1. True Christianity

Containing a Comprehensive Theology of the New Heaven and the New Church

The Faith of the New Heaven and the New Church

THE faith of the new heaven and the new church is stated here in both universal and specific forms to serve as the face of the work that follows, the doorway that allows entry into the temple, and the summary that in one way or another contains all the details to follow. I say "the faith of the new heaven and the new church" because heaven, where there are angels, and the church, in which there are people, act together like the inner and the outer levels in a human being. People in the church who love what is good because they believe what is true and who believe what is true because they love what is good are angels of heaven with regard to the inner levels of their minds. After death they come into heaven, and enjoy happiness there according to the relationship between their love and their faith. It is important to know that the new heaven that the Lord is establishing today has this faith as its face, doorway, and summary.

218. 2. The Urim and Thummim on Aaron's ephod mean the things that are good and true in the Word's literal meaning. There were Urim and Thummim on Aaron's ephod. Aaron's priesthood represented the Lord's divine goodness and his efforts to save us. The clothes of Aaron's priesthood and sacred office represented divine truths from the Lord. The ephod represented divine truth in its outermost form, and therefore it represented the Word's literal meaning, since this is divine truth in its outermost form. The twelve precious stones called the Urim and Thummim alongside the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, then, represented all the divine truths combined that come from divine goodness.

In Moses we read the following about these stones:

[The artisans] are to make an ephod out of [gold,] blue, and purple threads, interwoven with double-dyed scarlet and cotton threads. Then they are to make a breastplate of judgment in the same fashion as the ephod. You will cover it with settings for stones. There will be four rows of stones: a ruby, a topaz, and an emerald in the first row; a chrysoprase, a sapphire, and a diamond in the second row; a lapis lazuli, an agate, and an amethyst in the third row; and an aquamarine, a sard, and a jasper in the fourth row. These stones will be next to the names of the sons of Israel. For the twelve tribes there will be engravings on a signet stone next to their names. Aaron will carry the Urim and Thummim on the breastplate of judgment. The Urim and Thummim should be over Aaron's heart when he walks before Jehovah. (Exodus 28:6, 15-21, 30)

The symbolic meanings of Aaron's clothes - his ephod, outer garment, inner garment, turban, and belt - have been given in Secrets of Heaven, published in London, in the treatment on this chapter [Secrets of Heaven 9834-9835, 9856-9878, 9905-9909]. There I showed that the ephod represents divine truth in its outermost form. Its precious stones represent truths made translucent by goodness. Twelve of them in four rows mean all truths of this kind from first to last. The twelve tribes mean every aspect of the church. The breastplate means the divine truth that comes from divine goodness in a universal sense. The Urim and Thummim mean the outermost radiance of the divine truth that comes from divine goodness. Urim means "shining fire. " Thummim means "radiance" in angelic language and "wholeness" in Hebrew. I also mentioned there that answers came through variations of light and a quiet awareness or else by direct verbal communication, and so on.

All this makes it clear that these stones stood for the truths in the outermost meaning of the Word that come from goodness. No other truths give answers from heaven. The divine emanating influence is fully present in the Word's outermost meaning.

682. In the Word, the "name of the Lord Jesus Christ" means acknowledging him and living by his commandments. For the reason why his name has these meanings, see the explanation of the second of the Ten Commandments [297-300], "You are not to take the name of God in vain" [Exodus 20:7; Deuteronomy 5:11]. This is precisely what the name of the Lord means in the following passages.

Jesus said, "You will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. " (Matthew 10:22; 24:9)

Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20)

As many as received him, he gave them power to be children of God, if they believed in his name. (John 1:12)

Many believed in his name. (John 2:23)

Those who do not believe have already been judged because they have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:18)

Those who believe will have life in his name. (John 20:31)

You have labored for my name's sake and have not become worn out. (Revelation 2:3)

The phrase is used with the same meaning in other passages as well.

[2] Surely everyone can see that in these passages the name of the Lord does not mean just his name but also means acknowledging that he is the Redeemer and Savior, obeying him, and eventually coming to have faith in him.

In baptism babies receive the sign of the cross on their forehead and chest, which is a sign that they are being initiated into acknowledging and worshiping the Lord.

Our name also means our quality, because in the spiritual world all are named for the qualities they have. Therefore the name of being Christian means our quality of having faith in Christ and having goodwill toward our neighbor from Christ. This is what "name" means in the following passage in the Book of Revelation:

The Son of Humankind says, "You have a few names in Sardis who have not gotten their clothes dirty and who will walk in white clothes with me, because they are worthy. " (Revelation 3:4)

Walking in white clothes with the Son of Humankind means following the Lord and living by the truths of his Word.

[3] "Name" has a similar meaning in John:

Jesus said, "The sheep hear my voice and I call my sheep by name and lead them out. I walk in front of the sheep and they follow me, because they know my voice. They do not follow a stranger, however, because they do not know the voice of strangers. " (John 10:3-5)

By name means by their quality as Christians; following him is hearing his voice, that is, obeying his commands. This is the "name" that all receive when they are baptized, in that it is part of the sign.