Swedenborg's Maximus Homo/The New Church/Chapter 3
III.
WHERE IS THE NEW CHRISTIAN CHURCH?
Perhaps the question, "What is the New Christian Church?" should first be considered, as the answer to this question would go far toward showing us where this church is. Many believe it to be a visible body consisting exclusively of those who accept the new doctrines revealed through Swedenborg. That these persons constitute the nominal or professed New Church no one is disposed to deny. It has never been denied. But are they the real New Church signified by the Apocalyptic New Jerusalem—and the whole of it? This is the question we are now to consider. And we shall not give merely our opinion, but the testimony of our heaven-illumined scribe. According to this authority the New Christian Church consists of all the people in Christendom who acknowledge the Lord and obey the commandments revealed in the Word; for all such, whatever be their creeds or their external church relations, are internally and spiritually conjoined to the Lord and associated with the angels of the New Christian Heaven. But precisely who these people are, can be known only to Him who looketh on the heart—who sees and knows the internal quality of men: That they are confined exclusively to any organized body, and known by their outward life or by the doctrines they profess, is by no means probable. That some of them are to found in all the Christian denominations, and some outside of them all, we have abundant reason to believe. Therefore this church is not a visible body, as many suppose.
Turn, now, to the testimony of our heaven-illumined teacher on this subject. A few brief quotations will suffice.
"By the New Jerusalem in the Apocalypse is meant the Lord's Church; and his Church is with every one who is in a state of reception of charity and faith from the Lord: for a man is himself a church, and the many in whom the church is, constitute the church in general." (A. C. 8938.)
"By the Holy City, which is called the Holy Jerusalem, nothing else is meant but the Lord's kingdom in general, or in each individual who is a subject thereof." (Ibid. 402.)
"By the New Jerusalem is meant the Lord's kingdom in heaven and on earth." (Ibid. 940.) "And the Lord's kingdom consists of all who are in good, both those on earth and those in heaven." (N. J. D. 95.)
"The Church [and the New is the only one now in existence] is the Lord's kingdom on earth corresponding to his kingdom in heaven; and the Lord also conjoins them that they may make one. (C. L. 431.)
"Every one who lives in the good of charity and faith is a church or kingdom of the Lord and the church in general is constituted of those who are churches in particular." (A. C. 6637.)
"Spiritual good is the good of truth, that is, truth in will and act. . . . When a man is in this good and truth, the kingdom of the Lord is in him; consequently he is a church, and, together with those of like character, constitutes the church in general." (A. C. 5826.)
"A man is a church when he is principled in good and truth; and a company of such men constitute the church in general." (Ibid. 6113.)
"Those who say they are of the church . . . are much deceived if they do not live according to the truth; they are out of the church, notwithstanding their admission into the congregation of the church [that is, into the visible body commonly called the church]. (Ibid. 3963.)
"In common parlance a [religious] congregation is called a church; but to constitute it a church [that is, "the Lamb's wife"] every individual in the congregation must be a church." (Ibid. 4292.)
"Life constitutes the church; but not doctrine, except so far as it be of the life. Hence it is evident that the Lord's Church is not here nor there, but . . . is wherever the life is formed according to the precepts of charity." (Ibid. 8152.)
"That which constitutes heaven in man, constitutes the church also; for as love and faith constitute heaven, so do they also constitute the church. Therefore, from what has been before said about heaven, it is evident what the church is."
(N. J. D. 241.)
"[The male child which the sun-clad woman brought forth] signifies the doctrine of truth which is for the New Church called the New Jerusalem. . . . This doctrine is especially the doctrine of love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor, that is, the doctrine of the good of life. . . . The reason why this doctrine is for the New Church called the New Jerusalem, is, that the woman treated of in this chapter (Rev. xii) is the same who is called "the bride the Lamb's wife," which was the Holy City Jerusalem descending from God out of heaven. (Rev. xxi,.9. 10." (A. E. 724, See also Nos. 725, '30, '32,. '21, '58.)
