732. That there they may nourish her a thousand and two hundred and sixty days.- That this signifies until it grows to fulness is evident from the signification of a thousand two hundred and sixty days, as denoting from beginning to end, and thus fulness (concerning which see above, n. 636), for this number includes three and a half years; and three and a half, whether years or days, signify fulness, as may be seen above (n. 532, 658). "That they may nourish her" so many days, signifies while it grows to fulness, because this follows from what precedes, namely, that the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared by God, which signifies that a new church, meant by the woman, is at first among a few, that in the mean time provision may be made for it among many, therefore it is added, until it grows to fulness; moreover to nourish signifies to sustain life and to grow.
[2] There are several reasons why the New Church, which is called the Holy Jerusalem, is to have its beginning with a few, afterwards to be with many, and at last grow to its full state. First its doctrine, which is the doctrine of love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour, can be acknowledged and thus received only by those who are interiorly influenced by truths, and those only are interiorly influenced by truths who are able to see them, and those alone 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 can be acknowledged, thus received, only 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 does prevent; for such persons do not know what love to the Lord is, nor what charity towards the neighbour is, nor do they wish to know.
[3] The third reason is, that a new church on earth grows according to its increase in the world of spirits. For spirits from that world are with men, and they are from those who were in the faith of their church while they lived on earth; and of such, only those receive the doctrine who have a spiritual affection for truth; for these alone 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 the church 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 arrive at its fulness until an age had elapsed.
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