323. In the celestial sense bearing false witness means speaking blasphemy against the Lord and the Word, thus chasing truth out of the church. For the Lord is truth itself, and so equally is the Word. On the contrary, bearing witness in this sense means speaking the truth, and testimony means truth itself. That too is why the Ten Commandments are called the testimony (Exod. 25:16, 21, 22; 31:7, 18; 32:15; 40:20; Lev. 16:13; Num. 17:4, 10). Because the Lord is truth itself, He says of Himself that He bears witness. The Lord is truth itself (John 14:6; Rev. 3[:7, 14]). He bears witness and is Himself His own witness (John 3:11; 8:13-19; 15:26; 18:37, 38).