293. In the earthly meaning, which is the literal meaning, the first commandment also entails that we are to love above all else no one except God and nothing except what comes from God. This also accords with the Lord's words (Matthew 22:37-39; Luke 10:25-28). Someone we love above all else is a god to us; and something we love above all else is divine to us. For example, if we love ourselves above all else, or if we love the world above all else, to us we ourselves are our god, or else the world is. This explains why under these circumstances we do not believe at heart in any god; because of this we are connected to people like ourselves in hell, where all are gathered who have loved themselves or the world above all else.

Most of the time, falling means a lowering in spiritual state, from one closer to the Lord to one further. But, as with other common verbs, the meaning of "fall" is highly dependent on context in regular language, and in the spiritual sense as well. People fall on their faces in prayer, fall in battle, fall on others to attack them and fall on each other's necks in greeting. Stars fall from the sky, mountains fall on people, cities fall, and even faces fall. There's a lot of falling, in very different circumstances. When people fall on their faces in prayer -- it shows humility, and an acknowledgement of their own low state and need for the Lord's help. When they fall on each other's necks, it means a communication between the two spiritual states. At the other end of the scale, it illustrates complete spiritual destruction in the fall of a city.