THE TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, CONTAINING THE UNIVERSAL THEOLOGY OF THE NEW CHURCH FORETOLD BY THE LORD IN DANIEL 7:13-14, AND IN THE REVELATION 21:1-2.
From the Latin of EMANUEL SWEDENBORG, SERVANT OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
THE SWEDENBORG SOCIETY (INCORPORATED)
20/21 BLOOMSBURY WAY, LONDON, WC1
1950
Daniel 7:13-14: I saw in the night visions; and, behold, one like the SON OF MAN came with the clouds of heaven; and there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, and all people, nations, and languages shall serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
Revelation 21:1-2: And I, John, saw a new heaven and a new earth; and I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And one of the seven angels talked with me, saying, Come hither; I will shew thee THE BRIDE, THE LAMB'S WIFE. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW. And he said unto me, Write; for these words are faithful and true.
---
AUTHOR'S GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Faith of the New Heaven and the New Church in its General and in its Particular Form, 1-3
CHAPTER I. GOD THE CREATOR
THE UNITY OF GOD
I. The whole of the Sacred Scripture, and the doctrines thence derived of the Churches in the Christian world, teach that there is a God, and that He is one, 5-7
II. There is a universal influx from God into the souls of men, that there is a God, and that He is one, 8
III. There is no nation in the whole world, possessing religion and sound reason, which does not acknowledge that there is a God, and that He is one, 9-10
IV. As to the nature of this one God, nations and peoples have differed, and still differ, from several causes, 11
V. Human reason may, if it will, perceive and conclude from many things in the world, that there is a God, and that He is one, 12
VI. Unless God were one, the universe could not have been created and preserved, 13
VII. The man who does not acknowledge God, is excommunicated from the Church and condemned, 14
VIII. With the man who does not acknowledge one God, but several, no principle of the Church remains, 15
THE DIVINE BEING WHICH IS JEHOVAH
I. The one God is called Jehovah from His Being, because He alone is, and will be; and because He is the First and the Lest, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega, 19
II. The one God is Substance itself and Form itself, and angels and men are substances and forms from Him; and as far as they are in Him, and He in them, so far are they images and likenesses of Him, 20
III. The Divine Being is Being in itself, and at the same time Existing in itself, 21-22
IV. The Divine Being and Existing in itself cannot produce another Divine that is Being and Existing in itself; consequently there cannot be another God of the same Essence, 23
V. The idea of a plurality of Gods in ancient and also in modern times arose because the nature of the Divine Being was not understood, 24
THE INFINITY OF GOD, OR HIS IMMENSITY AND ETERNITY
I. God is Infinite, because He is and exists in Himself, and all things in the universe are and exist from Him, 28
II. God is Infinite, because He was before the world, and thus before space and time arose, 29
III. God, since the world was created, is in space apart from space, and in time apart from time, 30
IV. The Infinity of God in relation to space is called immensity, and in relation to time, eternity; and although these relations exist, yet there is nothing of space in His immensity, and nothing of time in His eternity, 31
V. Every one of enlightened reason, from very many things in the world, may see the Infinity of God, 32
VI. Every created thing is finite, and the Infinite is in finite things as in its receptacles, and in men as in its images, 33-34
THE ESSENCE OF GOD, WHICH IS DIVINE LOVE AND DIVINE WISDOM
I. God is Love itself and Wisdom itself, and these two constitute His Essence, 37
II. God is Good itself and Truth itself, because Good is of Love, and Truth is of Wisdom, 38
III. God, because He is Love itself and Wisdom itself, is also Life itself, in itself, 39-40
IV. Love and Wisdom in God make one, 41-42
V. The essence of Love is to love others outside itself, to desire to be one with them, and to make them happy from itself, 43-45
VI. These properties of the Divine Love were the cause of the creation of the, universe, and they are the cause of its preservation, 46-47
THE OMNIPOTENCE, OMNISCIENCE AND OMNIPRESENCE OF GOD
I. Omnipotence, Omniscience and Omnipresence are attributes of the Divine Wisdom from the Divine Love, 50-51
II. The Omnipotence, Omniscience and Omnipresence of God cannot be understood unless it is known what order is; and unless it is known that God is Order, and that at creation He introduced order into the universe, and into all its parts, 52-55
III. The Omnipotence of God in the universe and in all its parts, proceeds and operates according to the laws of His order, 56-58