Now, many pages might be cited from the Writings similar to the foregoing. But these few, brief as they are, show very plainly what the New Christian Church is, or who constitute it, according to the testimony of our heaven-illumined teacher. And can any reasonable person believe that the characteristics of this church, as here given, belong exclusively to Swedenborgians, to those who receive and openly profess their belief in the heavenly doctrines?—that none others are "in a state of reception of charity and faith from the Lord"?—that none others in Christendom are "in the good of life," or "in the Lord's kingdom on earth"?—that none others are "principled in good and truth," or "live according to truth"?—that Swedenborgians alone constitute all there is at the present time of the Lord's kingdom or church on earth? and that "every individual in the [New] organization is himself a church"? No man in his senses can sincerely believe this. And if he does not, then he must believe that the New Christian Church is not a visible body, as many have hitherto supposed.
Having now shown conclusively what the New Church is, the question as to where it is would seem to be conclusively settled. It—or a portion of it, at least—is wherever or in whatever external religious or other associations there are persons of the character designated in the above extracts. But to make still more conclusive the answer to our main question, and to remove all possible doubt as to what the Writings teach concerning the whereabout of the New Christian Church, we will add one or two more pertinent quotations.
Speaking, in his Apocalypse Explained, of "the causes why the New Church which is called the Holy Jerusalem" was to commence with a few people on earth, and afterwards increase to "greater numbers," Swedenborg concludes thus:—
This is found in the 4th volume of the work, which consists of six large octavo volumes in a No date is given of the time of its composition; but it could not have been written later than 1759; for in his treatise on the Last Judgment (n. 42), published in 1757, Swedenborg says he shall publish an explication of the Apocalypse (Ap. Ex.) "in less than two years" from that time.
It thus appears from what we are there told, that within two years after the Last Judgment, and before there was a single known or professed receiver of the new doctrines revealed through Swedenborg, and nearly thirty years before what Robert Hindmarsh called "the commencement of the New Church in its external and visible form," the New Church on earth was "daily increasing." Was there a daily increase at that time of a visible body of Christians known as the New Church? Certainly not; for there was then no such body of people on earth; no, nor a single receiver of the new revealings besides Swedenborg. Yet the New Church was established—visible, however, only to the eye of Omniscience—and was "daily increasing." Its newness consisted in the new thought about the Divine Character and attributes, the new and clearer perception of interior truths, the new liberty, new light, and new life which flowed into the minds of all, of whatever name or creed, "who were in the spiritual affection of truth." For we are told that, in consequence of his release from spiritual bondage and his restoration to greater liberty by the Last Judgment, "the man of the Church could more easily perceive interior truths if he desired'" (L. J. 74), and that after that event "the state of the Lord's Kingdom became different from what it was before, as the reception of divine truth and good became thereby more universal more interior, more easy, and more distinct." (A. E. 1217.)
Then, the First Christian Church, we are told was consummated at the time of the Last Judgment (1757), and the New Christian Church then commenced. And we are repeatedly taught in the divinely authorized Writings, that there always is and always must be a church on earth; that the church is the very heart and lungs of humanity, without which the human race could not exist. But not until thirty years (1787) after the consummation or end of the former Church was there an organized or visible body of New-churchmen. And if any such visible body is the Lord's New Church, to the exclusion of all others—an opinion held by many persons—then there was no church on earth for thirty years immediatley succeeding the Last Judgment, which is contrary to the oft-repeated teaching of the Writings. But we are assured that there was a church during that period—a church signified by the New Jerusalem—and that it "increased daily" on earth as it did in the spiritual world. And the ordinances of Baptism and the Holy Supper then administered were, therefore, valid Christian ordinances.
We are further taught in the Apocalypse Revealed that the New Church is to "tarry among those who are in the doctrine of faith separate from charity" until it grows to its fullness or maturity; that it will be protected against "the subtle reasonings of those who are principled in faith separate from charity," and will be helped in its growth and development by those who are of the Church [or visible organization] which is not in truth. This, it is said, is what is meant by the words, "and the earth helped the woman."
