Sunteți pe pagina 1din 162

A

BRIEF EXPOSITION
OF THE

DOCTRINE
OF

THE NEW CHURCH


SIGNIFIED BY THE

NEW JERUSALEM in THE REVELATION

BY

EMANUEL SWEDENBORG
A SWEDE

BEING A TRANSLATION OF
Summaria Expositio Doetrina Novae Eeclesiae

SWEDENBORG SOCIE TY. INCORPORATBD


20/21 BLOOMSBURY WAY,
LONDON

1952
REVELATION xxi 2, 5.
f, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband. . . . And He that sat
upon the throne said, Behold, f make all things
new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words
are true and faithful.

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY

THE THANET PRESS, MARGATE.

PREFACE
THE SUMMARIA EXPOSITIO DOCTRINAE NOVAE
ECCLESIAE was first published in Latin at
Amsterdam in the year 1769. According to Robert
Hindmarsh's statement in his Rise and Progress of
the New Church, an indifferent translation was
made soon afterwards either by a certain Mr.
John Merchant, a literary gentleman acquainted
with Swedenborg, or by Mr. William Cookworthy,
a Quaker of Plymouth. The statement continues :
"It was this first translation of the BRIEF
EXPOSITION of which Dr. Messiter speaks in the
postscript of his letter to the Rev. H. Hamilton,
Professor of Divinity in the University of
Edinburgh, where he says, 'Whatever esteem the
Latin work may deserve, this I am sure will
procure but little, it is so indifferently translated.'
A new translation of the BRIEF EXPOSITION was
afterwards made and published by me in the year
1789."
Two further translations have appeared: one
in 1818, "most probably" (according to Hyde's
Bibliography of Swedenborg's Works) by the Rev.
Samuel Noble; the other in 1895 by the Rev.
R. J. Tilson. A second Latin edition, in which
several printer's errors are corrected, was produced
by Dr. J. F. I. Tafel in 1859. .
As the title implies, the work gives a summary
statement of the fundamental doctrines of
the New Church. This statement, however,
occupies only a small proportion of the whole work.
iii
PREFACE

The greater part consists of a searching exposure


of the principal falsities of the decadent Christian
Church, Roman Catholic and Reformed. Numerous
extracts are first adduced from the Decrees of the
Council of '[rent, a principal Roman Catholic
statement of faith, and from the Protestant
Formula Concordiae: after which follows a re­
morseless examination of these extracts in twenty­
five Articles, showing their disagreement with the
doctrines of the New Church drawn from the Word
and confirmed thereby.
Naturally, the work is limited in scope, since,
as the Author states in the first paragraph, this
little work is a preliminary sketch to the major
work, THE TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, published
two years later. This fact, however, should in no
way detract from the importance of the smaller
work which, indeed, gives a more detailed and
exhaustive refutation of the main errors of
Christian theology than does the major work, thus
clearing the ground for the full presentation of
genuine truth given in the major work. And if, as
Swedenborg writes in a letter from Stockholm,
30th October, 1769, to Dr. G. A. Beyer, Professor
of Greek in the University of Gothenburg, the
BRIEF EXPOSITION is "a forerunner of the major
work, and is to prepare the way for its reception,"
it is, nevertheless, a complete treatise, and of
considerable value in itself, as is shown by the
following quotations from a posthumous work
entitled SKETCH OF AN ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY
OF THE NEW CHURCH:
When the Brief Exposition was published, the
angelic heaven, from east to west and from south
IV
PREFACE
to north, appeared of a deep crimson colour,
with most beautiful flowers. This took place
before myself, and before the Danish kings and
others. At another time it appeared'like a flame,
beautifully so.
On the books was written, "The Advent of
the Lord"; on all in the spiritual world. I
also wrote the same, by command, on two copies
in Holland.
One of the two copies referred to has been
found, 'and is available for inspection in the
Library of the British Museum, London. On the
inside page of the wrapper which is bound up
with the volume there is this inscription in Sweden-
borg's handwriticg :-

. )I,',' i..:1)({r 'f a)vvrJi)f;,'Vl4~~ ~~s;::~,


(L.x,£1.6)
. /"u.'...J....: Q- ".,l;:),J". i 6S'1!:
/~ '/"-'" )141.'1.,.,/,

The numbers refer to paragraphs in the ARCANA


CAELESTIA, and treat of the Second Advent of the
Lord. The" A.R." number is from THE
ApOCALYPSE REVEALED.
It remains to say that while keeping close to the
Latin the aim of this translation has been to
express the Author's meaning in clear and simple
English. Scripture quotations are given in the
language of the Authorised Version except where
fidelity to Swedenborg's rendering necessitates a
change. The small numbers in the margin indicate
the subdivisions of the' longer paragraphs in-
troduced by the Rev. J. F. Potts in his SWEDENBORG
CONCORDANCE. Footnotes have been kept to the
v
PREFACE

minimum, and it is hoped that the work will be


read with ease and satisfaction alike by the
ordinary reader and the scholar. To my Consultant,
the Rev. Eustace R. Goldsack, M.A., also to
Mr. William C. Dick, M.A., F.E.LS., I tender my
thanks for their assistance and advice.
RUPERT STANLEY.
Glasgow, 1952.

VI
CONTENTS
PAGE
INTRODUCTION (n. I)

THE DOCfRrNALS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLICS CONCERN-


ING JUSTIFICATION: FROM THE COUNCIL OF TRENT.
(n. 2-8) . . . . . . . . . .. 2

THE DOCTRINALS OF THE PROTESTANTS CONCERNING


JUSTIFICATION: FROM THE Formula Concordiae.
~.~I~ 9

A SKETCH OF THE DOCTRINALS OF THE NEW CHURCH


~I~ n
THE DISAGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE TENETS OF THE
PRESENT CHURCH AND THOSE OF THE NEW CHURCH

I. The Churches which separated themselves at


the Reformation from the Roman Catholic
Church dissent in various points, but they all
agree on the Articles concerning a Trinity of
Persons in the Godhead, Original Sin from
Adam, the Imputation of Christ's Merit, and
Justification by Faith Alone. (n. 17, 18). . 24

11. The Roman Catholics held exactly the same


beliefs before the Reformation as the Re-
formed Church did after it concerning the
four Articles mentioned above, namely, a·
Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, Original
Sin, the Imputation of Christ's Merit, and
Justification by Faith therein; with the sole
difference that they united that Faith with
Charity or Good Works. (n. 19,20) 25
vu
CONTENTS
PAGE
Ill. The leading Reformers, Luther, Melanchthon
and Calvin, retained all the dogmas concerning
a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, Original
Sin, the Imputation of Christ's Merit, and
Justification by Faith, just as they were and
had been with the Roman Catholics; but
they separated Charity or Good Works from
that Faith, and declared that they were not
conjointly saving, in order that they might be
completely severed from the Roman Catholics
as to the very essentials of the Church, which
are Faith and Charity. (n. 21-23) 26
IV. Nevertheless, the leading Reformers adjoined
Good Works, and even conjoined them, to
their Faith, but in man as a passive subject;
whereas the Roman Catholics did so in man
as an active subject ; and yet there is actually
a conformity between the latter and the
former as to Faith, Works and Merit. (n. 24-29) 28
V. The whole theology of the Christian World
at this day is founded on the idea of three
Gods, arising from the doctrine of a Trinity
of Persons. (n. 30-38). 31
VI. The dogmas of the aforesaid theology are
seen to be erroneous after the idea of a Trinity
of Persons, hence of three God~, has been
rejected, and the idea of one God, in Whom
is the Divine Trinity, received instead.
(n. 39, 40) 37
VII. Then truly saving Faith, which is Faith in One
God united with Good Works, is acknow­
ledged and received. (n. 41, 42) 39
VIII. This Faith is Faith in God the Saviour Jesus
Christ, which in its simplest form is as follows:
1. There is One God in Whom is the Divine
Trinity, and He is the Lord Jesus Christ.
2.A Saving Faith is to believe on Him.
Vlll
CONTENTS
PAGE
3. Evil actions ought to be shunned because
they are of the devil and from the devil.
4. Good actions ought to be done because
they are of God and from God.
5. And these are to be done by man as of
himself, yet it ought to be believed that
they are from the Lord, with him and
through him. (n. 43, 44) . 40

IX. The Faith of the present day has separated


religion from the Church; for religion con­
sists in the acknowledgment of One God, and
in the worship of Him from the Faith of
Charity (n. 45, 46) 43

X. The Faith of the present Church cannot be


united with Charity, or produce any fruits
which are Good Works. (n. 47-50) . 45

XI. From the Faith of the present Church there

flows forth a worship of the mouth and not

of the life; when yet the worship of the

mouth is accepted by the Lord only so far

as it accords with worship which is of the life.

(n. 51, 52) 47

XII. The doctrine of the present Church is bound

together by.many paradoxes which are to be

embraced by faith; therefore, its dogmas

enter the memory only, and not into any part

of the understanding above the memory,

but merely into confirmations below it.

(n. 53-57) 50

XIII. The dogmas of the present Church cannot be .


learned without great difficulty, nor retained,
since they slip from the memory; neither
can they be preached or taught without using
great care and caution lest their nakedness
appear; because sound reason neither
perceives nor receives them. (n. 58, 59) 53
ix
CONTENTS
PAGE
XIV. The doctrine of the Faith of the present Church
ascribes to God human properties, as that
He viewed man from anger, that He required
to be reconciled, that He is reconciled through
His love to the Son and by intercession, that
He required to be appeased by the sight of
His Son's misery, and thus to be brought
back to mercy, that He imputes the righteous­
ness of His Son to the unrighteous man who
supplicates it from Faith Alone; and that
thus from being an enemy He makes him into
a friend, and from a son of wrath into a son of
grace. (n. 60-63) . 56
XV. From the Faith of the present Church mon­
strous births have been produced, and may
still be produced, such as, Instantaneous
Salvation from Direct Mercy, Predestination,
the notion that God does not attend to
man's actions, but only to faith, that there
is no bond between Charity and Faith, that in
conversion man is as a stock, with many other
such enormities; likewise concerning the
Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper,
as to the principles of reason drawn from
the doctrine of Justification by Faith Alone
respecting the benefits they confer; also as
regards the Person of Christ. The heresies
from the first period to the present day have
flowed from no other source than the doctrine
founded upon the idea of three Gods. (n. 64-69) 59
XVI. The last state of the present Church, when it is
at an end, is meant by the Consummation
of the Age and the Advent of the Lord at
that time. Matt. xxiv 3 (n. 70-73) . . . . . 67
XVII. Infestation by falsities, thence the consumma­
tion of all truth, or desolation, in the Christian
Churches at this day, is what is meant by
the Great Affliction such as was not from the
beginning of the world, nor shall be. Matt.
xxiv 21. (n.74-76) 71
X
.

CONTENTS
PAOE
XVIII. That neither Love, nor Faith, nor the Cog­
nitions of Good and Truth, exist in the last
period of the Christian Church when it draws
to its end, is meant by these words in the
aforesaid chapter of Mal/hew:
After the affliction of those days, shall the
sun be darkened and the moon shall not
give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and the powers of the heavens ~hall
be shaken.-Verse 29 (n.77-81) . 73

XIX. Those who hold to the present belief in


Justification by Faith Alone are meant by the
he-goats in Daniel and Matthew. (n. 82-86). 78

XX. Those who have confinned themselves in the


present belief in Justification by Faith Alone
are meant in the Revelation by the Dragon,
his two Beasts, and the Locusts; and this
Faith, when confinned, is meant there by the
Great City, which is spiritually called Sodom
and Egypt, where the Two Witnesses were
slain; also by the Pit of the Abyss from
which the Locusts came forth. (n. 87-90) . 82

XXI. Unless a New Church is established by the

Lord, no one can be saved ; this is meant by

these words :

Except those days should be shortened,


there should no flesh be saved.-Matt. xxiv 22
(n. 91-94) 85

XXII. The exposure and rejection of the dogmas of

the Faith of the present Church, and the

revelation and reception of the dogmas of the

Faith of the New Church, is meant by these'

words in the Revelation :

He that sat upon the throne said, Behold,


I make all things new. And he said unto me,
Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Rev. xxi 5 (n. 95-98) . 88
Xl
CONTENTS
PAGE
XXIII. The New Church about to be establi~hed_by
the Lord is the New Jerusalem treated of in the
J
Revelation, chaps. xxi and xxii, which is
there called the Bride and Wife of the Lamb.
(n. 99-101). . ; . . . . . 91
XXIV. The Faith of the New Church cannot possibly
be together with the Faith of the former
Church; for if they were together, such a
collision and conflict would ensue that
everything of the Church with man would
perish (n. 102-104) 96
XXV. Roman Catholics at this day know nothing of
the Im utation of Christ' Men, or 0 ustifi­
cation by];'aith therein, into which Faith eir
Church has been mitiated, because this lies
entirely concealed under their external forms
of worship, which are numerous. Wherefore,
if they recede even in part from the externals
oftherr worship, ana appr<facnGOO -the
Jll
SavIOur Jesus Christ direct, and also recei e
the-t!oly Eucharist in both kinds, they may be
brought Into the New Jerusalem, that is, into
the Lord's New Church,- before the Reformed.
(n. 105-113) . 99
Two MEMORABLE NARRATIVES FROM THE Apocalypse
Revealed. (n. 114 and liS) . . . . . 112
ApPENDIX •.• THE FATTH OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND
THE
NEW--cHtrRCH IN ITs UNIVERSAL AND
PARTICULAR FORMS. (n. 116 and 117) 120
THREE· MEMORABLE NARRATIVES FROM THE Apocalypse
Revealea. (n. 1[8-flU
122

xii
1] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

A BRIEF EXPOSITION

of the

DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

signified by

THE NEW JERUSALEM IN THE

APOCALYPSE
1. As several works and tracts have been
published by me during the past few years con­
cerning the NEW JERUSALEM, by which is meant
a New Church to be established by the Lord,
and as the Apocalypse has now been revealed',
I have decided to bring to light the Doctrine of
that Chu~ch in its fulness, thus as a whole. This,
however, is a work which will take some years to
complete; wherefore I have thought it advisable
to produce some sort of a sketch of it, in order that a
general idea of this Church and its Doctrine may
first be obtained. For, when general things precede,
then each and everything stands out clearly in the
light; for particulars enter into generals as things
homogeneous into their own receptacles. This brief
exposition, however, is not designed for critical
examination, but is only offered to the world for
information; its contents will be fuIly proved in
the major work itself. Yet the doctrinal tenets of
to-day concerning Justification are to be set forth
first, on account of what follows concerning the
disagreement between the doctrines of the present
Church and th'ose of the New Church.
(I) See the work entitled THE APOCA.LYPSE REVEALED, published in
Amsterdam in 1766.
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [2-4
THE. DOCTRINALS OF THE ROMAN CATHOLICS
CONCERNING JUSTIFICATION : FROM THE COUNCIL
OF TRENT.
2. In the bull of Pope Pius IV, dated 13th
November, 1564, are the following words: .. I
embrace and receive everything, in general and
particular, which the most holy Council of Trent
has determined and declared concerning Original
Sin and Justification."
3. From the Council o/Trent, concerning Original
Sin.
Ca) Adam, by his transgression, was wholly
changed for the worse, both in body and soul.
This transgression proved injurious not only to
Adam but to his offspring. It not only transmitted
death and bodily sufferings to the whole human
race, but also sin which is the death of the soul :
Sess. V, 1, 2.
Cb) This sin of Adam, which in origin was a
single transgression, but which has been trans­
mitted by propagation, not by imitation, is im­
planted in everyone as his own, and cannot be
removed by any other remedy than the Merit of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the only Saviour, Who
has reconciled us to God by His blood, being made
for us righteousness, sanctification and redemp­
tion: Sess. V, 3.
Cc) By Adam's transgression all men lost their
innocence and became unclean, and by nature
children of wrath: Sess. VI, chap. 1.
4. Concerning Justification.
Ca) The heavenly Father, Father of mercies,
sent Christ Jesus, His Son, to men, when the
blessed fulness of time arrived, in order to redeem
2
4] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

both the Jews who were under the law and the
Gentiles who followed not after righteousness, so
that they might lay hold of righteousness, and all
receive adoption as sons'. God offered Him to be
a propitiation for sin through faith in His blood,
and this, not only for our sins but also for the sins
of the whole world: Sess. VI, chap. 2. \
(b) Yet all do not receive the benefit of His
death, but only those to whom the merit of His
passion is communicated; wherefore, unless they
are born again in Christ, they will never be justified:
Sess. VI, chap. 3.
(c) The origin of justification is to be derived
from the prevenient grace of God through Christ
Jesus, that is, from His call: Sess. VI, chap. 5.
(d) Men are disposed to righteousness when,
being stirred by divine grace, and acquiring faith
by hearing, they are freely moved towards God,
believing those things to be true which are divinely
revealed and promised; and especially this, that
the ungodly are justified by God by His grace, by
the redemption which is in Christ Jesus ; and when
they realise that they are sinners, from fear of
divine justice, by which they are profitably dis­
quieted, they are raised to hope, trusting that God,
for Christ's sake, will be well-disposed towards
them: Sess. VI, chap. 6.
(e) The consequence of this disposition and
preparation is actual justification, which is not
only a remission of sins but also a sanctification
and renewal of the interior man by the reception
of grace and gifts, whereby man, from being un­
righteous, becomes righteous, and from being an
enemy becomes a friend, so as to be an heir accord­
(1) See textual nole on p. 140.
3
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [4-5
ing to the hope of eternal life : Sess. VI, chap. 7.
er) The final cause of justification is the glory
of God and of Christ, and life eternal. The
efficient cause is God Who freely cleanses and
sanctifies. The meriting cause is the most dearly
beloved and only-begotten of God, our Lord
Jesus Christ, Who, although we were enemies, on
account of the exceeding great love wherewith He
loved us, and by His most holy passion upon the
cross, earned justification for us, and made satis­
faction on our behalf to God the Father. The
instrumental cause is the sacrament of baptism,
which is a sacrament of faith without which no
one can ever be justified. The formal cause is the
sole righteousness of God; not that whereby He
is righteous Himself, but that whereby He makes
us righteous, with which, that is, we, being
gifted by Him, are renewed in the spirit of our
mind. Moreover, we are not only reputed righteous
but truly called righteous ; being so in reality, each
according to that measure which the Holy Spirit
imparts to everyone just as it pleases Him:
Sess. VI, chap. 7, par. 2.
(g) Justification is a transference from that
state in which man is born a son of the first Adam
into a state of grace and adoption among the sons
of God through the second Adam, our Saviour
Jesus Christ: Sess. VI, chap. 4.
5. Concerning Faith, Charity, Good Works and
Merit.
(a) When the Apostle declares that man is
justified by faith, and freely, these words are to be
understood in the sense in which, by general con­
sent, the Catholic Church has always held and
4
5] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

expressed them ; to wit, that we are said to be justi­


fied by faith because faith is the beginning of man's
salvation, and the foundation and root of all
justification, without which it is impossible to
satisfy God and attain to the fellowship of His
children. Moreover, we are said to be justified freely
because none of those things which precede justi­
fication, whether faith or works, merit the actual
grace of justification; for if it be grace, it does not
arise from works, otherwise grace would not be
grace: Sess. VI, chap. 8.
(b) Although no one can be righteous except
those to whom the merit of the passion of our Lord
Jesus Christ is communicated, nevertheless this
communication is effected in justification when, by
the Merit of the same most holy passion, the love
of God is infused by the Holy Ghost into the hearts
of those who are justified, and abides in them.
Whence, in the act of justification, man receives,
together with the remission of sins, all these things
infused into 'him at once by Jesus Christ, in Whom
he is ingrafted by faith, hope and charity. For
faith, unless charity be added to it, neither unites
perfectly to Christ, nor constitutes man a living
member of His body: Sess. VI, chap. 7, par. 3.
(c) Christ is not only the Redeemer in Whom
they are to have faith, but also a Lawgiver Whom
they must obey: Sess. VI, chap. 16, can. 21.
(d) Faith without works is dead and vain,
because in Christ Jesus neither circumcision
availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith
which works by charity; for faith without hope and
charity cannot avail unto eternal life; wherefore
they hearken at once to the word of Christ: "If
thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments."
2 5
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [5
Thus, being reborn instantly, and receiving true
Christian righteousness, they are bidden to
preserve it white and unspotted, as their principal
robe given them by Jesus Christ in place of that
which Adam lost for himself and us by his disobe­
dience, that they may present it before the judg­
ment-seat of our Lord Jesus Christ and have eternal
life: Sess. VI, chap. 7, par. 4.
(e) There is a continual influx of power from
Jesus Christ Himself into those who are justified,
as from the head into the parts of the body, and
from the vine into its branches. This power always
precedes, accompanies and follows their good
works, and without it these could not by any means
be acceptable and meritorious in the sight of God.
Wherefore, it is to be believed that nothing more
is wanting for those who are justified than that they
be adjudged to have fully deserved eternal life,
which will be bestowed on them in due time, by
virtue of those works which were wrought in God :
Sess. VI, chap. 16.
(f) When we speak of our own righteousness,
this is not said as though it were our own from
ourselves; for that which is called our righteous­
ness is the righteousness of God, because it is
infused into us by God through Christ's merit.
Far be'it, therefore, from any Christian man to
trust or glory in himself, and not in the Lord,
Whose goodness towards us men is so great that
He wills to regard those things as our deserts,
which are His own gifts: Sess. VI, chap. 16.
(g) For of ourselves, as from ourselves, we can
do nothing; but with Him, Who strengthens us,
co-operating, we can do all things. Thus man has
not anything in which he may glory. All our glory
6
5-6J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

is in Christ, in Whom we live, in Whom we have


merit, in Whom we make satisfaction, bringing
forth fruits worthy of repentance,_ which have their
efficacy from Him, are offered unto the Father by
Him, and are accepted by the Father through Him :
Sess. XIV, chap. 8.
(h) If anyone shall say that man may be justified
in the sight of God by his own works, which are
done either through the powers of human nature
or through the teaching of the law, without divine
grace through Christ Jesus, let him be accursed:
Sess. VI, can. 1.
(i) If anyone shall say that man may believe,
hope and love (that is, have faith, hope and
charity), as is necessary in order that the grace of
justification may be conferred upon him without
the prevenient inspiration of the Holy Spirit arid
His assistance, let him be accursed: Sess. VI,
can. 2.
(k) If anyone shall say that man is justified
without the righteousness of Christ, whereby He
has acquired merit for us, let him be accursed :
Sess. VI, ,can. 10.
And many other passages there are which are
not mentioned here, principally relating to the
conjunction of faith with charity or good works,
and condemning their separation.
6. Concerning Free-will.
(0) Free-will is by no means destroyed by Adam's
sin, although it is impaired and warped thereby :
Sess. VI, chap. 1.
(b) If anyone shall say that man's free-will, when
moved and aroused by God, cannot at all co­
operate by concurring with God Who stirs and
7
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [6-7
calls it, so that man may dispose and prepare
himself to receive the grace of justification; or
that he cannot dissent if he wishes, but like some­
thing inanimate is merely passive and can do
nothing, let him be accursed: Sess. VI, can. 4.
7. The Doctrinals of the Roman Catholics
concerning Justification, collected from the Decrees
of the Council of Trent, may be summed up and
arranged in a Series, as follows : ­
The sin of Adam is transfused into the whole
human race, whereupon his state and from him
the state of all men-became perverted and alienated
from God, and thus they became enemies and
children of wrath. Therefore, God the Father
graciously sent His Son to reconcile, expiate,
propitiate, make satisfaction, and thus to redeem
(mankind), and that by these works He became
righteousness. Christ accomplished and fulfilled
all this by offering up Himself upon the cross as a
sacrifice to God the Father, thus by His passion
and His blood. Christ alone has acquired merit,
and this, His merit, from grace, is imputed, attribut­
ed, applied and transferred to the man who is a
recipient thereof, by God the Father through the
Holy Spirit; in this way the sin of Adam is re­
moved from man, concupiscence, however, still
remaining in him as the kindling point of sin.
Justification is the remission of sins, from which
a renewal of the interior man takes place, whereby
man, from being an enemy, becomes a friend, and
from being a child of wrath becomes a child of
grace; thus, union with Christ is effected, and
the regenerate person becomes a living member
of His body.
8
8-9J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

8. Faith comes by hearing, when a man believes


those things to be true which are Divinely revealed,
and trusts in the promises of God. Faith is the
beginning of man's salvation, the foundation and
root of all justification, without which it is im-
possible to please God and enter into the fellowship
of His children.
Justification is brought about by faith, hope and
charity, and unless faith is accompanied by hope
and charity, it is not living but dead, and incapable
of effecting union with Christ. It is man's duty
to co-operate; he has the power to approach and
withdraw. Otherwise, nothing could be given to
him, for he would be like an inanimate body.
Inasmuch as the reception of justification renews
man, and as this is effected by the application to
him of Christ's merit with man's co-operation,
it follows that works are meritorious. But since
they are done from grace, and by the Holy Spirit,
and as Christ alone has merit, therefore God makes
His own gifts in man as meritorious; whence it
follows that no one ought to attribute anything
of merit t:) himself.

THE DOCTRINALS OF THE PROTESTANTS CONCERNING


JUSTIFICATION: FROM THE Formula Concordiae.

9. This book from which the following extracts


are collected is called the Formula Concordiae.
It was written hy men who took part in the
Augsburg Confession. As the pages will be in-
dicated where the quotations are to be found, I
may say that I have made use of the edition printed
at Leipzig in the year 1756.
9
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF· THE [10-11
10. From the Formula Concordiae, concerning
Original Sin.
(a) Since the fall of Adam, all men, being
descended from him according to nature, are born
in sin, which brings damnation and eternal death
on those who are not reborn. The merit of Christ
is the only means whereby they are reborn; con­
sequently, the only remedy whereby they are
restored. Pages 9, 10, 52, 53, 55, 317, 641, 644 ;
also Appendix, pages 138, 139.
(b) Original sin is such a deep corruption of
nature that there is no spiritual soundness in man's
body or soul, or in his I::nergies. Page 574.
(c) It is the source of all actual sins. Pages 317,
577, 639. 640. 642. Appendix, page 139.
(d) It is the total absence or deprivation of t)le
image of God.. Page 640.
(e) We ought to distinguish between our nature
such as God created it, and original sin which
dwells in our nature. Page 645.
(f) Moreover, original sin is there called the work
of the devil, spiritual poison, the root of all evils.
an accident' and a quality; whereas our nature is
there called the work and creature of God, the
personality of man, a substance and an essence;
and the difference between them is the same as the
difference between a man infected with a disease
and the disease itself.
11. Concerning Justification by Faith. The
general heads are these :­
(a) By the Word and the Sacraments the Holy
Spirit is given, Who produces faith whenever and
(1) Latin U accidens"; i.e., an accident in the philosophical sense
of a nOD-essential property; DOt in tbe sense of a misbap.
10
11] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

wherever it appears, in those who hear the gospel.


