A Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church · §§ 81–100

81. It is wonderful, that the doctrine of justification by faith alone prevails at this day over every other doctrine throughout the whole Reformed Christian world, and is esteemed in the sacred order almost as the only important point of theology. This is what all young students among the clergy greedily learn and imbibe at the universities, and what they afterwards teach in temples, and publish in books, as if they were inspired with heavenly wisdom, and whereby they endeavor to acquire to themselves a name, and the reputation of superior learning, as well as diplomas, licenses, and other honorary rewards.

And these things are done, notwithstanding it is owing to this doctrine alone, that the sun is at this day darkened, the moon deprived of her light, and the stars of the heavens have fallen, that is, have perished. It has been testified to me, that the doctrine of faith in imputed justice has blinded the minds of men at this day to such a degree, that they will not, and therefore as it were cannot, see any Divine truth by the light of the sun, nor by the light of the moon, but only by the light of a fireplace by night; on which account I will venture to assert, that supposing Divine truths concerning the conjunction of charity and faith, concerning heaven, the Lord, and eternal happiness, to be sent down from heaven engraven in silver characters, they would not be thought worthy to be read by the sticklers for justification; but the case would be quite otherwise supposing a paper concerning justification by faith alone to be brought up from hell. It is also said in the Formula Concordiae, that the article of justification by faith alone, or the justice of faith, is the chief article in the whole Christian doctrine; and that the works of the law are utterly to be excluded from this article (pp. 17, 61, 62, 72, 89, 683; Appendix, p. 164).

82. XIX.

They who are in the present justifying faith, are meant by “the he-goats” in Daniel and in Matthew.

83. BRIEF ANALYSIS.

It is written in Daniel:

I saw in a vision a ram, which had two horns that were high, but the higher came up last; and the horn pushed westward, and northward, and southward, and made itself great. Then I saw a he-goat coming from the west, over the face of the whole earth, which had a horn between its eyes; and he ran to the ram in the fury of his strength, and broke his two horns, and cast him down to the earth, and trampled him: but the great horn of the he-goat was broken, and instead of it there came up four horns; and out of one of them came forth a little horn which waxed exceeding great towards the south, towards the east, and towards honorableness, and even to the host of heaven; and it cast down of the host and of the stars to the earth, and trampled them: yea, he extolled himself to the prince of the host, and took from him the daily sacrifice, and cast away the place of his sanctuary, for he cast down truth to the earth. And I heard one saint saying, how long shall this vision be, the daily sacrifice, and the wasting transgression, that both the holy place and the host should be given to be trodden under foot? And he said, even to the evening the morning, then shall the holy place be justified (8:2-14).

That this vision is a prediction of the future states of the church is very evident, for it declares, that “the daily sacrifice was taken away from the prince of the host, the habitation of his sanctuary cast down, and the he-goat cast down truth to the earth”; moreover, that “a saint said, How long shall this vision be, that both the holy place and the host should be given to be trodden under foot?” and that this should be “even to the evening the morning, when the holy place shall be justified.” By “the evening the morning” is meant the end of the old church, when a New Church commences.

84. We read these words in Matthew:

Then shall the Son of man say to the he-goats on His left hand, depart from Me, for I was hungry, and ye gave Me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in; I was naked, and ye clothed Me not, I was sick and in prison, and ye visited Me not; and these shall go away into eternal punishment. That the same are here meant by “he-goats” and “sheep” as by the “he-goat” and “ram” in Daniel, is very evident. That by “he-goats” are meant those who are in the present justifying faith, appears from this, that to the sheep are enumerated works of charity, and it is said that they did them; and that to the he-goats the same works of charity are enumerated, but it is said that they did them not, and that they are therefore condemned. For they who are in the present justifying faith, neglect works, because they deny them to have anything of salvation or of the church in them. When charity is thus removed, good works, which are of charity, slip away from the mind, and are obliterated; so that they are never remembered, nor is the least effort made to recall them to mind from the Law of the Decalogue. It is a general rule of religion, that as far as anyone does not will goods, and hence does not do them, so far he wills evils, and hence does them; and on the contrary, that as far as anyone does not will evils, and hence does not do them, so far he wills goods, and hence does them. These latter are the “sheep,” but the former are the “he-goats.” If all the evil had been there meant by the “he-goats,” instead of the works of charity which they had not done, the evils which they had done would have been enumerated.

