CONTAINING THE UNIVERSAL THEOLOGY OF THE NEW CHURCH, -WHICH WAS FORETOLD BY THE LORD, IN DANIEL, Chap. vii. 13, 14; and in the APOCALYPSE, Chap xxi. 1, 2. By Emanuel eSwedenborg, SERVANT OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL LATIN. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. II. THE FOURTH EDITION. CHESTER : SOLD ALSO BY STRAND, LONDON; J. CLARKE, MANCHESTER; AND HAR GROVE, KNA RESBOROUGH; OR MAY BE HAD BY GIVING ORDEAS TO ANY OF THE BOOKSELLERS IN TOWN OR COUWTRY, MPCG XCV! DANIEL, Chap. vii. Verses 13. 14. I law in the Visions of the Night, and behold, One like the Son of Man came with the Clouds of Heaven; and there was given Him Dominion, and Glory, and a Kingdom, that all People, Nations, and Languages should serve him; His Dominion is an everlasting Dominion, which mall not pass away, and his Kingdom that which all not be destroyed. APOCALYPSE, Chap. xxi. 1, 2, 5, 9, 10. And I John saw a new Heaven and a new Earth; and I fare the Holy City New Jerusalem, coming down from God ou!t of Heaven, prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband. And the Angel talked with ine, saying, Come hither, I will Jew thee The BRIDE, THE LAMB's Wife. And he carried me away in the Spirit, to a great and high Mountain, and preceed me that great City, the Holy Jerusalem, descending out of Heaven from God. And he that sat upon the Throne, said, Behold, I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW. And he said unto me, Write, for these Iorits are faithful and true. TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION: CONTAINING THE UNIVERSAL THEOLOGY OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND NEW CHURCH. IV. CH A P. Of the SACRED SCRIPTURE, or WORD of the LORD. 1. that the Sacred Scripture, or Word, is Divine Truth Itself. that 18 TT is universally confessed that the Word is from God, Divinely Inspired, and of Confequence Holy; but still it hath remained a Secret to this Day in what Part of the Word it's Divinity refideth, inasınuch as in the Leiter it appeareth like cominon Writing, compofed in an onry Style, neither fo fublime, nor fo elegant as that which dica tirguishes fecular Compositions. Hence it is, the whosoever worshipeth Nature instead of God, or itt Preference to of God, and in Consequence of fuch VOL. II. A 2 Worship. maketh Himself, and his own (i) Proprium, the Center and Fountain of his Thoughts, instead of deriving them from the Lord out of Heaven, may easily fall into Error concerning the Word, and into Contempt for it, and say within himself, whilst he readeth it, What is the Meaning of this Paslage? What is the Meaning of that? Is it possible this should be Divine? Is it possible that God, whose Wisdom infinite, should speak in this Manner? Where is it's Sanctity, or whence can it be derived, but from Superslition and Credue lity. 190. But he who reasoneth thus, doth not reflect that the Lord Jehovah, who is God of Heaven and Earth, fpake the Word by Mofes and the Prophets, and that consequently it muft We Divine Truth, inasmuch as what the Lord Jehovah Himself fpeak cth can be Nothing else; nor doth such a one consider that the Lord the Saviour, who is the same with Jehovah, fpake the Word written by the Evangelists, many Parts by his own Mouth, and the rest by the Spirit of his Moath, which is the Holy Ghost, influencing his twelve Apdiles. Hence it is, as he himself declareth, that in his Words there is Spirit and Life, and that he is the Light which enlighteneth, and that he is the Truth ; as is evident from the following Passages, “ Jesus said, The Words which I spake unto you they are Spirit, and they are Life," John vi. 63. “Yesus faid to the Woman at Jacob's Well, if thou knewest the Gift of God, and who it is that faith unto thee, give me to drink, thou would have asked of him, and he would have given thee living Water; whofoever shall drink of the Water which I shall give (i) By Proprium, as here applied to Man, is meant his own Propriety, or all that he has of himself, when separated from Divine Influence. This Proprium, Propriety, or selfish Nature of Man, as the Author Thews in other Parts of his Works, is full of the merest Evils and Falses, and consequently is in direct Opposition to all Heavenly Love and Wifdom; and herein is grounded the Necessity of Christian Regeneration, in order to remove these natural Evils and Falses, and make the Soul capable of tasting heavenly Blessedness; which can only be effected by it's turning from the Guidance and Government of it's own proper Will and Intelligence, and fubmitting to be principled in, and ruled by the Divine Love and Wisdom. We choose to retain the Latin Word Proprium, as best adapted to convey the Meaning, to which it is here, and in other Places, applied by the Author. bim, hall never thirst, but the Water that I Mall give hin, shall Word, as also in Deut. xxxiii. 28; for which Reason the Lord, who is the Word, sat there and converfed with the Woman; and by living Water is signified the Truth of the Word. Jesus said, If any Man thirst, let him come to me and drink; whosoever believeth on Me, as the Scripture faith, out of his Belly fall flow Rivers of living Water," John vii. 37, 38. " Peter said unto Jesus, Thou hast the Words of eternal Lije," John vi. 63. Jesus said, Heaven and Earth Mall pass away, but my Words Mall not pass away,” Mark xiii. 31. The Reason why the Words of the Lord are Truth and Life is, because he is the Truth and the Life, as he teacheth in John, “ I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life," Chap. xiv. 6; and in another Place, “ In the Beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word; in bim was Life, and the Life was the Light of Men," John i. 1, 2, 3. By the Word is meant the Lord with Respect to Divine Truth, in which alone there is Life and Light. Hence it is, that the Word, which is from the Lord, and which is the Lord, is called, A FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATERS, Jerem. ii. 13. Chap. xvii. 13. Chap. xxxi. 9. “A FOUNTAIN OF SAL- VATION," Isaiah xii. 3. “A FOUNTAIN," Zech. viii. 1; and, “ A RIVER OF LIVING WATERS," Rev. xxij. 1; and it is said, “ That the Lamb, which is in the Midji of the Throne, feeds them at the living Fountains of Waters," Rev. vii. 17 ; not to mention other Paflages, where the Word is also 191. The natural Man, however, cannot still be persuaded |