(b) Contrition, Justification by faith, Renewal
and Good Works, follow in order; they are to be
carefully distinguished from each other. Contrition
and good works contribute nothing towards
salvation; faith alone avails.
(c) Justification by faith alone is remission of
sins, deliverance from damnation, reconciliation
on the part of the Father, and adoption as sons.
It is effected by the imputation of Christ's merit
or righteousness.
(d) Hence faith is that very righteousness where­
by we are accounted righteous before God, and it
is trust in grace and reliance on it.
(e) Renewal, which follows, is vivification,
regeneration and sanctification.
(f) This renewal is followed by good works
which are the fruits of faith, being in themselves
works of the Spirit.
(g) This faith may be lost by grievous sins.
THE GENERAL HEADS CONCERNING THE LAW AND
THE GOSPELS ARE THESE : ­
(h) We must carefully distinguish between the
Law and the Gospel, and between works of the
Law and works of the Spirit, which are the fruits
of faith.
(i) The Law is doctrine which shows that man
is in sin, and therefore in damnation, and in the
wrath of God; thus exciting terror. But the
Gospel is doctrine concerning atonement for sin
through Christ, and deliverance from damnation;
it is thus a doctrine of consolation.
(k) There are three uses of the Law: to restrain
the wicked, to bring to men an acknowledgment
of their sins, and to teach the reborn the rules of life.
11
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [11-12
(l) The reborn are in the Law, yet not under
the Law, but under Grace.
(m) It is the duty of the reborn to exercise
themselves in the Law because, while they live in
the world, they are prompted to sin by the flesh,
but they become pure and perfect after death.
(n) The reborn are also reproved by the Holy
Spirit, and undergo various struggles; neverthe­
less, they keep the Law willingly; thus, being the
children of God, they live in the Law.
(0) With those who are not reborn, the veil of
Moses still remains before their eyes, and the old
Adam bears rule; but with the reborn the veil of
Moses is taken away, and the old Adam is
mortified.
12. Particulars from the Formula Concordiae
concerning Justification by Faith without the Works
of the Law.
. (a) Faith is imputed for righteousness without
works on account of Christ's merit, which is laid
hold of by faith. Pages 78, 79, 80, 584, 689.
(b) Charity follows the faith that justifies, but
faith does not justify to the extent that it has been
formed by charity, as the Papists allege. Pages 81,
89, 94, 117, 688, 691. Appendix, page 169.
(c) Neither the contrition which precedes faith,
nor the renewal and sanctification which follow it,
nor the good works then performed, have anything
to do with the righteousness offaith. Pages 688, 689.
(d) It is foolish to imagine that the works of the
second table of the Decalogue justify before God,
for by that table we regulate our relations with men,
not properly with God ; and in justification every­
thing must be done in relation to God, and to
appease His wrath. Page 102.
12
12J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

(e) If, therefore, anyone believes that remission


of sins is obtained because he has charity, he
brings a reproach on Christ, for this is an impious
and vain confidence in his own righteousness.
Pages 87, 89.
cn Good works are to be utterly excluded in
treating of justification and eternal life. Page 589.
(g) Good works are not necessary as a meri­
torious cause of salvation, and they do not enter
into the act of justification. Pages 589, 590, 702,
704. Appendix, page 173.
(h) The position that good works are necessary
for salvation is to be rejected, because it takes
away the consolation of the Gospel, gives occasion
for doubt concerning the grace of God, and instils
a conceit of one's own righteousness; also because
good works are accepted by the Papists in support
of a bad cause. Page 704.
(i) The expression that good works are necessary
for salvation is rejected and condemned. Page 591.
(k) Expressions concerning good works as being
necessary for salvation ought not to be taught and
defended; they should be derided and rejected
by the churches as false. Page 705.
(I) . Works which do not proceed from a true
faith are in reality sins in the sight of God; that
is, they are defiled with sin because a corrupt tree
cannot bring forth good fruit. Page 700.
(m) Faith and salvation are neither preserved
nor retained by good works, because they are onty
evidences that the Holy Spirit is present and dwells
in us. Pages 590, 705. Appendix, page 174.
(n) The decree of the Council of Trent that good
works preserve salvation, or that either the
acquired righteousness of faith or faith itself is
13
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [12-13
maintained or preserved, either in whole or at least
in part, by our works, must rightly be rejected.
Page 707.
13. Particulars from the Formula Concordiae
concerning the Fruits of Faith.
(a) A difference is to be observed between works
of the Law and works of the Spirit. The works
which a reborn person performs with a free
and willing spirit are not works of the Law, but
works of the Spirit which are the fruits of faith.
This is because those who are reborn are not
under the Law, but under Grace. Pages 589,
590, 721, 722.
(b) Good works are the fruits of repentance.
Page 12.
(c) The reborn receive by faith a new life,
new affections and new works; these are from
faith in the course of repentance. Page 134.
(d) After conversion and justification, man begins
to be renewed in his mind, and at length in his
understanding; then his will is not idle in the
daily exercise of repentance. Pages 582, 673, 700.
(e) We ought to repent on account of original
sin as well as on account of actual sins. Page 321.
Appendix, page 159.
(f) With Christians repentance continues until
death, because they have to wrestle with sin
remaining in the flesh as long as they live. Page 327.
(g) We must enter upon, and advance more and
more in, the practice of the law of the Decalogue.
Pages 85, 86.
(h) Although the reborn are delivered from
the curse of the Law, they ought still to continue
observing the Divine Law. Page 718.
14
13J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

(i) The reborn are not outside the Law,


though not under the Law, for they live according
to the law of the Lord. Page 722.
(k) To the reborn the Law ought to be a
rule of religion. Pages 596, 717. Appendix,
page 156.
(/) The reborn do good works of their own
accord and freely, not by constraint, as though
they had received no command, had heard of no
threatenings, and expected no reward. Pages 596,
701.
(m) With them, faith is always employed in
deeds, and he who does not thus perform good
works is destitute of true faith; for where there
is faith there will also be good works. Page 701.
(n) Charity and good fruits follow upon faith
and regeneration. Pages 121, 122, 171, 188, 692.
(0) Faith and works agree well together and are
inseparably connected; but faith alone lays hold
of the blessing without works, and yet it is not
alone; hence it is that faith without works is
dead. Pages 692, 693.
(p) After man is justified by faith, his faith,
being true and living, becomes effective through
charity; for good works always follow the faith
that justifies, and are most certainly found with it.
Thus, faith is never alone, but is always accompanied
by hope and charity. Page 586.
(q) We grant that where good works do not
follow faith, it is a false and not a true faith.
Page 336.
(r) It is as impossible to separate good works
from faith as it is to separate heat and light from
fire. Page 701.
15
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [13
(s) Because the old Adam is always inherent in
our very nature, the reborn have continual need of
the admonition, doctrine, threatenings, and even
the chastisements of the Law; for they are re-
proved and corrected by the Holy Spirit through
the Law. Pages 719, 720, 721.
(t) The reborn must wrestle with the old
Adam, and the flesh must be subdued by exhorta-
tions, threatenings and stripes, because renewal of
life by faith is begun only in the present life.
Pages 595, 596, 724.
(u) With the elect and truly reborn there
remains a perpetual wrestling between the flesh
and the spirit. Pages 675, 679.
(x) The reason Christ promises remission of sins
for good works is because they follow reconciliation,
and also because good fruits must necessarily
follow, and because they are the signs of promise.
Pages 116, 117.
(y) Saving faith is not in those who have no
charity, for charity is the fruit which inevitably
and necessarily follows true faith. Page 688.
(z) Good works are necessary for many reasons,
but not as a cause of merit. Pages 11, 17, 64, 95,
133, 589, 590, 702. Appendix, page 172.
(aa) The reborn ought to co-operate with
the Holy Spirit by the new gifts and powers which
they have received, but in the right way. Pages
582, 583, 674, 675. Appendix, page 114.
(bb) In the Confession of the Churches in the
Low Countries, which was received in the Synod of
Dort,l we read as follows: "Holy faith cannot
(I) An Assembly of the Reformed Dutch Church held at Dort
(present name Dordrecht) in Holland, in the years 1618 and 1619, to
refute the tenets of the Armenians.
16
13-14J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

be inactive in man, for it is a faith working through


charity, and works which proceed from a good
root of faith are good and acceptable before
God, like the fruits of a good tree; for we are
under obligation to God to do good works. But
God is no debtor unto us, inasmuch as it is God
Who does them in us."
14. From the Formula Concordiae concerning
Merit.
(a) It is false to suppose that our works merit
remission of sins; false, also, that men are
accounted righteous by the righteousness of
reason ; and false to suppose that reason
of its own power is capable of loving God above all
things and of keeping the law of God. Page 64.
(b) Faith does not justify because it is in itself
so good a work and so excellent a virtue, but
because it lays hold of Christ's merit in the promise
of the Gospel. P.ages 76, 684.
(c) The promise of remission of sins and justifi­
cation for Christ's sake does not involve any con­
dition of merit, because it is freely offered. Page 67.
(d) Man, a sinner, is justified before God, or
absolved from his sins and from the most just
sentence of damnation, and adopted into the
number of the children of God, by pure grace,
without any merit of his own, and without any
works of his own, whether past, present or future;
and this purely on account of the sole merit. of
Christ which is imputed to him for righteousness.
Page 684.
(e) Good works follow faith, remission of sins
and regeneration, and whatever pollution or im­
perfection is in them is not accounted sinful or
·17
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [14
defective; and this for Christ's sake. Thus the
whole man, both as to his person and works, is
rendered and pronounced righteous and holy from
Christ's pure grace and mercy shed, displayed and
increased, upon us; wherefore we cannot glory
on account of merit. Pages 74, 92, 93, 336.
(f) Whoever trusts in works as being meritorious
to himself, despises the merit and grace of Christ,
and seeks a way to heaven by human power without
Christ. Pages 16-19.
(g) Works are not only unprofitable but even
harmful to such as desire to mingle good works
with the doctrine of justification, and by them to
merit the grace of God. Page 708.
(h) The works of the Deca10gue are specified,
and other necessary works, which God honours
with rewards. Pages 176, 198.
(i) We teach that good works are meritorious,
not indeed as regards remission of sins, grace and
justification, but as regards other bodily rewards,
as also spiritual rewards in this life and after this
life; for Paul says that everyone will receive a
reward according to his work, and Christ says that
great will be your reward in heaven. Moreover, it
is frequently said that to everyone will be rendered
according to his works. Wherefore we acknowledge
eternal life to be a reward, because it is our due
according to the promise, and because God crowns
his own gifts, but not on account of our merit.
Pages 96, 13J-138.
(k) When the good works of believers are done
for right reasons and directed to right ends, such as
God requires from the reborn, they are signs
of eternal salvation ; and God the Father accounts
them acceptable and pleasing for Christ's sake,
18
14-l5J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

and promises them excellent rewards in this life


and in the life to come. Page 708.
(l) Although good works merit rewards, yet
neither by their worthiness nor fitness do they
merit remission of sins or the glory of eternal life.
Pages 96, 135, 139, etc. Appendix, page 174.
(m) At the last judgment Christ will pass sen­
tence on good and evil works as being the proper
effects and evidences of men's faith. Page. 134.
Appendix, page 187.
(n) God rewards good works, but it is of grace
that He crowns His own gifts: this is asserted in
the Confession of the Churches in the Low
Countries.
15. Concerning Free-will: from the Formula
Concordiae.
(a) Man is altogether impotent in spiritual
things. Pages 15, 18, 219, 318, 579, 656, etc.
Appendix, page 141.
(b) By the fall of his first parents, man has
become so totally corrupt as to be by nature blind
with respect to spiritual things which relate to
conversion and salvation, and so accounts the
Word of God as a foolish thing. He is, and con­
tinues to be, an enemy to God until by the power
of the Holy Spirit, through the preaching and
hearing of the Word, he is converted, 'gifted with
faith, regenerated and renewed by pure grace
without any co-operation on his part. Pages 656,
657.
(c) Man is altogether corrupt and dead to what
is good, so that in the nature of man since the fall
and before regeneration there is not so much as a
spark of spiritual vigour subsisting or remaining
19
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [15
whereby he can prepare himself for the grace of
God, or lay hold of it when offered, or of and by
himself be capable of receiving it, or understand,
believe, embrace, think, will, begin, perfect, act,
operate or co-operate in spiritual things, or apply
or accommodate himself to grace, or contribute
anything towards his conversion, either in the
whole, the half, or the least part. Pages 656, 658.
(d) In spiritual and Divine things which regard
the soul's salvation, man is like the pillar of salt
into which Lot's wife was turned, and like a stock
or a stone without life and having neither the use
of eyes, mouth, nor any of the senses. Pages 661,
662.
(e) Still, man has the power of movement and
can govern his external members, attend public
worship and hear the Word of God and the Gospel;
but in his private thoughts he despises all this as
something foolish, and in this respect he is worse
than a stock unless the Holy Spirit becomes effec­
tive in him. Pages 662, 671, 672, 673.
(f) Still, man's conversion is not just like the
formation of a statue from stone, or the stamping
of an impression on wax, which have neither know­
ledge, sense nor will. Pages 662, 681.
(g) In his conversion, man is a merely passive
subject, not an active one. Pages 662, 681.
(h) In his conversion, man does not at all co­
operate with the Holy Spirit. Pages 219, 579, 583,
672, 676. Appendix, pages 143, 144.
(i) Since the fall, man retains and possesses the
faculty of knowing natural things, also free-will
in some measure to choose natural and civil good.
Pages 14, 218, 641, 664. Appendix, page 142.
(k) The assertions of certain of the Fathers and
20
15J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

modem Doctors that God draws man, though with


his consent, are not in agreement with Holy
Scripture. Pages 582, 583.
(l) When man is born again by the power of the
Holy Spirit, he co-operates, though very feebly,
by means of the new powers and gifts which the
Holy Spirit began to operate in him at his con­
version, not indeed forcibly, but freely. Pages 582,
etc., 673-5. Appendix, page 144.
(m) Not only the gifts of God, but also Christ
.Himself, dwell by faith in the reborn, as in
His temples. Pages 695, 697, 698. Appendix,
page 130.
(n) There is a vast difference between baptized
persons and those not baptized ; for it is according
to the doctrine of Paul that all who have been
baptized have put on Christ and are truly regenerate,
these having thereby acquired freedom of will,
that is, made free again, as Christ testifies. Where­
fore, they not only hear the Word of God but are
in truth also enabled, though very feebly, to
assent to and embrace it by faith. Page 675.
It should be observed that the foregoing extracts
are taken from a book called Formula Concordiae,
which was written by men of the Augsburg
Confession. Nevertheless, the same doctrines
concerning Justification by Faith Alone are main­
tained and taught by the members of the Reformed
Church in England and Holland; wherefore the
following treatise is intended for all. See also
below, paragraphs 17 and 18.

3 21
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [16

A SKETCH

of the

DOCTRINALS OF THE NEW CHURCH

16. Now follows a brief Exposition of the


Doctrine of the New Church, meant by the New
Jerusalem in the Revelation, chapters xxi and xxii.
This Doctrine, which is not only a matter of faith
but also of life, will be divided in the maJofWOrK 1
into tliree parts.
THE FIRST PART will treat of : .
(1) The Lord God the Saviour, and the Divine
Trinity in Him.
(2) The Sacred Scripture and its two senses,
the Natural and the Spiritual, and its
holiness thence.
(3) .Love to God and love towards the neigh­
bour, and the agreement of these loves with
each other.
(4) Faith,anditsconjunction with those two loves.
(5) The Doctrine of Life, from the Command­
ments of the Decalogue.
(6) Reformation and Regeneration.
(7) Free-will, and man's co-operation with the
Lord by its means.
(8) Baptism.
(9) The Holy Supper.
(10) Heaven and Hell.
-- - -
(11) The conjunction of men therewith, and the
--
(I) The work alluded to is THE TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, published
two years after the present work. In writing the larger work, the author
adheres in the main to the plan laid down here, yet more as regards the
substance than the form.
22
16] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

state of their life..-after death according to


thatc..Qn~n. ---- ­
(12) Eternal life.
THE SECOND PART will treat of :
(1) The Consummation of the Age, or end
of the present Church.
(2) The Coming of the Lord.
(3) The Last Judgment.
(4) T~w Church, which IS the New
Jerusalem.
THE THIRD PART will point out the disagreements
between the tenets of the present Church and those
of the New Church. But we will dwell a little
upon these now, because it is believed both by the
clergy and the laity that the present Church is in
the very light of the Gospel and its truths, which
cannot possibly be disproved, overturned or
I(assailed, not even by an angel, if one should
aescend from heaven. Neither does the present
Church see otherwise, because it has withdrawn the
understanding from faith, and yet has confirmed ifs
tenets by a kind of sight beneath the understanding ;
for in that sight falsities -can be confirmed until
they appear as truths, and falsities tllere confirmed
acquire a fallacious light in which the light of
trut appears as thick darkness. For this reason,
we shall here dwell a little upon this subject,
mentioning the disagreements and illustrating
them by brief remarks, so that those whose under­
standing has not been closed by blin aitli may
see tbese differences in a kind of twill ht, after­
wards as in morning light, and at ength, in e
major wor ,~ u I <la li ht. The disagreements
in general are as follows :­
23

A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [17-18

1.

17. The Churches which separated themselves at


the Reformation from the Roman Catholic Church
dissent in various points, but they all agree on the
Articles concerning a Trinity of Persons in the
Godhead, Original Sin from Adam, the Imputation
of Christ's Merit, and Justification by Faith Alone.

BRIEF ANALYSIS
18. The Churches which separated themselves
at the Reformation from the Roman Catholic
Church are composed of those who call themselves
Evangelicals and Reformed, likewise Protestants ;
or, from their leaders, Lutherans and Calvinists.
Among these the Church of England holds a
middle place. We shall say nothing here concerning
the Greek Church which was separated long ago
from the Roman Catholic Church.
That the Protestant Churches dissent in various
points, particularly concerning the Holy Supper,
Baptism, Election, and the Person of Christ, is
well known to many people, but it is not generally
known that they all a ee on the Articles concern­
ing a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, Original
Sin, the Imputation of Christ's Merit:-and Justifi­
I cation by Faith Alone. This is because few-people
apply themselves to exploring the differences of
the tenets maintained by the different Churches;
consequently, neither do they inquire into those
P9ints 0 hich they. agree. Only the clergy study
the tenets of their Cn.urch; the laity rarely
understand them interiorly, and so are unacquainted
24
l8-20J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

with their differences. Nevertheless, they agree on

the four Articles above-mentioned, both as regards

the general affirmation and as regards most of the

particulars therein. This appears evident from their

books, if they are consulted, and from their

sermons, if they are heard. This, however, is

premised for information on account of what

follows.

n.
19. The Roman Catholics held exactly the same
beliefs before the Reformation as the Reformed
Church did after it concerning the four Articles
mentioned above, namely, a Trinity of Persons in
the Godhead, Original Sin, the Imputation of Christ's
Merit, and Justification by Faith therein: with the)
sole difference that they united that Faith with
Chart)!. or Good Works.

BRIEF ANALYSIS
20. That there is such a conformity between the
Roman Catholics and the Protestants regarding
these four articles so that there is scarcely any
important difference between them, except that the
former conjoin faith and charity while the latter
separate them, is scarcely known to anyone;
indeea, it "is so generally unknown that the learJled
themselves will be astonished at this assertion.
The reason for this ignorance is that the Roman
Catholics rarely approach God our SaviOiif' ;
instead of Him they look to the Pope as His vicar,
and to the saints. Hence--.-­they have dee 1 buried
25
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [20-22
in oblivion their tenets concerning the imputation
{ of Christ's merit and justification by faith. Never­
theless, such tenets are received and acknowledged
by them, as clearly appears from the Decrees of the
Council of Trent quoted above, nos. 3-8, and con­
firmed by Pope Pius IV, n. 2. If these be compared
with the tenets advanced above from the Augsburg
Confession and from the Formula Concordiae
derived therefrom, nos. 9-12, the differences
between them will be found to consist mor III
woros than in substance. The Doctors of the
Church may inoeeOsee some conformity between
them by reading and comparing the above passages
together, but still only obscurely. However, in
order that they, as well as those who are less
learned, and also the laity, may see this agreement,
some illustrations will now be added.

Ill.

21. The leading Reformers, Luther, MelanchthJn


and Calvin, retained all the dogmas concerning a
Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, Original Sin, the
Imputation of Christ's Merit, and Justification by
Faith, just as they were and had been with the
Roman Catholics; but they separated Charity or
Good Works from that Faith, and declared that the
were not conjointly saving, in order that they might
be completely severed froiii't e Roman Catholics
as to t every essentials of the Church, which are
Faith and Charity.
BRIEF ANALYSIS
22. The four articles mentioned above, as at
26
22-23J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

present taught in the Reformed Churches, were


not new, nor were they first hatched by those
three leaders, but were handed down from the
time of the Council of Nicaea, and by writers
after that period, and preserved from that time in
the Roman Catholic Church, as is clear from books
on Ecclesiastical History. Why the Roman
Catholics and the Reformed agree regarding the
article on the Trinity of Persons in the Godhead is
because they both acknowledge the three creeds,
the A ostles', the Nicene and toe f\thanasian;ln
I
w c a Trinity is taught. That they agree on the
article concerning the Imputation of Christ's merit,
is plain from the extracts from the Council of
Trent, nos. 3-8, compared with those from the
Formula Concordiae, nos. 10-15. That they also
agree on the article concerning Justification shall
now be shown.
23. Concerning Justification by Faith, the
Council of Trent declares as follows: "It has
always been the agreed opinion of the Catholic
Church that faith is the beginning of human
salvation, the foundation and root of all justifica­
tion, without which it is impossible to please God
and to come into the fellowship of His children" ;
see above, n. 5 (a). Also it is said that" faith comes
by hearing the Word of God," n. 4 (d). Moreover,
the aforesaid Roman Catholic Council conjoined
faith and charity, or faith and good works, as may
be clearly seen from the above quotations, nos. 4,
5, 7, 8. But the Reformed Churches, following
their own leaders, have separated them,
making salvation to consist in faith, and not at the
same time in charity or good works, to the end
27
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [23-24
that they might be totally severed from the Roman
Catholics as to the very essentials of the Church,
which are faith and charity; this I have fre­
quently heard from the aforesaid leaders
themselves.
I have also heard that they established this
separation by the following considerations : that
no one can do any good which avails for salvation
of himself, nor can anyone fulfil the law; nor,
again, can any merit of man's enter into faith.
From these principles, and in view of the end
stated above, they excluded the goods of charity
from faith, and thereby from salvation. This is
evident from the quotations given above from the
Formula Concordiae, n. 12, among which are
these: "Faith, to the extent that it is formed by
charity, does not justify as the Papists allege,
12 (b). The position that good works are necessary
for salvation is to be rejected on many accounts ;
and also because they are accepted by the
Papists in support of a bad cause, 12 (h). The
decree of the Council of Trent that good works
preserve and retain salvation must rightly be
rejected," 12 (n); besides many other points
there stated. However, the Reformed still conjoin
faith and charity into one for salvation, with the
sole difference as to the quality of the works, as
will be shown in the following article.

IV.

