2. 新天國與新教會的信仰, 就總體而言, 概述如下:

永恆之主耶和華, 降臨人間征服地獄, 並榮耀祂的人身; 若非如此, 無人能被拯救; 信祂的人得拯救。

以上被稱為該信仰的總體形式, 是信仰的普遍原則。信仰的普遍原則必存於信仰的整體和細節之中。上帝的本質和位格是一, 聖三一集於這一, 這一就是主耶穌基督, 這是信仰的一個普遍原則。若非主降臨人間, 則無人得救, 這是信仰的一個普遍原則。主降臨人間(那時地獄勢力侵犯人間), 藉著與地獄爭戰並戰勝制服它, 從而移除地獄, 使其歸入秩序並服從於祂, 這是信仰的一個普遍原則。主降臨人間, 榮耀祂在人間所取之人, 就是將這人與神性聯合, 從而永遠地保持地獄歸入秩序並服從於祂; 這樣的聯合唯有藉著祂所取之人被准許接受各樣的試探而得以成就, 甚至最後接受終極的試探——十字架受難, 祂忍受並得勝了; 這是信仰的一個普遍原則。這些是關於主這方面信仰的幾個普遍原則。

關於我們人這方面:

人應當信主, 因為通過信主, 人得以與主聯合, 從而被得拯救。信主就是篤信主施行拯救; 因為唯有那些過良善生活者方有如此信心, 因而這也是信祂之意。主在約翰福音中教導:父的意思是叫一切見子而信的人得永生(約翰福音6:40)。在另一處:信子的有永生。不信子的不得見永生; 上帝的震怒常在他身上(約翰福音3:36)。

9479. 'And they are to make Me a sanctuary' means a representative of the Lord, and so of heaven. This is clear from the meaning of 'a sanctuary' as the Lord and as heaven, but at this point a representative of the Lord and heaven, since it was a tabernacle made of pieces of wood and covered all over with curtains, and this could not have been a sanctuary but for its representation. For 'a sanctuary' means holiness itself; and nothing is holy except what is Divine, thus the Lord alone, 9229. The reason why heaven is a sanctuary is that heaven is heaven by virtue of what is Divine there. For the angels there, so far as they draw on what is Divine and the Lord's, constitute heaven; but so far as they draw on what is their own they do not constitute heaven. From this it is evident how the saying that the Lord is the All in all of heaven should be understood. For the Lord dwells with angels, and so in heaven, in what is His own, thus in what is Divine, see 9338 (end).

[2] The fact that 'a sanctuary' in the highest sense means the Lord, because He alone is holy and that alone is holy which emanates from Him, and also the fact that 'a sanctuary' means heaven, and the Church as well, and that sanctuaries are those realities of which the Lord is the source in heaven and the Church, is clear from places in the Word where the words 'sanctuary' and 'sanctuaries' are used, as in Ezekiel,

The Lord Jehovih has said, I will scatter them into the lands, and I will be a little sanctuary for them in the lands to which they will come. Ezekiel 11:16.

Here 'a sanctuary' stands for the Lord Himself, for 'the Lord Jehovih' and 'Jehovah' in the Word mean the Lord, 9373. In Isaiah,

Look out from the heavens, and see from the dwelling-place of your holiness and of Your glory. Isaiah 63:15.

In Jeremiah,

Like a throne of glory, a height from eternity, [is] the place of the sanctuary. Jeremiah 17:12.

In these places 'the dwelling-place of holiness' and 'the sanctuary' stand for heaven.

[3] In Isaiah,

But a little while, and they have possessed the people of Your holiness; our adversaries have trodden down Your sanctuary. Isaiah 63:18.

In Jeremiah,

The nations have come into His sanctuary. Lamentations 1:10.

In the same book,

The Lord has abandoned His altar, He has abominated His sanctuary. Lamentations 2:7.

In Ezekiel,

The Lord Jehovih has said, Behold, I am about to profane My sanctuary, the pride ¹ of your strength, the desire of your eyes. Ezekiel 24:21.

In Moses,

I will make your cities a waste, and desolate your sanctuaries. Leviticus 26:31.

In these places 'the sanctuary' stands for the Church, and 'sanctuaries' for things belonging to the Church. From all this it is clear how the tabernacle comes to be called the sanctuary, namely from the fact that heaven and the Church were represented by the tabernacle, and the Divine realities of which the Lord is the source in heaven and in the Church were represented by the holy things there.

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