1. EXPOSICIÓN BREVE DE LA DOCTRINA DE LA NUEVA IGLESIA QUE SE ENTIENDE POR LA NUEVA JERUSALÉN EN EL APOCALIPSIS

Durante los últimos años he dado a publicidad varias obras y tratados respecto a la Nueva Jerusalén, por la cual se entiende la Nueva Iglesia que debe ser establecida por el Señor; y habiendo sido revelado el Apocalipsis, he decidido dar a conocer la doctrina de aquella Iglesia en toda su plenitud. Pero como es una obra que demorará algunos años en terminarse, he creído conveniente esbozar algunos rasgos de ella, a fin de proporcionar una idea general de dicha Iglesia y su Doctrina; porque cuando los principios generales proceden, todas y cada una de las cosas aparecerán después en la plenitud de su luz, porque esta obra entra en lo general como las cosas homogéneas en sus receptáculos. Esta breve exposición, sin embargo, no está diseñada para el examen crítico, sino que se ofrece al mundo como vía de anuncio de la Doctrina, siendo sus contenidos demostrados en la propia obra. Pero las doctrinas sostenidas actualmente respecto a la justificación, serán prefijadas de modo que el siguiente contraste entre las doctrinas de la Iglesia actual y las de la Nueva Iglesia, puedan ser claramente entendidos. Primeramente serán presentadas las doctrinas de hoy al respecto de la justificación.

253. It is by virtue of the heavenly and angelic proprium that in the Word the Church is called woman (mulier) as well as wife, and also bride, virgin, and daughter. That it is called 'a woman' may be seen in Revelation,

A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. And the dragon pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. Revelation 12:1, 4-5, 13.

Here 'the woman' is used to mean the Church, 'the sun' to mean love, 'the moon' faith, 'the stars' truths of faith, as previously, which things evil spirits hate and persecute with all their might. That the Church is called 'a woman' as well as 'a wife' may be seen in Isaiah,

For your Maker is your Husband, ¹ Jehovah Zebaoth is His name, and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of the whole earth He is called. For Jehovah has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit and a wife of youth. Isaiah 54:5-6.

Here 'Maker' and 'Husband' are plural nouns because the proprium is the subject as well as [the Church]. 'A woman forsaken' and 'a wife of youth' stand in particular for the Ancient Church and the Most Ancient. Similarly in Malachi,

Jehovah was a witness between you and the wife of your youth. Malachi 2:14.

That the Church is called 'wife' and 'bride' may be seen in Revelation,

I saw the holy city, [the new] Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the lamb Revelation 21:2, 9.

And calling the Church a virgin and a daughter is a common occurrence in the Prophets.

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