24. Nevertheless, the leading Reformers adjoined


Good Works, and even conjoined them, to their
Faith, but in man ps a passive suj:Jject,. whereas the
28
24-26J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

Roman Catholics did so in man as an active subject;


and yet there is actually a conformity betweenthe
latter and the former as to Faith, Works and Merit.
BRIEF ANALYSIS
25. Although the leading Reformers separated
faith and charity, they still adjoined and at length
conjoined them ; but they did not wish them to be
regarded as one, or as conjointly necessary for
salvation; as is evident from their books, sermons
and declarations. For, after they have separated
them they conjoin them, and even express this
union in decisive terms, not in ambiguous
expressions. Note, for instance, the following:
Faith following on justification is never alone, but
is always accompanied by charity or good works;
and if not, then such faith is not a living but a
dead faith; see above n. 13 (0, p, q, r, y, bb),
Indeed, good works necessarily follow faith,
n. 13 (x, y, z). The reborn person co-operates with
the Holy Spirit by new powers and gifts, n. 13
(aa). That the Roman Catholics teach exactly the
same is clear from the passages collected from the
Council of Trent; nos. 4-8;.
26. The Reformers profess nearly the same
things as the Roman Catholics concerning the
merit of works, as is evident from the following
quotations from the Formula Concordiae. Good
works are rewarded by virtue of the promise ~md
by grace, from which they merit rewards both
bodily and spiritual, n. 14 (i, k, I, n); and
God crowns His gifts with a reward, n. 14 (h, n).
The same is asserted in the Council of Trent ;
namely, that God by His grace makes His gifts
29
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [26-28
to be merits, n. 5 (f); further, that salvation is
not from works, but from promise and grace,
because God operates them by His Holy Spirit,
n. 5 (e, f, g, h, i, k).
27. Comparing the one position with the other,
it appears at first sight as though they were in
entire agreement. Lest, however, this should be
so, the Reformers distinguished between works
of the Law proceeding from man's purpose and will,
and works of the Spirit proceeding from faith as
from a free and spontaneous disposition. The
latter good works they called the fruits of faith,
as may be seen above, n. 11 (h, f) and n. 13 (a, i,
f) and n. 15 (f). From this penetrating examina­
tion and comparison there does not appear to be
any difference in the works themselves, but only in
their quality; thus, in that the latter sort proceed
from man as a passive subject, but the former as
from an active subject. Consequently, the latter
are spontaneous since they proceed from man's
understanding and not at the same time from his
will. This is said because man cannot be unaware
when he is doing them, because he is doing them,
and awareness is from the understanding.
Nevertheless, as the Reformed also preach the
exercises of repentance and wrestlings with
the flesh, n. 13 (d, e, f, g, h, k), and these
cannot be done by man except from his purpose
and will, and thus by him as from himself, it
follows that there is still an actual agreement.
28. As regards free-will in conversion, or in the
act of justification, it appears as if the Roman
Catholics and the Reformed were entirely opposed;
30
28-30] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

but that they are still in accord may be seen if the


passages transcribed from the Council of Trent,
n. 6 (a, b), are rightly considered and compared
with those from the Formula Concordiae, n. 15 (n).
For in Christian countries all are baptized, and
are thereby in a freed state of the will, so as to be
able not only to hear the Word of God but also to
assent to it, and to embrace it by faith;
consequently, no one in the Christian world is
like a stock.
29. From all this, then, the truth of what is
asserted in nos. 19 and 21 appears; namely, that
the Reformers derived their tenets concerning
a Trinity of Persons in the Godhead, Original Sin,
the Imputation of Christ's merit, and Justification
by Faith, from the Roman Catholics. These things
have been advanced in order to show the origin of
their tenets, especially of the separation of faith
from good works, or the doctrine of faith alone,
and to show that this was done with no other aim
than to be severed from the Roman Catholics ;
and to show that, after all, their disagreement is
more in words than in reality. From the above
passages, it clearly appears upon what foundation
the faith of the Reformed Churches has been
erected, and from what inspiration it arose.

v.
30. The whole theology of the Christian World
. at this day is ounded on the idea 0 three Gods,
arising from the doctrine of a Trinity of Persons.
31
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [31-32
BRIEF ANALYSIS
31. Something shall first be said concerning the
source from which the idea of a Trinity of Persons
in the Godhead, thus of three Gods, has proceeded.
There are three creeds, called the Apostles', the
Nicene and the Athanasian, which specifically
teach the Trinity. The Apostles' and the Nicene
teach just the Trinity, whilst the Athanasian
teaches a Trinity of Persons. These three creeds
appear in many of the Books of Worship (Libris
Psalmorum) ; the Apostles' Creed as a psalm which
is sung, the Nicene after the Decalogue, and the
Athanasian apart by itself. The Apostles' Creed
was written after the time of the Apostles. The
Nicene Creed was composed at the Council of
Nicaea, a city of Bithynia, to which all the bishops
in Asia, Africa and Europe were summoned by the
Emperor Constantine in the year A.D. 325. The
Athanasian Creed was composed after that
Council by some person or persons in order
utterly to overthrow the Arians, and was after­
wards received by the churches as <:ecumenical.
From the first two creeds the confession of a
Trinity clearly appeared, but from the third or
Athanasian Creed proceeded the profession of a
Trinity of Persons. That hence arose the idea of
three Gods will be seen from what now follows.
32. That there is a Divine Trinity is manifest
from the Lord's words in Matthew:
Jesus said, Go ye therefore, make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Matt. xxviii 19.
Also from these words in the same Evangelist:
When Jesus was baptized, . . . 10, the heavens were
32
32-33] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH
opened unto Him, and He saw the Holy Spirit descending
like a dove and alighting upon Him; and 10, a voice
from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in Whom
I am well pleased. Matt. iii 16, 17.
The reason the Lord sent His disciples to
baptize in the name of the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit was because in Him, then glorified, was the
Divine Trinity; for in the preceding verse, n. 18
(Matt. xxviii), He says:
All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.
and in the 20th verse:
Lo, I am with you all the days, even unto the consum­
mation of the age.
Thus, He spoke of Himself alone, and not of three.
Again, it is written in John: )
The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet
glorified. - John vii 39
The former words He spoke after His glorifica­
tion, and His glorification yvas His complete union
with His ather, Who was the Divine Itself in
Him from conception; and the Holy Spirit was
the Divine proceeding from Him after His glori­
fication ; see John xx 22.
33. The reason the idea of three Gods proceeded
chiefly from the Athanasian Creed, where a
Trinity of Persons is taught, is because the word
" person" begets such an idea. Moreover, this
idea is further implanted by these words in the
Creed: "There is one person of the Father,
another of the Son, and another of the Holy
Ghost"; and later: "The Father is God and
Lord, the Son is God and Lord, and the Holy
Ghost is God and Lord"; but especially
by these words in the Creed: "For like as
33
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [33-34
we are compelled by the Christian verity to
acknowledge every Person by himself to be God
and Lord, so we are forbidden by the Catholic
Religion to say there are three Gods or three
Lords." The import of these words is that
by the Christian verity we are bound to
confess and acknowledge three Gods and three
Lords, but by the Catholic religion we are not
allowed to say, or to mention, three Gods and three
Lords; consequently, we may have an idea of
three Gods and three Lords, but we are not to
make oral confession thereof. Nevertheless, the
doctrine of the Trinity in the Athanasian Creed
agrees with the truth if only there is substituted
for a Trinity of Persons a Trinity of Person which
is in God the Saviour Jesus Christ, as may be
seen in THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
CONCERNING THE LORD, published at Amsterdam
in the year 1763, nos. 55-61.
34. It is to be observed that in the Apostles'
Creed it is said : "I believe in God the Father ...
in Jesus Christ ... and in the Holy Ghost," and in
the Nicene Creed: "I believe in one God, the
Father ... in one Lord Jesus Christ ... and in the
Holy Ghost" ; thus, only in one God. But in the
Athanasian Creed it is said: .. In God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost" ; thus,
in three Gods. Yet because the authors and
favourers of this creed saw clearly that an idea of
three Gods would inevitably result from the ex­
pressions used therein, in order that this might be
remedied, they asserted that one substance or
essence belongs to the three. But, in truth, from
these expressions po other idea ~ tfuilL.L.fiat
34
34-35] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

there are three Gods of one mind and agreeing


togetlier:-For when one indivisible substance or
essence is attributed to the Three, it does not remove
the idea of three, but confuses it. This is because
the expression is a metaphysical one, and meta­
J
Rh sics with all its ingenuit cannot make oneout
of three Persons, each of Whom IS God. It may,
indeed, make a unity of them in utterance, but
never in the idea.
35. That the whole Christian theology at this
day is founded on the idea of three Gods, clearly
appears from the doctrine of justification, which is
the principal doctrine of the Church among
Christians, both Roman Catholics and Protestants.
This doctrine asserts that God the Father sent His
Son to redeem and save mankind, and gives the
Holy Spirit to perform this. Everyone who hears,
reads, or repeats this cannot but divide God into
three in his thought, that is, in his idea, and suppose
that one God sent another and operates by a third.
That the same notion of a Divine Trinity dis­
tinguished into three Persons, each of Whom is
God, is continued throughout the rest of the
doctrinal tenets of the present Church, as from a
head into its body, will be demonstrated in the
proper place. In the meantime, consider what has
already been set forth concerning justification,
consult theology in general and particular, and,
at the same time, notice while in church listening
to sermons, or while praying at home, whether
you have any other perception and thought than
of three Gods; especially when you are praying
or singing separately to one, and then separately
to the other two, as is the common practice. From
35
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [35-37
these considerations the truth of the proposition
is established that the universal theology in the
Christian world at this day is founded on the idea
of three Gods.
36. That a trinity of Gods is contrary to Holy
Scripture is well known, for it is written :
Am not I Jehovah ? and there is no God else besides Me ;
a just God and a Saviour there is none besides Me.
Isa. xlv 21, 22.
I, Jehovah, am thy God ... and thou shalt acknowledge
no God besides Me ; for there is no Saviour besides Me.
Hosea xiii 4.
Thus saith Jehovah the King ofIsrael, and His Redeemer,
Jehovah Zebaoth : I am the First and I am the Last, and
besides Me there is no God. Isa. xliv 6.
Jehovah Zebaoth is His Name, and thy Redeemer the
Holy One of Israel; the God of the whole earth shall
He be called. Isa. liv 5.
In that day ... Jehovah shall be King over all the earth;
in that day there shall be one Jehovah and His Name
One. Zech. xiv 9.
There are also many more such passages.
37. That a trinity of Gods is contrary to en­
lightened reason may appear from these con­
siderations. What man of sound reason can bear
to hear that three Gods created the world, or can
bear to hear that creation and preservation,
redemption and salvation, reformation and re­
generation are the work of three Gods, not of One?
On the other hand, what man of sound reason is
unwilling to hear that the same God Who created
us also redeemed us and regenerates and saves us ?
As the latter idea and not the former accords with
reason, there is, therefore, no nation upon the whole
earth, possessed of religion and sound reason,
36
37-39J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

which does not acknowledge one God. As is


well known, the Mohammedans, also certain)
nations in Asia and Afnca, abhor CfuistlaImy,
becausrthey-bclieve---m:ere IS In It the worship of
--three-uo-ds ; anolhe-onlyarrswerofTl1eCnnshans
fo the cfiarge is that for the three there is one
essence, thus one God. I can affirm, from the
faculty of reason which has been given me, that I
can clearly see that neither the world, nor the
angelic heaven, nor the church, nor anything
therein, could have come into existence or could
subsist but from one God.
38. To what has been said shall be added the
following from the Confession of the Churches
in the Low Countries, received at the Synod of
Dort: "I believe in one God, WholSOneessence
wherein are three Persons in communicable
properties, truly ~ndrealh dis..tinct from eternity ;
namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Father is the cause, origin and beginning of
all things visible and invisible; the Son is the
Word, Wisdom and Image, of the Father; the
Holy Spirit is the eternal Virtue and Power pro­
ceeding from the Father and the Son. However,
it must be allowed that this doctrine far exceeds
the comprehension of the human mina; rinfilct,
we await a perfect knowledge of this in heaven."

VI.
39. The dogmas of the aforesaid theology are
seen to be erroneous after the idea of a Trinity of
Persons, hence of three Gods, has been rejected, and
4 37
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [39-40
the idea of one God, in Whom is the Divine Trinity,
received instead.

BRIEF ANALYSIS
40. The reason why the dogmas of the present
Church, which are based upon the idea of three
Gods, derived from the doctrine of a Trinity of
Persons, literally understood, are seen to be
erroneous after the idea of one God in Whom is the
Divine Trinity has been received instead, is because
it is not possible to see what is erroneous before
this has been done. For it is like one who in the
night, by the light of a few stars, sees various
objects, especially statues, and believes them to be
living men; or, like one who in the twilight
before sunrise, as he lies in bed, beholds, as it were,
spectres in the air, and believes them to be angels;
or, again, like one who sees many things in the
foolish light of phantasy, and believes them to
be real. Such things, as is well known, do not
appear for what they really are, and are not
perceived as such, until the man comes into the
light of day; that is, until his. understanding is
wide awake. It is similar with the spiritual things
of the Church, which have been erroneously and
falsely perceived and confirmed, when genuine
truths are presented to view in their own light,
which is the light of heaven.
Who cannot understand that all dogmas founded
on the idea of three Gods are erroneous and false
from within? I say, from within, because the
idea of God enters into all things of the Church,
of religion and of worship; also because theo­
logical matters reside higher than all others in the
human mind, and among these the idea of God is
38
40-42J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

supreme. Wherefore, if this is false, all things


that follow from this initial falsity from which
they flow are false or are falsified. For what is
supreme, being also the inmost, constitutes the
very essence of all that is derived from it; and
the essence, like a soul, forms them into a body
after its own image; and when, in its descent, it
comes upon truths, it even infects them with its own
blemish and error. The idea of three Gods in
theology may be compared to a disorder seated in
the heart or in the lungs, when yet the invalid
fancies himself to be in health, because his physician,
not knowing his disease, persuades him that he is
so. But if the physician knows of the disease,
and still persuades the patient that he is healthy,
he deserves to be charged with excessive malignity.

VII.

41. Then truly saving Faith, which is Faith in one


God united with Good Works, is acknowledged and
received.

BRIEF ANALYSIS
42. Thoe reason why this faith, which is a faith
in one God, is acknowledged and received as truly
saving when the former faith in three Gods is
rejected is because, until this is done, a faith in one
God cannot be seen in its proper aspect. For the
faith of the present day is preached as the only
saving faith, because it is a faith in one God, and in
a Saviour. But there are two aspects to this present­
day faith, one internal, the other external. The
internal is formed from the perception of three
39
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [42-43
Gods; for who perceives or thinks otherwise ?
Let everyone examine himself. But the external is
formed from the confession of one God. Again,
who acknowledges or says otherwise? Let every­
one examine himself. These two aspects are alto­
gether discordant with each other,so that the
external is not acknowledged by the internal ; nor
is the internal known by the external. Because of
this discord and discrepancy when the one is
compared with the other, a confused idea of the
means of salvatiqn has been conceived and brought
forth in the Church.
It is otherwise when the internal and external
aspects agree, and when they mutually regard and
acknowledge each other as a concordant unity.
That this is the case when one God in Whom is a
Divine Trinity is not only perceived by the mind
but also acknowledged by the mouth, is self­
evident. Then the dogma concerning the alienation
of the Father from the human race is abolished,
together with that of His reconciliation, and quite
another doctrine results concerning imputation,
remission of sins, regeneration and thence salvation.
This will be clearly seen in the major work, in the
light of reason illuminated by divine truths from
the Sacred Scripture. This faith is 'called a faith
united with good works, because without this
union it is impossible to have faith in one God.

VIII

43. This Faith is Faith in God the Saviour Jesus


Christ, which in its simplest form is as follows:
40
43-44J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

(1) THERE IS ONE GOD IN WHOM IS THE DIVINE


TRINITY, AND HE IS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.
(2) A SAVING FAITH IS TO BELIEVE ON HIM.
(3) EVIL ACTIONS OUGHT TO BE SHUNNED BECAUSE
THEY ARE OF THE DEVIL AND FROM THE DEVIL.
(4) GOOD ACTIONS OUGHT TO BB DONE BECAUSE
THEY ARE OF GOD AND FROM GOD.
(5) AND THESE SHOULD BE DONE BY MAN AS OF
HIMSELF, YET IT OUGHT TO BE BELIEVED THAT
THEY ARE FROM THE LORD, WITH HIM AND
THROUGH HIM.

BRIEF ANALYSIS
44. This is the Faith of the New Church in
simple form. It will appear more fully in the
Appendix, and in still greater fulness in the first
part of the major work, treating of the Lord God
the Saviour, and of the Trinity in Him; of love to
God and love towards the neighbour; of faith,
and its conjunction with those two loves. This
faith will also be treated of in the remaining parts
of that work, which will follow in their proper
order there. But it is important that this pre­
liminary account of the above-mentioned faith
should be shown here to some extent.
The first Article, viz., that there is one God in
Whom is the Divine Trinity, and that He is the Lord
Jesus Christ, is shown by the following summary.
It is a sure and abiding truth that God is one, that
His essence is indivisible, and that there is a Trip,ity.
Since, therefore, God is one, and His essence is
indivisible, it follows that God is one Person; and
that, since He is one Person, the Trinity is in that
Person. That this Person is the Lord Jesus Christ is
evident from the following statements: He was
41
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [44
conceived of God the Father, Luke i, 34, 35 : thus,
as to His soul and essential life, He is God. There­
fore, as He Himself said, the Father and He are
one, John x 30. He is in the Father, and the
Father in Him, John xiv 10, 11. He who sees Him
and knows Him, sees and knows the Father,
John xiv 7, 9. No one sees and knows the Father
except He Who is in the bosom of the Father,
John i 18. All things of the Father are His, John iii
35 and xvi 15. He is the way, the truth and the
life, and no one comes to the Father but through
Him, John xiv 6; consequently by Him, because
He is in Him, thus is He Himself. According to
Paul, in Him dwells all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily, Colossians ii 9 ; and according to Isaiah,
Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, Whose
name is God, Father of eternity. Isa~ ix 6.

Further, He has power over all flesh, John xvii 2 :


whence it follows that He is the God of heaven and
earth.
The second Article, viz., that a saving faith is
to believe on Him, is shown by these sayings :
Jesus said ... He that believeth on Me shall never die,
but shall live. John xi 25, 26.
This is the will of My Father, that everyone who believes
on the Son may have eternal life. John vi 40.
God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life. John iii 16.
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, but
he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life, but the
wrath of God abideth on him. John iii 36.
There is no need to illustrate and prove the
remaining Articles, which are that evils ought to
be shunned because they are of the devil and from
42
44-46] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

the devil, that good. actions ought to be done


because they are of God and from God, yet that
man ought to believe that they are from the Lord
with him and through him; for the whole
Sacred Scripture from beginning to end confirms
them and, in short, teaches nothing else than
shunning evils and doing goods, and believing on
the Lord God. Besides, without these three
things there is not any religion, for religion
belongs to life, and life is to shun evils and
do goods; and man cannot do the one or
the other except as of himself. Wherefore, if
you remove these three things from the Church,
you remove the Sacred Scripture, and religion also;
in which case the Church ceases to be a Church.
For a further account of the Faith of the New
Church in its universal and particular forms; see
below, nos. 116 and 117. All this will be demon­
strated in the major work.

IX
45. The Faith of the present day has separated
religion from the Church: for religion consists in
the acknowledgment of One God, and in the worship
of Him from the Faith of Charity.

BRIEF ANALYSIS
46. What nation is there upon the earth,
possessed of religion and sound reason, that does
not know and believe that there is one God;
that to do evil is contrary to Him, and that to do
good is to be in accord with Him ; also that man
must do good from his soul, his heart, and
43
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [46
his strength, although good inflows from
God; and that religion consists in this? Who,
therefore, does not see that to confess three Persons
in the Divine, and to assert that in good works
there is nothing of salvation, is to separate religion
from the Church? For it is declared that in those
works there is nothing of salvation, as in these
statements: "Faith justifies without good works,"
n. 12 (a, b). "Works are not necessary for
salvation, nor for faith, because salvation and
faith are neither preserved nor retained by good
works," n. 12 (g, h, rn, n). Consequently, there is no
bond of conjunction of faith with good works. If it
is afterwards said that good works nevertheless
follow faith spontaneously, as fruit from a tree,
n.13 (I, n), who then does them; nay, who thinks
of them, or who is spontaneously led to them, while
he knows and believes that they contribute nothing
to salvation, and, further, that no one can do any
good of salvation from himself? and so on.
It may. be said that, nevertheless, they have
conjoined faith with good works. We reply that
this conjunction, when closely inspected, is not
conjunction, but mere adjunction; and this only
like a superfluous appendage that neither coheres
nor adheres in any other manner than as a dark
background to a portrait which serves to give it
more of the appearance of life. Moreover, because
religion belongs to life, and this consists in good
works according to the truths of faith, it is clear
that religion itself is the portrait and not an
appendage. Indeed, with many, religion is as a
horse's tail which, because it is of little value, may
be cut oft' at pleasure. Who can rationally conclude
otherwise while he understands such expressions
44
46-48] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

as the following according to their obvious mean-


ing? "It is folly to imagine that the works of the
second table of the Decalogue justify in the sight
of God," n. 12 (d). "If anyone believes he will
necessarily obtain salvation because he has charity,
he brings a reproach upon Christ," n. 12 (e). " Good
works are to be utterly excluded in treating of
justification and eternal life," n.12 (f): besides
many other statements there. Who, therefore,
when he reads afterwards that good works neces-
sarily follow faith, and that, if they do not follow,
the faith is false and not true, n. 13 (p, q, v), with
more to the same effect, attends to these sayings ;
or, if he attends to them, does so with any per-
ception? Yet the good which proceeds from man
without perception has no more life in it than if it
came from a statue.
But, if we enquire more deeply into the grounds
of this doctrine, it will appear that the leaders of
the Church first laid down faith alone as their
ruling principle, in order that they might be
severed from the Roman Catholics, as mentioned
above, nos. 21-23, and afterwards adjoined works
of charity lest their principle should be contrary
to Sacred Scripture, and so that it might appear
to be religious and sound.

X.
47. The Faith of the present Church cannot be
united with Charity, or produce any fruits which are
Good Works.
BRIEF ANALYSIS
48. Before this proposition is demonstrated,
we will first explain the derivation and nature of
45
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [48-49
charity, of faith, and of good works which are
called fruits. Faith is truth; wherefore the doc­
trine of faith is the doctrine of truth, and the
doctrine of truth is in the understanding, thence in
the thought, thence in the speech. Wherefore, it
teaches what should be willed and what should be
done; thus, that evils are to be shunned, and
which evils in particular: and that good actions
are to be done, and which in particular. When man
does good from faith, goods unite themselves with
truths, because the will is then united with the
understanding; for good belongs to the will and
truth to the understanding. From this conjunction
arises the affection of good, which in its essence is
charity, and the affection of truth, which in its
essence is faith; and these two united make a
marriage. From this marriage good works are
produced as fruits from a tree; whence they
become the fruits of good and the fruits of truth.
The latter are signified in the Word by grapes, the
former by olives.
49. From this derivation of good works, it is
evident that faith alone cannot possibly produce
or beget any works which are called fruits, any more
than a woman can produce of herself any offspring
without the man. Wherefore, the expression
" fruits offaith " is mere words, devoid of meaning.
Besides, throughout the whole world nothing ever
was or is produced save from a marriage union
in which one part has relation to good and the
other to truth; or, in the case of the opposite
kind, one part has relation to evil, the other to
what is false. Consequently, no works can be
conceived, much less born, save from such a
46
49-51J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH
marriage union ; good works from the marriage
of good and truth, evil works from the marriage of
evil and falsity.
50. The reason why charity cannot be united
with the faith of the present Church, and why no
good works can be born from any such marriage,
is because imputation supplies everything, remits
sins, justifies, regenerates, sanctifies, and imparts
the life of heaven, thus salvation; and all this
freely, without any works of man. In such a case,
what is charity, whose union should be with faith,
but something superfluous and vain, an accessory
and token of imputation and justification, which,
however, avails nothing? Besides, a faith founded
on the idea of three Gods is erroneous, as has been
shown above, nos. 39, 40 ; and with an erroneous
faith charity that in itself is charity cannot be
united.
It is believed that there is no bond of union
between the above-mentioned faith and charity
for two reasons; one, because the leaders of the
Church make this faith spiritual, but charity they
make natural-moral, imagining that there can be
no union between what is spiritual and what is
natural. The other reason is, lest anything from
man, and so anything of merit, should flow into
their faith, which alone they regard as saving.
Moreover, no bond of charity is possible with that
faith; but there is a bond with the new faith, as
may be seen below, nos. 116, 117.
XI.
51. From the Faith of the present Church there
flows forth a worship of the mouth and not of the
47
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [51-52
life.. when yet the worship of the mouth is accepted
by the Lord only so far as it accords with worship
which is of the life.

BRIEF ANALYSIS
52. This is shown by experience. How many
are there at this day who live according to the
precepts of the Decalogue, and the other precepts
of the Lord, from a religious principle? And how
many are there at this day who desire to look their
own evils in the face and perform actual repentance,
and thus enter upon worship which is of the life?
Or who, among those who practise piety, perform
any other repentance than that of the mouth and
speech, confessing themselves to be sinners, and
praying from the doctrine of the Church that God
the Father, Who from compassion on account of
the Son Who suffered upon the cross for their sins,
took away their damnation and atoned for them
with His blood, would mercifully forgive their
transgressions so that they might stand unspotted
before His judgment-seat? Who does not see that
this worship is of the lungs only, not of the heart ;
thus, external, not internal? For in such worship a
man prays for remission of sins, and yet is not
conscious of a single sin in himself; and if he
should know of any, he would envelop it with
favour and indulgence, or with a faith supposedly
purifying and absolving, without any works on his
part. But this may be compared to a servant who,
approaching his master with his face and clothes
bedaubed with soot and filth, should say to him:
" Master, wash me." Would not his master say
to him: "Thou foolish servant, what are you
saying? See, there is water, soap and a towel.
48
52J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

Have you not hands, and can you not use them?
Wash yourself." So also, would not the Lord God
say: "There are from Me the means of purifica­
tion; from Me also you have will and power.
Wherefore, use these gifts of Mine and these talents
of your own, and you will be purified."
Consider also another example by way of illus­
tration. Suppose you should pray a thousand
times at home and in church that God the Father,
for the sake of His Son, would preserve you from
the devil, and yet you did not keep yourself from
evil and so from the devil by that freedom of will
in which you are perpetually kept by the Lord,
you could not then be preserved even by legions
of angels sent by the Lord. For the Lord cannot
act contrary to His own Divine order, which is
that a man should examine himself, discover his
evils and resist them, and this as of himself,
although from the Lord. This, indeed, does not
appear at this day to Ibe the gospel; nevertheless,
it is so; for the gospel is that we are saved by
the Lord.
The reason why the worship of the mouth is
. accepted by the Lord only so far as it accords with
worship which is of the life, is because man's
speech before God and before His angels sounds
from the affection of his love and faith, and these
two are in man according to his life. Wherefore,
if the love of God and faith in Him are in your
life, the sound of your voice will be like that ~f a
dove. But if self-love and self-confidence are in
your life, the sound of your voice will be like that
of an owl, however you may attempt to imitate
the turtle-dove. The spiritual quality, which is
within the sound, effects this.
49
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [53-54

XII
53. The doctrine of the present Church is bound
together by many paradoxes which are to be em­
braced by faith,. therefore its dogmas enter the
memory only, and not into any part of the under­
standing above the memory, but merely into
confirmations below it.
BRIEF ANALYSIS
54. The prelates of the Church insist that the
understanding is to be kept under obedience to
faith; nay, they say that a faith in what is un­
known, which is a blind or nocturnal faith, is
properly faith. This is the first paradox. For
faith belongs to truth, and truth to faith; and, in
order that truth may belong to faith, it must be in
its own light and be seen in that light; otherwise,
what is false could be believed.
The paradoxes proceeding from such a faith are
many; as, that God the Father begat a Son from
eternity, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from both,
and each of these three is a Person by Himself
and is God; that the Lord was from the mother
both as to His soul and body; that these three
Persons, thus three Gods, created the universe ;
that one of them descended and assumed the
Human in order to reconcile the Father, and thus
to save mankind; that those who by grace obtain
faith and believe these paradoxes are saved by the
imputation, application and transfer of His justice
to themselves; that a man, at his first reception
of this faith, is like a statue, stock or stone, and
50
54-56J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

that faith flows in by the mere hearing of the Word;


that faith alone is the means of salvation without
the works of the law, and that it is not formed
from charity; that it produces remission of sins
without previous repentance ; that from remission
of sins alone an impenitent man is justified,
regenerated and sanctified; that afterwards charity,
good works and renewal follow spontaneously;
besides many similar things which, like offspring
generated from an illegitimate bed, have all issued
from the doctrine founded on the idea of three
Gods.
55. What wise man does not see that such things
enter the memory only, and not into the under­
standing above the memory, even though they may
be confirmed by reasonings from appearances and
fallacies below it? For the human intellect has
two lights, one from heaven, the other from the
world. The light from heaven, which is spiritual,
flows into the human mind above the memory ;
but the light from the world, which is natural,
flows in below the memory. From this latter light,
man can confirm whatever he pleases, falsities
equally as well as truths; and after confirmation
he sees falsities altogether as truths, as has been
shown in a memorable narrative inserted in the
work recently published concerning CONJUGIAL
LOVE, par. 233.
56. To the above shall be added this arcanum
from heaven. All the aforesaid paradoxes, accord­
ing to their confirmations, inhere in human minds,
bound together as into one bundle, or joined
together as into one ball of thread; and they enter
at the same time into every individual utterance
51
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [56-57
from the doctrine of the Church, and so into what­
ever is stated concerning faith, charity or repen­
tance ; and still more when imputation or justifica­
tion are mentioned. The man himself does not see
this accumulation or conglomeration of those
paradoxes, but the angels who are with man are
aware of it; and they call it Maluat, that is, con­
fusion and thick darkness.
57. I foresee that very many people at this day,
imbued with the paradoxes of this faith, will say,
"How can theological matters be perceived by
the understanding? Are they not spiritual things
which transcend it ? Explain, therefore, if you can,
the mystery of redemption and justification, so
that reason may view it and acquiesce therein."
This mystery shall therefore be disclosed as follows.
Who does not know that God is one, and that
beside Him there is no other God; that God is
Love itself and Wisdom itself, or that He is Good
itself and Truth itself; that the self-same God
descended as to Divine Truth, which is the Word,
and assumed the Human in order to remove hell,
thus damnation from man ; that He accomplished
this by combats with, and victories over, the devil,
that is, over the hells which at that time were
infesting and spiritually slaying every man coming
into the world; that afterwards He glorified His
Human by uniting in it Divine Truth with Divine
Good and thus returned to the Father from
Whom He came forth? When these things are
perceived the following passage in John can be
understood :
(I) For other examples of angelic speech, see Spiritual Diary 6090.
52
57-59] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH
The Word was with God, and the Word was God ...
and the Word was made flesh. John i 1, 14.
Also this passage in the same Evangelist can then
be understood :
I came forth from the Father and am come into the
world; again I leave the world and go to the Father.
John xvi 28.
From these statements it is evident that, without
the Advent of the Lord into the world, no mortal
could have been saved, and that they are saved
who believe on Him and live well. This view of
faith appears clearly as in the day to the sight
enlightened by the Word; and this is the form of
the Faith of the New Church, as may be seen below,
nos. 116, 117, where the Faith of the New Heaven
and of the New Church in its universal and
particular forms is given.

