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.

115. 1. Redemption was actually a matter of gaining control of the hells, restructuring the heavens, and by so doing preparing for a new spiritual church. I can say with absolute certainty that these three actions are redemption, because the Lord is bringing about redemption again today. This new redemption began in the year 1757 along with a Last Judgment that happened at that time. The redemption has continued from then until now. The reason is that today is the Second Coming of the Lord. A new church is being instituted that could not have been instituted unless first the hells were brought under control and the heavens were restructured.

Because I have been allowed to see it all I could describe how the hells were brought under control and how the new heaven was built and put into the divine design, but that would be the subject of a whole work. In a little work published in London in 1758 I did lay out how the Last Judgment was carried out.

Gaining control over the hells, restructuring the heavens, and establishing a new church was redemption because without those actions no human being could have been saved. In fact, they follow in a sequence. The hells had to be controlled first before a new angelic heaven could be formed, and that heaven had to be formed before the new church on earth could be instituted, because people in the world are so closely connected to angels from heaven and spirits from hell that at the level of the inner mind they are one. This point will be taken up in the last chapter of this book, which specifically covers the close of the age, the Coming of the Lord, and the New Church [753-791].

773. The purpose of the Lord's Coming is to form a new heaven made up of people who have believed in him, and to establish a new church made up of people from now on who believe in him. These are the two goals of his Coming. His ultimate purpose in creating the universe was exactly this: to form an angelic heaven made up of people. In this heaven, all who believe in God will live in eternal bliss. The divine love that God has, and that is his essence, cannot intend anything other than this, and the divine wisdom that God has, and that is God, cannot produce any other outcome than this.

The universe was created for the purpose of having an angelic heaven made up of members of the human race, and also for the purpose of having a church in the world, since the church gives the human race access to heaven. In addition, saving people, which requires that they be born in the world, is itself an ongoing act of creation. For this reason the Word sometimes uses the word "create," and means by it "forming people for heaven. " See, for example, the following passages.

[2] Create for me a clean heart, O God, and renew a firm spirit within me. (Psalms 51:10)

You open your hand, and they are filled with goodness. You send forth your spirit, and they are created. (Psalms 104:28, 30)

The people who are yet to be created will praise Jah. (Psalms 102:18)

Thus says Jehovah, the one who created you, O Jacob; the one who formed you, O Israel: "I have redeemed you. I have called you by my name; you [are mine]. All who are called by my name I have created for my glory. " (Isaiah 43:1, 7)

They were prepared [for you] on the day you were created. You were perfect in your ways on the day you were created, until perverseness was found in you. (Ezekiel 28:13, 15)

This statement concerns the king of Tyre.

. . . so that they may see, recognize, consider, and understand that the hand of Jehovah has done this and the Holy One of Israel has created it. (Isaiah 41:20)

From the passages just quoted, it becomes clear what creating means in the following passages.

Jehovah is the one who creates the heavens, stretches out the earth, and gives life to the people upon it, and spirit to those who walk on it. (Isaiah 42:5; 45:12, 18)

Behold, I am creating a new heaven and a new earth. Enjoy forever what I am creating. Behold, I am going to create Jerusalem as a rejoicing. (Isaiah 65:17-18)