V. God is Omnipresent from first things to last of His order, 63-64
VI. Men was created a form of Divine Order, 65-67
VII. A men has power against evil and falsity from the Divine Omnipotence, and wisdom from the Divine Omniscience; and he is in God from the Divine Omnipresence, so far as he lives according to the Divine Order, 68-70
THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE
No one can form a right idea of the creation of the universe unless some general principles are first stated which will enlighten the understanding, 75
The creation of the universe is described in five Memorabilia, 76-80
CHAPTER II. THE LORD THE REDEEMER
I. Jehovah God descended and assumed the Human, in order to redeem and save mankind, 82-84
II. Jehovah God descended as the Divine Truth, which is the Word, and yet He did not separate the Divine Good, 85-88
III. God assumed the Human according to His own Divine order, 89-91
IV. The Human, by which God sent Himself into the world, is the Son of God, 92-94
V. The Lord, by acts of redemption, made Himself Righteousness, 95-96
VI. By the same acts, the Lord united Himself to the Father, and the Father united Himself to Him, 97-100
VII. Thus God became Man, and Man God, in one Person, 101-103
VIII. The progress to union was His state of exinanition, and the union itself is His state of glorification, 104-106
IX. Hereafter no Christian can enter heaven unless he believes on the Lord God the Savior, 107-108
X. A corollary concerning the state of the Church before the coming of the Lord, and its state afterwards 109
REDEMPTION
I. Redemption itself was the subjugation of the hells, the orderly arrangement of the heavens, and thus the preparation for a new spiritual Church, 115-117
II. Without that redemption no man could have been saved, nor could the angels have continued in a state of integrity, 118-120
III. The Lord thus redeemed not only men but also angels, 121-122
IV. Redemption was a work purely Divine 123
V. This redemption itself could not have been effected but by God incarnate, 124-125
VI. The Passion of the Cross was not redemption, but the last temptation which the Lord endured as the Supreme Prophet; and it was the means of the glorification of His Human, 126-131
VII. It is a fundamental error of the Church to believe that the passion of the cross was redemption itself; and this error, together with that concerning three Divine Persons from eternity, has perverted the whole Church so that nothing spiritual remains in it, 132-133
CHAPTER III. THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE DIVINE OPERATION
I. The Holy Spirit is the Divine Truth, and also the Divine Virtue and Operation proceeding from the one God, in whom is the Divine Trinity, thus from the Lord God the Savior, 139-141
II. The Divine Virtue and Operation, signified by the Holy Spirit, consist, in general, in reformation and regeneration; and following upon these, renewal, vivification, sanctification and justification; and following upon these again, purification from evils and remission of sins; and finally salvation, 142-145
III. The Divine Virtue and Operation, meant by the sending of the Holy Spirit, with the clergy consist, in particular, in enlightenment and instruction, 146-148
IV. The Lord operates these virtues in those who believe on Him, 149-151
V. The Lord operates of Himself from the Father, and not the reverse, 153-155
VI. A man's spirit is his mind, and whatever proceeds from it, 156-157
A corollary. It is nowhere said in the Old Testament that the Prophets spoke from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah God; but it is otherwise in the New Testament, 158
THE DIVINE TRINITY
I. There is a Divine Trinity, which consists of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, 164-165
II. These three, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, are three essentials of one God which make one, as soul, body and operation make one in a man, 166-169
III. Before the creation of the world this Trinity did not exist; but after the creation of the world, when God became incarnate, it was provided for and came into existence, and was then in the Lord God the Redeemer and Savior, Jesus Christ. 170-171
IV. A Trinity of Divine Persons from eternity, or before the world was created, is in idea, a trinity of gods; and this idea cannot be removed by the oral confession of one God, 172-173
V. A Trinity of Persons was unknown in the Apostolic Church, but was put forward by the Nicene Council, then introduced into the Roman Catholic Church, and from this into the Churches that separated from it 174-176
VI. From the Nicene and also from the Athanasian doctrine concerning the Trinity has arisen a faith in three gods which has perverted the whole Christian Church, 177-178
VII. Hence has arisen that abomination of desolation, and that affliction, the like of which shall never again come to pass, which the Lord foretold in Daniel, in the Evangelists, and in the Revelation. 179-181