XIII
58. The dogmas of the present Church cannot be
learned without great difficulty, nor retained, since
they slip from the memory,. neither can they be
preached nor taught without using great care and
caution lest their nakedness appear,. because sound
reason neither perceives nor receives them.
BRIEF ANALYSIS
59. The assertion that the understanding is to
be kept under obedience to faith is a declaration
set before the dogmas of the present Church to
denote that interiorly these dogmas are mysteries
or secrets (arcana) which, because they tran­
scend the understanding, cannot enter into the
s 53
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [59
upper region of the mind and be perceived there ;
this may be seen above, n. 54. Those ministers of
the Church who affect to excel in wisdom, and who
wish to be trusted as oracles in spiritual matters,
imbibe and absorb in the 'schools of theology such
things especially as surpass the comprehension of
others. They do this with avidity, yet with difficulty.
And because they are then reputed to be wise, and
those who distinguish and enrich themselves from
such hidden stores of wisdom are honoured with
doctoral hats and episcopal robes, they revolve in
their thoughts and teach from their pulpits scarcely
anything else than the mysteries concerning
justification by faith alone, and good works as the
humble attendants thereof. And from their
learning on both points they sometimes separate
and sometimes conjoin them in a wonderful
manner; comparatively as if they held faith
unadorned in one hand, and the works of charity
in the other, at one time extending their arms and so
separating them, at another time bringing their
hands together and so conjoining them. But this
shall be illustrated by examples.
They teach that good works are not necessary
for salvation because they are meritorious if done
by man; at the same time they also teach that
good works necessarily follow faith, which for
them is one with salvation. They teach that faith
without good works, being alive, justifies; at the
same time they teach that faith without good works,
being dead, does not justify. They teach that faith
is neither retained nor preserved by good works,
and at the same time that good works proceed
from faith as fruit from a tree, light from the sun,
and heat from fire. They teach that good works
54
59] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

make faith perfect when they are adjoined to it ;


they also teach that, being conjoined as in a
marriage, or in one form, good works deprive
faith of its saving essence. They teach that a
Christian is not under the Law, and at the same time
that he must be in the daily practice of the law.
They teach that good works are hurtful if they are
mixed with the business of salvation by faith,
as in the remission of sins, justification, regenera­
tion, vivification and salvation ; but if they are not
so mixed, they are profitable. They teach that
God crowns His own gifts, which are good works,
with rewards, even with spiritual benefits, but not
with salvation and eternal life; for with salvation
and eternal life He crowns faith without works.
They teach that this faith is like a queen who
walks in a stately manner with good works as her
train of attendants behind her; but if these
attendants join themselves to her in front and kiss
her, she is cast from her throne and called an adul­
teress. In particular, when they teach faith and
good works at the same time, they view merit on
the one hand and the absence of merit on the other,
making a choice of expressions and using them
alternately; in one sense for the laity and in the
other sense for the clergy; for the laity in order
that the nakedness of faith alone may not appear,
and for the clergy in order that it may appear.
Consider now whether anyone hearing such
things can draw from them any doctrine leading
to salvation, or whether he will not rather become
blind from the manifest contradictions therein, and
afterwards grope for the objects of salvation like a
person walking in the night. Who in this case can
tell from the evidence of works whether he has any
55
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [59-61
faith or not, and whether it is better to do good
works with the risk of claiming merit, or to omit
them with the risk of losing faith. But, my friend,
tear yourself away from such teaching; shun
evils as sins and do good works, believing on the
Lord, and saving justification will be given to you.

XIV.
60. The doctrine of the Faith of the present
Church ascribes to God human properties, as that
He viewed man from anger, that He required to be
reconciled, that He is reconciled through His love
to the Son and by intercession, that He required to
be appeased by the sight of His Son's misery, and
thus to be brought back to mercy, that He imputes
the righteousness of His Son to the unrighteous man
who supplicates it from faith alone,. and that thus
from being an enemy He makes him into a friend,
and from a son of wrath into a son ofgrace.
BRIEF ANALYSIS
61. Who does not know that God is Mercy
itself and Clemency, because He is Love itself and
Good itself, and that these are His Being (Esse)
or Essence? And who does not see from this that it
is a contradiction to say that Mercy itself, or Good
itself, can view man from anger, become His
enemy, turn Himself away from him and determine
his damnation, and still remain the same Divine
Being (Esse) or God. Such acts can scarcely be
attributed to an upright man, but only to a wicked
person; nor to an angel of heaven, but only to
an angel of hell; wherefore it is abominable to
56
61-62J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

ascribe them to God. That they have been ascribed


to Him is evident from the declaration of many
of the Fathers, Councils, and thereafter the
assemblies of the Christian Church, from the first
period to the present day. It is evident also from
the inferences which followed of necessity from the
first principle into the derivatives, or from the
cause into the effects, as from the head into the
other parts of the body; such as, that He required
to be reconciled ; that He is reconciled through His
love to the Son, and by intercession or mediation ;
that He required to be appeased by the sight of the
extreme misery of His Son, and so to be brought
back and, as it were, constrained to mercy, in
order that from being an enemy He might become a
friend, and adopt the sons of wrath as sons of
grace. To impute the justice and merit of His Son
to an unjust man, who supplicated it from faith
alone, is also a merely human notion, as will be
seen in the last analysis in this little work.
62. Those who have perceived that merely
human properties are unworthy of God, though
these are attributed to Him, have said, in order to
defend the system of justification, once it was
conceived, and to cover it over with an appearance
of rectitude, that anger, revenge, damnation and
the like are predicated of His justice, and are there­
fore mentioned in several places in the Word, and
so are thus appropriated to God. But in the Word,
the anger of God signifies evil in man which is
called the anger of God because it is contrary to
God. Thus, it is not that God is angry with man,
but that man, from the evil in him, is angry with
God; and, as evil carries with it its own punish­
ment, as good does its own reward, therefore, while
57
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [62-63
evil punishes the evil-doer, it appears to him as
though he were being punished by God. The case
is like that of a criminal who attributes his
punishment to the law, or like a person who blames
the fire for burning him when he puts his hand into
it, or like one who blames a drawn sword in the
hand of a man who is defending himself for
wounding him when he rushes upon its point.
Such is the justice of God.
But more of this may be seen in THE ApOCALYPSE
REVEALED, where it treats of justice and judgment
in God and from God, n. 668. That anger is
ascribed to Him may be seen in n. 635; likewise
revenge, n. 658. But this is only in the literal sense,
because that sense is written according to appear­
ances and correspondences; it is not so in the
spiritual sense where truth is in its own light. I can
affirm that whenever the angels hear anyone say
that God determined in anger the damnation of
the human race, and, as an enemy, was reconciled
by His Son, as by another God begotten from
Himself, they are affected in a manner similar
to those who, from a disturbance in their bowels
and stomach, are reduced to vomiting; and they
exclaim: "What insanity to be able to say such
things about God! "
63. The reason human properties have been
ascribed to God is that all spiritual perception and
illumination is from the Lord alone. For the Lord
is the Word or Divine Truth,
the true Light which lighteth every man. John i I, 9.
He also says :
I am come a light into the world, that whosoever
believeth on Me should not abide in darkness.
John xii 46.
58
63-64J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

This light, with the perception thence derived,


flows only into those who acknowledge the Lord as
the God of heaven and earth, and approach Him
alone; it does not flow into those who entertain
an idea of three Gods, as has been the case from
the time the Christian Church began to be estab­
lished. Being merely natural, this idea is receptive
of no other light than natural light ; it cannot be
opened to admit and receive spiritual light. This
is the reason men have seen no other properties
in God than such as are natural. Moreover, had
they seen how incongruous these human properties
are with the Divine Essence, and if they had re­
moved them from the article concerning justifica­
tion, they would then have departed entirely from
their religion, which from the beginning was
founded on the worship of three Gods, before the
time appointed for the New Church, when there
would be a fulness and restoration of truth.

xv.
64. From the Faith of the present Church
monstrous births have been produced, and may still
be produced, such as, Instantaneous Salvation from
Direct Mercy, Predestination, the notion that God
does not attend to man's actions, but only to Faith,
that there is no bond between Charity and Faith,
that in conversion man is as a stock, with ,many
other such enormities.. likewise concerning the
Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper, as to
the principles of reason drawn from the doctrine of
Justification by Faith Alone respecting the benefits
they confer.. also as regards the Person of Christ.
59
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [64-66
The heresies from the first period to the present day
have flowed from no other source than the doctrine
founded upon the idea of three Gods.
BRIEF ANALYSIS
65. That no other salvation than that which is
instantaneous from immediate mercy is believed
in at this day is evident from this, that faith alone,
which is of the mouth only, along with an assurance
of the breath, unaccompanied by charity from which
the faith ofthe mouth becomes real and the assurance
of the breath becomes faith of the heart, is sup­
posed to complete the whole work of salvation.
For, if the co-operation which is effected through
the exercise of charity by man as of himself is taken
away, the spontaneous co-operation which is said
to follow faith of itself becomes passive action.
But this is frivolous talk. For what, then, is the
need for more than this momentary and direct
appeal: "Save me, 0 God, on account of the
suffering of Thy Son, who has washed me from my
sins in His own blood, and presents me pure,
just and holy, before Thy throne"? And this
utterance of the mouth, it is said, avails as a seed
of justification even in the last hour of death, if it
has not done so sooner. Instantaneous salvation
from direct mercy is, however, at this day, a fiery
flying serpent in the Church, and because of it
religion is abolished, a false sense of security in­
troduced, and damnation imputed to the Lord;
as may be seen in n. 340 of the work on THE DIVINE
PROVIDENCE, published at Amsterdam, in the year
1764.
66. Predestination is an offspring of the faith
of the present Church because it is produced from
60
( .. 66J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

a faith in instantaneous salvation from direct


mercy, and from a belief in man's utter impotence
and lack of free-will in spiritual affairs ; concerning
which, see below, n. 68. Predestination follows
from these dogmas as one fiery serpent from
another, or as one spider from another, as may be
seen above. It follows also from the false notion
that man is as it were inanimate in the act of con­
version, that he is like a stock, and that afterwards
he is unaware whether or not he is a stock made
alive by grace. For it is said that God gives faith
through the hearing of the Word when and where
He wills, see n. 11 (a) ; consequently of His good
pleasure; likewise that election is solely from the
~ grace of God, independently of any action by man,
I
whether such activity proceeds from natural power
or from grace: Formula Concordiae, page 821;
Appendix, page 182. The works which follow
faith as evidences thereof appear on reflection like
works of the flesh, while the spiiit which performs
them does not reveal their origin, but makes them to
be, like faith, from grace and thus from good pleasure.
[2J From these considerations it is plain that the
dogma of predestination has sprung from the
faith of the present Church as a shoot from its
root, and I can affirm that it has followed as the
almost inevitable conclusion of such a faith. This
dogma was first fashioned by the Predestinarians,
then by Gottschalk, afterwards by Calvin and
his follower's, and was at last firmly established by
the Synod of Dort, from whence it was conveyed
by the Supra and Infra Lapsarians into their own
church as the Palladium of religion; or, rather,
as the head of Gorgon or Medusa engraved on the
shield of Pa las.
61
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [66-67
[3] Now, what more detestable notion could have
been .hatched, and what more cruel idea of God
believed, than that any part of the human race has
been damned as the result of predestination? For
it would be a horrible belief that the Lord, Who is
Love itself and Mercy itself, willed that a great
number of mankind should be born for hell, or
that myriads of myriads should be born doomed to
destruction ; that is, born to be devils and satans ;
also that out of His Divine Wisdom, which is in­
finite, He has not and does not make any provision
for those who live well and acknowledge God,
whereby they might escape everlasting fire and
torment; when yet the Lord is the Creator and
Saviour of all, and He alone leads everyone, and
wills no one's death. What, then, more monstrous
could be believed or thought than that a host of
nations and peoples, under His direction and over­
sight, should be delivered by predestination to the
devil as his prey, to glut his insatiable appetite?
Yet this idea is an offspring of the present Church,
which the faith of the New Church abhors as
monstrous.
67. That God does not attend to man's actions,
but only to his faith, is a new heresy which has
sprung from the two former, and concerning which
mention has already been made above, nos, 64, 65 ;
and, what is wonderful, when deeply examined
and unravelled, as has been done by the shrewdest
theologians of this age, it is seen to be a third
offspring derived from faith alone out of that she­
wolf, predestination, as a mother. Since, however,
this heresy is insane, impious .and Machiavellian,
it has hitherto been kept enclosed, as it were, in
62
67-68J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

the uterine coats, or after-birth, slipped forth from


the mother after parturition, lest its hideousness
should appear. But, in truth, its madness and
impiety may be seen described and dispersed in
THE ApOCALYPSE REVEALED, n. 463.

68. That there is not any connection between


charity and faith in their doctrine of justification,
follows from these passages. Faith is imputed
for righteousness without works, n. 12 (a). Faith
does not justify in so far as it is formed from
charity, n. 12 (b). Good works are to be utterly
excluded in treating of justification and eternal
life, n. 12 (f). Good works are not necessary for
-salvation, and the assertion of their necessity ought
to be totally rejected by the Church, n. 12 (g, h, i, k).
Salvation and faith are neither preserved nor
retained by charity and its works, n. 12 (m, n).
Good works, when mixed with the business of
justification, are pernicious, n. 14 (g). Works of
the spirit, or of grace, which follow faith as its
fruits, contribute nothing to salvation, n. 14 (d) ;
and elsewhere.
From all this it inevitably follows that this faith
of theirs has no connection with charity; and
that, if it had, it would bring about the ruin of
salvation, because it would destroy faith which
would then no longer be the only means of salvation.
-That no connection can actually be brought about
between charity and such a faith has been shown
above, nos. 47-50; wherefore it may be said that
it was providentially ordained that the Reformers
should reject charity and good works so com­
pletely from their faith. For had they conjoined
them, it would have been like coupling a leopard
63
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [68-69
with a sheep, a wolf with a lamb, or a hawk with
a dove. That this faith is also described in the
Revelation by a leopard, may be seen in chap. xiii
2, and in the explanation thereof, n. 572. But
what is a church without faith, and what is faith
without charity; consequently, what is a church
without the marriage of faith and charity? (See
n. 48). This marriage constitutes the Church
itself, and it constitutes the New Church which is
now being established by the Lord.
69. That man, in his conversion, is like a stock,
is acknowledged by the faith of the present Church
as its own offspring in these definite words. Man
is altogether impotent in spiritual things, n. 15
(a, b, c). In conversion, man is like a stock, stone
or statue, and he cannot so much as accommodate
and apply himself to receive grace, but is like
something that has not the use of any of the senses,
n. 15 (c, d). Man has only the power of motion
whereby he is capable of going to church to hear
the Word and the Gospel, n. 15 (e) ; yet a person
who is regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit
does co-operate to a certain extent by means of
the new powers and gifts which he has received,
n.15 (k); besides many other statements. This
description of man in his conversion, and during
his repentance from evil works, is also an offspring
produced from the aforesaid egg or womb; that
is, from justification by faith alone; to the intent
that man's works may be totally abolished and
may not unite themselves with faith by the least
contact.
[2J But because these notions are repugnant to the
common perception of all men concerning man's
64
69] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

conversion and repentance, this statement has been


added: "There is a wide' difference between
persons baptized and persons unbaptized; for it
is the doctrine of Paul that all who are baptized
have put on Christ, and are truly reborn. They
are then endowed with freedom of will whereby
they not only hear the Word of God, but can also
truly assent to the same, and embrace it by faith,"
n. 15 (m); also in the Formula Concordiae, p. 675.
I appeal to the wise to consider whether this passage
is at all consistent with the preceding ones, and
whether it is not a contradiction to say that any
Christian in a state of conversion is like a stock
or a stone, so that he is not able so much as to
accommodate himself to the reception of grace,
when yet every Christian has been baptized, and
by baptism has the power of not only hearing the
Word of God but also of assenting to it and em­
bracing it in faith. Wherefore, the comparison of
a Christian to a stock or a stone should be banished
from all Christian churches, and dispersed as a
phantom appearing to a man is dispersed when he
awakens from sleep; for what is more repugnant
to reason than this idea ?
[3] But, in order to elucidate what the New Church
teaches concerning man's conversion, I will tran­
scribe the following passage from one of the
memorable experiences in the ApOCALYPSE
REVEALED'.
Who does not see that every man has liberty to
think about God, or not to think about Him; 'thus,
that every man has the same liberty in spiritual
matters as he has in civil and moral affairs? The

(I) n. 224
65
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [69
Lord gives this liberty continually to everyone,
wherefore man becomes a culprit and is guilty
according to the way he thinks. Man is man by
virtue of this ability, whereas a beast is a beast
from lack of it. Wherefore, man is able to reform
and regenerate himself as of himself, provided
only that he acknowledges in his heart that it
is done from the Lord. Everyone who does the
work of repentance is reformed and regenerated.
Man must accomplish each of these works as of
himself, but this 'as of himself' is also from
the Lord because the Lord gives both the will and
the ability, never taking them away from anyone.
It is true that man cannot contribute anything
thereto ; nevertheless, he is not created a statue,
but a man who is to do the work of repentance
from the Lord as of himself. This is the only
return of love and faith, and of conjunction
thereby, which the Lord constantly wills to be
made to Himself by man. In a word, act from
yourselves and believe that it is from the Lord,
for in this way you act as if of yourselves.
But, in truth, to act thus was not imparted to
man by creation, because to act of oneself belongs
to the Lord alone; but it is given to man con­
tinually. And then, in so far as man does good
and learns truth as of himself, he is an angel of
heaven; but in so far as he does evil and con­
firms falsity, which also is done as of himself,
to that extent he is a spirit of hell. That this
latter conduct is also' as of himself' is evident
from his prayers that he may be preserved from
the devil, lest he should seduce him and bring
his own evils upon him. Everyone, however,
who believes that he does either good or evil of
66
69-71] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

himself incurs guilt; but he is not guilty who


believes that he acts as of himself. For whatever
a man believes he does of himself, he appro-
priates to himself; if he does good from this
belief, he appropriates it to himself and makes it
his own, when yet it is of God and from God ;
if it is evil that he does under this belief, he
appropriates this to himself and makes it his
own, when yet it is of the devil and from the
devil.
I refrain from demonstrating in this epitome
that there are many other false tenets, especially
concerning the sacraments of baptism and the
holy supper as to the principles of reason drawn
from the doctrine of justification by faith alone
respecting the benefits they confer, also as regards
the Person of Christ; and that heresies from the
first period of the Christian Church down to the
present day, have flowed from the doctrine founded
on the notion of three Gods. These points will
be brought forward and demonstrated in the major
work.

XVI.
70. The last state of the present Church, when
it is at an end, is meant by the Consummation of the
Age and the Advent of the Lord at that time. Matt.
xxiv 3.
BRIEF ANALYSIS
71. We read in Matthew :
The disciples came to Jesus and showed Him the buildings
of the temple. And Jesus said to them. .. Verily I say
67
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [71
unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon
another that shall not be thrown down . . . And the
disciples said to Him, Tell us when shall these things be,
and especially what shall be the sign of Thy coming and
of the consummation of the age. Matt. xxiv 1, 2, 3.
At this day, the learned clergy and the educated
laity understand by the destruction of the temple
its destruction by Vespasian; and by the coming
of the Lord and the consummation of the age they
understand the end and destruction of the world.
But it should be known that by the destruction
of the temple is meant, not only its destruction by
the Romans, but also the destruction of the present
Church; further, that by the consummation of
the age and, then, the coming of the Lord is meant
the end of this Church and the institution of a New
Church by the Lord. That these things are meant
there is evident from the whole of that chapter
from beginning to end, treating, as it does, solely
of the successive stages of decline and corruption
of the Christian Church, even to its destruction,
when it comes to its end. In a limited sense, by the
temple is meant the temple at Jerusalem; in an
extended sense, the Church of the Lord; in a
still more extended sense, the angelic heaven;
and in the highest sense, the Lord as to His
Human; as may be seen in THE ApOCALYPSE
REVEALED, n. 529.
That by the consummation of the age is meant
the end of the Church, which comes to pass when
there remains no truth of doctrine from the Word
which has not been falsified, and thus consum­
mated, is shown in nos. 658, 676, 750 of the above­
mentioned work. That by the coming of the Lord
is meant His coming in the Word, and the inaugura­
68

71-72J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

tion of a new Church in place of the former con­


summated one, appears from His own words in
the aforesaid chapter, verses 30-34; likewise from
the last two chapters of the Revelation, xxi and
xxii, where these words occur:
I, Jesus, ... am the Root and the Offspring of David, the
bright and morning Star. And the Spirit and the bride
say, Come; and let him that heareth say, Come: and
let him that is athirst come. . . . Yea, I come quickly,
Amen. Even so come, Lord Jesus.
Rev. xxii 16, 17, 20.

72. It is self-evident that the Church is at an


end when there are no longer any truths of faith,
and so no goods of charity. Falsities of faith
extinguish truths of doctrine, and evils of life
consume goods of charity; for wherever there are
falsities of faith, there, likewise, are evils of life ;
also wherever there are evils of life, there, likewise,
are falsities of faith. These points wiIl be demon­
strated separately in their proper place.
The reason it has hitherto been unknown that by
the consummation of the age is meant the end of
the Church is that, when falsities are taught,
and when the doctrine from them is believed and
honoured as orthodox, it cannot possibly be known
that the Church is to be brought to a consummation.
For falsities are regarded as truths, and truths as
falsities ; and then falsity rejects truth and blackens
it, as ink blackens clear water, or as soot blackens
white paper. For it is believed and proclaimed by
the most learned men of this age that they are ill the
cfearest light of the Gospel~ although they are ill
thick darkness _as to Its entire meaning; tlius;a
wliife spot has covered t e PUP1 s 0 eir eyes.
6 69
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [73
73. That the 24th chapter of Matthew, the 13th
chapter of Mark, and the 21st chapter of Luke,
where similar words occur, do not describe the
destruction of the temple and of Jerusalem, but
that the successive changes of state in the Christian
Church are there foretold in their order, even to
its last state, when it comes to its end, will be seen
in the major work where those chapters will be
explained. In the meantime let it appear from these
statements in the above-mentioned Evangelists.
Then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man, and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall
see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with
power and glory. And He shall send His angels with a
great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together
His elect from one end of the heavens to the other end
thereof. Matt. xxiv 30, 31 ; Mark xiii 26, 27 ; Luke xxi 27.
It is well known that such happenings were
neither seen nor heard at the destruction of
Jerusalem, and that it is believed at this day that
they will come to pass in the time of the Last
Judgment. Similar statements are to be found
in the Revelation which, from beginning to end,
treats solely of the last state of the Church, where
these words occur :
Behold (Jesus Christ) cometh in the clouds, ... and all
kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.
Rev. i 7.
The particular explanation of these words may be
seen in THE ApOCALYPSE REVEALED, nos. 24-28 ;
also what is signified by kindreds of the earth, and
by their wailing, in nos. 27, 348, 349.

70

74-75J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

XVII.
74. Infestation by falsities, thence the consumma­
tion of all truth, or desolation, in the Christian
Churches at this day, is what is meant by the Great
Affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the
world, nor shall be. Matt. xxiv 21.
BRIEF ANALYSIS
75. It was seen above, n. 73, that the successive
stages of decline and corruption of the Christian
Church are foretold and described by the Lord in
the 24th chapter of Matthew. There, also, after
having spoken of false prophets that should arise,
and of the abomination of desolation wrought by
them, verses II and IS, He says:
Then shall be great tr~bulation, such as was not since the
beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Matt. xxiv 21.
From this it is evident that by great affliction, in
this and in other places in the Word, is meant the
infestation of truth by falsities until there remains
no genuine truth drawn from the Word which is
not falsified, and so consummated. This has
come to pass because the Churches have not
acknowledged the Unity of God in the Trinity, and
His Trinity in Unity, in one Person, but in three ;
hence they have founded a Church in the mind
upon the idea of three Gods, and in the mouth upon
the confession of one God. By so doing they have
separated themselves from the Lord, and at length
to such a degree that they have no idea left of the
Divinity in His Human Nature (see THE
ApOCALYPSE REVEALED, n. 249); when yet the
71
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [75-76
Lord, as to His Human, is Divine Truth itself, and
Divine Light itself, as He abundantly teaches in
His Word. From this comes the great affliction so
prevalent at this day ; which, as will be seen in the
following pages, has been brought about
principally by the doctrine of justification and of
imputation through the medium of faith alone.
76. This affliction, or infestation of truth by
falsities, is treated of in seven chapters of the
Revelation. It is what is meant by the black and
the pale horses going forth out of the book, the
seals of which the Lamb had opened (chap. vi 5-8) ;
also by the beast ascending out of the abyss, which
made war against the two witnesses and slew them
(xi 7, etc.); again, by the dragon which stood
before the woman who was ready to be delivered
in order to devour her child, and pursued her
into the wilderness, and there cast out of his mouth
water as a flood that it might swallow her up
(chap. xii); likewise, by the beast out of the sea,
whose body was like that of a leopard, his feet
like those of a bear, and his mouth like that of a
lion (xiii 2) ; further, by the three spirits like frogs
which came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of
the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of
the false prophet (xvi 13). The same is meant by
these particulars; that after the seven angels had
poured out the vials of the wrath of God, in
which were the seven last plagues, upon the earth,
upon the sea, upon the rivers and fountains, upon
the sun, upon the throne of the beast, upon
Euphrates, and last of all upon the air, there was
a great earthquake such as had never been seen
since men were made upon the earth (chap. xvi).
72
76-78J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

An earthquake signifies an inversion of the Church,


which is brought about by falsities and falsifications
of truth. Similar things are meant by these words:
The angel put forth his sickle ... and gathered the vine
of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the
wrath of God; and the winepress was trodden ... and
blood came out ... even to the horses' bridles, for the
space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.
Rev. xiv 19, 20.
Blood signifies truth falsified. Many other things
besides are meant in those seven chapters. But
consult, if you will, the expositions, and the
memorabilia at the end, of those chapters.