85. That no other than the above described are meant by the “he-goats,” has been manifested to me by experience in the spiritual world. In that world there appear all things that are in the natural world, such as houses and palaces, paradises and gardens, with trees of every kind; likewise fields and fallow lands, as also plains and green pastures, and also herds and flocks; all resembling those upon our earth; nor is there any other difference, than that in the natural world they are from a natural origin, but in the spiritual world from a spiritual origin. There I have often seen sheep and he-goats, also combats between them, like that described in Daniel (chap. 8) I have seen he-goats with horns bent forwards and backwards. and rushing with fury upon the sheep; I have seen some he-goats with two, and others with four horns, with which they vehemently struck at the sheep; and when I looked to discover what this meant, I saw some persons disputing together about faith conjoined with charity, and faith separated from charity; from whence it plainly appeared, that the present justifying faith, which considered in itself is a faith disjoined from charity, is “the he-goat,” and that faith conjoined with charity is “the sheep.”

86. The like are meant by “he-goats” in Zechariah:

Mine anger was kindled against the shepherd, and I will visit the he-goats (10:3).

And in Ezekiel:

Behold I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he-goats; seemeth it a small thing unto you, to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must trample down with your feet also the residue of the pastures? Ye thrust all the infirm sheep with your horns, until ye have dispersed them; therefore will I save My flock, that it will be no more a prey (34:17, 18, 22 seq.).

87. XX.

They who have confirmed themselves in the present justifying faith are meant in Revelation by “the dragon and his two beasts,” and by “the locusts”; and this same faith, when confirmed, is there meant by “the great city which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where the two witnesses were slain,” as also by “the pit of the abyss, from which the locusts went forth.”

88. BRIEF ANALYSIS.

That in seven chapters of Revelation it treats of the perverted state of the church with the Reformed, and in two chapters of the perverted state of the church with the Roman Catholics, and that the states of both churches, as existing at the present day, are condemned, has been shown in the explanation thereof, in the work entitled, The Apocalypse Revealed, and that not by vain conjectures, but by full proofs. That by “the dragon” treated of in chapter 12 are meant those in the church of the Reformed who make God three, and the Lord two, and who separate charity from faith, by making their faith spiritual and saving, and not charity, see there (n. 532-565), and the Relation adjoined (n. 566). That they are further described by “the two beasts,” one rising out of the sea, and the other out of the earth (as related in chap. 13), see n. 567-610, and the Relation (n. 611). That they are also described by “the locusts,” which came forth out of the pit of the abyss (as mentioned in chap. 9), see n. 419-42. That this same faith, when confirmed, is meant, by “the great city, which is spiritually called Sodom and Egypt,” where the two faithful witnesses were slain (as related in chap. 11), see n. 485-530, particularly n. 500-503, and the Relation (n. 531). That they are also meant by “the pit of the abyss,” out of which issued smoke as out of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened, and then locusts came forth (chap. 9), see n. 421-424.

89. That I might be confirmed and fully convinced, that by “the pit of the abyss” nothing else is meant than that draconic faith, which is a faith conceived from the idea of three Gods, and from having no idea of the Divinity of the Human nature of Christ, and which is called faith alone justifying, regenerating, quickening, sanctifying, and saving; it was given me to look into that abyss, then to speak with those who are there, and likewise to see the locusts which came out thence; from which ocular demonstration, that pit together with the abyss is described by me in The Apocalypse Revealed; and because a description from ocular demonstration testifies what is certain, it shall be transcribed from that work, where it is described as follows.

