2. PROPOSITION THE FIRST

I. THERE HAVE BEEN FOUR CHURCHES ON THIS EARTH SINCE THE TIME OF ITS CREATION: A FIRST, WHICH IS TO BE CALLED THE ADAMIC; A SECOND, THE NOACHIAN; A THIRD, THE ISRAELITISH; AND A FOURTH, THE CHRISTIAN. That four Churches have existed on this earth since the creation of the world, manifestly appears in Daniel; first, from the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar in a dream, and, afterwards, from the four beasts rising up out of the sea. On the subject of Nebuchadnezzar's image we read as follows:

Daniel said, Thou, O King, sawest, and behold a great image. And the appearance thereof, standing over against thee, was excellent, and the aspect thereof was terrible. The head of this statue was of fine gold; its breast and arms, of silver; its belly and its thighs, of brass; its legs, of iron; its feet, partly of iron and partly of clay. Thou sawest until a stone was cut out, which was cut without hands, and smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and ground them to powder. Then were the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, ground to powder together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors, so that the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them: but the stone which smote the image, became a great rock, and filled the whole earth. In these days shall the God of the heavens set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; and His kingdom shall not be entrusted to another people: it shall break in pieces and consume all those kingdoms, but it shall stand for ever (Dan. 2:31-35, 44).

That this dream did not signify four political kingdoms on this earth, but four Churches, which should follow one after another, is plain from the following considerations:

(1) That such kingdoms, one after another, have not existed on this earth.

(2) That the Divine Word, in its bosom, does not treat of the kingdoms of the world, but of Churches, which constitute God's kingdom on earth.

(3) Also, because it is said that the God of the heavens shall set up a kingdom which shall not be destroyed to the ages, and that a stone, cut out, not by hands, became a great rock, which filled the whole earth.

(4) And, inasmuch as the Lord our Saviour Jesus Christ, in the Word of both Testaments, is called the "Stone" and "Rock," it is manifest that His kingdom is meant by the last words in this passage.

(5) Moreover, the state of the Church is described, in innumerable passages of the Word, by gold, silver, brass, and iron; its spiritual state as to the good of love by gold, its spiritual state as to the truth of wisdom by silver, its natural state as to the good of charity by brass, and its natural state as to the truth of faith by iron (as may be seen confirmed from the Word in the APOCALYPSE REVEALED , n. 913[2], and elsewhere).

[2] For this reason, the wise in the first ages, who knew the significations of metals, compared the ages which were to follow one another from the first to the last, to those four metals, and called the first age "golden," the second age "silver," the third age "copper," and the fourth age "iron"; and they described them thus according to goods and truths; and, since genuine goods and truths are from no other origin than from the God of heaven, they described them according to the states of the Church with those who lived in those ages; for from these and according to these, all the civil states of kingdoms in respect to justice and judgment exist, thrive and live.

[3] That the Lord the Saviour Jesus Christ is called the "Stone" and "Rock" in the Word of both Testaments, is plain from the following passages. That He is called a "Stone" from these:

Thus said the Lord Jehovih, Behold I will lay in Zion a Stone of approval, a precious corner[-stone] of settled foundation; he who hath believed will not make haste; then I will set judgment to the rule, and justice to the plummet (Isa. 28:16-17).

Jehovah will visit His flock; from Him will come forth the cornerstone (Zech. 10:3-4).

The Stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner (Psalm 118:22).

Have ye not read in the Scripture that the Stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner? (Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10-11; Luke 20:17-18; Isa. 8:14-15).

Ye have come to the Lord, the living Stone, rejected indeed of men, but chosen of God; ye yourselves also, as living stones, are built up into a spiritual house; therefore, it is said in the Scripture, I lay in Zion a corner-stone, elect, precious, and he who believeth on Him shall not be ashamed (1 Peter 2:4, 5, 6).

Ye are built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, whose corner-stone is Jesus Christ, by whom the whole building, well cemented together, groweth into a holy temple in the Lord; by whom ye are built together into a habitation of God in the spirit (Ephes. 2:20-21, 22).

Jesus Christ is the Stone, rejected by the builders, which is become the head of the corner; and there is no salvation in any other (Acts 4:11-12).

That the Lord is called a "Rock," is evident from these passages in the Word:

When Jeshurun waxed fat, he kicked, and he forsook God who made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation (Deut. 32:15, 18).

The God of Israel said, The Rock of Israel spake to me (2 Sam. 23:3).

Let the words of my mouth be well-pleasing, O Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:14).

And they remembered that God was their Rock, and the High God their Redeemer (Psalm 78:35).

They all drank spiritual drink; for they drank of the spiritual Rock; the Rock was Christ (1 Cor. 10:4; Exod. 17:6).