XVIII.

77. That neither Love, nor Faith, nor the


Cognitions of Good and Truth, exist in the last
period of the Christian Church when it draws to its
end, is meant by these words in the aforesaid chapter
of Matthew:
After the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be
darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the
stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the
heavens shall be shaken. Matt. xxiv 29.

BRIEF ANALYSIS
78. In the prophetic parts of the Word, state­
ments similar to the one in Matthew xxiv 29, occur
concerning the sun, moon and stars. Thus' it is
written in Isaiah:
Behold the cruel day of Jehovah cometh ... the stars
of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give
their light; the sun shall be darkened at his rising and the
moon shall not cause her light to shine. Isa. xiii 9, 10.
73
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [78
In Ezekiel :
When I shall extinguish thee, I will cover the heavens
and darken the stars thereof; I will cover the sun
with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light ; ...
and I will set darkness upon thy land.
Ezek. xxxii 7, 8.
In Joel:
The day of Jehovah cometh, ... a day of darkness, ...
the sun and moon shall be dark, and the stars shall with­
draw their shining. lool ii I, 2, 10.
The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon
into blood before the great and the terrible day of lehovah
cometh. lool ii 31.
The day of lehovah is near in the valley of decision, the
sun and moon shall be darkened. loel iii 14, 15.
In the Revelation :
The fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun
was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the
third part of the stars, ... and the day shone not for a
third part of it. Rev. viii 12.
The sun became black as sackcloth of hair. and the
moon became as blood. Rev. vi 12.
All these passages treat of the last time of the Jewish
Church, when the Lord came into the world. The
meaning here is similar in Matthew and the
Revelation, but they refer to the last time of the
Christian Church, when the Lord would come
again in the Word which is Himself, and in which
He is. Wherefore, immediately after those words
in Matthew xxiv 29, it is said:
And then shall appear the sign of 'the Son of Man
... coming in the clouds of the heavens. Matt. xxiv 30.
By the sun in the above passages is meant love,
by the moon faith, and by the stars the cognitions
of good and truth. By the powers of the heavens are
meant those three essentials as the supports and
74
78-79J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

foundations of the heavens where the angels are,


and of the Churches where men are. Therefore,
by the foregoing passages collected into one idea
is meant that neither love nor faith, nor any
cognitions of good and truth remain in the Christian
Church, in the last time thereof when it draws to
its end. That the sun signifies love has been shown
in THE APOCALYPSE REVEALED, nos. 53, 54, 413, 796,
831, 961 ; that the moon signifies faith, nos. 53,
332,413,423,533 ; and that stars signify cognitions
of good and truth, nos. 51, 74, 333,408,419,954.
79. It is due solely to the Doctrine ofJustification
by Faith Alone that, in accordance with the above
prediction, there is at this day such thick darkness
in the Christian Churches that there is no light
from the sun by day nor from the moon and stars
by night. For this doctrine teaches that the only
means of salvation is faith; the influx, progress,
indwelling, operation and efficacy of which no one
has hitherto seen any sign, and into which neither
the Law of the Decalogue, nor repentance, nor
concern for newness of life, nor charity, nor good
works, enter ; nor are they in any way connected
with it. For it is asserted that these things follow
spontaneously, without being of any use either for
preserving faith or for procuring salvation. Further,
this doctrine teaches that faith alone confers on
the reborn, that is, on those who have acquired
this faith, the badge of liberty, so that they are not
subject to the law. In addition, it is taught that
Christ covers over their sins in the presence of God
the Father, Who remits them as though they were
not seen, and crowns the reborn with renewal,
holiness and eternal life. These and many other
75
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [79-80
points of a similar nature are the inner things of
that doctrine; whilst the outward things, which
do not enter into those interior matters, are the
precious things of charity, good works, acts of
repentance, and exercises of the law. For these
are accounted by the upholders of the aforesaid
doctrine as merely slaves and drudges who follow
their mistress, faith, without being permitted to
come near her. But, as these leaders know that
the laity esteem the things of charity as saving
equally with faith, they carefully include them in
their sermons and conversation, and pretend to
join them with, and insert them into, justification.
However, they do this only that they may soothe
the ears of the common people and safeguard their
oracles, lest these should appear like enigmas or
the utterances of soothsayers.
80. In order to confirm the above assertions I
will cite the following passages from the Formula
Concordiae (concerning which, see n. 9), lest anyone
should think that these charges have been unjustly
made.
The works of the second table of the Decalogue
are civil duties, and they belong to external worship
which man is able to do of himself; and it is
foolish to imagine that such works can justify;
pages 84, 85, 102.
Good works are to be utterly excluded from the
business of justification by faith; pages 589, 590,
591, 704-8.
Good works do not in any way enter into justifi­
cation; pages 589, 702; Appendix, pages 62, 173.
Good works do not preserve either salvation or
faith; pages 590, 705; Appendix, page 174.
76
80-81J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

Neither does repentance enter into justification


by faith; pages 165, 320; Appendix, page 158.
Repentance consists merely in praying to God,
acknowledging the Gospel, giving thanks, being
obedient to the government, and following one's
calling; pages 12, 198; Appendix, pages 158,
159, 172,266.
Renewal of life has likewise nothing to do with
justification ; pages 585, 685, 688, 689 ; Appendix,
page 170.
Zeal for the new life of obedience neither enters
into faith nor justifies; pages 90, 91, 690 ; Appen­
dix, page 167.
The reborn are not under the Law, but are
delivered from its bondage; they are only in the
Law. and under grace; page 722 and elsewhere.
The sins of the reborn are covered over by
the merit of Christ; pages 641, 686, 687, 719, 720.
There are many other similar passages besides
these. It is to be observed that all Protestants,
Evangelical as well as Reformed, likewise teach
justification by faith alone ; as may be seen above,
nos. 17, 18.
81. IUs astonishing that the doctrine of justifi­
cation by faith alone prevails at this day throughout
the whole of Reformed Christianity; that is, it
reigns there as almost the one and only point of
theology in the sacred Order. This is what all
students for the ministry eagerly learn and im):>ibe
at the colleges, and afterwards teach in the Churches,
and publish in print, as if they were inspired with
heavenly wisdom. In so doing they seek to acquire
the reputation of superior learning and an honour­
able name. Because of this they are given diplomas,
77
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [81-83
licences to preach, and rewards. These things are
done, although it is owing to this doctrine alone
that the sun at this day is darhned, the moon
deprived of her light, and the stars have fallen
from heaven, that is, have perished. It has been
made clear to me that the doctrine of the faith of
imputed righteousness has so blinded the minds
of men in this age that they do not wish to, and
therefore are as if they cannot, see any divine
truth in the light of the sun, or in the light of the
moon, but only in the light of a fire by night.
Wherefore I can predict that if divine truths con­
cerning the union of charity and faith, concerning
heaven, the Lord and eternal happiness, were sent
down from heaven, written in letters of silver, they
would not be thought worthy to be read by these
upholders of justification by faith alone. It would
be quite otherwise if a paper concerning justification
by faith alone were sent to them from hell. It is
also said in the Formula Concordiae that the article
concerning justification by faith alone, or con­
cerning the righteousness of faith, is the chief
article in the whole Christian doctrine, and that
works of the Law are to be utterly excluded from
this article; pages 17, 61, 62, 72, 89, 683;
Appendix, page 164.

XIX.
82. Those who hold to the present belief in
Justification by Faith Alone are meant by the he­
goats in Daniel and Matthew.
BRIEF ANALYSIS
83. It is written in Daniel:
I saw in a vision ... a ram which had two horns that
78
83-84J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH
were high . . . but the higher came up last; and the
horn pushed westward and northward and southward ...
and made itself great.. " 'Then I saw a he-goat coming
from the west over the face of the whole earth ... with
a horn between his eyes. And he ran to the ram . . .
in the fury of his strength ... and broke his two horns ...
and cast him down to the earth and stamped upon
him.. " But the great horn of the he-goat was broken,
and instead of it there came up four horns. . .. And out
of one of them came forth a little horn which waxed
exceeding great towards the south, towards the east,
and towards glory . . . and even to the host of the
heavens; and it cast down those of the host and of the
stars to the earth, and stamped upon them. Yea, he
raised himself as high as the Prince of the host, and
took from him the daily sacrifice, and cast away the
dwelling place of his sanctuary ... and he cast down
truth to the earth. Then I heard one of the saints
saying . .. How long shall this vision be, the daily
sacrifice and the desolating transgression, to give the
sanctuary and the host to be trodden under f90t?
And he said, Even to the evening and the morning ;
then shall the sanctuary be justified. Dan. viii 2-14.
It is clearly evident that this vision predicts the
future states of the Church, for it is said that the
daily sacrifice was taken away from the Prince of
the host, the dwelling place of his sanctuary was
cast down, and that the he-goat cast down truth
to the earth; further, that a saint said, How long
shall this vision be, that it should be given to the
sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
And that this should be even to the evening and
the morning, when the sanctuary shall be justified.
For, by the evening and the morning is meant the
end of the Old Church, when a New Church
commences.
84. In Matthew we read these words :
Then shall the Son of Man say to the he-goats on the
left hand, Depart from me ... for I was hun$rr. and re
79
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [84-85
-gave Me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no
drink; I was a stranger, and ye took Me not in ; naked,
and ye clothed Me not ; sick and in prison, and ye
visited Me not. . .. And these shall go away into ever­
lasting punishment. Matt. xxv 41-43, 46.
It is evident that the same persons are here meant
by the he-goats and sheep as the he-goats and ram
in Daniel. By he-goats are meant those who are
in the present day belief in justification by faith
alone, as appears from this, that works of charity
are specified in connection with the sheep, and it
is said that they did them; and that the same
works of charity are mentioned to the he-goats,
but it is said that they did them not, and that there­
fore they are condemned. For those who are in
the present day belief in justification by faith
alone neglect works, because they deny that there
is anything of salvation, or of the Church in them.
When charity is thus removed, good works which
proceed from charity are forgotten, and even
obliterated, so that they are no longer remembered,
nor is any effort made to recall them to mind from
the Law of the Decalogue.
It is a general rule in religion that so far as
anyone does not will good actions, and so does not
do them, to that extent he wills evil actions, and so
does them. On the other hand, so far as anyone
does not will evil actions, and so does not commit
them, to that extent he wills good actions, and so
does them. The latter are the sheep, the former
the he-goats. If every evil person had been meant
there by the he-goats, the evils which they had done
would have been specified instead of the works of
charity which they had not done.
85. That no others than those described above
80
85-86J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

are meant by the he-goats was made clear to me


by experience in the spiritual world. In that world
appear all things that are in the natural world,
such as houses and palaces, paradises and gardens,
and in them trees of every kind; likewise fields
and cultivated lands, also plains and green pastures
together with flocks and herds. All these resemble
those upon our earth; nor is there any other
difference than that the latter are frbm a natural,
and the former from a spiritual, origin. I have
often seen sheep and he-goats there, also combats
between them, like the combat described in Daniel,
chap. viii. I have seen he-goats with horns bent
forwards and backwards, rushing with fury upon
the sheep. I have seen some he-goats with two
horns, and others with four, with which they
vehemently struck at the sheep; and, when I
looked to see what this meant, I saw some persons
disputing together concerning faith united to
charity, and concerning faith separated from
charity. From this it plainly appeared that the
present day belief in justification by faith alone,
which considered in itself is faith disjoined from
charity, is the 'he-goat, and that faith united with
charity is the sheep.
86. The same persons are meant by the he-goats
in Zechariah :
Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds, and I
will visit the he-goats. Zech..x 3.
And in Ezekiel :
Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the
rams and the he-goats. Seemeth it a small thing unto
you that ye have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must
tread down with your feet also the residue of the
pastures? ... Ye thrust all the infirm sheep with your
81
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [86-88
horns, until ye have dispersed them; therefore will I
save My flock, that il may be no more a prey.
Ezek. xxxiv 17, 18,21,22, and the following verses.

xx.
87. Those who have confirmed themselves in the
present belief in Justification by Faith Alone are
meant in the Revelation by the Dragon, his two
.Beasts, and the Locusts: and this Faith, when con­
firmed, is meant there by the Great City, which is
spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where the Two
Witnesses were slain,. also by the Pit of the Abyss
from which the Locusts came forth.
BRIEF ANALYSIS
88. That seven chapters of the Revelation treat
of the perverted state of the Church among the
Reformed, and two chapters of the perverted state
of the Church among the Roman Catho ics, ana
that the states of both Churches as existing at the
present day are condemned, has been shown in the
exposition of this book in a work entitled THE
ApOCALYPSE REVEALED; and this, not by uncertain
conjectures, but with full proofs. By the dragon,
treated of in the twelfth chapter, are meant those
in the Reformed Churches who make God into
three and the Lord into two, and who separate
charity from faith by making faith spiritual and
saving, not charity; see nos. 532-565, and the
memorable experience adjoined, n. 566. They are
further described by the two beasts, one rising out
of the sea and the other out of the earth, as related
in chap. xiii; see nos. 567-610, and the memorable
experience, n. 611. They are further described by
82
88-89] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH
the locusts which came forth out of the pit of the
abyss, as mentioned in chap. ix; see nos. 419-442.
This same faith, when confirmed, is meant by the
great city which is spiritually called Sodom and
Egypt, where the two faithful witnesses were slain,
as related in chap. xi ; see nos. 485-530, particu­
larly nos. 500-503, and the memorable experience,
n. 531. They are also meant by the pit of the
abyss out of which issued smoke as from a furnace,
and the sun and the air were darkened, and then
locusts came forth, as described ID chap. ix; see
nos. 421-424.

89. That I might be assured and fully convinced


that by the pit of the abyss nothing else is meant
than that dragonish faith, which is a faith hatched
from the idea of three Gods, and from no idea of
the Divinity of Christ's Human Nature, and which
is called faith alone as justifying, regenerating,
quickening, sanctifying and saving, I was allowed
to look into that abyss, to speak with those who
are therein, also to see the locusts which came out
thence; from which personal observation I have
described that pit, together with the abyss, in THE
ApOCALYPSE REVEALED. And, because a description
from personal observation may be relied on, the
following passage is transcribed from that work
where this description occurs 1 :
This pit, which is like the opening of a
furnace, appears in the southern quarter,' and
the abyss beneath it is of great extent towards the
east. They have light in there, but if light from
heaven is let in, darkness ensues; wherefore,
(1) n. 421.
83
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [89
the pit is closed up at the top. In the abyss
appear huts roofed as if with bricks. These huts
are divided into separate compartments, in each
of which is a table whereon lie papers with some
books. There sit those, each at his own table,
who in this world had confirmed justification
and salvation by faith alone, by making charity
a merely natural-moral act, and its works only
those of civil life, from which men may reap
rewards in the world. But if men should do
works for the sake of salvation, these inhabitants
of the abyss condemn those works, some with
vehemence, because human reason and will are
in them.
All who are in this abyss were accomplished
and learned men in the world, and among them
are some metaphysicians and scholars who are
there esteemed above the rest. But actually their
lot is this: When they are first let down thither
they sit down in the first chambers ; but, as they
confirm faith by excluding works of charity,
they leave the first seats and enter rooms nearer
the east, and this successively until they come
towards the last, where are those who confirm
these dogmas from the Word. And, because
then they cannot but falsify the Word, their huts
vanish and they see themselves in a desert./IThere
is also an ~by~s beneath that abyss, wher~ a~e
\ those 'who 10 lIke manner have confirmed JustI­
fication and salvation b faith alone, but who,
in their spirit, have emea t e exiStence of God,
and in their heart have laughed at the holy
things of the Church. There they dopothing but
. quarrel, tear their garments, climb upon t e
tables, stamp with their feet, and assail one
84
89-92] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

another with _ab~ive lan uage; and, because


they are not permitted to litirt anyone, the use
threatening words and shake their fists at eac
other.
90. In order that I might fl,lso be assured and
convinced that those who have confirmed them­
selves in the present-day belief in justification by
faith alone are also meant by the dragon, I was
allowed to see many thousands of them assembled
together, and then they appeared at a distance like
a dragon with a long tail, seemingly full of spikes
like thorns, signifying falsities. Once also there
appeared a still greater dragon which, with raised
back, lifted his tail even towards heaven, in the
effort to draw down the stars from thence. The
stars there signify truths.

XXI.
91. Unless a New Church is established t by the
Lord, no one can be saved: this is meant by these
words:
Except those days should be shortened, there should no
flesh be saved. Matt. xxiv 22.
BRIEF ANALYSIS
92. By shortening those days is meant putting
an end to the present Church and establishing a
new one; for, as was said above, the 24th chapter
of Matthew treats of the successive periods of
decline and perversion of the Christian Church,
even to its consummation and end, and of the
(1) See note to par. I.

7 85
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [92-93
advent of the Lord at that time. The reason no
flesh could be saved unless those days were shortened
is that the faith of the present Church is founded
on the idea of three Gods, and no one having this
idea can enter heaven; so neither can they with
that faith, for that'idea is in every single part of it.
Moreover, in that faith there is no life from works
of charity. That this faith cannot be united with
charity and produce any fruits which are good
works, was shown above, nos. 47-50.
There are two things which establish heaven in
man, the truths of faith and the goods of charity.
Truths of faith bring about the presence of the Lord
and show the way to heaven, whilst goods of
charity effect conjunction with the Lord and intro­
duce into heaven ; and everyone who is introduced
is in light there according to his affection for truth,
and in heat according to his affection for good.
That the affection for truth is faith in its own
essence, and the affection for good is charity in Its
own essence, and that the marriage of these con­
stitutes the Church, may be seen above, n. 48. The
Church and heaven make one.· That these three
are not in the Churches at this day, which are built
upon faith alone, has been fully shown in the
preceding pages.

93. I have sometimes conversed in the spiritual


world with those who justify men by faith alone,
and I have said that their doctrine is erroneous,
and also incon ruous; that it leads to unconcern,
blindness, sleep, and night in spiritual things, and
thereby to the death of the soul; and I have
exhorted them to abandon that doctrine. But the
answer I received was: Why should we abandon
86

93-94J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH


it? Does not the sUPeriority of the learning of the
clergY.in the sight of the lait depend upon this
octrine ? But I replied that in that case they do not
regard the salvation of souls, but their own
~minence; and that, as they have applied the
truths 01 the Word to their own false principles,
and so have adulterated them, they are angels of
the abyss, called Abaddons and Apollyons, Rev. ix.
11 ; by whom are signified those who destroy the
Church by a total falsification of the Word: see
the explanation in THE APOCALYPSE REVEALED,
n. 440, and the memorable experience, n. 566. But
they answered : What of that? Are we not oracles :
on account of our knowledge of the mysterIes of
that doctrine? And from that doctrine do y,re-.1l0t
give answers as from a shrine? Wherefore, we are
not Apollyons, but Apollos. I was indignant at
these words and said : If you are Apollos, you are
also Leviathans. The chief among you are crooked
Leviathans, the lesser are piercing Leviathans,
whom God will visit with His hard and great
sword ; Isaiah xxvii 1. But they laughed at this.
What is signified by being visited, and by perishing
by the sword, may be seen in THE ApOCALYPSE
REVEALED, n. 52.
94. The great mystery why no flesh could be
saved unless a New Church is established by the
Lord is this: As long as the dragon with his crew
stays in the world of spirits, into which he was cast
down from heaven, so long no Divine truth united
with Divine good can pass through from the Lord
to men on earth without being either annihilated
or perverted ; and this renders salvation impossible.
This is what is meant in the Revelation by these
words:
87
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [94-96
And the dragon ... was cast into the earth, and his angels
were cast out with him.... Woe to the inhabitants of
the earth and of the sea ! For the devil is come down to
you, having great wrath. . .. And he persecuted the
woman who had brought forth a son.
Rev. xii 9, 12, 13.
But after the dragon had been cast into hell,
chap. xx 10, John saw a new heaven and a new
earth; he saw also the holy New Jerusalem
descending from God out of heaven. Rev. xxi I,
2, etc. What is meant by the dragon, and who
are dragons, may be seen above, n. 87.

XXII.
95. The exposure and rejection of the dogmas
of the Faith of the present Church, and the revelation
and reception of the dogmas of the Faith of the New
Church, is meant by these words in the Revelation:
He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all
things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these
words are true and faithful. Rev. xxi 5.

BRIEF ANALYSIS
96. He that sat upon the throne, that is, the
Lord, said these words to John, when John saw
the New Jerusalem descending from God out of
heaven. That by the New Jerusalem is meant a
New Church, will be shown in the following chapter.
The reason why the falsities of the dogmas of the
faith of the present Church must first be exposed
\Jand rejected, ~ the truths of th'rnogmas of the
New Church !fre revealed and received, is because
they do not agree in anyone point or particular ;
for the dogmas of the present Church are founded
88
96J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

upon a faith in which it is unknown whether there


is any essential of the Church or not.
The essentials of the Church, which unite them­
selves with a faith in one God, are charity, good
works, repentance, and a life according to Divine
laws; and since these, together with faith, affect
and move man's will and thought, they Uiiife
rnan:-to the Lord and the Lord to man. As,
therefore, none of these essentials enters into the
faith of the present Church in its first reception,
which they call the act of justification, it cannot
possibly be known whether this faith is in a man
or not; consequently, whether it is anything, or
only an idea. For it is said that a man in the act
of justification is like a stock or stone, and that
with respect to its reception he can neither will,
think nor co-operate; no, nor even apply or
accommodate himself in the smallest degree: see
above, n. 15 (c, d). Since, therefore, no one can
guess, much less know, whether that faith is in him ;
thus, whether it is like a painted flower with him,
or like a flower of the field in him ; or whether
it is like a bird flying past him, or like a bird that
has built her nest in him; by what tokens or signs
will he know? If it be answered that it is to be
known by the charity, good works, repentance, and
conformity with the law, which result from this
faith, when yet they maintain that there is no bond
between these things and that faith, I leave it to
men of sense to enquire whether anything which
has no connection with faith can be a sign testifying
to faith. For this faith of theirs is neither preserved
nor retained by the above-mentioned works of
charity, as may be seen above, n. 12 (m, n).
From what has been said this conclusion is to
89
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [96-98
be drawn, that in the faith of the present Church
there is nothing of the Church ; consequently it is
not anything, but only an idea that it is something.
Since, then, this faith is such, it deserves to be
rejected; yea, it rejects itself, as that for which
there is nothing worthy of commendation by the
Church.
97. Altogether different, however, are the dog­
mas or doctrinals of the New Church. These are
all essentials, in each of which there is heaven and
the Church; and they look to this end, that man
may be in the Lord, and the Lord in man, according
to His own words in John, chap. xiv 20; and
chap. xv 4, 5, 6. Nothing else than this union
constitutes the Christian Church. From these few
observations it can be clearly seen what is meant by
these words of the Lord's :
He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all
things new. And He said unto me, Write, for these
words are true and faithful. Rev. xxi 5.

98. The sole reason why the Christian world


has faIlen into a faith which has put away from
itself all the truths and goods of heaven and the
Church, even to the separation of itselffrom them,
is that the leaders of the Church have divided God
into three, and have not believed the Lord God,
the Saviour, to be one with God the Father, and
thus have not approached Him directly; when,
nevertheless, He alone as to His Human is Divine
Truth itself, which is "the Word," which" was
God, with God," and the "true Light which
enlightens every man," and which "was made
flesh," John i 1,2,9, 14. That He is Truth itself,
90
98-100J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

and thus Light itself, is also testified in other places;


for He says: I am the light of the world. John viii
12; ix, 5.
And in another place He says,
While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may
be sons of light ... I am come a light into the world,
that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in
darkness. John xii 36, 46.
In the Revelation we read :
I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End,
the First and the Last ... and the bright and morning
Star. Rev. xxii 13, 16
And in Matthew it is written:
When Jesus was transfigured ... His face shone as the
sun, and His raiment became as the light. Matt. xvii 2.
Hence it is clear from what cause this imaginary
faith came into the world; manifestly, because
men have not approached the Lord. Now, from
all my experience, and thence by testimony from
heaven, I can declare for certain that it is impossible
to derive a single theological truth, which is genuine,
from any other source than from the Lord alone;
and that to derive such truth from any other
source is as impossible as it is to sail from England
or Holland to the Pleiades, or to ride on horseback
from Germany to Orion in the sky.

XXIII.
99. The New Church about to be established by
the Lord is the New JerllSa/em treated of ih the
Revelation, chaps. xxi and xxii, which is there called
the fl!Me and W@ of the Lamb. .
BRIEF ANALYSIS
100. The reason the New Church is meant by the
91
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [100
New Jerusalem coming down from God out of
heaven, Rev. xxi, is that Jerusalem was the metro­
polis of the land of Canaa~em12leand the
altar were there; there also sacrifices were offered.
Thus, Divine worship itself was performed there,
and every male throughout the land was com­
manded to come to this worship three times a year.
A further reason is that the Lord was in Jerusalem
and taught in its te.!!Wl.e; afterwards glorifying
His Human there; thence it is that Jerusalem
signifies the Church. That tl1e Church is meantby
Jerusalem is clearly evident from fhe prophecies
in the Old Testament concerning a New Church
to be established by the Lord, and which is there
called Jerusalem.
[2] The following passages only shall be cited,
from which anyone possessed of interior reason
may see that by Jerusalem is there meant the
Church. Let these passages alone be taken from
tile prophets :
Behold, I create a new heaven and a new earth, and the
former shall not be remembered. . " I will create
Jerusalem a rejoicing and her people a joy; that I may
rejOiCe"<>ver Jerusalem and be joyful over My people.
. . . Then the wolf and the lamb shall feed together ...
they shall do no evil in all the mountain of My holiness.

