43. Verse 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas; and let birds be multiplied upon the earth.

Everything that has life in it from the Lord is fruitful and multiplies without limit. This does not happen during a person's lifetime, but in the next life it does so to an astonishing extent. In the Word 'to be fruitful' has reference to matters of love, while 'to multiply' has reference to matters of faith. The fruit of love contains the seed by which it multiplies itself to so great an extent. The Lord' s blessing also means, in the Word, fruitfulness and multiplication, for they are the outcome of that blessing.

Verse 23 And there was evening, and there was morning, a fifth day.

6647. 'And the children of Israel were fruitful and productive' means that the Church's truths increased in goodness. This is clear from the representation of 'the children of Israel' as spiritual truths, dealt with in 5414, 5879, and as the Church, 6637; from the meaning of 'being fruitful' as increasing in goodness, dealt with in 43, 55, 917, 983, 2846, 2847, 3146; and from the meaning of 'being productive' as further branching out; for once the Church has been established with a person, good increases constantly and branches out both within the internal and also towards the external, and within it. It has often been shown already that among those who belong to the spiritual Church good is increased by means of truths; for a member of the spiritual Church does not have perception as a member of the celestial Church has, and therefore he has no knowledge of what the Church's good - that is, spiritual good - is except through truths. This being so, when a member of that Church is being regenerated, the Lord uses the angels present with that person to bring truths to his awareness, and from those truths he is led on to good. But when that person has been regenerated, He brings both truth and good together to his awareness, and thereby leads him. But the character of the good with a member of the spiritual Church is determined by that of the truth, and so therefore is the character of his conscience, which serves him in place of perception, as a guide to the way he lives.