1. Teachings for the New Jerusalem on the Lord

The Entire Sacred Scripture Is about the Lord, and the Lord Is the Word

WE read in John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and nothing that was made came about without him. In him there was life, and that life was the light for humankind. And the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness did not grasp it. 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 1:1-3, 5, 14)

In the same Gospel,

Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:19)

And elsewhere in the same Gospel,

While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of the light. I have come into the world as a light so that anyone who believes in me will not remain in darkness. (John 12:36, 46)

We can see from this that the Lord is God from eternity and that he himself is that Lord who was born into the world. It actually says that the Word was with God and that the Word was God, as well as that nothing that was made came about without him, and then that the Word became flesh and that they saw him.

There is little understanding in the church of what it means to call the Lord “the Word.” He is called the Word because the Word means divine truth or divine wisdom and the Lord is divine truth itself or divine wisdom itself. That is why he is also called the light that is said to have come into the world.

Since divine wisdom and divine love are one with each other and have been one in the Lord from eternity, it also says “in him there was life, and that life was the light for humankind.” The life is divine love, and the light is divine wisdom.

This oneness is what is meant by saying both that “in the beginning the Word was with God” and that “the Word was God.” “With God” is in God, since wisdom is in love and love is in wisdom. This is like the statement elsewhere in John, “Glorify me, Father, together with yourself, with the glory I had with you before the world existed” (John 17:5). “With yourself” is “in yourself.” This is why it adds “and the Word was God.” It says elsewhere that the Lord is in the Father and the Father is in him [John 14:10], and that the Father and he are one [John 10:30].

Since the Word is the divine wisdom of the divine love, it follows that it is Jehovah himself and therefore the Lord, the one by whom all things were made that were made, since everything was created out of divine love by means of divine wisdom.

959. (Verse 1) And I heard a voice out of the temple saying unto the seven angels. That this signifies manifestation by means of Divine truth from the Word of the evils and falsities that have devastated the church, is evident from the signification of a voice out of the temple, as denoting Divine truth from the Word; for a voice signifies Divine truth, as may be seen above (n. 261, 668); and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony, out of which the voice came, signifies the Word, in which is Divine truth both natural and spiritual (n. 948); and from the signification of the seven angels, as denoting manifestations, as frequently shown above. And because by the seven vials or plagues, which they had, are signified the evils and falsities that have devastated the church, therefore the manifestations of all evils and falsities that have devastated the church are here signified by the seven angels. The subject treated of in the following verses is also concerning their manifestation.

Continuation:-

[2] In the preceding chapter, at the end of each article, we have treated concerning the first precept of the Decalogue. In the articles now following in this chapter we shall treat concerning the rest of the precepts of the Decalogue. And here, concerning the Second Precept.

Thou shalt not profane the name of God. It shall here first be stated what is meant by the name of God, and afterwards, what is meant by profaning it. By the name of God is meant all the quality by which God is worshipped. For God is in His own quality, and is His own quality; His essence is Divine love, and His quality is Divine truth thence united with Divine good; thus with us on earth it is the Word. Therefore also it is said in John:

"The Word was with God, and God was the Word" (1:1).

And consequently, also, it is the doctrine of genuine truth and good from the Word; for worship is according to doctrine.

[3] Now because His quality is manifold - for it contains all things that are from Him - therefore many names are given to Him, and every name involves and expresses His quality in general and in particular. For, besides other names, He is called Jehovah, Jehovah Zebaoth, Lord, Lord Jehovih, God, Messiah or Christ, Jesus, Saviour, Redeemer, Creator, Former, Maker, King, and the Holy One of Israel, the Rock and the Stone of Israel, Shiloh, Schaddai, David, Prophet, Son of God, and Son of Man. All these names are those of the One God, who is the Lord; but still where they are mentioned in the Word, they signify some universal attribute or Divine quality distinct from the other Divine attributes or qualities.

Similarly, where He is called Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three are not understood, but one God; or they are not three Divines, but one. And this Trine, which is one, is the Lord.

[4] Because every name signifies some distinct attribute or quality, therefore, by profaning the name of God, is not meant to profane the name itself, but His quality. The reason why quality is signified by name is also, because in heaven every one is named according to his quality. And the quality of God or the Lord is everything that is from Him by means of which He is worshipped. This is why in hell, since no Divine quality of the Lord is there acknowledged, the Lord cannot be named; and why His names can be pronounced by no one in the spiritual world unless His Divine is acknowledged; for all there speak from the heart, thus from the love and acknowledgment therefrom.