"It is said that the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, and afterward that she got the wings of an eagle and flew to her own place; by which is meant that the Church which is called the New Jerusalem is to tarry among those who are in the doctrine of faith separate from charity until it grows to its fullness. . . . But in that Church there are dragons who separate faith from good works, not only in doctrine, but also in life; whereas the rest in the same Church who live the life of faith, which is charity, are not dragons although among them; for they think that it is agreeable to doctrine that faith produces the fruit, which are good works, and that the faith which justifies and saves is to believe those things which are in the Word, and do them. But the dragons are altogether of another way of thinking; but what the sentiments of these latter are, the former do not comprehend; and since they do not comprehend, neither do they receive them.
"Hence it is manifest that the Church consisting of those who are not dragons, is what is meant by the earth which helped the woman. . . The subtle and pernicious reasonings [of the dragon] have place only with the learned rulers of the Church, and are not known to the people because not understood by them. Hence the New Church, which is called the Holy Jerusalem, is helped by these latter, and increases." (A. E 765.)
Here we are told very plainly where the New Church is or was to be. It was not to be a separate and visible organization—though such organization on a mere doctrinal basis, and for the purpose of promulgating the new truths, is nowhere forbidden—but it was to tarry among he solifidians, and would be "helped," not hindered, in its growth by remaining there, in "the Church of the wilderness;" its new and precious truths would be promulgated and shielded by the good people (the non-dragons) there, against the flood of falsities from the mouth of the dragon. This is the very place "into which the woman [that is, the New Church] fled," and where, we are told, "she had a place prepared of God;" and there she was to remain until she arrived at maturity, or had "grown to her fullness."
Every one can see from what is here taught that the New Church signified by the New Jerusalem was not to be, and is not, a visible body; and he can also see how well this teaching agrees with the Lord's words to those who were anxious to separate the wheat from the tares in its immature stage: "But He said, Nay: lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest." The spiritual harvest—the harvest of human souls—takes place not in the natural but in the spiritual world. Then and there the interiors of all are opened and their real characters made manifest; and the separation of the non-dragons from the dragons—the righteous from the wicked—is safe and easy, and is seen to be for the good of all.
Then see what the New Jerusalem is called in the Revelation, and what is predicated of it. It is called "the Bride, the Lamb's wife"—a designation applicable to none but the righteous. And are all the righteous to be found in any single religious organization? Or is it certain—is it probable—that all who accept Swedenborg's claims and teachings belong to this class? Are none of God's people to be found in other church organizations?
The same thing, also, is implied by the measure of the New Jerusalem, which is said to be "the measure of a man, that is, of an angel"—showing that only the manly or angelic graces of character belong to it. And these, surely, are not all to be found in any one organization. Again, the city is said to be "pure gold"—which means that its distinguishing characteristic is pure, unselfish love. Should we expect to find any one sect or organization enjoying a monopoly of this?
It is further said that "there shall not enter into it anything that defileth or worketh abomination or maketh a lie; but they who are written in the Lamb's book of life; " which words, as Swedenborg explains them, "mean that no one will be received into the Lord's New Church who adulterates the goods and falsifies the truths of the Word, and who does evil from confirmation. . . . No others will be received into the New Church which is the New Jerusalem, but they who believe in the Lord and live according to His commandments in the Word." (A. R. 924,'5.) The obvious inference from which is, that all who do believe in the Lord and live according to his commandments in the Word, will be received into the New Jerusalem. In other words, that the church signified by the New Jerusalem will consist of just this class of persons, and none others. And are all the people of this character (and none others) to be found in that new ecclesiastical organization known as "the New Church"? Are there none save the readers of Swedenborg, or the receivers of the doctrines of the New Jerusalem as taught by him, who "believe in the Lord, and live according to His commandments in the Word"? The idea is preposterous.
The real New Jerusalem, then, includes all righteous people of whatever name or creed;—all whose hearts have become conjoined to the Lord through a life of obedience to His precepts. It is the true but invisible church—invisible, because its limits cannot be accurately defined by men; cause its members are really known only to Him whose eye penetrates the deep places of the heart "The church," says Swedenborg [i. e., the true church—the church symbolized by the New Jerusalem], "consists only of those who from the heart acknowledge the Divine of the Lord, learn truths from Him by the Word, and do them. No others form any part of the church whatever." (A. E., n. 388.) They may believe ever so many or ever so pure truths; yet if they do not live according to them, and at the same time acknowledge the Divine of the Lord from the heart (a thing which only the Lord Himself can know), they do not form any part of the real church, however they may be members of some sect, or visible church organization.
