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.

254. 10. We May Derive Heretical Ideas from the Word's Literal Meaning, but We Are Condemned Only If We Become Adamant about Those Ideas

I have already shown [226-228] that the Word is impossible to understand without a body of teaching, and that a body of teaching is like an oil lamp for making genuine truths visible. This is because the Word was written entirely in correspondences. As a result, many things in the Word are apparent truths, not naked truths. Many things in it were written to be understood by people who are merely earthly. Yet these things were written in such a way that simple people can understand them simply, intelligent people intelligently, and wise people wisely.

Since the Word is like this, its apparent truths, which are clothed truths, can be taken for naked truths. If apparent truths become convictions, however, they turn into mistaken ideas that are actually false. In Christianity all the heresies that have existed and that are currently in existence were born as a result of apparent truths being taken for genuine truths and being reinforced as such.

Our heretical ideas themselves do not condemn us; but using the Word and reasoning from our own lower self to reinforce the false ideas in the heresy and living in evil ways do condemn us. We are all born into the religion of our country or our family. We are initiated into it from early childhood. We retain that religion and cannot rid ourselves of its falsities, because of our interactions in the world and also our own intellectual inability to scrutinize truths that we have inherited in this way. Living in evil ways does condemn us, however, and so does becoming adamant about falsities to the point of destroying genuine truth. If people stay in their religion and believe in God, or - if Christians - they believe in the Lord, regard the Word as holy, and follow the Ten Commandments for religious reasons, then they simply will not swear allegiance to things that are false. Therefore, when they hear truths and see them in their own way they are able to embrace those truths and be led away from false notions. This is not true of people who have become adamant about false teachings in their religion. A false teaching that is adamantly believed is permanent. It cannot be uprooted. A false concept that people have reinforced in themselves is like something they have sworn allegiance to, especially if it ties in with their love for themselves or their pride in their own intelligence.

226. 1. The Word is not understandable without a body of teaching, because the Word's literal meaning consists entirely of correspondences whose function is to allow spiritual and heavenly things to coexist in it and every word to be a container and a support for these spiritual and heavenly contents. Therefore in the literal meaning divine truths are rarely naked; instead they are clothed and are called apparent truths. There are many things in the literal meaning that are adapted to the grasp of simple people who do not lift their thoughts above the kind of things they see before their eyes. Some things seem like contradictions, although when the Word is viewed in its own spiritual light there is no contradiction. Furthermore, in some passages in the Prophets there are collections of names of people and places from which no meaning can be extracted. Since this is the nature of the Word's literal meaning, it is clear that it cannot be understood without a body of teaching.

[2] Examples may illustrate. We read that Jehovah relents (Exodus 32:12, 14; Jonah 3:9; 4:2); and we also read that Jehovah does not relent (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29). These passages cannot be reconciled without a body of teaching. We read that Jehovah inflicts parents' sins on their children to the third and fourth generation (Numbers 14:18). Yet we also read that parents are not to die because of their children nor children because of their parents, but all die in their own sin (Deuteronomy 24:16). A body of teaching brings these passages out of disharmony into harmony.

[3] Jesus says, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; if you keep knocking it will be opened" (Matthew 7:7-8; 21:21-22). Without a body of teaching, people might believe that we are all going to receive whatever we ask of anyone. On the basis of a body of teaching, however, we know that it is whatever we ask of the Lord that we will be given. The Lord in fact teaches this: "If you live in me and my Word's live in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you" (John 15:7).

[4] The Lord says, "Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of God" (Luke 6:20). Without a body of teaching, we might think that heaven is for the poor but not for the rich. A body of teaching instructs us that this means the poor in spirit, for the Lord says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens" (Matthew 5:3).

[5] Furthermore, the Lord says, "To avoid being judged, do not judge. The judgment you use to judge others will be used on you" (Matthew 7:1-2; Luke 6:37). Without a body of teaching we could be convinced that we should not judge that an evil person is evil. On the basis of a body of teaching, however, we are allowed to judge as long as we do it justly. For the Lord says, "Judge with just judgment" (John 7:24).

[6] Jesus says, "Do not be called teacher, because your teacher is the One, the Christ. Do not call anyone on earth your father, for your father is the One in the heavens. Do not be called governors, for your governor is the One, the Christ" (Matthew 23:8-10). Without a body of teaching we might think we were forbidden to call anyone teacher, father, or governor. From a body of teaching, however, we come to know that doing this is acceptable in its earthly meaning, although it is not acceptable in its spiritual meaning.

[7] Jesus said to his disciples, "When the Son of Humankind sits on the throne of his glory, you too will sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matthew 19:28). On the basis of these words we might conclude that the Lord's disciples were going to judge people when in fact the disciples could not judge anyone. A body of teaching unveils the secret when it teaches that the Lord alone, who is omniscient and knows the hearts of all, is going to be the judge and is able to judge. His twelve disciples mean all the forms of goodness and truth that the church has received from the Lord through the Word. On this basis a body of teaching concludes that these forms of goodness and truth are going to judge everyone, as the Lord says in John 3:17-18; 12:47-48.

There are many other situations like these in the Word. From them it is perfectly obvious that the Word is not understandable without a body of teaching.