23
And it shall be unto them as a false divination in their sight, to them that have sworn oaths: but he will call to remembrance the iniquity, that they may be taken.
Ezekiel 21:23
Doctrine of the Lord #3
3. We must briefly say here, too, what themes concerning the Lord are found in general and in particular throughout the Prophets of the Old Testament, from Isaiah to Malachi:
1. The Lord came into the world in the fullness of time, which is to say, when the Jews no longer knew Him, and when for that reason nothing of the church remained. And if the Lord had not then come into the world and revealed Himself, mankind would have perished in eternal death. He Himself says in John, “If you do not believe that I am [who I am], you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).
[2] 2. The Lord came into the world to execute a last judgment, and by doing so conquer the hells that were reigning at the time. This He did by combats, that is, by temptations or trials, which He permitted His humanity from His mother to undergo, and by continual victories in them then. If the hells had not been conquered, no one could have been saved.
[3] 3. The Lord came into the world to glorify His humanity, that is, to unite it to the Divinity that He had in Him from conception.
[4] 4. The Lord came into the world to establish a new church which would acknowledge Him as its Redeemer and Savior, so as to be redeemed and saved through love for and faith in Him.
[5] 5. At the same time He did so in order to set heaven in order, in order for it to be in harmony with the church.
[6] 6. His suffering of the cross was the last combat, or temptation or trial, by which He thoroughly conquered the hells and fully glorified His humanity.
That the Word deals with no other matters will be seen later in a short work on the Sacred Scripture.
Published by the General Church of the New Jerusalem, 1100 Cathedral Road, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania 19009, U.S.A. A translation of Doctrina Novae Hierosolymae de Domino, by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1688-1772. Translated from the Original Latin by N. Bruce Rogers. ISBN 9780945003687, Library of Congress Control Number: 2013954074.
Zechariah 12:3-4
3
It will happen in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all the peoples. All who burden themselves with it will be severely wounded, and all the nations of the earth will be gathered together against it.
4
In that day," says Yahweh, "I will strike every horse with terror, and his rider with madness; and I will open my eyes on the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the peoples with blindness.