Again Swedenborg says:—
"When a man is affected with truth for the sake of an end, which is that he may live according to it, then the kingdom of the Lord is in him; consequently he is α church, and together with those of a like character constitutes the church in general." (Arcana Cœlestia, 5862.)
"If the individual man were not a church, there would be no church in general. A congregation in general is what is commonly called a church; but in order that it may be a church, it is necessary that every individual in the congregation be a church." (Ibid. 4292.)
We shall be brought to the same conclusion if we consider who are not of the New Jerusalem, according to the testimony of Scripture. And in the Revelation it is written: "For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." And what does this mean? Swedenborg answers: "It means that no one will be received into the New Jerusalem who makes no account of the commandments of the Decalogue, and does not shun any of the evils there enumerated as sins, and consequently lives in them," The unavoidable inference from which is, that those will be received into, or are already members of, the New Jerusalem, who do make account of the ten commandments, and do shun the evils therein enumerated as sins. And are not some of this class to be found in every church organization in Christendom?—Yes, and some outside of all the churches? Are there not some in all the sects, and some outside of them all, who shun as sins against God the evils forbidden by the ten commandments? Is it probable that these people are or ever will be all united in one and the same visible organization? Yet none of them are without the New Jerusalem, according to the testimony of the inspired Word. Where are they, then? Within it, undoubtedly; for if not without, they must be within. Accordingly we read in the verse immediately preceding:—
"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city:"—
"Which means," says Swedenborg, "that they enjoy eternal felicity who live according to the Lord's commandments, to the end that they may be in the Lord and the Lord in them by love, and in his new church by knowledges concerning Him." (A. R. 951.) "Gates mean introductory truths which are knowledges from the Word. The truths and goods of heaven and the church are in the knowledges derived from the Word; and it is by these that introduction into the church is effected." For it is by means of truths or the knowledges of truth from the Word, and α life according to them, that men are brought into a state of internal union with the Lord, which is a true church state.
We are repeatedly and plainly taught in the Writings, that all "who believe in the Lord, and live according to his commandments in the Word," and no others, constitute the New Jerusalem. And can all these people, while on earth, be distinguished and separated from other people?—Can they be so parceled out—so segregated—that they can be organized into a distinct and visible body, and every person of tolerable discernment feel an assurance that they, to the exclusion of all others, are the Lord's peculiar people or church on earth? No one doubts that his people are all seen and known of Him. But are they known of men? Are men on earth endowed with any such power of discernment or discrimination, that they can separate the tares from the wheat, or the children of the kingdom from the children of the wicked one? If so, then the Lord's true church may exist as a visible organization; then the limits of his kingdom on earth may be accurately defined; then we may have his new and true church in a form as distinctly visible as a railroad corporation or a bank directory; and may point to some particular body of people and say "Lo: here is the New Jerusalem! Here is the Lord's true church!"
But this is not, and never will be, possible. It is not possible so to separate the children of God from the sons of Belial, that we can point confidently to one class and say, "These are from above;" and to the other class, and say, "Those are from beneath." It is not and never will be possible, in all cases, to distinguish the children of God from the children of the devil in this world. And for the obvious reason that men, while they tabernacle in the flesh, are for the most part in the state of their externals. Their internals are usually covered up and concealed. Hearts do not always speak on earth, as they do in the world beyond. You cannot always tell what a person's character is by his profession or outward appearance. And it is not the outward appearance but the inward character of men—the state of their hearts—which determines whether they are in or out of the Lord's true church. Yet the profession and outward appearance are all we have to judge from in forming an opinion of character. Accordingly Swedenborg says:—
"It is very important to remember that the character of a man is determined by his interiors alone [which are known only to the Lord], and not by his exteriors separate from his interiors; because the interiors are of the spirit, and the life of man is the life of his spirit, for the body lives from the spirit. Hence, therefore, the character of a man, as determined by his interiors, remains to eternity the same." (H. H. 502.)