VIII. For the same reason, unless a new heaven and a new earth were established by the Lord, no flesh should be saved, 182
IX. From a trinity of Persons, each of whom is separately God, according to the Athanasian Creed, have arisen many discordant and incongruous ideas concerning God, which are delusive and monstrous, 183-184
CHAPTER IV. THE SACRED SCRIPTURE, OR THE WORD OF GOD
I. The Sacred Scripture, or the Word of God, is the Divine Truth itself, 189-192
II. In the Word there is a spiritual sense, hitherto unknown, 193
(i) What the spiritual sense is, 194
From the Lord proceed the Divine celestial, the Divine spiritual and the Divine natural, 195
(ii) The spiritual sense is in the whole of the Word, and in every part of it, 196-198
The Lord, when in the world, spoke by correspondences, thus with a spiritual and at the same time a natural meaning, 199
(iii) Because of the spiritual sense the Word is Divinely inspired, and holy in every word, 200
(iv) The spiritual sense has hitherto been unknown, but it was known among the ancients; and concerning correspondences among them, 201-207
(v) Hereafter the spiritual sense of the Word will be made known only to those who are in genuine truths from the Lord, 208
(vi) Some wonderful things concerning the Word from its spiritual sense, 209
III. The sense of the Letter of the Word is the basis, the containant and the support of its spiritual and celestial senses, 210-213
IV. The Divine Truth, in the sense of the Letter of the Word, is in its fulness, its sanctity and its power, 214-216
(i) The truths of the sense of the Letter of the Word are meant by the precious stones which formed the foundations of the New Jerusalem, described in Revelation 21:17-21, and this from correspondence, 217
(ii) The goods and truths of the Word in the sense of its Letter correspond to the Urim and Thummim on Aaron's ephod, 218
(iii) Goods and truths in ultimates, such as are in the sense of the Letter of the Word, are meant by the precious stones in the garden of Eden, where the king of Tyre is said to have been, mentioned in Ezekiel, 219
(iv) The same were represented by the curtains, veils and pillars of the tabernacle, 220
(v) The same were represented by the externals of the temple at Jerusalem, 221
(vi) The Word in its glory was represented in the Lord when He was transfigured 222
(vii) The power of the Word in ultimates was represented by the Nazirites, 223
(viii) Concerning the inexpressible power of the Word, 224
V. The Doctrine of the Church must be taken from the sense of the Letter of the Word, and be confirmed by it, 225, 229-230
(i) Without doctrine, the Word is unintelligible, 226-22
(ii) Genuine truth, which is the source of doctrine, in the sense of the Letter of the Word, is manifest only to those who are enlightened by the Lord, 231-233
VI. By the sense of the Letter of the Word there is conjunction with the Lord, and association with the angels, 234-239
VII. The Word is in all the heavens, and is the source of angelic wisdom, 240-242
VIII. The Church exists from the Word, and its quality with man is according to his understanding of the Word, 243-247
IX. In every detail of the Word there is the marriage of the Lord and the Church, and consequently the marriage of good and truth, 248-253
X. Heresies may be formulated from the sense of the Letter of the Word, but it is hurtful to confirm them, 254-260
(i) Many things in the Word are appearances of truth, in which genuine truths lie concealed, 257
(ii) Fallacies arise from the confirmation of appearances of truth, 258
(iii) The sense of the Letter of the Word is a guard for the genuine truths which lie concealed within it, 260
(iv) The sense of the Letter of the Word was represented, and is signified in the Word by the Cherubim, 260
XI. The Lord, when He was in the world, fulfilled all things in the Word, and thus became the Word, that is, Divine Truth, even in ultimates, 261-263
XII. Previous to the Word which is now in the world, there was a Word which is lost, 264-266
XIII. By means of the Word those also have light who are outside the Church, and do not possess the Word, 267-272
XIV. Without the Word no one would have any knowledge of God, of heaven and hell, of a life after death, and still less of the Lord, 273-276
CHAPTER V. THE CATECHISM OR DECALOGUE EXPLAINED AS TO ITS EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL SENSES
I. In the Israelitish Church the Decalogue was holiness itself; and concerning the holiness of the ark, in which was the Law, 283-286
II. The Decalogue, in the sense of the Letter, contains the general precepts of faith and life, but in the spiritual and celestial senses, all precepts universally, 287-290
III. THE FIRST COMMANDMENT: Thou shalt have no other God before me, 291-296
IV. THE SECOND COMMANDMENT: Thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain 297-300