~
lsa.lxv 17, 18,19,25.
For Zion sake will I not hold my peace, and for
Jeru s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness
thereof goes forth as brightness, and the salvation
thereof as a lamp that bumeth. Then the Gentiles shall
"ee thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory; and
thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of
lehovah shall name. And thou shalt be a crown of
beauty ... and a royal diadem in the hand of thy Goa- ..-.
lehovah shall be well pleased in thee, and thy land shall
be married ... Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold,
His reward is with Him ... and they shall call them, The
92
100J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH
holy people, the redeemed of Jehovah; and thou shalt
be called, sought out, a city not forsaken.
Isa~IXii -4, 11, 12
Awake! awake! put on thy strength, ion; put on
the garments of thy beauty, 0 Jerusalem, oly city;
for henceforth there shall no iJiOi=e come into thee
the uncircumcised and the unclean. Shake thyself
from the dust; arise, sit down, 0 Jerusalem . .. The
people shall know My name in that day, for I am He
that doth speak; behold, it is I. . " Jehovah hath
comforted His people, He hath redeemed Jerusalem.

~
Isa. li!T;2, 6, 9.
( Shout with joy. 0 daughter of Zio ; be glad with all
thy heart, 0 daughter of Jerus . . . . The King of
Israel is in the midst of thee; fear not evil any more....
He will be glad over thee with joy; He will rest in thy
love; He will exult over thee with joyful shouting.... I
will make you a name and a praise among all people of
the earth. Zeph. ill 14-17, 20.
Thus saith Jehovah, thy Redeemer . . . saying to
Jerusalem, thou shalt be inhabited. ~liV 24, 26.
Thus saith Jehovah. I am returned to ion and will
dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; whence salem shilll
be called the city of truth. and the mounfam of Jehovah
Zebaoth, the mountain of holiness. Zech. viii 3.
Then shall ~eow that I am Jehovah your God.
dwelling in ion the mountain of holiness; and
Jerusalem sh holiness....And it shall come to pass
in that day that the mountains shall drop new wine. and
the hills shall flow with milk . . . and Jerusalem shall
abide from generation to generation. JoeHIi 17, 18. 20.
IntIiaf<la)TSIlalnIleoranch of Jehovah be beauty and
0 . . . . And it shall come to pass that he that is left in

c!r
Zio and he that remaineth in Jerusalem. shall be called
; everyone that is written unto life in Jerusalem.
Isa. iv 2.3.
In the last days the mountain of the hous~ of Jehovah
shall be blished in the head of the mountains ... for
~ out 0 Zion shall go forth doctrine, and the wordof
Jenova m erusa em. Mfcah IV. 1, 2.
At-that time they sfiall call Jerusagm th~e of
Jehovah, and all nations shall be ga ered to Jerusalem
beCause of the name of Jehovah ; neither shall they go
93
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [ 100
any more after the confirmation of their own evil
heart. Jer. iii 17.
Look uponCZ-ion,. the city of our appointed feasts; let
thine eyes see Jerusalem, a quiet habitation, a tabernacle
that shall not be taken down; the stakes thereof shall
never be removed, and the cords thereof shall not be
broken. Isa. xxxiii 20.
Other passages are: Isaiah xxiv 23; xxxvii 32; (xvi
IO c 14; Zechariah xii 3, 6-10; xiv 8, 11, 12, 21 ;
Malachi Hi 2,4; Psalms cxxii 1-7 ; cxxxvii 4, 5, 6.

[3J That by Jerusalem in the above Qassages is


~t 11 CJ!.urcl? tQ..l?_e establishe _ y tlie Lord, ana
not the Jerusalem inha ite -by the Jews, is plain
from every detail of its description therein; as
that Jehovah God was about to create a new
heaven and a new earth, and Jerusalem also at
the same time; that tbis Jerusalem would be a
crown of beauty, and. a royal diadem; that it is
to be called holiness, and the city of truth, the
throne of Jehovah, a quiet habitation, a tabernacle
that shall not be taken down; that the wolf and
the lamb shall feed together there; that there the
mountains shall drop with new wine, and the hills
flow with milk; that it should abide from genera­
tion to generation; besides many other things
respecting the people therein, that they should be
holy, all written unto life, and should be called the
[4Jredeemed of Jehovah. Moreover, all those passages ~
treat of the Lord's Advent, yartlcuIaf[y ~[ ffis J
Secon Advent, when Jerusalem s all be such as IS
tliere described. For e ore t ss e wasnot riiimed,
thatj;'-made the bride an wife 0 the Lamb, as the
ew Jerusalem is sai to be in theRevelation.
The former, or present-day Church, is meant
by Jerusalem in Daniel, and its commencement is
described there in these words :
94
100-101J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH
Know, therefore, and understand that from the going
forth of the Word unto the restoring and b~f
Jerusalem, even unto MessJiIh the Prlhce, sffiilfbe seven
w~afterwards in sixty and two weeks it shall be
~. and the street and the ditch shall be built;
but in distress of times. Dan. ix 25.
But its end is described by these words :
At length upon the bird of abominations shall be
desolation, and even to the consummation and decision
it shall drop upon the devastation:-- Dan. ix 27.
This last passage is alluded to in the following
words spoken by the Lord in Matthew:
When ye shall see the abomination of desolation foretold
by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy pl~, let
him that readeth note it well. Matt. xxiv 15.
That by Jerus in the above passages is not
meant the erusa em inhabited by the Jews, appears
from those places in the Word where it is said of
that city that it entirely perished, and that it was
to be destroyed; as in Jeremiah vI; vi 6, 7 ;
vii 17, 18, etc.; viii 6,7,8, etc.; ix 10, 11, 13, etc.;
xiii 9, 10, 14; xiv 16; Lamentations i 8, 9, 17 ;
Ezekiel iv I-end; v 9-end; xii 18, 19; xv 6,
7, 8; xvi 1-63; xxiii 1-40; Matthew xxiii 37,
38; Luke xix 41-44; xxi 20-22; xxiii 28-30;
besides many other such passages ; also where it is
called Sodom, as in Isaiah iii 9 ; Jeremiah xxiii 14 ;
Ezekiel xvi 46, 48; and in other places.

101. That the Church is the Lord's, and that on


account of the spiritual marriage, which is' the
marriage of good and truth, the Lord is called the
Bridegroom and Husband, and the Church, the
.bride and wife, is known among Christians from
the Word, particularly from the following passages.
John said of the Lord:
95
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [101-103
He that hath t ~ is the bridegroom, but the friend
of the bridegroom is he who stands and hears him, and
rejoices because of the bridegroom's voice. John iii 29.
Jesus said, While the bridegroom is with them, the sons
of the marriage cannot fast. Matt. ix 15; Mark ii 19,
20 ; Luke v 34, 35.
I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from
Nz <; I t I God out of heaven, prepareoas-a bride adorned (or her St';'
.~ ~ \ Lhusband. Rev. xxi 2.
The angel said to John, Come and I will show ·thee the
bride, the Lamb's ~ (and from a mountain he showed
rum the holy city Jerusalem). Rev. xxi 9, 10.
The time of the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his
It'1ft. hath made herself ready ... blessed are they who
are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Rev. xix 7, 9.
I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the
bright and morning Star. And the Spirit and the bride
say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.
And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will,
let him take the water of life freely.
Rev. xxii 16, 17.

XXIV.
102. The Faith ofthe New Church cannot possibly
be together with the Faith of the former Church;
for, if they were together, such a collision and con­
flict would ensue that everything of the Church
with man would perish.

BRIEF ANALYSIS
103. The reason why the faith of the New Church
cannot possibly be together with the faith of the
former, that is, the present Ch'\lrch, is because they
do not agree in one third, no, nor even in one tenth
part. The faith of the former Church is described
) ) in the Revelation, chap. xii, by the dragon, but the
faith of the New Church by the woman clot~d
96
103J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

yffih the sun, having upon her head a crown of


twelve stars. whom the dragon persecuted, and at
whom he cast water as a flood that he might
swallow her up; as may be seen above, nos. 87­
90. These two cannot be together in one city,
-still less in one house.-e-o-nsequentl-iJiOf in one

~
mind, at the same time. ShouldJh e together,
it cQUlanofbe otherwise than that thewoman would
) be continuall ex osed to the ra e an insamty of
the~!l, an III ear est he shouIa evour er

~
son. For it is said in the Revelation, chap. xii,
that the dragon stood before the woman who was
ready to be delivered, to devour her child, and
, that the woman, after she had brought forth the
man-child, fled into the wilderness; verses I, 4,
6. 14-17. _
The faith of the former Church is that of night,
for human reason perceives nothing respecting it ;
Wherefore, it is also said that the understanding
should be kept in obedience to it. Nay, it is not
even known whether it is within man or outside
of him, since nothing of man's will and reason
enters in.t!Lit--;no; nor c arity, gOM works,
repentance, the Law of the Decalogue, with many
other things, which actually exist in man's mind.
That this is so may be seen above, nos. 79, 80,
96, 97, 98. But the faith of the New Church enters
into a marriage covenant with all those---e5sentials
just mentioned, and unites itself with them; and
because, for this reason, it is in the heat of heaven
it is also in the light thereof, and is an enlightened
faith. Now a darkened faith and an enlightened
C faith can no more be together than an owl and a
dove can be in one nest; for in such a case the
owl may lay her eggs, and the dove hers, and,
97
A BRJEF EXPOSITION OF THE [103-104
after sitting, the young of both would be hatched,
and then the owl would tear in pieces the young
\ of the dove, and give them to her own young for
) food; for the owl is a bird of prey.
A furffierreas<;n whythe faith of the former
Church and the faith of the New Church cannot
possibly be together is that they are heterogeneous.
For the faith of the former ChurcIli's enved
from the idea of three Gods, as may be seeliln
nos. 30-38 ; whereas the faith of the New Church
is from the idea of one God. From this fact there
is disagreement between t em, so that, should they
be together, there must inevitably arise such a
collision and conflict that everything of the Church
would perish; that is, man would either fall into a
delirium or into a state of insensibility where
spiritual things are concerned, until at length he
would scarcely know what the Church is, or
whether there is any Church at all. From what has
been said it follows that those who have con­
firmed themselves in the faith of the old Church
)1 cannot embrace the faith of the New Church
I without danger to their spiritual life, unless t ey
have first rejected and thus @Qteg out £~e by one
( all the 20ints of their former faIt , together with
its young or eggs, that is, its dogmas, the
nature of which have already been shown in the
foregoing pages, particularly pars. 64-69.
.
104. The same would happen if anyone em­
braced the faith of the New Church and retained
the faith of the old Church concerning the im­
putation of the Lord's righteousness and merit ;
for from this, as from a root, have sprung all the
dogmas of the former Church, like so many young
98
104-106J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

shoots. If this were to happen, it would be com-


paratively as if one should extricate himself from
three heads of the dragon and become entangled
in its four remaining ones; or as if one should
fly from a leopard and meet with a lion; or as if
one should come out of a pit where there is no
water and fall into a pit full of water and be
drowned. That this is so will be seen after the
exposition of the following article where some-
thing will be advanced concerning imputation.

xxv.
105. Roman Catholics at this day know nothing
ofthe Imputation ofChrist's Merit, or ofJustification
by Faith therein, into which Faith their Church has
been initiated, because this lies entirely concealed
under their external forms of worship, which are
numerous. Wherefore, if they recede even in part

~I
from the externals of thezr worship, and appro/.ch
God the Saviour Jesus Christ direct, and a so
receive t le Holy Eucharist in bot elements, they may
be brought into the New Jerusalem, that, is into
the Lord's New Church, before the Reformed.
BRIEF ANALYSIS
106. That the primates and rulers of the Church
of Rome, on being consecrated to their office,
swear to observe the decrees of the Council of
Trent, appears from the bull of Pope Pius IV,
where are these words in the form of the oath of
their profession of faith dated November, 1564 :
In firm faith I believe and profess each and
everything contained in the creed used by the
99
A BRIEF· EXPOSITION OF THE [106
Holy Church of Rome, and I receive without
any doubts all such things as are maintained
and declared in her hol canons and recumenical
,/councils, especially-by the most holy Council of
\ Trent, so help me God.
That they also ind themselves b an 0 to
believe and Rrofess J die council of Trent has
\ (ordained concerning the imputation of Christ's
merit, and justification by faith therein, is evident
from these words in the same bull :
I embrace and receive each and everything
which has SJ;er.mined and declared in the
\ most holy ouncil of Trent oncerning original
sin and just! ca Ion.
What these are may be seen from the extracts
taken above from that Council, nos. 3-8.
From those articles, which have been established
as principles at that Council, the following con­
clusions have been drawn:
That the Roman Catholics held exactly the
same beliefs before the Reformation as the
Reformed Church did after it concerning . . .
the imputation of Christ's merit and justification
by faith therein; with the sole difference that
they united that faith with charity or good
works. See above, nos. 19, 20.
That -the leading Reformers, rLuthei7,
<:Melanchthon and Calvin, retained all the-dogmas
concefiung ... the imputation of Christ's merit
.JI an JUS iDca lOnoy al-tl1, JUS as ey wereand
had been wit' the Roman Catholics; but they
separated charity or good works from that faith,
and declared that they were not together saving,
'J in order that the mi ht be compleMy Seyeled
J from_tlie-.Roman Catholics as to the very
100
106-107] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH
essentials of the Church, which are faith and
charity. See above, nos. 21-23.
That nevertheless the leading Reformers
adjoined good works, and even conjoined them,
to their faith, but in man as a passive subj~t ;
whereas the Roman Catholics did so in man as an
active subject ; and yet there is actually a
conformity between the latter and the former
as to faith, works and merit. See above,
nos. 24-29.
From what has been shown it is also evident that
the aforesaid faith is one which the Roman

Catholics swear to observe equally with the

Reformed.

107. Nevertheless, this faith has been so


obliterated among Roman Catholics at this day
that they know scarcely a syllable about it. NotJ\
that it has been repudiated by any Papal decr.ee,
but because it has been concealed by externals of
worship, whic are, m genera, the adoration Of)
Christ's vicar, the invocation of saints, the venera­
tion of images; and also by such things as, from
being accounted holy, affect the senses, such as,
masses in an unknown tongue, vestments, lights,
incense, and solemn processions ; also by mysteries
respecting the eucharist. By these and many
similar things, faith justifying through the im­
putation of Christ's merit, althou h this is an
original d~g.!!!.~of the Roman Church as been so
removed out of sight and withdrawn from t e
memory, "thiitffTs- like something buried in the
earth ano· covered with a stone, over which the ­
mon s naveset a watch to prevent its being dug JI
u -and revived; for, were iffevived, bel..1erin
8 101
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [107-108
their supernatural power of forgiving sins, and

I thus of justifying, sanctifying and saving, would


cease, and therewith all their sanctity, pre­
eminence and opulent gains.
108. The first reason why Roman Catholics
may be brought into the New Jerusalem, that is,
the New Church, before the Reformed is because
the faith of justification by the imputation of
( Christ's merit, which is an erroneous faith that
camwLbe ~gether with the faith of the N~w
/1 -J I Ch1!I~h (see nos. 102-4), is with -them obliterat<;.d,
.\ Yl:a. utterly erased; whereas, it is as it were en­
graven upon the Reformed, inasmuch as it is the
principal tenet of their Church. A second reason
Z, -- is that with the Roman Catholics, more than with
the Reformed, there ~~_ the idea ot:.p!yjn~ ma~ty
) in the Lord's Human, as is cteiffy evident trol1!.(eir
i most hQly~tion of the Host. A third reason
3 -I is t at with Roman Catholics charity, gOQ.d works,
repentance and attention to a new life, are the
essentIals of salvation; these are also the essentials
. 01tIie New Church. It is otherwise with the
Reformed who are confirmed in faith alone;
with them the above-mentioned activities do not
enter into faith either as essentials or as for­
malities, and consequently contribute nothing to
salvation. These are the three reasons why Roman
Catholics, if thex approach God Himself.. the
Saviour, not medIately bufoIrectly, and 1ikewise
11 recetve the holy eucharist in bOili' kinds, receive a
living faith instead of a <read faith before the Reform­
ed, and are brouR4.lQyJhe Lord...bXlllea11§ of angels,
jJ to the gates ofthe New Jerusalem orNewCliUrCll,'and
are introduced into it with the utmost rejoicing.
102
109] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

109. The idea of the imputation of Christ's


righteousness or merit enters as its soul into the
whole theology of the Reformed Christian world.
It is from imputation that faith, which is accounted
in the Church as the only medium of salvation, is
affirmed to be righteousness before God; as may
be seen above, n. 11 (d) ; and it is from imputation
that man is said to be clothed by this faith with the
gifts of righteousness, just as a king, when elected,
is clothed with the insignia of royalty. Nevertheless,
imputation effects nothing from the mere assertion
that a man is righteous, for it enters only into the
ears, and does not operate in man, unless the
imputation of righteousness be also the application
of righteousness by communication and so
bestowal. This follows from its effects, which are
said to be remission of sins, regeneration, renewal,
sanctification, and so salvation. It is asserted
further that Christ dwells in man through that
faith and that the Holy Spirit operates in him,
wherefore they are not only called righteous but
are righteous. That not only the gifts of God, but
also Christ Himself, yea, all the Holy Trinity,
dwell in t r~ge!!erate through}aith, as III their
own temple, may be seen above, n. 15 (l) ; and
that man, both as regards person and works, is
righteous, and is pronounced to be so ; see above,
n. 14 (e). From these things it clearly follows that
by the imputation of Christ's righteousness is meant
its application, and thereby its bestowal, by virtue
of which man is made a partaker thereof.
Now, as imputation is the root, the beginning
and the foundation of faith wiffi all its operations
towards salvation, and hence is as the sanctuary
and shrine in the Christian Churches at this day,
103
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [109-110
it is necessary to append something here con­
cerning imputation by way of corollary. But this
shall be set forth under headings in this order:
A. To everyone after death is imputed the
evil in which he is, and in like manner the good.
B. The transference of the good of one person
to another is impossible.
C. A faith in the imputation or application
of Christ's righteousness or merit is an llnlillinary
} fait!?- because it is impossible.

110. A. To everyone after death is imputed the


evil in which he is, and in like manner the good.
In order that this may appear in some measure
evident, it shall be set forth as follows :
1. Everyone has a life peculiar to himself.
2. Everyone's own life remains with him
after death.
3. To the wicked is then imputed the evil of
their life, and to the good the good of
their life.
First.-That everyone has a life peculiar to
himself, thus distinct from that of another's, is
well known. For there is perpetual variety; no
two things are the same. Hence it is that everyone
has his own proprium. 1 This appears clearly
. from people's faces; no one face is exactly liIse
nother's nor ever can be to eternity, b~e
I .here do not exist two mm s a e, and the face is
according to the mmd. For the face. as is said, is an
rima e of the mind, and the mind derives its origin
Jlan orm from tne life. Unless a man had his own
(1) The Latin word Proprium means what is one's own," Sweden­
U

borg uses it in a special sense involving what is' of the self."

If

104
110J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

life, just as he has his own mind and face, he


would not have any life after death distinct from
another's; nay, heaven could not exist. For
heaven consists of a perpetual variety of others ;
its form proceeds solely from the variety of sOlJls
j and minds disposed into such an order that they
J make a unity ; and they make a unity from (fiat
, One Whose life is in each and everything there, as
the soul is in man. Unless this were so, heaven
l would be dispersed, because its form would be
dissolved. The ONE from Whom the life of each
\1l!!!d everyoneproceeds, and from Whom that form
)
,Icoheres, 1 the LOJa.
[2] Second.-That every~ne's own life remains with
him after death is known in the Church from the
Word, and from these statements therein:
The Son of Man shall come ... and then He shall reward
every man according to his works. Matt. xvi 27.
I saw the books opened ... and all were judged according
to their works. Rev. xx 12. 13.
In the day of judgment God will render to everyone
according to his works. Rom. ii 6; 2 Cor. v 10.
The works according to which everyone will be
recompensed are the life; for the life performs the
works, and these are according to the life,.
Since it has been granted me for many years to
associate with angels and to speak with newcomers
from the world, I can testify for certain that every-
one there is examined as to the quality of his past
life, and that the life which he has contra"ted in
the world remains with him to eternity. I have
spoken with those who lived many ages ago,
whose life was known to me from history, and I
have found them to be similar to the way they had
been described. I have also heard from angels that
105
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [110-111
no one's life can be changed after death because
it is organised according to his love and faith,
hence according to his works; and that if it
were changed the organisation would be disrupted ;
but this can never be done. I have also been told
that a change of organisation can take place only
when in the material body, and by no means when in
the spiritual body, after the former has been laid
aside.
i3] Third.-To the wicked is then imputed the evil
C of their life, and to the good the good of their life.
The imputation of evil after death is not accusation,
blame, censure, or passing judgment as in the world,
but evil itself does this. For the wicked of their own
freedom separate themselves from the good, because
they cannot be together. The delights of the love
of evil are averse to the delights of the love of
good, and delights exhale from everyone there as
odours from every plant on earth. For delights
are not absorbed and concealed by the material
body as before, but flow forth freely from their
loves into the spiritual atmosphere. And because
evil is there sensed, as it were, in its own odour,
it is this which accuses, blames, finds guilty and
judges, not before any particular judge, but in the
presence of everyone who is in good ; this is what
is meant by imputation. The imputation of good
is similar, and takes place with those who in the
world had acknowledged that all the good in them
was and is from the Lord, and none from them­
selves. These, after they have been prepared, are
let into the interior delights of their own good, and
then a way is opened for them into heaven, to the
society where the delights are akin to their own.
This is done by the Lord.
106
111) DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

111. B. The transference of the good of one


person to another is impossible.
The evidence for this may also appear from the
following points in their order : .
1. Everyone is born in evil.
2. Man is led into good through regeneration
by the Lord.
3. This is effected by faith in the Lord, and
by a life according to His commandments.
4. Wherefore, the good of one person cannot
be transferred by application to another,
and so imputed.
First.-That everyone is born in evil is known in
the Church. This evil is said to be hereditary
from Adam, but it is from parents, from whom
everyone derives his natural disposition, which is
inclination. Experience and reason clearly prove
that this is so ; for the likeness of parents and
their children and grandchildren, as to face,
character and manners, is conspicuous. Hence it
is that families are recognised by many, and the
quality of their minds is assessed. Wherefore, the
evils which parents themselves have contracted are
transmitted by propagation to their posterity, and
manifest themselves by a certain inclination to­
wards them. From this source are the evils into
which people are born.
Second.-Man is led into good through regenera­
tion by the Lord. That there is regeneration, and
that unless regenerated no one can enter into
heaven, appears clearly from the Lord's words in
John iii 3, 5. That regeneration is purification
from evils, thus renewal of life, cannot be unknown
in the Christian world, for reason also sees this and
acknowledges that everyone is born in evil, and
107
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [111
that evil cannot be washed and wiped away, like
filth by soap and water, except by repentance.
Third.-This is effected by faith in the Lord,
and by a life according to His commandments.
There are five precepts of regeneration, as may be
seen above, nos. 43, 44 ; among which are these:
That evils ought to be shunned because they are
of the devil and from the devil. That good actions
ought to be done because they are of God and from
God. That the Lord ought to be approached in
order that He may lead man to act in this way.
Let everyone consult with himself and consider
whether man can be in good in any other way, and
note that if he is not in good he cannot be saved.
Fourth.-Wherefore, the good of one person can­
not be transferred by application to another, and
so imputed. From what has been said above it
follows that man by regeneration is renewed as to
his spirit, and that this is done by faith in the
Lord and at the same time by a life according to
His commandments. Who does not see that this
renewal can only be effected from time to time,
scarcely otherwise than as a tree takes root and
grows successively from a seed and is perfected?
Those who conceive regeneration and renewal in
any other way know nothing of the state of man,
nor anything about evil and good, as that they are
altogether opposite to each other, and that good
cannot be implanted except in so far as evil is
removed; neither do they know that so long as
anyone is in evil he is averse to good which is
good in itself. Wherefore, if the good of one person
were to be attached to, and so transferred to,
another who is in evil, it would be like casting a
lamb to a wolf, or fastening a pearl to a hog's
108
111-112] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH
snout. From these considerations it is evident that
transferring the good of one person to another is
impossible.
112. C. A faith in the imputation or application
of Christ's righteousness or merit is an imaginary
faith because it is impossible.
It was shown above that to everyone is imputed
the evil in which he is, and likewise the good,
n. llO. Hence it is evident that imputation, if it
means the application and thereby the transference
of the good of one person to another, is an illusion.
In the world, favours may be transferred, as it
were, by man. Thus, benefits may be conferred
upon children on account of their parents, or
upon the friends of some client from good-will
towards him. Yet the good of merit cannot be
inscribed on their souls; it can only be adjoined
from outside. No such transference can take
place with men as to their spiritual life, for this,
as was shown above, must be implanted; and
if it is not implanted by a life according to the
aforesaid precepts of the Lord, man remains in the
evil in which he was born. Until this is done it is
not possible for any good to affect him; or, if it
does affect him it is instantly repelled, so that it
rebounds like an elastic ball falling on a stone, or
else it is absorbed like a diamond thrown into a
. swamp. The man who is not reformed is, as to his
I spirit, like a panther or an o\:", an may e
compared to a thorn or a nettle. But the man who
r is regenerated js like a sh~_or~a dove, an may
l be compared to an olive:free or. a vjne. Consider,
then, I entreat you, if you will; how can a man who
is like a panther be converted into one who is
109
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [112-113
like a sheep, or how can an owl be changed into a
dove, or a thorn into an olive-tree, or a nettle into
a vine, by any imputation, if by this is meant
transference? In order that conversion may take
place, must not the ferocious nature of the panther
and the owl, and the noxious properties of the
thorn and the nettle, be first removed, and thus
what is truly human and inoffensive be im­
planted? How this is effected the Lord also teaches
in John xv 1-7.
113. Let this be added to the above. It is said
in the Church that no one can fulfil the law ;
especially as whoever offends against one com­
mandment of the Decalogue, offends against all.
But this form of speaking is not what it appears to
be; for it is to be understood in this way, that
whoever acts against one commandment from set
( purpose or from a confumed mina: acts against the
rest, inasmuch as to act from purpose or from
confirmation is altogether to deny that such action
! is a. sin, and who~L<lenies the sin thinks nothing
of actiM.-1!gIDnst the rest of the commandments.
Who does not know that whoever is a fornicator is
not therefore a murderer, a thief or a false witness,
nor even willing to be such. But whoever is an

! adulterer from set urpose and confirmation regards


a re glOuS matters as nothing, thus also murders,
thefts and false witness; abstaining from these
evils not because they are sins but from fear of the
law or loss of reputation. Similarly, if anyone
from set purpose or confirmation acts against any
lother single commandment of the Decalogue, he
\also acts against the rest, because he does not
regard any action as sin.
110
113) DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

)2)
The same principle applies to those who are in
good from the Lord. If they abstain of their own
will and understanding, thus from set purpose and
confirmation, from one evil because it is a sin,
they abstain from all. Still more is this so if they
abstain from several evils. For as soon as anyone
abstains from any evil from set purpose and con­
firmation because it is a sin, he is kept by the Lord
in the purpose of abstaining from the rest. Where­
fore, if he commits an evil through ignorance or
some predominant lust of the body, still it is not
imputed to him, because he did not intend it of
himself, neither does he confirm it in himself. A
man comes into this kind of purpose if he examines
himself once or twice a year, and repents of the
evil he discovers in himself. It is otherwise with
the man who never examines himself.
[3) I am allowed to confirm these observations by the
following account. I have met se~al people in the

I
spiritual world who have lived like others m tIle
natunil-wond, dressing well, feasting sumptuously,
engaging in business like others foL.m:Qfit, going
to the theatre, Jokmg as if lasciviO'USIY on love
topics, with other things of a similar nature; and
yerthe ange1s denounced such thin s a sinful
evils with some, whilst not imputing them as evils
( witno11iers, decliinng tlielaher to~ be innocent and
the form~r_guilty~. On oeirig asked ~wliYfhey made
thisafsfinction when yet both parties had done simi­
lar things, they replied that they regard everyone
accordin to their ur ose intention and end, and
is mgUls em accor mg y. ere ore they
excuse or condemn those whom the end excuses or
cqndemns, inasmuch~as gpBid is the end with every­
one in heaven, and . is t e end with everyone in
111
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [113-114
hell. From all this it now plainly appears to whom
sin is imputed and to whom it is not imputed.
114. To the above shall be added two memorable
experiences taken from THE ApOCALYPSE REVEALED.
The first is as follows. 1 I was once suddenly seized
with an almost deadly disease. My whole head
was oppressed, for a pestilential smoke had been
let in from the great city which is spiritually called
Sodom and Egypt, Rev. xi 8. ~<!.ead .2Yhh
)) severe anguish, I expected the end. I lay like this in
bed for three and a half days, so greatly was my
spirit affected, and from this my body. Then I
heard around me the voices of people saying, "Lo !
he who preached repentance for the remission of
( sins, and the man Christ alone, lies dead in the
street of our city." And they asked several of the
'clergy whether he was worthy of burial, as was
said of the twowitnesses sHrin-inthat city. Rev. xi
8-10. And they answered, " No, let him lie for a
spectacle." And they passed to and fro, ~
mocked. All this truly happened to me when this
chapter of the Revelation was being explained.
Then grievous sayings were heard from them,
especially these: "How can repentance be per­
formed without faith? And how can Christ, a man,
\1 be adored as God ? ~ Whilst we are ree y saved
without any merit of our own, what need is there of
anything apart from faith alone; the faith that God
the Father sent the Son to take away the damna­
tion of the law, so that He might impute His merit
to us, and so justify us in His sight, and absolve us
from our sins, and then give the Holy Spirit to
(I) n. 531.

