Verses 1-5. That revelation of the eternal Word made flesh is imparted to all who are in the love of truth for its own sake.

Verses 5-26. His representative as to the Word must teach the doctrine of repentance and faith in Him, the origin of which doctrine is described.

Verses 5-7. As being born from celestial good and truth.

Verses 8-18. And announced by the most high, as being instrumental in promoting purification from evils and falsities, and thus preparing mankind for the reception of good and of truth.

Verses 18-24. Nevertheless this doctrine is not admitted without doubt respecting it, the effect of which doubt is manifested in the inability to make confession of the Lord, and to preach faith in Him.

Verses 23-25. Notwithstanding however this doubt, the doctrine of repentance and faith gains confirmation, though as yet it is seen only obscurely.

Verses 26-34. It is at the same time announced from heaven, that Jehovah will come into the world, and that the Humanity, which He will assume, is the Son of god, by virtue of the Divinity from whom it came forth.

Verses 29-34. Which annunciation causes trouble and surprise, until information is given, that to that Humanity will be transferred the All of Divinity, so that in it Divinity and Humanity will be one, and in that one-ness will have rule over all things of heaven and the church.

Verses 34-36. Since the Humanity is born from the Divine Good and Divine Truth, which is Jehovah.

Verses 36-38. And preparation is made for its reception, through the doctrine of repentance and faith, which was to be taught in the church.

Verses 39-46. That on this occasion, the internal affection of good and of truth in the church is conjoined with the external, so that the productions of the latter become vivified, and the latter affection itself is made holy by virtue of it's exaltation of the former.

Verses 47-51. The former affection, at the same time, exalts the Divine Good and Divine Truth above all things, under a devout sense of the Divine mercy, which attends to the lowest concerns of man, and is ever operative in good to those who desire good.

Verses 51-54. And which assumed a Humanity, that through it the hells might be subdued, and a new church might be established, to which divine good might be imparted, and in which, truth separate from good might be rejected.

Verse 55. As had been predicted.

Verses 56-59. That for this purpose the doctrine of repentance and faith in the incarnate god is taught in the church, to the great joy of those who receive it.

Verses 59-64. The quality of which doctrine is described, as being grounded in the Divine love and mercy.

Verses 64-66. So that they, who acknowledge this quality, are enabled to make confession of the Lord, and to preach faith in Him, exciting devout adoration in all who hear them.

Verses 68-73. Because they teach from Divine truth, that Jehovah assumed a Humanity, for the purpose of effecting redemption and salvation, by conjoining Himself with His church.

Verses 73-76. And that His church, being thus purified from evils and falsities, might be reciprocally conjoined with Him, through the reception of His love and wisdom.

Verses 76-80. Therefore the doctrine of repentance and faith in the incarnate god is of Divine origin, being intended to prepare man for the reception of the Divine mercy, through the removal of all opposing principles, and through the communication of the light of Divine truth, by virtue of which the church would be delivered from the falsities of evil.

Verse 80. Which doctrine is more and more confirmed, though for a time it is received by few.

6426. 'From there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel' means that from this springs all the goodness and truth which the spiritual kingdom possesses. This is clear from the meaning of 'the shepherd' as one who leads to the good of charity by means of the truth of faith, dealt with in 343, 3795, 6044 (here in the highest sense, since it has reference to the Lord, goodness and truth themselves are meant); from the meaning of 'the stone' as truth, dealt with in 1298, 3720, 3769, 3771, 3773, 3789, 3798; and from the representation of 'Israel' as the spiritual Church, dealt with in 3305, 4286, for 'Israel' is spiritual good or the good of truth, 4286, 4598, 5801, 5803, 5806, 5812, 5817, 5819, 5826, 5833. And since the good of truth is the essential element of the spiritual Church, 'Israel' means the spiritual Church, and in the highest sense the Lord's spiritual kingdom. From all this it is evident that 'from there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel' means that from this springs all the goodness and truth which the Lord's spiritual kingdom possesses.

[2] The reason why in the highest sense 'the stone of Israel' means the Lord with respect to the truth that His spiritual kingdom possesses is that in general 'the stone' means the temple, and specifically the foundation on which it stands. 'The temple' in turn means the Lord's Divine Human, as is clear in John 2:19, 21, and so does its 'foundation' in Matthew 21:42, 44, and in Isaiah 28:16. This meaning of 'the stone' in the highest sense - the Lord in respect to Divine Truth which His spiritual kingdom possesses - is evident in David,

The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. This has been done by Jehovah; it is marvellous in our eyes. Psalms 118:22-23.

'The stone' here is the Lord, as is made clear in Luke,

It is written, The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner. Whoever falls onto that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. Luke 20:17-18.

These things are spoken by the Lord regarding Himself. In Isaiah,

He is your fear, and He is your dread; for He will be a sanctuary, though He will be a stone to strike against and a rock to stumble over ¹ for both houses of Israel. Many among them will trip, and fall, and be broken to pieces. Isaiah 8:13-15.

Here the Lord is referred to. In the same prophet,

The Lord Jehovih said, Behold I [am He who] will lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tested stone, a precious corner-stone, surely founded. He who believes will not be hasty. Isaiah 28:16.

In Zechariah,

Jehovah Zebaoth will visit His flock, the house of Judah, and will place them as His glorious horse ² in battle. From Him comes the corner-stone, from Him the tent-peg, from Him the battle-bow. Zechariah 10:3-4.

[3] In Daniel,

You were watching, until a stone was cut out, not by means of hands, and it struck the statue on its feet, which were iron and clay, and smashed them to pieces. The stone that struck the statue became a great rock and filled the whole earth. The God of heaven will cause a kingdom to arise that will never be destroyed, and His kingdom will not be left to other people; it will crush and consume all those kingdoms, but will itself stand for ever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the rock, not by means of hands, and it smashed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold . . . Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45.

Here 'the stone' is used in the highest sense to mean the Lord, and in the relative sense to mean His spiritual kingdom. When it says that 'the stone was cut out of the rock' the meaning is that it came out of the truth of faith, for the truth of faith is meant in the Word by 'rock'. And because the truth of faith is meant by 'the stone' and 'the rock', the Lord's spiritual kingdom is also what is meant, since the truth of faith and good ensuing from this truth prevail in that kingdom. Something similar is also meant by 'the stone' on which Jacob slept and which he afterwards set up as a pillar, described as follows,

Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, Surely Jehovah is in this place and I did not know it. And he was afraid and said, How awesome is this place! This is nothing other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And in the morning Jacob rose up early, and took the stone which he had placed as his headrest, and placed it as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He said, This stone which I have placed as a pillar will be God's house. Genesis 28:16-18, 22.

The fact that by 'the stone' the ancients understood the Lord in the highest sense and His spiritual kingdom in the relative sense is also plain to see in Joshua,

Joshua erected the stone under the oak which was in Jehovah's sanctuary. And Joshua said to all the people, Behold, this stone will be a witness to us, for it has heard all the sayings of Jehovah which He spoke to us. And it shall be a witness against you, lest you deny your God. Joshua 24:26, 17.

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