“That pit, which is like the mouth of a furnace, appears in the southern quarter; and the abyss beneath it is of great extent towards the east; they have light even there, but if light from heaven be let in, there is immediate darkness; wherefore the pit is closed up at the top. There appear in the abyss huts constructed as of brick, which are divided into distinct cells, in each of which is a table, whereon lie papers, with some books. Everyone there sits at his own table, who in this world had confirmed justification and salvation by faith alone, making charity a merely natural and moral act, and the works thereof only works of civil life, whereby men may reap rewards in the world; but if done for the sake of salvation, they condemn them, and some even rigorously, because human reason and will are in them. All who are in this abyss, have been scholars and learned men in the world; and among them are some metaphysicians and scholastics, who are there esteemed above the rest. But their lot is as follows: when first they come thither, they take their seats in the first cells, but as they confirm faith by excluding the works of charity, they leave the first seats, and enter into cells nearer the east, and thus successively till they come towards the end, where they are who confirm those dogmatic things from the Word; and because they then cannot but falsify the Word, their huts vanish, and they find themselves in a desert. There is also an abyss beneath that abyss, where those are who in like manner have confirmed justification and salvation by faith alone, but who in their spirits have denied God, and in their hearts have made a jest of the holy things of the church; there they do nothing but quarrel, tear their garments, get up on the tables, stamp with their feet, and assail each other with reproaches; and because it is not permitted them to do evil to anyone, they threaten with the mouth and fists.

90. That I might also be confirmed and convinced, that they who have confirmed themselves in the present justifying faith, are meant by the dragon, it was given me to see many thousands of them assembled together, and they then appeared at a distance like a dragon with a long tail, which seemed full of spikes like thorns, which signified falsities. Once also there appeared a still greater dragon, which, raising up his back, lifted his tail towards heaven, and endeavored to draw down the stars from thence; “stars” there signify truths.

91. XXI.

Unless the New Church be established by the Lord, no one can be saved; and this is meant by these words, “Unless those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved” (Matt. 24:22).

92. BRIEF ANALYSIS.

By “shortening those days,” is meant the putting an end to the present church, and establishing the New Church; for, as has been said above, in Matt. 24, it treats of the successive decline and the perversions of the Christian church, even to the consummation and end thereof, and then of the coming of the Lord. The reason why no flesh could be saved, unless those days should be shortened, is because the faith of the present church is founded on the idea of three Gods, and with this idea no one can enter heaven; consequently no one can enter heaven with the faith of the present church, because the idea of three Gods is in all and every part thereof; and besides, in that faith there is no life from the works of charity. That the faith of the present church cannot be conjoined with charity, and produce any fruits which are good works, was shown above (n. 47-50). There are two things which form heaven in man, namely, the truths of faith and the goods of charity; the truths of faith effect the presence of the Lord, and show the way to heaven, and the goods of charity effect conjunction with the Lord, and introduce into heaven. And everyone is there introduced into light according to his affection of truth, and into heat according to his affection of good. That the affection of truth is faith in its essence, and the affection of good charity in its essence, and that the marriage of them both constitutes the church, may be seen above (n. 48). The church and heaven make one. That these three are not in the churches of the present day, which are built upon faith alone, has been fully shown in the preceding pages.