112
114] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

operate every good work in us? Are not these


things agreeable to Scripture and to reason ?" The
crowd standing by applauded these speeches.
[2] I heard all this, but could not reply, because I
lay almost dead. But, after three and a half days
~irit revived, and Iwent fortn InThe spmt
from flie -street into the city, and again I said
"Repent, and believe on Christ, and your sins
will be remitted, and you will be saved; if you do
not do this, you will perish. Did not the Lord
Himself preach repentance for the remission of
sins, and that men should believe on Him? Did
He not command His disciples to preach the
same? Does not a complete disregard as to how
life should be lived follow from the dogma of your
faith?" But they sai.9-, "What idle talk! Has):
not the Son made satisfactIOn? Arid has not the
Father imputed -i1iis~-anorustified us who have
believed this? As we are thus led by the spirit of
grace, what sin is there, then, in us, and what)
power has death over us? Dost thou comprehend
th~el, thou preacher ofSin and repentance ?"
But tlieD. a voice came forth from heaven saying,
"What is the faith of the i m ' ut a dead J
fa' , e en IS come, the end is come upon you
tllat are secure and blameless in your own ises,
justified by your own faith, you ~h8 aIn dV'"
And suddenly a deep gulf opene In t e mIddle
of the city, spreading itself far and wide; and
house fell upon house, and they were swallowed
up. And presently waterbUOOled up from a large
whirlpool and overflowed the waste.
[3] When they were thus overwhelmed, and to all
appearance drowned, I desired to know their
condition in the abyss, and I was told from heaven,
113
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [114
" You shall see and hear." And immediately the
waters wherein they seemed to be drowned dis­
appeared before my eyes; for waters in the
spiritual world are correspondences, and conse­
quently appear to surround those who are in
falsities. And then they appeared to me to be i~
! sandy bottgm where there were Jarge heaEThof
I stones, among which they ra,n, raIDenting that t ey
~ were cast out of their great city. And they called
out, crying, " Why has this happened to us? Are
we not clean, pure, just and holy, through our
( faith?" Others exclaimed, " Are we not cleansed,

purified, justified and sanctified, through our

faith ?" And others cried, " Are we not through

' our faith made such that we are reputed and seen

( to be clean, pure, just and holy in the sight of God

\ the Father, and before the whole Trinity? And

are we not declared to be such in the presence of

the angels? Are we not reconciled, propitiated,

expiated, and thereby absolved, washed and

cleansed from sins? And has not the damnation

of the Law been taken away by Christ? Why, then,

are we cast down hither as damned? We have

been told by a bold preacher of sin in our great

city, • Believe on Christ, and do the work of

repentance.' Have we not believed on Christ

whilst we believed on His merit? And did we not

do the work of repentance when we confessed

ourselves sinners? Why, then, has all this befallen

[4]us?" But then ~oice from near-by s..ai~m'J \


"Do you know any single sin of which YQU are
guilty? Have you ever examined yourselves?
Have you in consequence thereof shunned any \
evil as a sin against God? Yet wl10ever does
not shun evil remains in it. Is not sin the devil? )
114
114] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

Wherefore, you are those of whom the Lord said:


Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk
in Thy presence, and Thou hast taught in our streets.
But He shall say, I tell you, I know you not, whence ye
are; depart from Me all ye workers of iniquity.
Luke xiii 26, 27 ; Matt. vii 22, 23.
"Depart, therefore, everyone to his own place.
You see the openings into the caverns; enter
therein, and work shall be given each of you to do,
and afterwards food in proportion to your work.
If you do not obey, hunger will at length compel
( you to enter." •
[5] Afterwards there came a voice from heaven to
some on that territory who were outside that great
city, and who are also described in the Revelation,
chap. xi 13, crying aloud, "Take heed to your­
selves, take care lest you associate with people
like them:- Can you not understand t at evIls,
w ch are called sins and iniquities, render man
unclean and impure? How can man be cleansed
I and purified from them save b actual rc:.P_~~e
l and faith in the Lord Goathe SaVIOur? Actual 1
repentance is to examine oneself, to know and
acknowledge one's sins, to hold oneself guilty, to
confess them before the Lord, to implore help and
QQwer to r-eslst them, an t us tq desist from them
anOl.ead a neWlif'e; and to -<19 all this as of one-

f { a0'~ch the Holy Commumon; ana. afterwardS,


s~l(, Practise this once or twice a year, ·when you

wo.enihe sins whereof youaccounted yourselves


gUilty recur, then say to yourselves, • We will not
l! entertain them because they are sins against God' ;
[6 this is actual repentance. Who cannot under­
stand that if a man does not examine himself and
see his sins, he remains in them? For ~ s
115
A BRIEF EXPOSrTION OF THE [114
fj - ~lightful to man from his birth. It is delightful
to take revenge, to commit whoredom,. to defraud,
to blaspheme. And does not this delight blind
you to the nature of these evils? Moreover, if
perchance it is said that they are sins, do you not
excuse them on account of that delight? Nay, do
you not confirm them by false reasonings, and
persuade yourselves that they are not sins? And
so you remain in them, and commit them after­
wards more than before ; and this even till you do
not know what sin is, or whether there is SUC'lla
thIng as sin. It IS otherwise with everyone who
actually practises repentance. He calls his evils.
2 - which he knows and acknowledges, sins; where­
fore he begins to shun and detest them, and to
\ feel their delights as undelightful. And mpro­
portlOn aShe does tmSIle seesand loves what is
) good, and at len th feels the delig~f good. which
\ are the delig ts of eaven. In a word, so far as
anyone casts -the evil behind him. so far he is
adopted by the Lord, and taught and guided by
Him. and withheld from evils and held in good.
This is the way, and there is no other, from hell
to heaven."
[7J It is remarkable that among the Reformed there
is a certain deep-rooted 0 ositio 0 refusal of.
J
and aversion for re ntance, which is so
great that they cannot force themselves to examine
themselves and to see their sins, and to confess
them before God. It is as if they are seized with
horror whenever they consider doing this. I have
enquired of very many of them in the spiritual
world concerning actual repentance, and~
I
have all said that it is beyond their power. When
they heard that Papists do as much as this; that
116
114] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

is, that they examine themselves and confess their


sins openly in the presence of a monk, they were
greatly astonished, and wondered also why the
Reformed cannot do the same in private before
God, when it is just as much enjoined on them
before they approach the Holy Supper. Some of
those who were there enquired into the reason for
this, and they found that faith alone induced just
such a state of impenitence and state of heart ;
and then it was given them to see that t~
Papists who approach and adore Christ, and do not
j
adore, but only honour, the pnmates and priests
of their Church, are saved.
[8] After this there was heard a sound like thunder,
and a voice speaking from heaven, saying, "We
are amazed. Say to the assemblage of the Reformed,
, Believe on Christ and do the work of repentance,
and you will be saved.''' And I said so, and added,
" Is not baptism a sacrament of repentance, and
thereby an introduction into the Church? What
else. do the sponsorspromiseror the one who is
to be baptized but that he will renounce the devil
and his works? IsnortlieHoIySupper-a sacrament
~~pentan~ and thereby_ anlnt0J!iicfionJilto
heaven? . Is it not declared to the communicants
thatthey must certainly do the work of repentance
before they come to the table? Is not the Decalogue,
which teaches repentance, the doctrine of the whole
Christian Church-or-Is it not said there, in the
six precepts of the second table, Thou shalt pot
do this and that evil ; and not said, Thou shalt do
this and that good? Wherefore you may know I}
that so far as anyone shuns evils, so far he loves}
good; and~ (fiat Before this lie does not know
what good or evil are."
9 117
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [115
115. The other memorable experience is as
follows: 1 An angel once said to me, "You wish
to see clearly what faith and charity are, and thus
what faith is when separate from charity, and
what it is when united with charity; I will demon­
strate it to the sight." I replied, "Do so." And
he said, "Instead of faith and charity, think of
(ligh) a~cth~, and you will ,see this matter ~learly.
1'J:iO(~~ In Its own essence IS the truth of WIsdom,
and e arity in its own essence is the affection of
love; and the truth of wisdom in heaven is light,
and the affection of love in heaven is heat. The
light and heat in which the angels dwell are nothing
else. From this you can clearly see what faith is
when separate from charity, and what it is when
united with charity. Faith separate from charity
is like the light of winter, and faith united with
charity is like the light of spring. The light of
winter, which is light separate from heat, because
it is combined with cold, utterly strips the trees of
all their leaves, kills the grass, hardens the ground,
and freezes the water. But the light of spring,
which is light combined with heat, causes the
trees to vegetate, first into leaves, then into
blossoms, and lastly into fruits. It opens and
softens the ground that it may produce grass, herbs,
flowers and fruits; and also dissolves the ice so
that the waters flow from their sources. It is
exactly similar with faith and charity. Faith
separate from charity deadens all things, and faith
combined with charity vivifies all things. This
vivifying and deadening may be seen to the life
in our spiritual world, because here faith is light,

(I) APOCALYPSE REVEALED: n. 875.


118
115J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH
and charity is heat. For where faith is united with
charity there are paradisaical gardens, flower-beds
and shrubberies, delightful according to the union.
But where faith is separate from charity there is
not even grass, and what green there is, is from
thorns and briars." Not far from us at that time
were some of the clergy whom the angel called
justifiers and sanctifiers of men by faith alone,
ifso aeafers in mysteries. - Werelafed the same
things to them, giving -them clear proof so that
they might see that such was the case. Yet when
we asked them whether it was not so, they turned
away, saying, "We did not hear you." But we
called out to them, saying, " Then hear us further."
They then placed both hands over their ears, and
cried out, " We will not hear."

CONCLUSION

From Jeremiah, chap. vii 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11.


Stand in the gate of the house of Jehovah, and
proclaim there this word. .. Thus saith Jehovah of
hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and
your doings . .. trust ye not in lying words, saying,
The temple of Jehovah~ the temple 01 Jehovah,
the temple ofJehovah is here (that is, the church) ...
Will ye steal, murder, commit adultery, and swear
falsely ... and after that come and stand before Me
in this house, which is called by My name, and say,
We are delivered: whilst ye do all these abomina­
illw tions? Is not this house become a den ofrobbers? ...
Wl Even I, behold, I have seen, saith Jehovah.
119
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [116

APPENDIX
(serving as a fitting conclusion)
116. The Faith of the New Heaven and the New
Church in its universal form is this: The Lord
from eternity, Who is JEHOVAH, came into the
->( world that He might subjugate the hells and
glorify His Human; without this Coming no
mortal could have been saved, and those are saved
who believe on Him.
[2] It is said, "in its universal form," because this
is the universal form of faith; and the universal
form of faith will be in each and every particular
part thereof. It is a universal point of faith that
God is one in essence and Person, in Whom is the
Trinity, and that the Lord God, the Saviour Jesus
Christ, is this God. It is a universal point of faith
that no mortal could have been saved unless the
Lord had come into the world. It is a universal
point of faith that He came into the world to
remove hell from man, and that He removed it by
combats against it, and victories over it; whereby
He subjugated it and reduced it to order under
obedience to Himself. It is a universal point of
....;>(' faith that He came into the world to glorify the
\ Hum~n which He assumed in the world; that is,
to urute it with the Divine of which it was begotten;
and that, having thus subjugated hell by His own
power, He keeps it eternally in order and under
obedience to Himself. Inasmuch as both these
tasks could be effected only by means of tempta­
tions admitted into His Human, even to the last,
which was the passion of the cross, therefore He
120
l16-ll7J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

endured this also. These are the universal points


of faith concerning the Lord.
[3] The universal point of the Christian faith on
man's part is that he should believe on the Lord,
for by believing on Him he has 1fc0juQE:tion 'Yith
( Him, ~md th!!s salvation. To be eve on Him is
to have confidence that He saves ; and because no
one can have this confidence unless he lives well,
therefore liv~ a good life is also meant by
believing on ~Im. ­

~
"" The Faith of the New Heaven and the New
117)
C urch in its ·particular form is this: Jehovah
God is Love itself and Wisdom itself, or Good
itself and Truth itself. As to Divine Truth which
is the Word, and which was God with God, He
-> came down and assumed the Human in order that
( He mIght bnng mto order all thin~ in heaven
andaIItlimgs in hell, and all things in tlieCliUrCh ;
sihce, at tliat tIme, tlie power of the devIl, [fiat is,
of hell, prevailed over the power of heaven; and
on earth the power of evil prevailed over the power
of good ; in consequence of which a total damna­
[2]tion was at hand, threatening every creature. This
impending damnation Jehovah God removed by
His Human, which was Divine Truth, and thus
He redeemed angels and men. Afterwards He
united Divine Truth with Divine Good in HiSJ
Human, and thus returne~ mto His Di~ine, i~
WIilcIl He was from eterrnty, together WIth- HIS
glorified Human. This is meant by tliese words
\ in John:
The Word was with God, and the Word was God ...
and the Word was made flesh. John i I, 14.
And by these wordS :
121
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [117-118
I came forth from the Father. and am come into the
world; again I leave the world and go to the Father.
. John xvi 28.
From these considerations it is manifest that
without the advent of the Lord into the world, no
one could have been savea:-lt is the same at this
day ; wherefore, ~s~rd comes again into
JI the world in Divine Truth, which is the - ord,
no one can be 5ma.
[3] The particulars of faith on man's part are as
follows: . --­
cD There is One God, in Whom is the Divine
Tfln.It---ana-He is the Lord God the
aVlOur Jesus' hf . ­
2. A saving faith is to believe on Him.
3. Evil actions ought to be shunned because
they are of the devil and from the devil.
4. Good actions ought to be done because
they are of God and from God.
5. And these should be done by man as of
himself, yet it ought to be believed that
they are from the Lord, with him and
through him.
The first two are matters of faith ; the next two
of charity. The fifth concerns the conjunction of
charity and faith, thus of the Lord and man.
See also concerning these at n. 44 above.

HERE FOLLOW THREE MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES


TAKEN FROM THE ApOCALYPSE REVEALED

118. The first Memorable Experience. l When I


was engaged on the explanation of chapter xx of

(I) n. 926.
122
118J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

the Revelaaon, and was meditating on the drag<w,


the beast and the false prophet, a certain angelic
spirit appeared before me and asked, "What are
you thinking about?" I replied, "About the
fakp.IQ~t." Then he said, " I will lead you to
the place where are those who are meant by the
false prophet." He said that" they are the same as
those who are meant in chapter xiii by ~ ~st
out of the earth, which had two horns like a lamb,
and spoke like a dragon. I followed him, and 10 ?
I saw a crowd in the midst of which were prelates
of the Church who taught that nothing else saves
( man but faith in Christ's merit; and that works
a e g.Qod, P!!t not for salvation; yenhat they are
to be taught from the Word in order that the laity,
especially the simple, may be kept more strictly
in the bonds of obedience to the magistrates, and
be constrained to exercise moral charity as if from
religion, thus interiorly.
[2] Then one of them, seeing me, said, "Do you
wish to see our place of worship in which is an
image representative of our faith?" I approached
and saw it ; and behold, it was magnificent. And
I in the middleyf iL was the image of a r;~n
c othed in a scarlet robe, andnolding a go com
in her right hand and a string of pearls in her left
hand. But both the image and the temple were
produced by phantasy; fo infernal spirits can
dis lay magnificent objects by hantasies, """by
closing-the interiols-of the mind and 0 -enmg only
its exteriofs.-- When, however, I perceIved tnat
such things were illusions, I prayyd to the Lord, and

l suddenly Jhe interiors of my mind were opened ;


B and then, instead of a magnificent temple, I saw a
house full of chinks from the roof to the founda­
123
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [ 118

tions, in which nothing was connected. And,


instead of a woman, saw nanging up in that house
an image, the head of which was like a dragon's,

! the body like a leopard's, the feet like a bear's,


and the mouth like a lion's; thus, ex~ctly like the
beast out of the sea, described in the -Revelation,
chap. xiii. And, instead of a floor, there-was a
marsh in which lay a multitude of frogs; and I
was informed that beneath the marsh was a large
hewn stone under which the Word lay eritlrely
llldden-:- ----. - -­
[3]-On seeing this I said to the illusionist, " Is this
your place of worship ? "~e rep ie , "It is."
Then suddenly his interior sight was opened also,
so that be saw the same things that I did ; where­
upon he uttered a great cry, saying, "What and
Uwhence is this?" And I said, "This is from the
)lllight out of heaven which uncovers the quality
orevery form, and here is discovered the quality
of your faith separate from spirrual charity." Then
an east wind blew there an carried away the
place of worship with the image, and also dried up
the marsh, and so exposed the stone under which
lay the Word. Afterwa·rds there exhaled, as it
were, a vernal warmth from heaven, and behold,
in the same place there appeared a tent, simple
in its outward form. And the angels who were
~ _ with me said, " Behold the tent of Abraham such
as it was when the three angels came to him and
announced the birth of Isaac. It appears simple to
the eye, nevertheless it becomes more and more
magnificent according to the influx of light from
heaven." And they were permitted to open the
heaven which is the abode of spiritual angels who
excel in wisdom ; and then, from the light flowing
124
118-119] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH
in from there, the tent appeared like a temple - 3
similar to the one at Jerusalem. Then, onlOOKIng
into it, I saw that the foundation stone under
which the Word had been placed was set around
with precious stones from which rays like lightning
shot forth upon the walls, upon which were the forms
ofcherubs, beautifullyvariegating them with colours.
[4] As I was admiring these things, the angels said,
"You shall see something still more wonderful."
And they were allowed to open the third heaven
which is the abode of celestial angels who excel
in love; then, from the lIght flowing in from
there, the whole of that temple disappeared, and

l
in its place was seen t.!1e Lord a10ny, standIng on a - C.
foundation stone whtch was the Word, in a form
similar to that in which He appeared before John
(Rev., chap. i). But as the interiors of the minds
of the angels were then filled with holiness, by
which they were impelled to fall prostrate upon
their faces, suddenly the way of the light from
c the thir eaven>was closed by-the Lord, and the
way of the light from <the secoIla -llea~n'\ was E
opened again, so that the former appearance of
the temple returned, also of the ten but within fl
the temple. By this was portrayed the meaning
of these words in the Revelation:
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will
dwell with them. Rev. xxi 3.
And of these words :
And I saw no temple (in the New Jerusalem), for the Lord
God ommpotent and the Lamb are the temple of it.
I) ~'?.,.,
Rev. xxi 22. ;;p
119. The second Memorable Experience from
THE APOCALYPSE REVEALED. 1 Awakened one time

(I) n. 961.

125
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [119
out of sleep I fell into a profound meditation
concerning God; and when I looked upwards I
saw in the heaven above me a most brilliant white
light in an oval form. As I fixed my gaze upon
that light it receded from the centre--.!Qwards the
circumference. And behold, heaven was then
opened to me, and I saw magnificent things, and
angels standmg in a circle on the southern side
of the opening in conversation with one another.
And because I was consumed with desire to hear
what they were talking about, I was allowed to
hear first the sound which was full of c~e,
( and afterwards their speech which wasrurr-6f
wIsdom from that love. I hey spoke together
concerning the One God, and concerning ~
with Him, and salvation thence. They mentioned
ineffable things, many of which could not be
expressed in the words of any natural language.
But as I had often been among angels in their
heaven, and had, then, a similar §peech, because I
was in a similar state, therefore I was now able to
understand them, and to select from their con­
versation some particulars which may be intelligibly
~j)ressed in natural language.
[2] They said that the Divine Being (Esse) is One, the
Same, the Very Self, and Indivisible; that so also is
the Divine Essence, because the Pjyine Being (Esse)
is the Divine :essence; that so, likewIse, IS GOO,
because the Divmetssence, which is also the Divine
Bein Esse, is God. They illustrated this by
r
spIritua 1 eas, saying that the Divine Bein (Esse)
cannot possibly become several, in each 0 WliiCh
is the Divine Being (Esse) and yet remain One,
the Same, the Very Self, and Indivisible; for then
each would think from His own Esse, out of and by
126
119J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH
Himself. If then each thought also from the Others
and by the Others unanimously, and at the same
time, they would then be several unanimous Gods,
not one God. For unanimity, being the agreement
of several and at the same time of each One from
Himself and by Himself, does not agree with the
unity of God, but implies plurality. They did not
say a plurality of Gods because they could not;
for the light of heaven from which they thought,
and in which their words were spoken, prevented
it. They also said that when they wished to pro­
nounce the word .. Gods" and to speak of each as
a Person by Himself, the effort of utterance was
immediately turned into the expression .. One
[3]God," yea, "The Only God." To this they added
that the Divine Being (Esse) is the Divine Being
(Esse) in Itself, not from Itself, because "from
Itself" postulates a Being (Esse) in Itself from
another; thus it supposes a God from a God,
which is impossible. What is from God is not called
God, but the Divine. For what is God from God,
or what is God born of God from eternity, and what
(is God from God proceeding through a God born
from eternity, but mere words in which there is not
( the least light from "heaven? They said further
that the Divine Bein~ (Esse), which in Itself is God,
~ is T~!! ; not t e same simply but i~ly ;
mat IS, tfie Same trom etermty to eternity: that
it is the Same everywhere, and with everyone and
in everyone, but that all variation and change are
( in the recipient, and are caused by the state of the
recipient.
[4] That the Divine Beinfi (Esse); which is God in
~ Himself, is the Ver~ Se f, 'ftl!y illustrated in this
way. God is th'if er; Self because He is~ov~
127 1
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [119
itself and~is~~itself; or, what is the same,
because He IS Good itself and Truth itself, thence
Life itself. UnlesS1hese were the \7ej-y Srlf in God,
they would not be anything in heaven or the world,
since there would be nothing in them having rela­
tion to the Very Self. For every quality draws its
nature from this, that there is the Very Self
frolrr which it is, and to which it has relabon In
( oraer that it may-.be what it IS. I hIS Very Self, which
is the Divine Bein~ (Esse), is not in place, but is
with those and m t osewho are in place according
~ to reception. For neither place nor progresswn
from one place to another can be asserted of Love
and Wisdom, or of Good and Truth, or of Life
thence, which are the Very Self in God, yea, l:f<)d
Himself; these are without place, hence their
omnipresence. Wherefore the Lord says that He
is in the midst of them, and that He is in them 11
[5]and they in Him. But, as He cannot be received by ~
anyone such as He is in Himself, He appears as
He is in Himself as a sun above the angelic heaven,
and that which proceeds from it as light is Himself
as to wisdgm, and that which proceeds as heat is
Himself as to l~e. He Himself is not that sun ; I~
but the Divine ove and the Divine Wisdom in
ltheIr Immediate emanation, from HIm ~r
rounda15out HImself as-a----sun~the angels.
He Himself, wlthm the sun, IS a Man, our Lord
Jesus Christ, both as to the Originating Divine
and as to the Divine Human; inasmuch as the
~ Very Self, which is Love itself and Wisdom itself,
was His soul from the Father; thus DlVlne Life
w~h is Life in itself. It is otherwise with every
~1I man ; for in man the soul is not life,but a hecipient
rn of life. This the Lord also teaches when e says,
128
ll9J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; John xiv 6.
And in another place,
As the Father has life in Himself, so has He given to the

Son to have life in Himself. John v 26.

Life in Himself is Q.Q£l. The angels added that


thOse who are in any spiritual light may see
lnplainly from these things that the Divine Esse,
~w4ic i Iso the Divine Essence, because It is
~ the Same, t e er
1ffilTvisibIC, dinnot ossib
one; and tat, 1 It s ou
elf, and thence)
1st in more than

e saId t at It does so,

I
manifest contradictions would follow.

[6] After hearing these things, the angels perceived


in my thought the usual ideas of the Christian
Church respecting God as a trinity of Persons in
unity, and their unity in trinity; also of the birth
of a Son of God from eternity. Whereupon they
said to me, "What are you thinking about? Are
you thinking of those things from natural ligltt,
with which OJIT spiritual light does not a~ee?
Unless you remove those ideas fromx.Q..1.iLthoughts
( we must cIoseneaven against you and go away."