"There are some whom I knew while they lived in the body, and who then appeared as if in zeal for the Lord, the church, their country and the common good, and for what is just and equitable; and yet the same in another life are among the infernals, and (what I wondered at) among the worst of them. The reason was, that their interiors had been filthy and profane, and they had feigned that zeal with a view to reputation, in order to acquire honors and wealth, thus with a view to themselves, but not with a view to what they professed with their mouths. Wherefore, when those externals are put off, as is the case at death, the internals are manifested, and appear as they were within, which, during the life in the body had been coneealed from the world." (A. C. 4314.)
"The Lord alone sees the state of every one from inmost to outermost, as also what a man has been from infancy to old age, and what he will be to eternity, and likewise what place he will have either in heaven or in hell; and this the Lord sees in an instant, and from Himself, because He is the divine Truth itself or the Word; but angels and men do not see this in the least, because they are finite; and the finite see only a few things, and these only external." (See the whole no. A. R. 262.) "A church is not possible with those who are in externals without an internal inasmuch as the church is in the internal of man, and not in the external without it." (A. C. 10698.)
"To judge what is the quality of the interior mind or soul, thus what the quality of any one's spiritual state is [and it is this which determines whether he be of the true church or not], and thence what his lot is after death, is not allowed, inasmuch as it is known to the Lord alone; neither does the Lord reveal this till after the person's decease. . . . That the interiors of the mind, concealed in the world, are revealed after death, is because this concerns, and is advantageous to, the societies into which man then comes, for all are then spiritual." (C. L. 523.)
From the passages here cited, we learn not only that there are internals and externals belonging to the mind, but that there is often a great dissimilarity between them; that the church is in the man's internals; or, in other words, that the character of his internals is what determines whether he belongs to the true church or not; and that these internals cannot be seen and known of man, but only of Him who alone is able to search the deep recesses of the heart; consequently no one but the Lord himself sees and knows who they are that constitute his true and living church.
It is plain to be seen that the foregoing extracts from Swedenborg agree entirely with the teachings of the inspired Word. The distinction between the internals and externals of men, and the necessity of internal righteousness, are clearly taught in Scripture. The Lord says to the Scribes and Pharisees:—
"Ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but within are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity." (Matt. xxiii, 27, 28.) Again it is written: "The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (1 Sam. xvi, 7.)
And the difficulty of separating the good from the evil in this world, and the danger of attempting it if their externals are alike, is plainly taught in the parable of the tares and the wheat. When the servants of the Lord, eager to root up the tares before the harvest-time, came and said: "Wilt thou that we go and gather them up?" the answer of Divine Wisdom was, and forever is: "Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest."
Now the wheat mentioned in the parable "are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one." In other words, the wheat denotes those who are, and the tares those who are not, of the Lord's true church. And the harvest, when used with reference to men, denotes that full and ripe state into which all will come in the other world when they shall have passed the ordeal of a final judgment, or when their internals shall have become fully developed. Then "the children of the kingdom" and "the children of the wicked one" can be easily distinguished; and can therefore be arranged in separate and distinct societies without harm to either. But until then, it is according to divine order that the tares and the wheat should remain together;—that the "children of the wicked one" should mingle in the same external organizations with "the children of the kingdom;" and not that the latter should be all "organized apart," or formed into separate societies—into a distinct and visible body. Hence the divine command forever is: "Let both grow together until the harvest."
And that the interiors of men, whereby alone their true character is determined, are to be laid open in the other world, is taught in that chapter of the Revelation which speaks of the opening of the books at the time of the judgment; and where it is said that "the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books [i. e., registered on the living tablet of the heart] according to their works."
Observe that the books are not opened until after death; for then, and not before, is the internal and real character of every one made manifest. The hidden things of the heart, the motives which are often obscure and uncertain even to the man himself in this world, are then revealed so that, as Swedenborg says, "no one [in the, other world] is condemned until he himself is interiorly convinced that he is in evil, and that he is utterly incapable of being in heaven." And this agrees with another passage, which says: "For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known."
