732. That there they may nourish her a thousand and two hundred and sixty days, signifies until it grows to fullness. This is evident from the signification of "a thousand two hundred and sixty days," as being from beginning to end, and thus fullness (of which above, n. 636; for this number involves three and a half years, and "three and a half," whether years or days, signifies fullness (See above, n. 532, 658). "That they may nourish her" so many days signifies until it grows to fullness, because this follows from what precedes, namely, that "the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God," which signifies that the New Church, which is meant by "the woman," is at first amongst a few, that in the meantime provision may be made for it among more; therefore it is added, until it grows to fullness; moreover, "to nourish" signifies to sustain life and to grow.

[2] There are several reasons why this New Church that is called the Holy Jerusalem will first begin with a few, afterwards to be with more, and finally to reach fullness. First, its doctrine, which is the doctrine of love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbor, cannot be acknowledged and thus received except by those who are interiorly affected by truths, and those only can be interiorly affected by truths who have the ability to see them, and those only see truths who have cultivated their intellectual faculty, and have not destroyed it in themselves by the loves of self and of the world. A second reason is that the doctrine of that church cannot be acknowledged and thence received but by those who have not confirmed themselves by doctrine and at the same time by life in faith alone; confirmation by doctrine alone does not prevent reception, but confirmation by life also does prevent, for such do not know what love to the Lord is, nor what charity towards the neighbor is, nor are they willing to know.

[3] A third reason is that the New Church on the earth grows according to its increase in the world of spirits, for spirits from that world are with men, and they are from such as while they lived on earth were in the faith of their church, and none of these receive the doctrine but those who have been in the spiritual affection of truth; these only are conjoined to heaven where that doctrine is, and they conjoin heaven to man. The number of these in the spiritual world now increases daily, therefore according to their increase does that church that is called the New Jerusalem increase on earth. These also were the reasons why the Christian Church, after the Lord had left the world, increased so slowly in Europe, and did not attain to its fullness until an age had elapsed.