31. Brief Analysis

First I will say something about the origins of the idea that there is a trinity of persons in the Divine, and therefore there are three gods. There are three creeds that specifically mention a trinity; they are known as the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. The Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed mention the Trinity; the Athanasian Creed specifies a trinity of persons.

These three creeds are found in many psalm books. The Apostles’ Creed is set to music in a hymn that is sung; the Nicene Creed appears after the Ten Commandments; and the Athanasian Creed appears by itself.

The Apostles’ Creed was actually written after the time of the apostles. The Nicene Creed was written as part of the council that was held in the Bithynian city of Nicaea. In the year 325 the emperor Constantine summoned all the bishops of the Near East, Africa, and Europe to attend this council. After the council, some person or people composed the Athanasian Creed for the purpose of overthrowing the Arians; later on it was received by many churches as an ecumenical creed.

The first two creeds led to the confession of the Trinity. The third, the Athanasian Creed, promoted the claim that there was a trinity of persons; as we will see in the following sections [§§33– 34], this led to the idea that there are three gods.

94. Here is the great secret as to why no flesh could be saved if the Lord were not establishing a new church. As long as the dragon and its crew stay in the world of spirits where they went when they were thrown down from heaven, no divine truth united to divine goodness can get across from the Lord to people on earth without being perverted or annihilated. Therefore there is no salvation. This is what the Book of Revelation means when it says,

The dragon was thrown down onto the earth and its angels were thrown with it. Woe to those who live on the earth and in the sea, because the Devil has come down to them in a giant rage. It persecuted the woman who had given birth to a son. (Revelation 12:9, 12, 13)

It was after the dragon was thrown down into hell (Revelation 20:10) that John saw a new heaven and a new earth and saw the holy New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven (Revelation 21:1, 2, and following). (For what “the dragon” means and who “the dragons” are, see §§87– 90 above.)