Explaining the Inner Meaning of John 1

Verses 1:1, 2. That the Lord, as to his Divine Human [principle], which is divine truth, existed from eternity, in undivided union with the divine good, which is Jehovah.

Verse 1:3. That by divine truth from the Lord was effected the all of creation, both natural and spiritual, thus the production of the all of outward nature, and likewise the regeneration of man, and the establishment of the church.

Verse 1:4. That divine truth is always in union with divine love, and by virtue of that union is the source of all wisdom, intelligence, and rationality, amongst mankind.

Verse 1:5. But that mankind had so immersed themselves in external and natural things, and thus in false principles, that they no longer acknowledged divine truth.

Verses 1:6, 7, 8, 9. That divine truth has its appointed representatives here on earth, amongst those who are principled in charity and faith, whose office it is to testify concerning the Lord's Divine Humanity, and thus to lead mankind to acknowledge and receive it, as the only source of all wisdom, intelligence, and rationality.

Verses 1:10, 11, 12, 13. That the Lord, by his divine truth, or the Word, was present with the Jewish church, but that he was not in general known and acknowledged, yet that all, who did know and acknowledge him, were made regenerate, and thus delivered from the guilt of doing violence to charity, and of profaning truth, being cleansed from all the principles of evil and error.

Verse 1:14. That the Lord, by assuming the human nature, and thus becoming a man, made himself divine truth in ultimates, as he had before been divine truth in first principles, and thus gained fuller access to man, by imparting a fuller measure of his divine love and wisdom.

Verses 1:15, 16, 17. Therefore all, who are principled in charity and faith, acknowledge from the heart, that the Lord in his Divine Humanity is the eternal God, and that all good and truth are from him, and that he came into the world to open those interior things of his Word, for the benefit of mankind.

Verse 1:18. They acknowledge also, that no right apprehension can be had of the invisible Jehovah, but by or through the visible humanity, which he assumed and glorified for that purpose.

Verses 1:19, 20, 21, 22. 23. Thus they testify concerning themselves, to those of the perverted church who are inquisitive about them, that they possess no truth or good of themselves, but only from the Word, and that from the Word all in the vastated church are admonished to prepare themselves to receive the Lord in his Divine Humanity.

Verses 1:24, 25, 26. They testify further, that they can teach only external truth, but that the truth itself is the Lord as to his Divine Humanity, who is yet unacknowledged, although he is the very central life of all truths.

Verse 1:27. And has thus pre-eminence over all, since the lowest order of internal truth is above the highest of what is external.

Verses 1:28, 29. Such is the testimony of external truth, derived from the letter of the Word, which testimony presently conducts to a view of internal truth as it is in connection with the Lord's Divine Humanity, by virtue of which internal truth confession is made that the Lord in his Divine Humanity is the purest innocence, and that human disorder can never be removed, only so far as that innocence is implanted in human minds.

Verses 1:30, 31. Confession is further made from internal truth, that the Lord, in his Divine Humanity, is the eternal god, and that all good and truth are from him, and that he is to be made known to the church by the teaching of external truth from the Word.

Verses 1:32, 33, 34, 35. Which truth testifies, that all the good and truth of faith, thus all purification and regeneration, are from the Divine Humanity of the Lord, and that consequently all internal truth is from the same source.

Verses 1:35, 36, 37. That they who are principled in charity, and in the faith of charity, have their spiritual sight opened to behold and to confess the Lord in his Divine Humanity, whom therefore they immediately acknowledge and obey as the only God.

Verses 1:38, 39. And being led by an internal dictate in their own minds to explore and examine the end of all truth, or knowledge, they are led further to inquire after the good of love and charity, to which all truth and knowledge point, and thus attain conjunction with the Lord in that good.

Verses 1:40, 41, 42. That they who are principled in the good of charity instruct those who are principled in the good of faith, concerning the Lord in his Divine Humanity, and thus conduct them to the Incarnate God, by whom they are taught that they, who are principled in truth derived from good, ought to attach themselves to divine truth, or to truth proceeding from, and in conjunction with, the Lord's Divine Humanity.

Verses 1:43, 44, 45. That they of the church, who are principled in intelligence, are next instructed to acknowledge all intelligence to be derived from the Lord's Divine Humanity, and that when they are so instructed, they again instruct those who are principled in charity and its faith, that the Lord is manifested in his Divine Humanity, as was predicted.

Verses 1:46, 47, 48, 49. Which instruction is received with doubt, until conviction is worked of the divine wisdom of that Humanity, by the distinction which it makes between spiritual good and natural good, and by setting the former above the latter.

Verses 1:50, 51. That this distinction, however, does not produce a conviction equal to that which arises in the course of regeneration, when the internal man is opened to see the several orders of truth in their connection with their divine source, by virtue of which man's ascent to God is first effected, and afterwards the descent of God to man.

113. These things saith the First and the Last, signifies the Lord, who governs all things from the Divine Human, from firsts by means of ultimates. This is evident from the signification of "the First and the Last," as being, in reference to the Lord, His ruling all things from firsts by means of ultimates (See above, n. 41). That it is the Lord in respect to the Divine Human who here and in what follows speaks to the angels of the churches, can be seen from the preceding chapter, where similar things are said of the Son of man; and the Son of man is the Lord in respect to the Divine Human (See above, n. 63). This is clearly shown by bringing the passages together; for example, the Son of man is described in the preceding chapter as seen:

In the midst of the golden lampstands, having in his right hand seven stars (Revelation 1:13, 16).

These same things introduce what is written to the angel of the Ephesian Church in these words, "These things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, that walketh in the midst of the seven golden lampstands" (verse 1).

[2] In the preceding chapter the Son of man is described thus:

I am the First and the Last; and the Living One; and I became dead; and behold I am alive unto the ages of the ages (Revelation 1:17-18).

These things here introduce what is written to the angel of the church of the Smyrneans, in these words; "These things saith the First and the Last, who was dead and is alive" (verse 8). In the preceding chapter the Son of man is described, that there was seen:

Out of His mouth a sharp two-edged sword going forth (Revelation 1:16).

This introduces what is written to the angel of the church Pergamum, in these words:

These things saith He that hath the sharp two-edged sword (Revelation 2:12).

In the preceding chapter the Son of man is described, that He was seen to have:

Eyes as a flame of fire; and feet like unto burnished brass, as if glowing in a furnace (Revelation 1:14-15).

These things introduce what is written to the angel of the church in Thyatira, in these words:

These things saith the Son of God, that hath His eyes as a flame of fire, and His feet like unto burnished brass (Revelation 1:18).

[3] Similar things introduce what is written to the angels of the other three churches (of which in the following chapter). From this it can be seen that it is the Son of man who says the things that are written to the churches; and as by the "Son of man" the Lord in respect to the Divine Human is meant (as was shown above, n. 63, it follows that all that is written to the churches is from the Lord's Divine Human; and from this it also follows that the Divine Human is the All in all things of the church, as it is the All in all things of Heaven. So here by His being "the First and the Last" is signified that the Lord from His Divine Human governs all things from firsts by means of ultimates. (That the Lord in respect to the Divine Human is the All in all things of heaven, may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 7-12 n. 78-86, and the rest there. And as the Lord is the All in all things of heaven, He is also the All in all things of the church, for the church is the kingdom of the Lord on the earth.) This I can affirm, that no one who is within the church, and does not acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human, can enter heaven. To acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human is to think of His Divine when thinking of His Human. That it must be so thought of is because the whole heaven is from His Divine Human (as may be seen shown in the work on Heaven and Hell, from beginning to end; and above in the explanation of Revelation, n. 10, 49, 52, 82).