V. THE THIRD COMMANDMENT: Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work; but the seventh day is the Sabbath to Jehovah thy God, 301-304
VI. THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT: Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may be well with thee in the land, 305-308
VII. THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT: Thou shalt not kill, 309-312
VIII. THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT: Thou shalt not commit adultery, 313-316
IX. THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT: Thou shalt not steal, 317-320
X. THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor, 321-324
XI. THE NINTH AND TENTH COMMANDMENTS: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servent, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's 325-328
XII. The Ten Commandments of the Decalogue contain everything relating to love to God, and everything relating to love towards the neighbor, 329-331
CHAPTER VI. FAITH
Preface: Faith is first in time, but charity is first in respect to end, 336
I. A saving faith is faith in the Lord God the Savior, Jesus Christ, 337-339
Since God is visible, in whom is the invisible, 339
II. The sum and substance of faith is, that he who lives well and believes aright, is saved by the Lord, 340-342
The first principle of a faith in Him is the acknowledgment that He is the Son of God, 342
III. A man acquires faith by approaching the Lord, learning truths from the Word, and living according to them, 343-348
(i) Concerning the being of faith its essence, its state and its form, 343 and following.
(ii) Concerning merely natural faith, which is a persuasion, counterfeiting faith, 345-348
IV. A number of truths, that cohere as one whole, exalts and perfects faith, 349-354
(i) The truths of faith can be multiplied to infinity, 350
(ii) The truths of faith are arranged in series, and thus, as it were, into groups, 351
(iii) Faith is perfected according to the number and coherence of truths, 352-353
(iv) The truths of faith, however numerous and diverse they may appear, make one from the LORD 354
(v) The Lord is the Word, the God of heaven and earth, the God of all flesh, the God of the vineyard or Church, the God of faith, and Light itself, Truth and Life eternal, shown from the Word, 354
V. Faith without Charity is not faith, and charity without faith is not Charity, and neither has life except from the LORD 355-361
(i) A man can acquire faith for himself, 356
(ii) A man can acquire charity for himself, 357
(iii) A man can also acquire for himself the life of faith and charity, 358
(iv) But nothing of faith, or of charity, or of the life of both, is from man, but from the Lord alone, 359
(v) The difference between natural faith and spiritual faith; the latter is in the former from the LORD 360-361
VI. The Lord, charity and faith make one, like life, will and understanding in men; and if they are divided, each perishes like a pearl reduced to powder, 362-367
(i) The Lord with all His Divine Love, and with all His Divine Wisdom, thus with all His Divine Life, enters by influx into every man 364
(ii) Consequently the Lord, with all the essence of faith and charity, enters by influx into every men, 365
(iii) Those things which flow in from the Lord are received by man according to his state and form, 366
(iv) The man, however, who separates the Lord, charity and faith, is a form not recipient but destructive of them, 367
VII. The Lord is charity and faith in men, and man is charity and faith in the LORD 368-372
(i) It is by conjunction with God that a man has salvation and eternal life, 369
(ii) There cannot be conjunction with God the Father, but with the Lord, and through Him with God the Father, 370
(iii) Conjunction with the Lord is reciprocal, that is, the Lord is in man, and man in the Lord 371
(iv) This reciprocal conjunction of the Lord and man is effected by means of charity and faith, 372
VIII. Charity and faith are together in good works, 373-377
(i) Charity consists in willing what is good, and good works consist in doing what is good from willing what is good, 374
(ii) Charity and faith are merely fleeting mental abstractions unless, whenever it is possible, they are expressed in works, and exist together in them, 375-376
(iii) Charity alone does not produce good works, still less does faith alone; but good works are produced by charity and faith together, 377
IX. There is a true faith, a spurious faith, and a hypocritical faith, 378-381
The Christian Church from its earliest infancy, began to be infested and rent asunder by schisms and heresies, 378
(i) The only true faith is faith in the Lord God, the Savior Jesus Christ; and this faith is held by those who believe Him to be the Son of God, and the God of heaven and earth, and one with the Father. 379
(ii) Spurious faith is every faith that departs from the one true faith, and is held by those who climb up some other way, and regard the Lord not as God, but as a mere man, 380
