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.

404. We take on a completely different condition if love for the world or for wealth constitutes the head, meaning that this is our dominant love. Then love for heaven leaves the head and goes into exile in the body. People who are in this state prefer the world to heaven. They do indeed worship God, but they do so from a love that is merely earthly, a love that leads them to take credit for all their acts of worship. They also do good things for their neighbor, but they do them to get something back in return.

In the case of people like this, heavenly things are like the clothes in which they strut about, garments that we see as shining but angels see as drab. When love for the world inhabits our inner self and love for heaven inhabits our outer self, then love for the world dims all things related to the church and hides them as if they were behind a piece of cloth.

Love for the world or for wealth comes in many forms, however. It gets worse the closer it approaches to miserliness. At the point of miserliness the love for heaven becomes dark. This love also gets worse the closer it approaches to arrogance and a sense of superiority over others based on love for oneself. It is not as detrimental when it tends toward wasteful indulgence. It is even less damaging if its goal is to have the finest things the world has to offer, like a mansion, fine furniture, fashionable clothing, servants, horses and carriages in grand style, and things like that. With any love, its quality depends on the goal that it focuses on and intends to reach.

Love for the world and for wealth is like a dark crystal that suffocates light and breaks it only into colors that are dull and faded. It is like fog or cloudiness that blocks the rays of the sun. It is also like wine in its first stages - the liquid tastes sweet, but it upsets your stomach.

From heavens point of view, people like this look hunchbacked, walking with their head bent down looking at the ground. When they lift their head toward the sky, they strain their muscles and quickly go back to looking downward. The ancient people who were part of the church called people of this kind "Mammons. " The Greeks called them "Plutos. "

261. 11. While in the World, the Lord Fulfilled Everything in the Word; by Doing So He Became the Word or Divine Truth Even on the Last or Outermost Level

The fact that in the world the Lord fulfilled everything in the Word, and by doing so became divine truth or the Word even on the last or outermost level, is what the following words in John mean:

And the Word became flesh and lived among us; and we saw his glory, glory like that of the only begotten child of the Father. He was full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)

"Becoming flesh" means becoming the Word on the last or outermost level.

When the Lord was transfigured, he showed his disciples his qualities as the Word on the last or outermost level (Matthew 17:2 and following; Mark 9:2 and following; Luke 9:28 and following). There it says that Moses and Elijah appeared in glory. "Moses" means the Word that was written by Moses, and the historical Word in general. "Elijah" means the prophetical Word. The Lord was represented as the Word on the last or outermost level to John as well (). All the details of that description of the Lord mean the last or outermost features of divine truth or the Word.

The Lord was of course the Word or divine truth before he came, but only on the first or inmost level. We read, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (John 1:1-2). When the Word became flesh, however, the Lord became the Word even on the last or outermost level. This is why the Lord is called the First and the Last (Revelation 1:8, 11, 17; 2:8; 21:6; 22:12-13; Isaiah 44:6).