The covered and hidden things here referred to are obviously the things of the heart, the motives, or, as Swedenborg calls them, "the interiors," which are usually covered over and concealed in this world from the eyes of men, but are opened and revealed in the world of spirits. This is clear from the words immediately preceding: "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy;" and also from those which which follow: "Therefore, whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear, in closets, shall be proclaimed upon the house-tops."
We see, therefore, that the Scripture abounds in testimony confirmatory of Swedenborg's teaching, that there are interiors and exteriors belonging to the human mind; and that the interiors determine a man's real character, are generally concealed in this world, but fully disclosed in the world of spirits; for the seer assures us that "all men without exception are let into this state [the state of their interiors] after death, because it is the genuine state of their spirits." And before they are let into this state, or so long as the hidden things of the heart remain hidden, their real character cannot be known. Their motives cannot be seen, and therefore their true quality cannot, with certainty, be determined. But "when spirits are in this second state [i. e., the state of their interiors], it appears without disguise what they really were when they were in the world; for they publish everything which they had done or said in secret, because external things no longer restrain them." (H. H. 507.) Then "the children of the kingdom" can easily be distinguished from "the children of the wicked one;" or those who are, from those who are not, of the Lord's true church.
The Scripture further teaches that it is not safe to rely upon men's professions, because these professions are never a sure index to the quality of life within. It teaches that men may "draw nigh unto God with their mouths, and honor Him with their lips, while their hearts are far from Him." It teaches that there are those who make loud professions—who cry, "Lord, Lord,"—but will never enter into the heavenly kingdom, because, in their hearts, they do not the will of the Father which is in heaven; i. e., do not act from religious principle. It teaches that there are those who "outwardly appear righteous unto men," but who are really quite different from what they seem—who "within, are full of hypocrisy and iniquity." Every one acknowledges the truth of this.
Yet people's professions, together with their outward conduct, are all we have to judge them by. Deceptive standards, both. It is impossible to know from a man's profession, or from his belief, what his real character is. One may profess, and may really understand and believe true doctrine derived from the Word, yet for all that be a bad man; while another may profess his belief of doctrines that are false, and yet be a good man. We can never know a person's real character from his outward profession; because this profession may not be in agreement with his life's love—may not, indeed, be his real belief which depends upon the quality of his inner life. People, "when they make a lip-profession of truths from the Word, or from the doctrinals of their church, suppose that they are in the belief of those truths. And it appears to them as if they were; but still they are not, if the life be evil." (A. C. 7577.) This shows us that there may be an understanding and lip-profession of the truth, without a life in conformity therewith. Nothing, indeed, is more common. The chief work in regeneration—by far the most difficult part of this work—consists not in learning or understanding, but in doing, the truth. And we are not in, or members of, the Lord's true church unless we religiously live the truth we understand, and so bring our hearts into conformity with its requirements.
We have abundant authority, then, for believing that it is the state of each one's heart or the nature of his ruling love, which settles the question of his being in or out of the true church—a child of the kingdom or a child of the wicked one. And since no eye save that of the all-seeing One can penetrate beneath appearances and look upon the heart, therefore He only can know who are his people, or who really belong to his church for the members of his true church are not and cannot be known to men. People often appear so different outwardly from what they are inwardly. Outwardly they appear righteous sometimes, while within they are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Very good works (outwardly viewed) may sometimes spring from base and selfish motives; in which case they are good only on the outside—like fruit decayed and rotten at the core. How, then, can the Lord's kingdom be so organized as to exist in a distinct and visible form here on earth?—and the New Jerusalem is his kingdom (See A. C. 402, 940, C. L. 431.) Societies and larger bodies may be organized for church purposes. Methodists, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, may be organized, and exist as visible bodies distinguished by certain outward tests cognizable by men. But the New Jerusalem is not and never will be found in any such visibly organized form here on earth;—never here or there—never in this or that particular communion. Its members are and must ever be scattered throughout all the different communions and some, doubtless, outside of them all—mediums of the Divine influx to them all—working like leaven among them all—imparting some measure of heavenly life to them all. And the everlasting and merciful decree is: "Let both [the righteous and the wicked] grow together until the harvest." Then and there only—in the world of spirits, where each one's character is fully developed, and the soul becomes ripe for its final home—will the separation of the tares from the wheat, or the goats from the sheep, be useful or even possible. Then and there only can the New Jerusalem become so organized as to exist under a distinct and visible form.
