Title: A Way Forward, Part 3

Topic: Second Coming

Summary: Forward motion, individually and collectively, requires leadership and a degree of unanimity.

References:
Deuteronomy 30:1-6
Psalms 147:1-3
Isaiah 27:12-13; 43:4-7; 56:6-8
Jeremiah 23:1-4; 29:10-14; 31:7-12
Ezekiel 11:16-21; 34:11-16; 37:21-23; 39:25-29
Micah 2:12-13; 4:6-7
Zephaniah 3:18-20
Zechariah 10:8
Mark 13:27
Luke 11:23; 13:34
John 11:49-52

This video is a part of the Spirit and Life Bible Study series, whose purpose is to look at the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible through a Swedenborgian lens.

When the Bible speaks of "Jehovah," it is representing love itself, the inmost love that is the essence of the Lord. That divine love is one, whole and complete in itself, and Jehovah also is one, a name applied only to the Lord. The divine love expresses itself in the form of wisdom. Love, then, is the essence of God -- His inmost. Wisdom -- the loving understanding of how to put love into action -- is slightly more external, giving love a way to express itself. Wisdom, however, is expressed in a great variety of thoughts and ideas, what the Writings collectively call divine truth. There are also many imaginary gods, and sometimes angels and people can be called gods (the Lord said Moses would be as a god to Aaron). So when the Bible calls the Lord "God," it is in most cases referring to divine truth. In other cases, "God" has reference to what is called the divine human. The case there is this: As human beings, we cannot engage the Lord directly as divine love. It is too powerful and too pure. Instead, we have to approach Him by understanding Him through divine truth. Divine truth, then, is the Lord in human form, a form we can approach and understand. Thus "God" is also used in reference to this human aspect, because it is an expression of truth.