2. Het geloof van de Nieuwe Hemel en van de Nieuwe Kerk in zijn universele vorm is dit: dat de Heer uit het eeuwige, die Jehovah is, in de wereld is gekomen om de hellen te onderwerpen en om Zijn Menselijke te verheerlijken; en dat zonder dit geen sterveling behouden had kunnen worden, en dat diegenen behouden worden die in Hem geloven. Er wordt gezegd ‘in de universele vorm’. Want dit is het universele van het geloof; en het universele van het geloof is, dat wat in alle dingen en in de afzonderlijke dingen zijn moet. Het universele van het geloof is, dat God één is, in Wezen en in Persoon, in wie de Goddelijke Drievuldigheid is, en dat de Heer God Zaligmaker Jezus Christus deze God is. Het universele van het geloof is, dat geen sterveling behouden had kunnen worden, wanneer de Heer niet in de wereld was gekomen. Het universele van het geloof is, dat Hij in de wereld is gekomen om de hel uit de mens te verwijderen, en dat Hij deze verwijderde door worstelingen ertegen en overwinningen erop. Zo heeft hij deze onderworpen en in de orde gesteld en onder Zijn gehoorzaamheid gebracht. Het universele van het geloof is dat Hij in de wereld is gekomen om Zijn Menselijke, dat Hij in de wereld aannam, te verheerlijken, dat wil zeggen, te verenigen met het Goddelijke, waaruit het voortkwam. Op deze wijze houdt Hij tot in het eeuwige de hel in de orde en onder Zijn gehoorzaamheid. Aangezien dit niet anders kon plaatsvinden dan door in Zijn Menselijke verzoekingen toe te laten tot aan de laatste van die verzoekingen toe, en deze laatste het lijden aan het kruis was, zo heeft Hij dit ondergaan. Dit zijn de universele dingen van het geloof over de Heer.

Het universele van het geloof van de zijde van de mens is, dat hij gelooft in de Heer; want door in Hem te geloven ontstaat er verbinding met Hem en daardoor behoud. In Hem geloven wil zeggen: vertrouwen hebben dat Hij behoudt; en aangezien alleen diegene vertrouwen kan hebben, die goed leeft, wordt ook dit onder in Hem geloven verstaan. Dit zegt de Heer ook bij Johannes:

‘Dit is de wil van de Vader, dat eenieder die in de Zoon gelooft, het eeuwige leven zal hebben’, (Johannes 6:40);

en elders:

‘Die in de Zoon gelooft, heeft het eeuwige leven; maar die de Zoon niet gelooft, die zal het leven niet zien, maar de toorn van God blijft op hem’, (Johannes 3:36).

121. (iii) THE LORD THUS REDEEMED NOT ONLY MEN, BUT ALSO ANGELS.

This follows from the statement in the previous section that without the Lord's redemption neither could the angels have continued to exist. To the reasons given above the following may be added.

(1) At the time of the Lord's first coming the hells had grown to such a height that they filled the whole world of spirits, which lies midway between heaven and hell. Thus the hells had not only thrown into confusion what is called the lowest heaven, but they had even attacked the middle heaven, which was being plagued in a thousand different ways, and but for the Lord's protection would have been destroyed. Such an assault by the hells is what is meant by the tower built in the land of Shinar, the top of which reached to heaven. This attempt was stopped by the confusion of tongues, and its builders were scattered; the city was called Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) The meaning of the tower there and the confusion of tongues has been explained in ARCANA CAELESTIA, published in London. ¹

[2] The reason why the hells had grown to such a height was that at the time when the Lord came into the world, the whole globe had utterly alienated itself from God by the worship of idols and the practice of magic; and the church established among the Children of Israel, and at a later period among the Jews, had been totally destroyed by falsifying and adulterating the Word. All of both these parties came after death into the world of spirits, where they ended by so growing and multiplying that they could not be dislodged from there except by God Himself coming down, and then using the strength of His Divine arm. A description of how this took place was given in the short book THE LAST JUDGMENT published in London in 1758. This event was accomplished by the Lord during His time on earth. A similar act has been performed by the Lord at the present time, since, as stated above, now is His second coming, foretold throughout Revelation, in Matthew (24:3, 30), in Mark (13:26), in Luke (21:27), in the Acts of the Apostles (1:11) and elsewhere. The difference is that at His first coming the growth of the hells was due to worshippers of idols, sorcerers and falsifiers of the Word, but at His second coming it was due to the so-called Christians, both those who had been tainted with nature-worship and those who had falsified the Word by convincing themselves of their fictitious faith in three Divine Persons from eternity, and the Lord's passion as being the real act of redemption. These are the people meant by 'the dragon and his two beasts' in Revelation (chapters 12-13).

[3] (2) The second reason why the Lord redeemed the angels too is that not only every man, but also every angel, is held back from evil by the Lord and kept in a state of good. For no one, whether angel or man, is of himself in a state of good, but all good is from the Lord. Thus when the angels' footstool, which they have in the world of spirits, was snatched away, they suffered the same as someone sitting on a chair when the platform it stands on is removed. The angels are not pure in the sight of God, as is shown by the prophetical parts of the Word, and also from Job, as well as from the fact that there is no angel who was not previously a man. These statements confirm what was said in the statement of faith of the new heaven and the new church set out both in universal and particular terms placed at the beginning of this book:

The Lord came into the world to take hell away from men, and He did this by fighting against hell and winning victories over it. In this way He subdued it and made it subject to His command.

Also the following passage:

Jehovah God came down and took upon Himself human form so as to reduce to order everything in heaven, [in hell] and in the church. For at that time the power of the devil, that is, of hell, was stronger than the power of heaven, and on earth the power of evil was stronger than the power of good, so that utter damnation stood threateningly at the gates. This impending damnation was removed by Jehovah God by means of His Human, and thus He redeemed angels and men.

These passages show that without the Lord's coming no one could have been saved. The situation to-day is similar. So unless the Lord comes into the world again, no more can anyone be saved (see above2-3).

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