We will cite one other passage from Swedenborg which is very explicit in its teaching on this subject;—a passage which its author seems to have penned for the express purpose of guarding his readers against the error of supposing that the New Church whereof he wrote, was or was to be a visible body. The passage occurs in his True Christian Religion (307) where the author is unfolding the heavenly sense of the fourth commandment of the Decalogue, and reads:—
"In the heavenly sense, father means our Lord Jesus Christ, and mother the communion of saints which means the Lord's church spread throughout the whole world."
Now, according to the doctrine of the New Church, the Lord Jesus Christ is the heavenly Father; and it is He who is to be understood by father in the heavenly sense of the word. And all who do so regard Him, are to regard, as their heavenly Mother, "the communion of saints, which means the Lord's church spread throughout the world." This, surely, is not a sect. It is no visible body of people; no distinct and separate communion; no humanly but a divinely organized church, embracing all who are conjoined to the Lord by love, and whose internals are known only to Him. They may be wide asunder naturally—far apart in space, and unknown to each other; but internally and spiritually, as viewed by Him who looks at men's hearts and never at their professions or external church relations, they are seen to be in closest sympathy and fellowship—joined together as members of one and the same body. Spiritually regarded, they are one. They may profess belief in different doctrines; they may have subscribed different religious creeds; they may belong to various external organizations, and be known by different names—and some of them by no name or outward sign whatever: All this matters not nor does it interfere at all with their divinely organized form, whereby they all appear before the Lord as one man. They are really and truly "one body in Christ;"—a body quite distinct and visible to Him, but not to the eyes of men. Many who are "members in good standing" of visibly organized religious bodies, may form no part of this invisible "body of Christ," having no internal fellowship or vital connection with it; while others may enjoy the closest union with it—having their names "written in the Lamb's book of life"—whose names were never enrolled in the list of "church members" by the vote or with the consent of any ecclesiastical body.
That this invisible church is what Swedenborg means by "the communion of saints" in the passage just cited, is placed beyond doubt by the general tenor of his teaching respecting the church, and especially by the following in his Arcana Cœlestia, n. 7396. Speaking of those who constitute the Lord's true church on earth he says:—
Here we have the heavenly meaning of Mother. We see that it is no visible body of people, but "the communion of saints;" the lovers and doers of righteousness in every land and of every creed; "the Lord's church scattered and collected from the good in the whole world, which is also called a communion." And as if to remove the question beyond controversy, and to leave no doubt that the New Church signified by the New Jerusalem is this true and invisible church—this "communion of saints" or "kingdom of the Lord on earth" Swedenborg says, near the close of the number in the True Christian Religion from which we have quoted: "This church [the New Jerusalem of which he is speaking], and not the former, is wife and mother in this sense,"—that is, in the heavenly sense just explained.
The former Christian church had never so understood the term Mother. Roman Catholics often speak of the church as a Mother. But they include under this designation all who belong to that particular organization known as the Roman Catholic Church, without any regard to their moral character—and none others. But the church signified by the New Jerusalem—"this church, and not the former, is wife and mother" in a sense which overleaps the narrow bounds of sect, and embraces all, of whatever name or creed "who are in love to the Lord and in charity towards the neighbor;" and specifically, all among Christians "who believe in the Lord, and live according to his commandments in the Word." (A. R. 925.) This is the true but invisible church of Christ—the Apocalyptic New Jerusalem—the heavenly Mother of all who are born of the Spirit. This, doubtless, is the Mother which the apostle had in mind when he wrote: "But Jerusalem, which is above, is free, which is the Mother o:f us all." (Gal. iv, 26.)