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.

707. The Lord's words make it very clear that bread means the same thing as flesh: "Jesus took the bread, broke it and gave it [to the disciples] and said, 'This is my body'" (Matthew 26:[26]; Mark 14:[22]; Luke 22:[19]). Also, "the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I am giving for the life of the world" (John 6:51). The Lord also says that he is "the bread of life. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever" (John 6:48, 51, 58).

The same "bread" is also what is meant by the sacrificial animals, which are called bread in the following passages:

The priest will burn them on the altar as the bread of an offering made by fire to Jehovah. (Leviticus 3:11, 16)

The sons of Aaron will be holy before their God. They are not to profane the name of their God, because they make offerings by fire to Jehovah as the bread of their God. You will consecrate him, because he offers the bread of your God. A man of the seed of Aaron in whom there is any defect is not to come forward and offer the bread of his God. (Leviticus 21:6, 8, 17, 21)

Command the children of Israel and say to them, "You are to observe my offering, my bread for the offerings made by fire that exude an aroma of rest. You are to offer them to me at the appointed time. " (Numbers 28:2)

One who has touched something unclean is not to eat of the consecrated offerings; he is to wash his flesh in water. Afterward he may eat of the consecrated offerings, because that is his bread. (Leviticus 22:6-7)

The food to eat from the consecrated offerings was the flesh of the sacrificial animals, which is here also called bread. See also Malachi 1:7.

[2] The food offerings that were part of certain sacrifices were likewise made of grain, and were therefore a kind of bread; they, too, have the same meaning (Leviticus 2:1-11; 6:14-21; 7:9-13; and elsewhere). So does the bread that was on a table inside the tabernacle; it was called the showbread or the bread set before Jehovah (see Exodus 25:30; 40:23; Leviticus 24:5-9).

As the following quotations make clear, bread in the Word means heavenly bread, not physical bread.

Humankind does not live by bread alone; humankind lives by everything that comes from the mouth of Jehovah. (Deuteronomy 8:3)

I will strike the earth with hunger - not hunger for bread or thirst for water but for hearing the words of Jehovah. (Amos 8:11)

Furthermore the term "bread" is used to mean food of every kind (see Leviticus 24:5-9; Exodus 25:30; 40:23; Numbers 4:7; 1 Kings 7:48). And in fact the word "food" itself means spiritual food, as the Lord's words make clear in the following passage:

Work for food - not for the food that perishes but for the food that lasts to eternal life, which the Son of Humankind will give you. (John 6:27)

297. The Second Commandment

You Are Not to Take the Name of Jehovah Your God

in Vain, Because Jehovah Will Not Hold Guiltless

Someone Who Takes His Name in Vain

In its earthly meaning, which is the literal meaning, taking the name of Jehovah God in vain includes abusing his name in various types of talking, especially in lies and deceptions, in swearing and oath-taking for no reason or to avoid blame; and using his name with evil intent, which is cursing, or in sorcery and magic spells.

To swear by God or by his holiness, by the Word or by the Gospel during coronations, inaugurations into the priesthood, and confirmations of faith is not taking God's name in vain, unless the people who take the oath later reject their promises as impossible or pointless.

Furthermore, because it is holiness itself, the name of God is used constantly in the sacred activities of the church, such as in prayers, hymns, and all aspects of worship, as well as in sermons and books on church-related topics. The reason is that God is in every aspect of religion. When he is ritually called forth by his name, he is present and hears. In these activities the name of God is kept holy.

The name of Jehovah God is intrinsically holy, as you can see by the fact that after their earliest times the Jews did not dare, nor do they now dare, to say the name Jehovah. Out of respect for the Jews, the Gospel writers and apostles did not want to say the name either. Instead of "Jehovah" they said "the Lord," as you can see from passages from the Old Testament that are quoted in the New Testament but use "the Lord" instead of "Jehovah," such as Matthew 22:37 and Luke 10:27 that quote Deuteronomy 6:5, and so on.

The name of Jesus is also holy, as people generally know because the apostle said that at that name knees bend and should bend in heaven and on earth [Philippians 2:10]. For another thing, no devil in hell can pronounce the name Jesus.

There are many names for God that are not to be taken in vain: Jehovah, Jehovah God, Jehovah Sabaoth, the Holy One of Israel, Jesus, Christ, and the Holy Spirit.