. These stones mean the true teachings in the new church, since the New Jerusalem means the new church in relation to its teachings from the Word. Its wall and the foundations of its wall, then, can have no other meaning than the outside of the Word, its literal meaning. The literal meaning is the source of what is taught; and through its teachings the literal meaning is the source of the church. It is like a wall with foundations that surrounds and protects a city.

We read the following statements in the Book of Revelation about the New Jerusalem and its foundations:

The angel measured the wall of the city of Jerusalem at 144 cubits, which was the measure of a human being, that is, of an angel. The wall had twelve foundations adorned with every precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sard, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. (Revelation 21:17-20)

The twelve foundations of the wall were made of the same number of precious stones because the number twelve means everything true that comes from something good; therefore it also means all the church's teachings. For a detailed explanation of these verses (along with verses before and after them in that chapter) corroborated with parallels in the prophetic Word, see my .