Then I said to them, " Enter, I beseech you, more

deeply into my thought, and perchance you will

find agreement." And they did so, and saw that

by three Persons I mean three proceedin& Divine

attributes, which are Creation, RedemptIOn and

Re eneration, and that those attributes belong to

t e One Go ; also that by the birth of a Son of

God from eternity, I understand His birth foreseep.

l( from eternity and provided in time. I then told

them that my natUral thought concerning a trinity

and unity of persons, and of the birth of a Son

of God from eternity, was derived from the doctrine

129
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [119-120
of faith in the Church named after Athanasius,
and that this doctrine is correct if, instead of a
trinity of Persons, there is substituted a trin~ty of
Person existin!Ls9lely in the Lord Jesus C nst ;
and If, mstead of the birth of a Son of God from
eternity, His birth foreseen from eternity and
provided in time is understood; because, as to the
Human which He assumed, He is expressly ciilIed
[7]the Son of God. Then the angels said, "That is
good." And they asked me to say on their testi­

l~
mony that if anyone does not approa..£h tar LOrd
as the God of heaven and earth, lle canno come
into heaven; because heaven is heaven from this
One and Only God; and that this God is Jesus
Christ, who is Jehovah Lord, the Creator from
eternity, the Redeemer in time, and the Regenera­
tor to eternity; thus, Who is at once Father, Son
and Holy Spirit; and that this is the Gospel
which is to be preached. After this the heaYmly
I liW which I had seen before return@, ana-by
degrees descended and filled the interiors of my
'mind and enlightened my ideas concerning the
unity and trinity of God. And then I saw that the
ideas which I had first had on the trinity, and)
which were merely natural. were separateaas
chaff IS separated from the wheat by winnowing,
and were carried away as by a wind to the northern
part of heaven, and there dispersed.
@ The third Memorable Experience from THE
APOCALYPSE REVEALED. ' As I have been permitted
by the Lord to see the wonderful things which are
in the heavens and under the heavens, I am obliged,

(I) D.962.
130
120] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH
as commanded, to describe what I have seen.
There appeared a magnificent palace with a temple
in its innermost part. In the midd,le of the temple
stood a table of gold, on which lay the Word ; and
two angels stood beside it. Round about the table
was a triple row of seats. The seats of the first
row were covered with a silken cloth of cr~s.9n ;
those of the second row with a silken cloth 0 blue;
and those of the third row with a white cloth.
Below the roof, high above the table, appeared a
canopy of tapestry, shining with precious stones,
from whose lustre there shone forth, as it were,
a rainbow, as when the sky is clear after rain.
Then suddenly there appeared sitting on the seats
a number of the clergy clothed in the garments of
their priestly office. On one side was a wardrobe,
where stood an angel custodian, and within the
wardrobe lay splendid vestments in beautiful
[2]order. It was a Council convened by the Lord; and
I heard a voice from heaven saying, .. Deliberate."

I
Bur they saId, .. On what?'''- The reply was,
.. Concermng the Lord the SaVIOur, and concerning
the H~nt." But Wlien_they thought on tIiese
subJeciStheY were not jn a state of j1lumjnation; 'I
I
I wherefore they made supplication, a,nd imme­
11 diately light streamed down out of heaven, first
illummatmg the back part of theIr headS, after­
wards their temples, and lastly their faces. Then
they began deliberating as commanded; first,
concerning the Lord the Saviour.
The first question to be considered was: Who
assumed the Human in the Virgin ~ry? And
the angel standing at the table on w ch was the
Word read these words from Luke in their presence :
The angel said to M,..ID'. Behold thou shalt conceive in
-131
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [120
thy womb and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His
name Jesus. He shall be great, and sfuH De called The
S01iO]7lli Highest. ... And M....ID said to the angel, How
shaH this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel
answering said, T'lJIii:jX iirit shall come upon thee, and
the power of the I J all overshadow thee; there­
fore, also, that Holy Thing which shaH be born of thee
shall be caHed the Son of God. Luke i 31, 32, 34, 35.
Then he also read from the first chapter of Matthew,
( verses 2.0-25, and when he came to the 25th verse
he read it with a loud voice. In addition he read
many passages from the Evangelists, as Matt. iii 17 ;
xvii 5 ; John xx 31 ; with other statements where
the Lord as to His Human is called the Son of God,
and where, from His Human, He calls lehovah
His Father. Further, he read from the Prophets,
where it is foretold that lehovah Himself was about
to come into the world; among them were these
passages from Isaiah :
It shall be said in that day. Lo! This is our God, for
Whom we have waited to deliver us; this is Jehovah, for
Whom we have waited ; let us rejoice and be glad in His
salvation. Isa. xxv 9.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye
the way of Jehovah ; make level in the desert a pathway for
our God. ... And the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed.
and all flesh shaH see it together.... Behold, the Lord
Jehova"liCometh in strength. . . . He shall feed His flock
like a shepherd. Isa. xl 3, 5, 10. 11.
[3]Then the angel said, " As lehovah Himself came
into the world and assumed a ztlwPan, and ~it
has redeemed and saved manklDd, therefore He
is called by the Prophets the Saviour and the
Redeemer. And then he read to them the following
passages:
Surely God is in thee, and there is no God else. Verily
Thou art a hidden God, 0 God of Israel the Saviour.
Isa. xlv 14, 15.
132
120] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH
Am not I Jehovah, and there is no God else besides Me ?
A just God; and there is no Saviour besides Me ?
Isa. xlv 21.
I am Jehovah, and besides me there is no Saviour.
Isa. xliii 11.
I am Jehovah thy God ... and thou shalt acknowledge
no God besides Me ; and there is no Saviour besides Me.
Hosea xiii 4.
That all flesh may know that I Jehovah am thy Saviour
and thy Redeemer. Isa. xlix 26; Ix 16.
As for our Redeemer, Jehovah ofhosts is His name.
Isa. xlvii 4.
Their Redeemer, the mighty Jehovah of Hosts is His name.
Jer. 1 34.
Jehavah, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm xix 14.
Thus saith Jehovah thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
I am Jehovah thy God.
Isa. xlviii 17 ; xliii 14; xlix 7; liv 8.
Thou, Jehovah, art our Father; our Redeemer from
of old is Thy name. Isa. Ixiii 16.
Thus saith Jehovah thy Redeemer . .. I am Jehovah that
maketh all things ... and by Myself alone. Isa. xliv 24.
Thus saith Jehovah, the king of Israel, and His Redeemer,
Jehovah of Hosts; I am the First and the Last, and
besides Me there is no God. Isa. xliv 6.
Jehovah of Hosts is His name, and thy Redeemer, the
Holy One of Israel; the God o~ whole earth shall He
be called. -- Isa. liv 5.
Behold, the days come when I will raise unto David
a righteous Branch Who shall reign a king . . . and
this is His name, Jehovah our Righteollsness.
Jer. xxiii 5, 6; xxxiii 15, 16.
In that day Jehovah shall be King over all the earth ;
in that day there shall be one Jehovah, and His name One.
Zech. xiv 9.
[4]From all these passages, those who sat on the seats
were convinced, and unanimously declared,. that
Jehovah Himself assumed the Human to redeem
and save mankind. But then a VOIce was heard
from the Roman Catholics whOli"adliiddeiltli.em­
selves behind the a~aying, "How could
Jehovah, the Father, oecome a man? Is He not the
10 133
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [120
Creator of the universe?" And one of those who
sat on the second row of seats turned round and
said, "Who was it, then ?" Then the one from
beh!n~ flieaItar, advancing to Its sIde, replied,
"Tile Sonfrgm eternity." But he was answered:
" Is...!lot the ~~I.!om e!~TJ.!ity, according t.o y~r

I
own confession, also the Creator 0 the uruverse ?
Anowhat isa Soii;Ofa GOd, born rom eternIty?
And how js it possible for_the Divine Essence,
which_~ onC?-and)p.divisible, to be separatea:and
for one part to descend and not at the same time
the whole?"
[5J The other matter of enquiry concerning the
Lord was: Whether the Father and He are One,
as the soul and the body are one? They said that
this follows of necessity because the soul is from
the father. Then one of those who sat on the
third row of seats read out of the Confession of
Faith, called the Athanasian Creed, the following
passage:
Although our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God·
and man yet they are not two, but one Christ ... one
altogether by unity of Person. For as the soul and
body are one man, so God and man is one Christ.
"This faith," said the reader, " is received through­
) out the whole Christian world, ev~ by the Roman
Catholics." Then they said, " What nee<fliiiVeWe
of urther proof? God the Father and He are one,
as the soul and body are one." And they continued,
"
Because this is so, we perceive that the Lord's
tl
J Human IS DIVIDe, tor it is the Human of lehovah ;
alSo that the Lord ought to be approached as to
His Divine Human, an01Ila:nlftisluIO not otherwiSe
canthe DMne,- which is called the Father, be
[6Japproached." This conclusion of theirs the angel
134
l20J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

confirmed by many passages from the Word,


among them were these from Isaiah :
Unto us a c~ is.. bQrn. unto us a Son is given . . _
Whose name satl be caned Wonderful, Counsellor, God,
Hero, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace. Isa. ix 6.
Abraham knows us not, and Israel does not acknowledge
us. Thou, lehovah, art our Father, our Redeemer from
of old is Thy IUlme. Isa. !xiii 1.6
And in John .-
Jesus said, He that believeth on Me . . . believeth on
Him that sent Me. And he that seeth Me, seet!l Him
that sent Me. John xii 44, 45.
Philip said to Jesus, Show us the Father ... Jesus said
to him, He that hath seen Me !lath seen the Father;
how sayest thou then, Show us the Father? Believest
thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me ?
Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me.
John xiv 8 - 11.
Je~us said, I and the Father are one. John x 30.
All things that the Father hath are Mine . .. and all Mine
are the Father's. John xvi 15 ; xvii 10.
Lastly:
Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no
one cometh to the Father, but by Me. John xiv 6.
When they had heard these statements, they
all declared with one voice and heart that the
Lord's Human is Divine, and that this should be
approached in order that the Father may be
approached; since Jehovah God, Who is t or I~l

I
from eteroit s . e b his ns m e
. r, a _ e I es, and
nmF accessible. Likewise, He ma e Imself
visible and thus accessible to men of olden times
in a human form, but then by means of an angel.
-===[7] Mter this followed a dISCUSSIOn concerningthe
I:loly Spirit. First the idea held by many people
regardmg God the Father, the Son and the Holy
Spirit was disclosed, which was this; that God
135
A BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE [120
the Father sat on high, with the Son at His right
hand, and that they sent forth the Holy Spirit
from themselves to enlighten and instruct mankind.
But then a voice was heard from heaven saying,
"We cannot endure such an idea. Who does not
know that Jehovah God is omnipresent? And
whoever knows and acknowledges this, should
also acknowledge that it is He Himself who
enlightens and instructs, and that there is not a
J{ mediating God distinct from Him, much less
from two, as one person is distinct from another.
Wherefore, let the former idea which is false be
removed, and let this other idea which is sound
be received, and then you will see this clearly."
[8]But then a voice was heard again from the Roman
Catholics who had concealed themselves behind the
altar of the temple, saying, "What then is the·
Holy Spirit, who is mentioned in the Word by the
Evangelists and Paul, and by whom so many
of the learned among the clergy, particularly of
our Church, profess to be t~? Who in the
Cllrlstian world at this day denies the Holy Spirit
and His operations?" Upon this, one of those
who were sitting on the second row of seats turned
round and said, "You say that the Holy Spirit
is a Person by Himself, and a God by Himself.
But what is a person going forth and proceeding
from a person but operation going forth and pro­
ceeding? One person cannot go forth and proceed
from another by another, but operation can. Or
what is a God going forth and proceeding from a
God but the Divine going forth and proceeding?
One God cannot go forth and proceed from
another by another, but the Divine can. Is not the
Divine Essence one and indivisible? And since
136
120] DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH

the Divine Essence, or the Divine Esse, is God, is


[9]not God therefore one and indivisible?" On
hearing these words, those who sat on the seats
concluded unanimously that the Holy Spirit is
not a Person by Himself, thus not a God by
Himself, b1;lt that it is the Holy Divine going forth
and proceeding fr6Iii:t11e <melffid on~ omm­
potent God, Who is the Lord. To this t angels e
who stood at the golden table on which lay the
Word said, " Good; for it is nowhere written in
any part of the Old Testament that the prophets
spake the Word from the Holy Spirit, but from
Jehovah, the Lord; and wherever the HOI~ Spirit
.is mentioned in the New Testament it sigm es toe
J\Divine Proceeding, which enlightens, instructs,
vivifies, reforms and regenerates. l~o.P; H~"".";bj 0~v; .......
[10] After this another subject of enquiry respecting
the Holy Spirit was raised, viz., From Whom proceeds
the Divine which is called the Holy Spirit, from the
Divine which is called the Father or from the Divine
Human which is the Son? Whilst they discussed
this, a light shone from heaven, whereby they saw
that the Holy Divine, meant by the Holy Spirit,

\
l~ roceeds from the D'" ord through Hisll~
H1 g on e Human, which is the Divine uman,W\
comparatIvely as all actIvity WIth man proceeds
from the soul through the body. This truth the
angel who stood by the table confirmed by these
passages:
He Whom the Father hath sent speaketh the words of
God; He hath not given the spirit by measure unto Him.
The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into
His hand. John iii 34, 35.
There shall come forth a Rod out of the stem of Jesse ...
the Spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon Him, the spirit of
137
DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH (120
wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and
might. Isa. xi 1,2.
The Spirit oflehovah was put upon Him, and was in Him.
. Isa. xlii 1; lix 19, 24; lxi 1; Luke iv 18.
'JW.hen the Holy Spirit shaH have come, whom I am about
) ~ to send unto you from the Father. John xv 26.
He snail gJonfy Me, !or He shaH receive of Mine, and
shall declare it unto you. All things that the Father hath
are Mine ; wherefore I said, He is about to receive of
Mine and to declare it unto you. John XVI 14, 15.
iITgo away I will send the Comforter unto you.
John xvi 7.
The Comforter is the Holy Spirit. John xiv 26.
The Holy Spirit was not yet, because le.sus was not yet
glorified. John vii 39.
But after the glorification :
JesuG breathed on His disciples and said, Receive ye
the Holy Spirit. John xx 22.
And in the Revelation :
Who shall not glorify Thy name, 0 Lord, for Thou only
art holy. Rev. xv 4.
[ll]Inasmuch as the Divine operation of the Lord
from His Divine Omnipresence 1SIi1eant by the
Ho~rit, therefore when He spoke to His
disapres~conceming the Holy Spirit, which He
was about to send from God the Father, He also
said :
I will not leave you orphans ... I go away . .. and come
to you. ... In that day ye shall know that I am in my
Father, and ye in Me, and I in you. John xiv 18,28,20.
And just before His departure out of the world
He said:
( Lo ! l am with you all the days, even to the consumma­
tion...oLfu~age. I'vuifCXx.VIll 20.
Having read these words in their presence, the
angel said, " From these and many other passages
from the Word it is evident that the Divine which
is called the H,2ly Spirit proceeds from the Divine
- 138
120J DOCTRINE OF THE NEW CHURCH
in the Lord through His Divine Human. To this
those who sat on the seats exc1almoo, "This is
Divine truth." ~
[12] - Lastly, this decision was made: From what has
been deliberated in this council we clearly see, and
therefore acknowledge as holy truth, that in the
Lord God, the Saviour Jesus Christ, there is a
Divine Trinity which is the Originating Divine, ,
called the Father, the Divine Human which IS the t
Son, and the Divine Proceeding which is the Holy J
Spirit. Then they exclaImed together:
In Jesus Christ dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
-
bodily. ...:.. \'l... c.4-J, .... L., ",-k~.~.Q,jJA ~J..:. t.:.f;0ls. ii 9.
""""---~'
Thus, there IS One God ll!. the Chu!.ch. .
{"

[13] After these things were~uded in that


magnificent council, they arose, and the angel­
custOOlail of the wardrobe came and brought to
each of those who had sat on the seats splendid
garments interwoven here and there with threads
of gold; and he said, " Receive ye these wedding
'fI g~s." They were then conducted in glory
tOllie New Christian Heaven, with which the
Lord's' Church on earth~hich is the New
Jerusalem, will be united.
ZECHARIAH xiv 7, 8, 9.
There shall be one day which is known to Jehovah,
nor day nor night . . .for about evening-time it shall be
light. It shall come to pass in that day, livini
waters shall go out from Jerusalem . .. and Jehova
shall be King over an the earth.. in that day there
shall be (jffe Jehovah, and Hls name one. •r
'i
THE END )

139
Textual note to first sentence in paragraph 4(a).
In the Decree of the Council ofTrent the following
sentence appears : ­
Quo factum est ut coelestis Pater, Pater
misericordiarum et Deus totius consolationis,
Christum Jesum filium suum, et ante legem, et
legis tempore, multis sanctis patribus declaratum
ac promissum, cum venit beata illa plenitudo
temporis, ad homines miserat ; ut et Judaeos
qui sub lege erant redimeret ; et gentes, quae
non sectabantur justitiam, justitiam appre­
henderent atque omnes adoptionem filiorum
reciperent.
In the Summaria Expositio (Brief Exposition)
this is quoted in an abbreviated form as follows : -
Quod Caelestis Pater, Pater misericordiarum,
Christum Jesum, Filium suum, cum venit beata
plenitudo temporis, ad homines miserit, ut et ad
Judaeos, qui sub lege erant, et ad Gentes, quae
non sectabantur justitiam....
This presents some difficulty in translation, and
the text has been modified by adding redimeret
after erant and omitting ad before Judaeos and
before Gentes, in accordance with the wording
of the original.

140
LIST OF REPEATED PARAGRAPHS
RE. 43 RE. 117"; T.C.R.3"
" 52 T.C.R. 331

" 66 ,,486
" 69' . . .. A.R. 224

" 81 ...... T.C.R. 181

" 89" A.R. 421

" 92-4 T.C.R. 182

" lOO" ,,782·


" 102 & 3. . ,,647 & 8

" 104 ..... '. ,,649


" 110...... C.L. 524

" 111...... " 525

" 112......" 526

" 113...... " 527-9

" 114 A.R. 531 ; T.C.R. 567

" 115...... " 875"; ,,385


" 116...... " 67; " 2 ; D.F. 34

" 117 I • • • . RE. 43; "


3
" 118 A.R.926; ,,187

" 119...... " 961; " 25

" 120...... " 962; ,,188

B.E. Brief Exposition.


A.R. Apocalypse Revealed.
C.L. Conjugia1 Love.
D.F Doctrine of Faith.
T.C.R. True Christian Religion.

141

INDEX
INDEX OF PRINCIPAL SUBJECfS AND PROPER
NAMES. Numbers indicate paragraphs

Actual repentance, 114

Adam, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 111

Anger of God, 62

Apollyon, 93

Apostles' Creed, 22, 31, 34

Athanasian Creed, 22, 31, 33, 34

Augsburg Confession, 9, 20

Baptism, 69

Beasts, the two, 87, 88

Brief Exposition, 16

Calvin, 21, 66, 106

Consummation of the Age, and Church, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74,

75,76,92
Council of Nicea, 22
Council of Trent, 2, 3, 7, 12, 20, 23, 26, 28, 106

Dragon, 87, 88, 90, 94

Esse, the Divine, 119


Faith, with and without charity or good works, 5, 8, 13,

25, 42, 46, 48, 49, 50, 59, 67, 68, 80, 84, 92, 116

Faith of the New Church in its universal and particular

forms, 43, 116, 117


Free-will, 6, 15, 28, 69
Formula Concordiae, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15,20,26,28, 66, 80, 81
Fulfilling the law, 113

Glorification of the Lord's Human, 32, 57


Gottschalk, 66
142
INDEX
He-goats, 85
Hereditary evil, 111
Holy Spirit, 120
Human qualities attributed to God, 60, 61, 62
Immortality, 110
Imputation, 105, 108, 109, 110, 112
Individuality, 110
Instantaneous salvation, 64, 65

Justification by faith alone, I, 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, 20, 21, 35,


64, 79, 81, 82, 93, 107

Lapsarians, supra and infra, 66


Law and Gospel, 11
Leviathan, 93
Lot's wife, 15
Luther, 21, 106

Marriage of the Lord and the Church, 101


Melanchthon, 21, 106
Merit of Christ's righteousness, 3,4, 5,7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14,
18, 20, 21, 107, 112
Mohammedans, 37

New Christian Heaven, 120


New Church, 1, 16, 71, 91, 94, 95, 96, 97, 99, 100
New Jerusalem, I, 16, 94, 96, 99, 100
Nicene Creed, 22, 31, 34

Original sin, 2, 3, 10, 18, 21

Paradoxes of the former faith, 54, 56


Pit of t.he abyss, 87, 88, 89,. 93 ~ ...
Pope PlUS IV, 2 r.".....(,; r....-AoI "10- ~
Predestination, 64, 66
Proceeding, the Divine, 119
Protestant Churches, 18, 20, 22, 88, 108
Redemption, 4
Regeneration, 111
Roman Catholic Church, 18, 20, 22, 88, 108
143

I
INDEX
Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper, 64, 69

Saving faith, 42

Second Advent, 71, 100

Self-examination, 113

.. Sodom and Egypt," 87, 88, 114

Swedenborg's experiences, 85, 89, 90, 93, 114, 118, 119, 120

Synod of Dort, 13, 14, 38, 66

Trinity, the Divine, 32, 42, 44, 119, 120

Trinity of Persons, 18, 21, 22, 31, 35, 37, 40, 64

Veil of Moses, II

Vespasian, 71 11"':),:'" /ll~ I k,~

Witnesses, the two, 87, 88, 114

Woman clothed with the sun, 103

Worship, 52

INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES


QUOTED OR REFERRED TO

PAR. PAR.
PSALMS xlii I 120
xix 14 120 xliii 11, 14 120
cxxii 1-7 100 xliv 6 36, 120
cxxx 4, 5, 6 100 xliv 24,26 100,120
xlv 14, 15, 21. . . . 120
xlv 21, 22........ 36
ISAIAH xlvii 4 120
iii 9 100 xlviii 17 120
iv 2,3 100 xlix 7 120
ix 6 120 xlix 26 120
ix9 44 li 1 120
xi 1,2 120 lii 1,2,6,9 100
xiii 9, 10 78 liv 5, 8 36, 120
xxiv 3 100 lix 19 120
xxv 9 120 !x 16 120
xxvii 1 93 !xii 1-4, 11, 12.... 100
xxxiii 20.. . .. . . . . 100 !xiii 16 120
xxxvii 32............ 100 !xv 17,18,19,25 .. 100
xl 3, 5, 10, 11.... 120 !xvi 10-14 100
144
INDEX

PAR. PAR.

JEREMIAH
MICAH

Hi 17............ 100
iv 1,2 100

vi 100

vi 6,7 100

vii 2, 3, 4, 9, 10,
ZEPHANIAH

11 115
iii 14-17,20 ...... 100

vii 17, 18, etc 100

viii 6, 7, 8, etc.. . .. 100

ix 10. 11, 13, etc. 100


ZECHARIAH

xiii 9, 10, 14 100


viii 3 100

xiv 16 100
x 3 86

~~ 5,6 120
xii 3,6-10 100

XXJU 14 100
xiv 7, 8, 9 . . .. 120

xxxiii 15. 16 120


xiv 8, 11, 12, 2,l, .. 100

1 34 120
xiv 9 ... '" .... 36, 120

LAMENTAnONS

MALACHI

i 8, 9, 17 100

iii 2,4 100

EZEKIEL

iv 1-end 100
MAITHEW

v 9-end 100
Hi 16,17 32,120

xii 18, 19 100


vii 22,23 114

xv 6.7, 8 100
ix 15 101

xvi 1-63.......... 100


xvi 27 110

xvi 46,48 ........ 100


xvii 2 98

xxiii 1-40 . . . . . . . . .. 100


xvii 5 '" 120

xxxii 7. 8 78
xxiii 37,38 100

xxxiv 17,18,22 86
xxiv 1,2,3 70,71

xxiv 15 100

DANIEL
xxiv 21. 74, 75

viii 2-14.... ...... 83


xxiv 22 91

ix 25, 27 . . . . . . .. 100
xxiv 29, 30 77, 78

xxiv 30, 31 73

HOSEA
xxv 41-43.46...... 84

xiii 4 ........ 36, 120


xxviii 18, 19,20.. 34, 44

xxviii 20.. .. . . . . .... 120

JOEL

ii 1,2, 10,31 . 78
MARK

Hi 14, 15 . 78
ii 19,20 101

iii 17, 18, 20 .. 100


xiii 26, 27 73

145

INDEX

PAR. PAR.

LUKE
JOHN-cont.
. i 31. 32. 34. 35.. 120
xvii 2 44

i 34. 35........ 44
xvii 10 120

iv 18 120
xx 22............ 32

v 34. 35 101
xx 22. 31 ........ 120

xiii 26. 27 114

xix 41-44 100

xxi 20.21,22 100


ROMANS

xxi 27............ 73

xxiii 28. 29. 30 100


ii 6 110

2 CORINTHIANS

JOHN
v 10 110

i 1.2.9.14 .. 98,117

i 9 63

i 1.14 57
COLOSSIANS

i 18............ 44

iii 3. 5 100
ii 9 44.120

Hi 16............ 44

iii 34.35 .... 44. 120

iii 36............ 44
REVELATION

Hi 29 101
i 7 73

v 26 119
vi 5-8 76

vi 40............ 44
vi 12............ 78

vii 39 32, 120


viii 12............ 78

viii 12............ 98
xi 7 76

ix 5.... 98
xi 8-10 114

x 30 44.120
xii I-end 76. 101

xi 25,26 44
xii 9. 12, 13...... 94

xii 36. 46 98
xiii 2 76

xii 44. 45 120


xiv 19,20 . . . . . . .. 76

xii 46 63
xv 4 120

xiv 6 44, 119. 120


xvi 13............ 76

xiv 7.8.9,10.11 44,120


xix 7.9 101

:xiv 18,20,28 97,120


xx 10............ 94

xiv 26 120
xx 12. 13 110

xv 1-7 110
xxi 1.2,etc 94.101

xv 4,5,6........ 97
xxi 5 95.97

xv 1, 14, 15 .. 44. 120


xxi 9, 10 101

xv 26 120
xxi 3, 22 118

xvi 14.15 120


xxii 13, 16 .. .. 98

xvi 28 57.117
xxii 16,17,20 71.101

146

r~r t;;..,..,.. ~ ,..... 'hJr> I:


( '2 I ) ( ~. _ G2 " '
( ... "~ - ')
\,I"'~, -
(FL,'t'fr" ~

S-ar putea să vă placă și