1. True Christianity

Containing a Comprehensive Theology of the New Heaven and the New Church

The Faith of the New Heaven and the New Church

THE faith of the new heaven and the new church is stated here in both universal and specific forms to serve as the face of the work that follows, the doorway that allows entry into the temple, and the summary that in one way or another contains all the details to follow. I say "the faith of the new heaven and the new church" because heaven, where there are angels, and the church, in which there are people, act together like the inner and the outer levels in a human being. People in the church who love what is good because they believe what is true and who believe what is true because they love what is good are angels of heaven with regard to the inner levels of their minds. After death they come into heaven, and enjoy happiness there according to the relationship between their love and their faith. It is important to know that the new heaven that the Lord is establishing today has this faith as its face, doorway, and summary.

422. Goodwill Itself Is Acting Justly and Faithfully in Our Position and Our Work and with the People with Whom We Interact

Goodwill itself is acting justly and faithfully in our position and our work, because all the things we do in this way are useful to the community; and usefulness is goodness, and goodness in an impersonal sense is our neighbor. As I have shown above [412-414], our neighbor is not only individual people but also our community and the country as a whole.

For example, if monarchs lead the way for their subjects by setting an example of doing good, if they want their people to live by the laws of justice, if they reward people who live that way, if they give all people the consideration they deserve, if they keep their people safe from harm and invasion, if they act like parents to their countries, and take care for the general prosperity of their people - these monarchs have goodwill in their hearts. The things they do are good actions.

Priests who teach truths from the Word and use truths to lead to a goodness of life, and therefore to heaven, are practicing goodwill in very important ways, because they are caring for the souls of the people in their church.

Judges who make decisions on the basis of justice and the law, and not because of bribery or because someone is their friend or relative, are caring for the community and for the individual - for the community, because their decisions influence it to stay obedient to the law and fearful of breaking it, and for the individual, because their decisions allow justice to triumph over injustice.

Business people who act with honesty and without fraudulence are caring for the neighbor they do business with. So are workers and craftspeople when they do their work uprightly and honestly rather than falsely or deceptively. The same goes for everyone else - for ship captains and sailors, for farm workers and servants.

702. When We Know Correspondences, We Realize What "the Lord's Flesh" and "the Lord's Blood" Mean; We See That They Mean the Same Thing as "Bread" and "Wine" Do. That Is, "the Lord's Flesh" and "Bread" Mean the Divine Goodness That Comes from His Love and Also All the Goodness Related to Goodwill, and "the Lord's Blood" and "Wine" Mean the Divine Truth That Comes from His Wisdom and Also All the Truth Related to Faith; "Eating" Them Means Making Them Our Own

Because the spiritual meaning of the Word has been disclosed today, and correspondences have been disclosed as well, since they are what convey that meaning, all that is required here is to quote passages from the Word that allow us to see clearly what "flesh" and "blood" and the bread and the wine in the Holy Supper mean. First, however, I will present passages that show how this sacrament was originally instituted by the Lord, and passages in which the Lord himself teaches about his flesh and blood and about bread and wine.