93. I have sometimes in the spiritual world spoken with the justifiers of men by faith alone, and I said that their doctrine is erroneous, and likewise absurd, that it brings on security, blindness, sleep, and night in spiritual things, thereby death to the soul, thus exhorting them to desist from it. But I have received for answer, Why should we desist? Does not the preeminence of the clergy above the laity, in point of erudition, depend upon this doctrine? To which I replied, that thus they do not regard the salvation of souls, but their own preeminence; and that because they had applied the truths of the Word to their own false principles, and thereby had adulterated them, they were angels of the abyss, called “Abaddons” and “Apollyons” (Rev. 9:11); by whom are signified the destroyers of the church by a total falsification of the Word. See the explanation thereof (n. 440), and the Relation (n. 566), in The Apocalypse Revealed. But they answered, What is this? Are we not, by our knowledge of the mysteries of that doctrine, oracles? And do we not from that doctrine give answers as from the sanctuary? wherefore we are not Apollyons, but Apollos. Being indignant at this I said, If ye are Apollos, ye are also Leviathans, the first class of you are crooked Leviathans, and the second class of you are oblong Leviathans, whom God will visit with His hard and great sword (Isa. 27:1). But they laughed at these things. What is meant by “being visited and perishing by the sword,” may be seen in The Apocalypse Revealed (n. 52).

94. The great arcanum, why, unless the New Church be established by the Lord, no flesh can be saved, is this: that as long as the dragon with his crew remains in the world of spirits, into which he was cast from heaven, so long no Divine truth, united with Divine good, can pass from the Lord to men on earth, but it is either annihilated or perverted, whence there is no salvation. This is what is meant by this in Revelation:

And the dragon was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him; woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, for the devil is come down unto them, having great wrath; and he persecuted the woman, who brought forth a son (Rev. 12:9, 12, 13).

But after the dragon was cast into hell (20:10), then it was that John saw the new heaven and the new earth, and saw the new holy Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven (Rev. 21:1, 2 seq.). What is meant by “the dragon,” and who the dragons are, may be seen above (n. 87).

95. XXII.

The opening and rejection of the dogmas of faith of the present church, and the revelation and reception of the tenets of the faith of the New Church, is meant by these words in Revelation: “He that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new; and He said unto me, Write, for these words are true and faithful” (chap. 21:5).

96. BRIEF ANALYSIS.

“He that sat upon the throne,” that is, the Lord, said these things to John, when he saw “the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven.” That by “the New Jerusalem” is meant the New Church, will be shown in the following chapter. The reason why the falsities of the dogmas of the faith of the present church must first be opened and rejected, before the truths of the dogmas of the New Church can be revealed and received, is, because they do not agree together, no not in one single point or particular; for the dogmas of the present church are founded upon a faith, in which it is unknown whether there be any essential of the church, or not. The essentials of the church, which conjoin themselves with a faith in one God, are charity, good works, repentance, and a life according to the Divine laws; and because these together with faith affect and move the will and thought of man, they conjoin man with the Lord, and the Lord with man. Since, therefore, none of these essentials enter into the faith of the present church at its first approach, which is called the act of justification, it cannot possibly be known whether this faith be in man, or not, consequently whether it be anything, or whether it be only an idea; for it is said, that man in that act is like a stock or a stone, and that he can neither will, think, cooperate, no, nor even apply or accommodate himself to the reception thereof in the smallest degree, see above [n. 15 (c) (d)]. Since, therefore, the case is such, that no one can guess, much less know, whether that faith be in him, and thus whether it be in him like a painted flower, or like a flower of the field in him; or whether it be like a bird flying by him, or like a bird that has built her nest in him; I ask by what tokens or signs is this to be known? If it be answered, that it is to be known from charity, good works, repentance, and exercises of the law, which follow after this faith, and yet have no connection with it; I leave it to men of sagacity to determine, whether things that have no connection with faith, can possibly be signs testifying thereof. For this faith of theirs, they say, is neither preserved nor retained by the things above mentioned, see above [n. 12 (m) (n)]. From what has been said we may draw the following conclusion, that in the faith of the present day there is nothing of the church, and thus that it is not anything, but only an idea of something. Since then this faith is of such a nature, it is deservedly to be rejected, yea, it rejects itself, as that of which nothing of the church can be predicated.