(iii) Hypocritical faith is not faith, 381
X. The evil have no faith, 382-384
(i) The evil have no faith, because evil is of hell, and faith is of Heaven, 383
(ii) Those in Christendom have no faith who reject the Lord and the Word, although they live morally, and speak, teach and write rationally, even about faith, 384
CHAPTER VII. CHARITY, OR LOVE TOWARDS THE NEIGHBOR, AND GOOD WORKS
I. There are three universal loves, the love of heaven, the love of the world, and the love of self, 394-396
(i) The will and the understanding, 397
(ii) Good and truth, 398
(iii) Love in general, 399
(iv) The love of self, and the love of the world in particular, 400
(v) The external and the internal man, 401
(vi) The merely natural and sensual man, 402
II. These three loves, when they are rightly subordinated, make a man perfect; but when not rightly subordinated, they pervert and invert him, 403-405
III. Every man individually is the neighbor who ought to be loved, but according to the quality of his good, 406-411
IV. Man collectively, constituting not only smell and great societies but also one's country, which is composed of such societies, is the neighbor that ought to be loved, 412-414
V. The Church is the neighbor that is to be loved in a still higher degree, and the Lord's kingdom in the highest degree, 415-416
VI. To love the neighbor, strictly speaking, is not to love the person, but the good that is in the person, 417-419
VII. Charity and good works are two distinct things, like willing what is good and doing what is good, 420-421
VIII. Charity itself is to act justly and faithfully in the office, business and employment in which one is engaged, and towards those with whom one has any dealings, 422-424
IX. The benefactions of charity ass giving to the poor and relieving the needy, but with prudence, 425-428
X. There are [public,] domestic and private duties of charity, 429-432
XI. The recreations of charity are dinners, suppers and social intercourse, 433-434
XII. The first thing of charity consists in putting away evils, and the second, in doing good actions that are of use to the neighbor, 435-438
XIII. In the exercise of charity, a man does not ascribe merit to works so long as he believes that all good is from the Lord, 439-442
XIV. Moral life, when it is at the same time spiritual, is charity, 443-445
XV. The friendship of love, contracted with a person without regard to his spiritual character, is detrimental after death, 446-449
XVI. There are spurious charity, hypocritical charity and dead charity, 450-453
XVII. The friendship of love among the wicked is intestine hatred of one another, 454-455
XVIII. The conjunction of love to God and love towards the neighbor, 456-458
CHAPTER VIII. FREE WILL
I. The precepts and dogmas of the Church at this day concerning Free Will, 463-465
II. Two trees were placed in the garden of Eden, one of life and the other of the knowledge of good and evil, to signify that Free Will was given to men, 466-469
III. Man is not life, but a form for the reception of life from God, 470-474
IV. As long as a man lives in this world, he is kept midway between heaven and hell, and there maintained in spiritual equilibrium, which constitutes Free Will, 475-478
V. From the permission to do evil, granted to the internal man of every one, it is clearly evident that man has Free Will in spiritual things, 479-482
VI. Without Free Will in spiritual things there would be no use for the Word; and consequently there would be no Church, 483-484
VII. Without Free Will in spiritual things a man would have nothing wherewith to enter into reciprocal conjunction with the Lord; and consequently there would be no imputation, but mere predestination, which is a detestable doctrine, 485
The detestable tenets of predestination are disclosed, 486-488
VII. Without Free Will in spiritual things, God would be the cause of evil, and thus there would be no imputation of charity and faith, 489-492
IX. Every spiritual principle of the Church which enters in freedom, and is received from freedom, remains; but not otherwise, 493-496
X. The will and the understanding of man function under this Free Will; but the commission of evil in both worlds, the spiritual and the natural, is restrained by laws; otherwise society in both worlds would perish, 497-499
XI. If men had not Free Will in spiritual things, it would be possible for all men throughout the whole world, in a single day, to be led to believe on the Lord; but this is impossible, because nothing remains with a man but what he receives in the exercise of Free Will, 500-502
Miracles are not wrought at this day, because they destroy Free Will in spiritual things and compel belief, 501
CHAPTER IX. REPENTANCE
I. Repentance is the first essential of the Church in man 510-511
II. Contrition, which at the present day is said to precede faith, and which is followed by the consolation of the Gospel, is not repentance, 512-515
