The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Lord.

By Emanuel Swedenborg

(First published 1763)

A translation of Doctrina Novae Hierosolymae de Domino, by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1688-1772. Translated from the Original Latin by N. Bruce Rogers.

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Translator’s Table of Contents

PREFACE

The Holy Scripture Throughout Has the Lord As Its Subject, and the Lord Embodies the Word. 1

The Statement That the Lord Fulfilled All of the Law Means That He Fulfilled All of the Word. 8

The Lord Came into the World to Conquer the Hells and Glorify His Humanity; and the Suffering of the Cross Was the Final Battle by Which He Fully Overcame the Hells and Fully Glorified His Humanity. 12

By His Suffering of the Cross the Lord Did Not Take Away Sins, but Bore Them. 15

An Imputation of the Lord’s Merit Is Nothing Else Than the Forgiveness of Sins Following Repentance. 18

In Relation to His Divine Humanity the Lord Is Called the Son of God, and in Relation to the Word the Son of Man. 19

The Lord Made His Humanity Divine from the Divine in Him, and So Was United with the Father. 29

The Lord Is God Himself, the Origin of and Subject of the Word. 37

There Is One God, and the Lord Is That God. 45

The Holy Spirit Is the Divinity Emanating from the Lord, and It Is the Lord Himself. 46

The New Church Is Meant by the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation. 62

PREFACE

Several years ago we published the following five short works:

1. Heaven and Hell.

2. The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem.

3. The Last Judgment.

4. The White Horse.

5. The Planets and Earths in the Universe.

In them we presented to view a number of things hitherto unknown.

Now, by command of the Lord, who has been revealed to me, I am to publish the following:

- The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Lord.

- The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding the Sacred Scripture.

- A Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem Based on the Ten Commandments.

- The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Regarding Faith.

- A Continuation Concerning the Last Judgment.

- Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Providence.

- Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Omnipotence, Omnipresence, Omniscience, Infinity and Eternity.

- Angelic Wisdom Regarding Divine Love and Wisdom.

- Angelic Wisdom Regarding Life.

We say The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, but we mean doctrine for the New Church, a church which is today being established by the Lord. For the former church has reached its end, as can be seen from what we said in the short work, The Last Judgment 33-39, and from what we are going to say later in the short works just named.

The fact that the New Jerusalem to come after the Judgment, as foretold in the twenty-first chapter of the book of Revelation, means the New Church may be seen in the final section here below.

50. (i) OMNIPOTENCE, OMNISCIENCE AND OMNIPRESENCE ARE PROPERTIES OF THE DIVINE WISDOM RESULTING FROM THE DIVINE LOVE.

That omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence are qualities of the Divine Wisdom as the result of the Divine Love, and not of the Divine Love by means of the Divine Wisdom, is a secret from heaven which up to now has not dawned on anyone's understanding, because no one so far has known what love is in its essence and what the wisdom derived from it is in its, not to mention the influence of one upon the other. What happens is that love with all its particulars flows into wisdom and there lives like a king in his realm or a master in his house, leaving all the administration of justice to its judgment. Since righteousness is an attribute of love and judgment an attribute of wisdom, love leaves all control to its wisdom. The following pages will shed more light on this secret, for the moment this statement may serve as a rule. The fact that God's omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence arise through the wisdom of His love is what is meant by the following passage from John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was nothing made which was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men; and the world was made through Him; and the Word was made flesh, John 1:1, 3-4, 10, 14.

'Word' here means Divine Truth, or, what comes to the same thing, the Divine Wisdom. That is why it is also called life and light; for these are nothing but wisdom.