97. But widely different is the case with the dogmas or doctrinals of the New Church; these are all essentials, in each of which there is heaven and the church; and they regard this as their end, that man may be in the Lord, and the Lord in man, according to His own words in John (14:20; 15:4-6). It is this conjunction alone which constitutes the Christian Church. From these few observations it may clearly appear what is meant by these words of the Lord:

He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new; and He said, Write, for these words are true and faithful (Rev. 21:5).

98. The sole reason why the Christian world has fallen into a faith, which has put away from itself all the truths and goods of heaven and the church, even to the separation thereof, is because they have divided God into three, and have not believed the Lord God the Savior to be one with God the Father, and thus have not approached Him immediately; when nevertheless He alone as to His Human is the Divine truth itself:

Which is the Word, that was God with God, and is the true Light which enlighteneth every man; and became flesh (John 1:1, 2, 9, 14).

That He is the truth itself, and thus the light itself, is also testified in other places; for He says:

I am the Light of the world (John 8:22; 9:5).

And in another place:

While ye have the Light, believe in the Light, that ye may be sons of the Light. I am come a Light into the world, that whosoever believeth in Me, may not abide in darkness (John 12:36, 46).

In Revelation:

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, the bright and morning Star (Rev. 22:13, 16).

And in Matthew:

When Jesus was transformed, His face shone as the sun and His raiment became as the light (Matt. 17:1, 2).

Hence it appears why and whence this imaginary faith came into the world, namely, because they have not approached the Lord. And I can, from all experience, and thence testimony from heaven, declare with certainty, that it is impossible to derive a single genuine theological truth from any other source than from the Lord alone; nay, that to derive it from any other source is as impossible, as it is to sail from England or Holland to the Pleiades, or to ride on horseback from Germany to Orion in the sky.

99. XXIII.

The New Church about to be established by the Lord is the New Jerusalem, treated of in Revelation (chap. 21 and 22), which is there called “the Bride and the Wife of the Lamb.”

100. BRIEF ANALYSIS.

The reason why the New Church is meant by “the New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven” (Rev. 21), is that Jerusalem was the metropolis of the land of Canaan, and there was the temple, the altar, there the sacrifices were offered, thus Divine worship, to which every male throughout the land was commanded to come three times a year. Then, because the Lord was in Jerusalem, and taught in its temple, and afterwards glorified His Human there; hence it is that by “Jerusalem” is signified the church. That by “Jerusalem” is meant the church, is very clear from the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning a New Church to be established by the Lord, wherein it is called “Jerusalem.” The following passages only shall be quoted, from which anyone of interior reason may clearly see, that by “Jerusalem” is meant the church:

Behold I create a new heaven and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered; behold I will create Jerusalem, an exultation, and her people a gladness, that I may exult over Jerusalem, and be glad over My people. Then the wolf and the lamb shall feed together: they shall not do evil in all the mountain of My holiness (Isa. 65:17, 18, 19, 25).

For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her justice go forth as splendor, and her salvation as a lamp that burneth. Then the Gentiles shall see thy justice, and all kings thy glory; and thou shalt be called by a new name; which the mouth of Jehovah shall utter; and thou shalt be a crown of beauty, and a tiara of a kingdom, in the hand of thy God. Jehovah shall be well pleased in thee, and thy land shall be married. Behold thy salvation shall come, behold His reward is with him: and they shall call them the people of holiness, the redeemed of Jehovah; and thou shalt be called a city sought out, not deserted (Isa. 62:1-4, 11-12).

Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on the garments of thy beauty, O Jerusalem, the city of holiness; for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself from the dust, arise, sit down, O Jerusalem. The people shall know My name in that day; for I am He that doth speak, behold it is I. Jehovah hath comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem (Isa. 52:1, 2, 6, 9). Shout O daughter of Zion, be glad with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem; the king of Israel is in the midst of thee: fear not evil any more; he will be glad over thee with joy, he will rest in thy love, he will eat over thee with shouting; I will give you for a name and a praise among all the people of the earth (Zeph. 3:14-17, 20).

Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer, saying to Jerusalem, thou shalt be inhabited (Isa. 44:24, 26).

Thus saith Jehovah, I will return to Zion, and dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, whence Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth, and the mountain of Jehovah of Hosts the mountain of holiness (Zech. 8:3, 20-23).

Then shall ye know that I am Jehovah your God, dwelling in Zion, the mountain of holiness, and Jerusalem shall be holiness. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop must, and the hills shall flow with milk, and Jerusalem shall sit from generation to generation (Joel 4:17-21).

In that day shall the branch of Jehovah be for ornament and glory; and it shall come to pass that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, every one that is written for life in Jerusalem (Isa. 4:2, 3). In the last days the mountain of the house of Jehovah shall be established on the head of the mountains, for out of Zion shall go forth doctrine, and the Word of Jehovah from Jerusalem (Micah 4:1, 2, 8).

At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah, and all nations shall be gathered to Jerusalem for the name of Jehovah, neither shall they go any more after the confirmation of their own evil heart (Jer. 3:17).

Look upon Zion, the city of our stated feasts, thine eyes shall see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be destroyed; the pins thereof shall not be removed forever, and the cords thereof shall not be torn out (Isa. 33:20); besides other passages, as (Isa. 24:23; 37:32; 66:10-14; Zech. 12:3, 6-10; 14:8, 11, 12, 21; Mal. 3:2, 4; Ps. 122:1-7; Ps. 130:4-6).

That by “Jerusalem” in the above passages is meant a church to be established by the Lord, and not the Jerusalem inhabited by the Jews, is plain from every particular of the description in the passages quoted; as that “Jehovah God was about to create a new heaven and a new earth,” and also “Jerusalem” at the same time; and that “this would be a crown of beauty, and a tiara of a kingdom”; that it is to be called “holiness,” and “the city of truth, the throne of Jehovah,” “a quiet habitation,” ” a tabernacle that shall not be taken down”; that “the Wolf and the lamb shall feed together therein,” and that “the mountains shall drop down with new wine, and the hills flow with milk,” and that “it should remain from generation to generation”; besides other circumstances, as respecting the people therein, that they should be “holy, all written for life,” and should be called “the redeemed of Jehovah.” Moreover, all those passages treat of the coming of the Lord, and particularly of His second coming, when Jerusalem shall be such as is there described; for heretofore she has not been married, that is, has not been “the Bride and the Wife of the Lamb,” as “the New Jerusalem” is said to be in the Apocalypse. The former or present church is meant by “Jerusalem,” and its beginning is there described in these words in Daniel:

Know and perceive, that from the going forth of the Word, unto the restoring and building of Jerusalem, even unto Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks; afterwards in sixty and two weeks it shall be restored, and the street and the ditch shall be built, but in distress of times (9:25).

But its end is described by these words:

At length upon the bird of abominations shall be desolation, and even to the consummation and decision it shall drop upon the devastation (ver.27). This last passage is meant by the following words of the Lord in Matthew:

When ye shall see the abomination of desolation foretold by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, let him that readeth note it well (chap. 24:15).

That “Jerusalem” in the places above adduced, does not mean the Jerusalem inhabited by the Jews, may appear from those places in the Word, where it is said of that city that it was entirely destroyed, and that it was to be destroyed, as in (Jer. 5:1; 6:6, 7; 7:17, 18, seq.; 8:6, 7, 8, seq.; 9:10, 11, 13, seq, 13:9, 10, 14; 14:16; Lam. 1:8, 9, 17; Ezek. 4:1 to the end; 5:9 to the end; 12:18, 19; 15:6-8; 16:1-63; 23:1-40; Matt. 23:37, 38; Luke 19:41-44; 21:20-22; 23:28-30); besides many other passages; and also where it is called “Sodom” (Isa. 3:9; Jer. 23:14; Ezek. 16:46, 48); and in other places.