III. Mere oral confession that one is a sinner is not repentance, 516-519
IV. Man is born to evils of every kind, and unless he removes them on his part by repentance, he remains in them; and whoever remains in them cannot be saved, 520-524
What is meant by the fulfillment of the law, 523-524
V. Repentance begins with the knowledge of sin, and the examination of some particular sin in oneself, 525-527
VI. Actual repentance consists in a man's examining himself recognizing and acknowledging his sins, praying to the Lord, and beginning a new life, 528-531
VII. True repentance consists in a man's examining not only the acts of his life, but also the intentions of his will, 532-534
VIII. Those also repent who, although they do not examine themselves, yet abstain from evils because they are sins; and repentance of this kind is likewise effected by those who do the works of charity from a religious motive, 535-537
IX. Confession ought to be made before the Lord God the Savior, and also supplication for help and power to resist evils, 558-560
X. Actual repentance is easy with those who have occasionally practiced it; but extremely difficult for those who have never done so, 561-563
XI. He who has never practised repentance, or who has not looked into and examined himself, at length does not know what is condemnatory evil and what is saving good, 564-566
CHAPTER X. REFORMATION AND REGENERATION
I. Unless a man is born again and, as it were, created anew, he cannot enter the kingdom of God, 572-575
II. The new birth or creation is effected by the Lord alone, through charity and faith as the two means, with the co-operation of man, 567-578
III. Since all men have been redeemed, all can be regenerated, every one according to his state, 579-582
IV. Regeneration takes place in a manner analogous to that in which man is conceived, carried in the womb, born and educated, 583-586
V. The first act of the new birth, which is an act of the understanding, is called reformation; and the second, which is an act of the will thence of the understanding, is called regeneration, 587-590
VI. The internal man must be reformed first, and the external by means of it; and in this way the man is regenerated. 591-595
VII. When this takes place there arises a combat between the internal the external man; and then whichever conquers rules over the other, 596-600
VIII. The regenerate man has a new will and a new understanding, 601-601
IX. A regenerate man is in communion with the angels of heaven, and an unregenerate man in communion with the spirits of hell, 607-610
X. As far as a man is regenerated, his sins are removed; and this removal is the remission of sins, 611-614
XI. Regeneration cannot take place without Free Will in spiritual things, 615-617
XII. Regeneration is not possible without truths, by which faith is formed, and with which charity conjoins itself (See what is said concerning the male and female sexes in 585.), 618-620
CHAPTER XI. IMPUTATION
I. Imputation is one with the present Church's faith which, it is held, alone justifies, 626-627
II. The imputation which forms part of the faith of the present day is twofold, the imputation of Christ's merit and the consequent imputation of salvation 628-631
III. The faith which imputes the merit and righteousness of Christ the Redeemer, first took its rise from the decrees of the Council of Nice concerning three Divine Persons from eternity; and from that time to the present this faith has been received by the whole Christian world, 632-635
IV. Faith which imputes Christ's merit was not known in the Apostolic Church, which existed earlier, and is nowhere meant in the Word, 636-639
V. The imputation of the merit and righteousness of Christ is impossible, 640-642
VI. There is imputation, but it is imputation of good and evil 643-646
VII. The faith and imputation of the New Church cannot possibly be held along with the faith and imputation of the former Church; if they were brought together such a collision and conflict would ensue as to destroy every thing of the Church in a man, 647-649
VIII. The Lord imputes good to every man, and hell imputes evil to every man, 650-653
IX. Faith decides the issue with what it conjoins itself. If true faith conjoins itself with good, the decision is for eternal life; but if faith conjoins itself with evil, the decision is for eternal death 654-657
CHAPTER XII. BAPTISM
I. Without a knowledge of the spiritual sense of the Word, no one can know what the two sacraments, Baptism and the Holy Supper, involve and effect, 667-669
II. By the washing which is called Baptism is meant spiritual washing. which is purification from evils and falsities, and thus regeneration, 670-673
III. Circumcision of the foreskin represented the circumcision of the heart; and Baptism was instituted in place of circumcision because of the Divine purpose that an internal Church should succeed the external, which in all things, in general and in particular, represented the internal Church, 674-676