From these passages, it is now plainly evident that by the Stone which smote the image, and became a great rock and filled the whole earth, and whose kingdom shall stand for ever, is meant our Lord Jesus Christ.

3. The same four churches on this earth are described by four "beasts" rising up out of the sea, in Daniel, of which it is there written:

The first was seen like a lion, but it had eagle's wings. I beheld until the wings thereof were plucked out, and it was lifted up from the earth, and it was erect like a man upon feet, and a man's heart was given to it. Afterwards, behold another beast, a second, like a bear, and it raised up itself on one side; three ribs were in its mouth between the teeth: moreover, they were saying thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. After these things, I beheld, and, lo, another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings, like birds' wings; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this, I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, terrible and dreadful, and strong exceedingly, which had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; but it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I beheld till the thrones were cast down and the Ancient of days did sit; and the judgment was set, and the books were opened; and behold, one like the Son of man was coming with the clouds of the heavens. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations and tongues should worship Him: His dominion is a dominion of an age, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not perish (Daniel 7:3-7, 9, 10, 13, 14, seq.).

By these beasts, in like manner, are meant and described those four churches, is manifest from all the particulars there, which shall be unfolded in their order in the following pages: more especially from the last expressions there, that after those four beasts the Son of man will come, to whom shall be given dominion, and a kingdom which shall not pass away and perish; who, also, is meant by "the Stone made into a great Rock, which shall fill the whole earth," as may be seen above (n. 2, at the end).

[2] That the states of the church are likewise described in the Word by beasts, as well as by metals, is evident from numberless passages, some only of which I will adduce here; which are as follows:

Thou causest the rain of benevolences to drop; thou wilt confirm thy laboring inheritance; the beast ¹ of thy assembly shall dwell therein (Psalm 68:9, 10). ² Every wild beast of the forest is Mine, the beasts in the mountains of thousands; I know every bird of the mountains, the beasts of My fields are with Me (Psalm 50:10, 11).

Assyria was a cedar in Lebanon, his height was exalted; all the birds of the heavens made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth, and in his shadow dwelt all great nations (Ezekiel 31:3, 5, 6, 13; Daniel 4:7-13).

In that day will I make a covenant for them with the beast of the field, and with the bird of the heavens, and I will betroth Myself unto thee to eternity (Hosea 2:18, 19).

Rejoice and be glad, fear not, ye beasts of My fields, for the habitations of the desert are become herbaceous (Joel 2:21, 22).

Thou, son of man, say to the bird of every wing, and to every beast of the field, Gather yourselves together to My sacrifice upon the mountains of Israel: thus I will give My glory among the nations (Ezekiel 39:17, 20, 21).

The enemy hath reproached Jehovah; give not the soul of the turtledove unto the beast (Psalm 74:18, 19).

Jehovah gathereth the outcasts of Israel; every beast of My fields, come ye (Isaiah 56:8, 9).

The spirit driving Jesus, caused Him to go forth into the wilderness; and He was with the beasts, and the angels ministered unto Him (Mark 1:12, 13).

He was not with beasts, but with devils, with whom He fought and whom He subdued; besides a thousand other passages, which are in part adduced in the Apocalypse Revealed (n. 567). Moreover, it is known that the Lord Himself, in the Word, is called a "Lamb" and also a "Lion;" likewise, that the Holy Spirit was represented as a "dove;" that the "cherubim," also, by which the Word in the literal sense is signified, appeared like "four beasts," in Ezekiel and in the Apocalypse; and that the man of the church who acknowledges the Lord as his God and Shepherd, is called a "sheep;" and, on the other hand, he who does not acknowledge Him, is called a "he-goat" and also a "dragon;" and that an assembly of the latter is described, in like manner as in Daniel, by:

The beast out of the sea like a leopard, the feet of which were as it were a bear's, and his mouth as it were a lion's (Apocalypse 13:1, 2).

These comparisons originate from the spiritual world, where all the affections and the thoughts therefrom, of angels and spirits, are presented at a distance from them as beasts which also appear in a form in all respects similar to that of the beasts in the natural world; the affections of the love of good as gentle beasts and good uses, but the affections of the love of evil as savage beasts and evil uses. Hence it is that "beasts" are so often named in the Word; and by them in the spiritual sense are signified affections, inclinations, perceptions and thoughts. From these things it is manifest what is meant by "creatures" in the following passages:

Jesus commanded the disciples to go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).

If anyone be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things have passed away, and all things are become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creature of God (Apocalypse 3:14).

By "creatures," here, are meant those who can be created anew, that is, regenerated, and thus become of the Lord's church.

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