98. The Lord Came into the World to Fulfill Everything in the Word, and to Become as a Consequence Divine Truth, or the Word, Also in Outmost Expressions

That the Lord came into the world to fulfill everything in the Word may be seen in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Lord 8-11. That He became as a consequence Divine truth, or the Word, also in outmost expressions — this is what is meant by these words in John:

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as though of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

To become flesh is to become the Word in outmost expressions.

What the Lord was like as the Word in outmost expressions — this He showed His disciples when He was transfigured (Matthew 17:2ff., Mark 9:2ff., Luke 9:28ff.). And we are told in Luke that Moses and Elijah appeared in glory. Moses and Elijah mean the Word, as may be seen in no. 48 above.

The Lord is also described as the Word in outmost expressions by John in the book of Revelation, in chapter one, verses 13-16, where everything in the description of Him symbolizes the outmost expressions of Divine truth or of the Word.

The Lord, indeed, had embodied the Word before, but in its first origins. For we read:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. It was in the beginning with God. (John 1:1-3)

But when the Word became flesh, then the Lord became also the Word in outmost expressions. It is because of this that the Lord is called the First and the Last (Revelation 1:8, 11, 17, 2:8, 21:6, 22:13).

70. The Word Exists in All of the Heavens, and Is the Source of the Angels’ Wisdom

No one has known before that the Word exists in the heavens, nor could it have been known as long as the church remained unaware that angels and spirits are people, like people in the world, and that they have the same kinds of things that people do, in every respect, the sole difference being that angels and spirits are spiritual, and everything they have comes from a spiritual origin, while people in the world are natural, and everything they have comes from a natural origin. As long as this fact remained hidden, they could not know that the Word exists also in the heavens, and that angels read it there, and so do spirits below the heavens.

However, lest this remain hidden forever, I have been given to be in the company of angels and spirits, to speak with them, and to see their surroundings, and afterward to report much of what I have heard and seen. This I have done in the book Heaven and Hell (London, 1758); and it can be seen from it that angels and spirits are people, and that they have in abundance everything that people in the world have.

That angels and spirits are people may be seen in the aforementioned book, Heaven and Hell 73-77 and 453-456; that they have the same things as people have in the world, nos. 170-190; that they also hold Divine worship and hear sermons in the temples they have, nos. 221-227; and that they have written materials and also books, nos. 258-264, including the Word, no. 259.