IV. The first use of Baptism is introduction into the Christian Church, and at the same time insertion among Christians in the spiritual world, 677-680
V. The second use of Baptism is, that the Christian may know and acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Savior, and follow Him, 681-683
VI. The third and final use of Baptism is, that man may be regenerated, 681-683
VII. By the Baptism of John a way was prepared that Jehovah God might descend into the world and accomplish the work of redemption, 688-691
CHAPTER XIII. THE HOLY SUPPER
I. Without a knowledge of the correspondences of natural with spiritual things, no one can know the uses and benefits of the Holy Supper, 698-701
II. From a knowledge of correspondences it may be known what is meant by the flesh and blood of the Lord, and that the same is meant by the bread and wine; namely, that by the flesh of the Lord, and by the bread, is meant the Divine Good of His Love, and also all the good of charity; and that by the blood of the Lord, and by wine, is meant the Divine Truth of His Wisdom, and also all the truth of faith; and that by eating is meant appropriation, 702-710. From the Word it is shown what is meant by flesh, 704-705, by blood, 706, by bread, 707, by wine, 708
III. From an understanding of what has been said above, one may perceive that the Holy Supper contains, both as to universals and as to particulars, all things of the Church and all things of heaven, 711-715
IV. In the Holy Supper the Lord is wholly present, and the whole of His redemption, 716-718
V. The Lord is present and opens heaven to those who worthily approach the Holy Supper; and He is also present with those who approach it unworthily, but does not open heaven to them; consequently, as Baptism is an introduction into the Church, so the Holy Supper is an introduction into heaven, 719-721
VI. Those worthily approach the Holy Supper who have faith in the Lord and charity towards the neighbor; thus those who are regenerate, 722-724
VII. Those who worthily approach the Holy Supper are in the Lord, and He in them; consequently, conjunction with the Lord is effected by the Holy Supper, 725-727
VIII. The Holy Supper, to those who worthily approach it, is like a signature and seal that they are sons of God, 728-730
CHAPTER XIV. THE CONSUMMATION OF THE AGE, THE COMING OF THE LORD, AND THE NEW CHURCH
I. The consummation of the age is the last phase or end of the Church, 753-756
II. The present day is the last phase of the Christian Church, which the Lord foretold and described in the Gospels and in the Revelation, 757-759
III. This last phase of the Christian Church is night itself, in which the former Churches came to an end, 760-763
IV. After this night there follows morning, and this is the Coming of the Lord, 764-767
V. The Coming of the Lord is not His Coming to destroy the visible heaven and the habitable earth, and to create a new heaven and a new earth, as many not understanding the spiritual sense of the Word, have hitherto supposed, 768-771
VI. This Coming of the Lord, which is the Second, takes place in order that the evil may be separated from the good; and that those may be saved who have believed and who now believe on Him; and that from these there may be formed heaven and a New Church on earth; and without this Coming no flesh could be saved, Matthew 24:22. 772-775
VII. This Second Coming Of the Lord is not in Person, but in the Word, which is from Him, and thus is Himself, 776-778
VIII. This Second Coming of the Lord is effected by means of a man, to whom He has manifested Himself in person, and whom He has filled with His spirit, to teach the doctrines of the New Church through the Word from Him, 779-780
IX. This is meant by the new heaven and the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21, 781-785
X. This New Church is the crown of all the Churches that have hitherto existed on the earth, 786-791
SUPPLEMENT
I. The spiritual world, 792-795
II. LUTHER, MELANCHTHON AND CALVIN in the spiritual world, 796-799
(i) Luther in the spiritual world, 796
(ii) Melanchthon in the spiritual world, 797
(iii) Calvin in the spiritual world, 798-799
III. The Dutch in the spiritual world, 800-805
IV. The English in the spiritual world, 806-812
V. The Germans in the spiritual world, 813-816
VI. Roman Catholics in the spiritual world, 817-821
VII. Roman Catholic Saints in the spiritual world, 822-827
VIII. Mohammedans in the spiritual world, 828-834
IX. Africans in the spiritual world, 835-840
X. The Jews in the spiritual world, 841-845
(End of Author's numeration of Selections)
[XI.] The revelation of spiritual truth to Swedenborg; and his account of things seen and heard in the spiritual world, 846-851
[XII.] A question proposed by a certain Electoral Duke of Germany, who also held high rank in the Church, 853
