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.

670. II. The washing called baptism means spiritual washing, which is purification from evils and falsities, and so regeneration.

Acts of washing were enjoined upon the Children of Israel, as is well known from the statutes laid down by Moses. For instance, that Aaron should wash himself before putting on his garments as minister (Leviticus 16:4, 24); and before approaching the altar to minister (Exodus 30:18-21; 40:30-32). The same was enjoined upon the Levites (Numbers 8:6-7); and also others who had become unclean through sins, and they were said to be sanctified by acts of washing (Exodus 29:1, 4; 40:12; Leviticus 8:6). Therefore the bronze sea and many basins were placed near the temple, so that they could wash themselves (1 Kings 7:23-39). They were instructed to wash the vessels and utensils, such as tables, benches, beds, plates and cups (Leviticus 11:32; 14:8-9; 15:5-12; 17:15-16; Matthew 23:25-26).

[2] But the reason why washing and similar acts were ordered and enjoined upon the Children of Israel was that the church established among them was a representative one, and had the character it did so as to prefigure the Christian church which was to come. When therefore the Lord came into the world, He abolished representative acts, all of which were external, and established a church which was in all respects internal. So the Lord banished the symbols and revealed the actual forms, as when someone lifts a curtain or opens a door, allowing what is inside not only to be seen but also approached. Out of all the previous representative acts the Lord retained only two, to contain everything the internal church has in a single pair; these are baptism to replace the acts of washing and the Holy Supper to replace the lamb which was sacrificed every day, and in full measure on the feast of the Passover.

24. (v) THE PLURALITY OF GODS IN ANCIENT TIMES, AS WELL AS TODAY, WAS ENTIRELY THE RESULT OF A FAILURE TO UNDERSTAND THE DIVINE BEING.

It was shown above (8) that the oneness of God is inwardly impressed upon the mind of every person, since this idea forms the core of all the influences from God which affect the soul of man. But the reason why it has failed to come down into men's understanding is the lack of the pieces of knowledge which a person should have to enable him to climb up to meet God. For everyone needs to prepare the way for God, that is, to prepare himself to receive God, and pieces of knowledge are the means to this end. The following are the missing pieces of knowledge which prevent the understanding from penetrating to the point at which it can see that God is one and there can only be a single Divine Being, who is the source of all natural phenomena.

(1) The fact that no one up to now has known anything about the spiritual world, the home of spirits and angels, and the place where every person comes after death.

(2) Equally, that the spiritual world possesses a sun, which is pure love from Jehovah God, who is in its midst.

(3) That from that sun radiate heat, which is in essence love, and light, which is in essence wisdom.

(4) That as a result everything in that world is spiritual, working on the internal man and making up his will and understanding.

(5) That Jehovah God has given rise by this sun of His not only to the spiritual world and all the innumerable spiritual and substantial things in it, but also to the natural world with all the innumerable natural things in it, which are composed of matter.

(6) That up to now no one has known the difference between the spiritual and the natural, nor what the spiritual is in essence.

(7) Nor that there are three degrees of love and wisdom, which form the basis of the arrangement of the heavens of angels.

(8) That the human mind is divided into the same number of degrees, to enable it after death to be lifted into one of the three heavens, depending upon the way a person has lived and at the same time what he has believed.

(9) And finally that not a jot of all this could have come into being except from the Divine Being which is God in itself, and thus the first principle and beginning from which everything comes. These pieces of knowledge have up to now been missing, yet it is through them that a person must climb up and get to know the Divine Being.

[2] We say that a person climbs up, but it must be understood that it is God who lifts him up. A person has a free choice in acquiring knowledge; and he seems to get this for himself from the Word by means of the understanding, and thus smooths the path for God to come down and lift him up. The pieces of knowledge which enable the human understanding to climb, while God holds it in His hand and guides it, can be compared to the steps of the ladder seen by Jacob, which was set up on earth so that its top reached heaven and angels climbed up by means of it, and Jehovah stood above it (Genesis 28:12-13).

It is quite different when those pieces of knowledge are lacking, or a person treats them with contempt. Then the lifting of the understanding can be compared to a ladder erected from the ground to a first floor window of a magnificent palace, where men live, but not to the second floor windows where the spirits are, much less to the third floor windows where the angels are. The result is that such a person cannot escape from the atmospheres and material objects of the natural world, which occupy his eyes, ears and nose. From these he cannot help acquiring atmospheric and material ideas about heaven and the Being and Essence of God. Thought along these lines does not allow a person to make up his mind at all about God, whether He exists or not, or whether there is one God or several; much less, what His Being and Essence are like. It was this which led to the plurality of gods in ancient times, and still does to-day.