1. 前言:新天國與新教會的信仰

首先, 將本書中所講述的真實的基督徒信仰, 也就是新天國和新教會的信仰, 分別以總體和具體的形式概要地說明。作為接下來全書的引言, 或作為進入聖殿的大門, 又或作為詳細內容的概要。此信仰被稱為新天國和新教會的信仰, 因為天人(angel)組成的天國和世人組成的教會, 如同一個人的靈魂與肉體, 內外一致,行動如一。因此, 若教會之人活在良善與真理之中, 對於思想內在而言, 他就是天國的一名天人。在肉身死後, 他便進入天國, 照著良善與真理在他裡面聯合的狀態在那裡安享極樂。當知道, 在主現在正建立的新天國中, 這樣的信仰是新天國的引言,入門和概要。

6923. On another occasion I saw a great number of that kind of spirits, but these were some distance away out in front, slightly to the right. They talked to me from there, but they did so with the help of intermediary spirits; for their speech, flowing as fast as thought, cannot be converted into human language without the help of intermediary spirits. And what surprised me, their words were full and rounded even though they spoke all together and yet with no less promptness and speed. Their speech sounded to me like a wave because there was a large number of them speaking simultaneously; and what was remarkable, it made its way towards my left eye even though those spirits were on the right. The reason for this was that the left eye corresponds to knowledge of things separated from their material associations, thus things that belong to intelligence, whereas the right eye corresponds to things that belong to wisdom. Displaying the same promptness as they did when speaking those spirits also perceived and formed judgements of the things they heard, saying, This is so, that is not so. Those judgements were formed by them almost instantaneously.