1. THE FAITH OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW CHURCH

A statement of faith, set out in both universal and particular terms, is placed at the beginning to serve as a preface to the book which follows, to be like a doorway leading into a church, and a summary presenting in a short compass what follows at more length. It is called the faith of the new heaven and the new church, because heaven, where the angels are, and the church among men form a single unit, just as the internal and external sides of the personality make up a single individual. This is why a member of the church who possesses the good of love which arises from the truths of faith, and possesses the truths of faith which arise from the good of love, is, so far as the interiors of his mind are concerned, an angel of heaven. Therefore too after dying he comes into heaven, and there enjoys happiness depending upon how far the good and truth are linked. It should be known that in the new heaven, which is at the present time being established by the Lord, this statement of faith serves as its preface, doorway and summary.

384. (ii) All those in the Christian world have no faith who reject the Lord and the Word, although they live moral lives, and talk, teach and write rationally, even about faith.

This follows as the conclusion to be drawn from all that has been said before. For it was shown that the true and only faith is in the Lord and comes from the Lord, and that faith which is not in Him and from Him is not spiritual, but natural faith; and a purely natural faith does not contain in itself the essence of faith. Moreover, faith is from the Word and from no other source. This is because the Word is from the Lord and so the Lord Himself is in the Word; which is why He says that He is the Word (John 1:1-2). From this it follows that those who reject the Word also reject the Lord, since they make an indissoluble whole. It also follows that those who reject one or the other of these also reject the church, because the church is from the Lord by means of the Word; and further, that those who reject the church are outside heaven, because the church is the way into heaven. Those who are outside heaven are among the damned, and these have no faith at all.

The reason why those who reject the Lord and the Word have no faith, although they live moral lives and speak, teach and write rationally, even about faith, is that they have no spiritual, but only natural moral life, and no spiritual but only a natural rational mind; and morality and rationality which are wholly natural are in essence dead. So, being dead, these people cannot have any faith. A person who is wholly natural, who is dead so far as faith is concerned, can certainly talk and teach about faith, charity and God, but not under the impulse of faith, charity or God.

[2] The following passages prove that faith is possessed only by those who believe in the Lord, and that the rest have none:

He who believes in the Son is not judged; but he who does not believe has already been judged, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God, John 3:18.

He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; but he who does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him, John 3:36.

Jesus said, When the Spirit of truth comes, He will try the world concerning sin, for not believing in me, John 16:8-9.

And addressing the Jews:

If you do not believe that I am, you will die in your sins, John 8:24.

For this reason David says:

I will bring news of a decree, said Jehovah. You are my son, to-day have I begotten you. Kiss the son, so that he may not be angry and so that you do not perish on the way. Blessed are all who trust in him, Psalms 2:7, 12.

The Lord predicts in the Gospels that at the ending of the age there will be no faith, because there will be none in the Lord as the Son of God, God of heaven and earth and one with the Father; the ending of the age means the final period of the church, when He says that the abomination of desolation will come about, and affliction such as has never been nor shall be; and that the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky (Matthew 24:15, 21, 29). Also in Revelation, that Satan when released from his imprisonment will go out to lead astray the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, and whose number is like the sand of the sea (Revelation 20:7-8). Because the Lord foresaw this, He also said:

Yet when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith upon the earth? Luke 18:8.

716. IV. The Lord is wholly present in the Holy Supper, and so is the whole of redemption.

The Lord is wholly present in the Holy Supper, both as regards His glorified Human and as regards the Divine from which the Human came; this is obvious from His actual words. These passages prove that His Human is present in the Holy Supper:

Jesus taking bread, broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, This is my body; and taking the cup, he gave it to them, saying, This is my blood, Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22.

Also in John:

I am the bread of life; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. The bread which I shall give is my flesh. Truly, truly, I tell you, he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him; and he lives for ever, John 6:51, 56.

These passages establish it as obvious that the Lord is present in the Holy Supper as regards His glorified Human.

[2] The Lord is wholly present in the Holy Supper as regards His Divine, from which the Human came, as is obvious from the following: He is the bread which came down from heaven (John 6:51). He came down from heaven together with the Divine, for we read:

The Word was with God, and the Word was God; all things were made by Him; and the Word was made flesh, John 1:1, 3, 14.

Further, the Father and He are one (John 10:30); everything of the Father's is His (John 3:35; 16:15); He is in the Father and the Father is in Him (John 14:10-11, etc). Furthermore His Divine could no more be separated from His Human than the soul can be from the body. Therefore, when we say that the Lord is wholly present in the Holy Supper as regards His Human, it follows that His Divine from which the Human came is there together with it. Now since His flesh stands for the Divine good of His love, and His blood stands for the Divine truth of His wisdom, it is plain that the Lord is wholly omnipresent in the Holy Supper both as regards the Divine and as regards His glorified Human. Consequently this is a spiritual eating.