Spiritual Experiences #5605
5605. They have the Word of the ancient Church, which Moses mentioned, calling it "the wars of Jehovah" [Num. 21:14], and the prophetical enunciations, about which [he speaks] 1 . They said that this Word has been written so that they can be instructed in the details. It was also inspired, but because it ceased to be suitable to subsequent people another word (sic) was written. The nature of this Word is evident from the first Books of Genesis, which are taken from it.
Notes de bas de page:
1. See The Doctrine of New Jerusalem concerning Sacred Scripture 103.
Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture #104
104. The Word Is the Means by Which Those Have Light Who Are Outside the Church and Do Not Have the Word
No conjunction with heaven is possible unless somewhere on earth there is a church which has the Word and where the Lord is consequently known, because the Lord is God of heaven and earth, and there is no salvation apart from the Lord.
It is enough for a church to exist that has the Word, even if it consists of relatively few people. The Lord is still everywhere present by means of the Word throughout the whole world; for by it heaven is conjoined with the human race. To be shown that the conjunction exists by means of the Word, see nos. 62-69 above.