1. Survey of Teachings of the New Church Meant by the New Jerusalem in the Book of Revelation

[Author’s Preface]

AFTER publishing, within the span of a few years, several larger and smaller works on the New Jerusalem (which means the new church that the Lord is going to establish), and after unveiling the Book of Revelation, I resolved to publish and bring to light the teachings of the [new] church in their fullness, and thus to present a body of teaching that was whole. But because this work was going to take several years, I developed a plan to publish an outline of it, to give people an initial, general picture of this church and its teachings. When a general overview precedes, all the details that follow, of however wide a range, stand forth in a clear light, because they each have their own place within the overall structure alongside things of the same type.

This briefing does not include detailed argumentation; it is shared as advance notice, because the points it contains will be fully demonstrated in the work itself.

First, however, I must present the teachings concerning justification as they exist today, in order to highlight the differences between the tenets of today’s church and those of the new church.

71. Brief Analysis

In Matthew we read,

The disciples came to Jesus and showed him the buildings of the Temple. Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down.” The disciples said to him, “Tell us, when will these things be? Especially, what will be the sign of your Coming and of the close of the age?” (Matthew 24:1, 2, 3)

Today, learned clergy and well-educated lay people think that “the destruction of the Temple” refers to the Temple’s destruction by Vespasian. They take “the Coming of the Lord” and “the close of the age” to mean the end or the death of this world. “The destruction of the Temple,” however, refers not only to the Temple’s destruction by Romans but also to the destruction of the church of today. “The close of the age” and the ensuing “Coming of the Lord” mean the end of the existing church and the establishment of a new church by the Lord. That whole chapter from beginning to end makes it clear that these terms have such a meaning; the sole topic is the successive states of decline and corruption within the Christian church leading up to its death, when it meets its end.

In a narrow sense, “the Temple” means the Temple in Jerusalem. In a broad sense, it means the Lord’s church. In a broader sense, it means the angelic heaven. In the broadest sense, it means the Lord’s human manifestation (see Revelation Unveiled 529). “The close of the age” means the end of the church; the end comes when the teaching from the Word has no truth left in it that has not been falsified and used up (see Revelation Unveiled 658, 676, 750). “The Coming of the Lord” means his Coming in the Word and his establishing a new church in place of the former church that has come to an end; this is clear from the Lord’s words in the same chapter (Matthew 24:30– 34) and in the two final chapters in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 21 and 22). In the last chapter there we read the following:

I, Jesus, am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright and morning star. The spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And those who hear, say, “Come!” And those who are thirsty, come. “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:17, 20)

42. Brief Analysis

When our former faith (a faith in three gods) disappears, then we acknowledge and accept this faith (a faith in one God) as a faith that is truly able to save us. The reason for this is that the face of faith in one God was not previously visible to us. Preachers claim that the modern-day faith is the only faith that can save us, because it is a faith in one God and because it is a faith in the Savior. Yet that faith is two-faced. One face is internal; the other is external. The internal face of that faith takes the form of picturing that there are three gods. (Who has a different picture or thought than this? All should examine themselves and see.) The external face of that faith, however, takes the form of confessing one God. (Who confesses or speaks of anything other than this? All should examine themselves and see.)

These two faces disagree with each other so completely that the external face is not acknowledged by the internal face and the internal face is not recognized by the external face. This disagreement and this disappearance of the one from the sight of the other has generated mental confusion on the part of the church regarding the means of being saved.

Something very different occurs, however, when the internal face and the external face are in agreement, recognize each other, and see each other as being of the same mind. As should be intrinsically obvious, this takes place when we not only see with our mind’s eye but also acknowledge with our mouth that there is one God and that the divine trinity exists within him.

Once we accept this faith, any notion that the Father was at one time alienated from the human race and was later reconciled to it is completely abolished. Instead there comes forth an entirely new view of the assignment of credit or blame, the forgiving of sins, and the process of being regenerated and therefore being saved. In the work itself, all this will become very clear in a rational light made brighter by divine truths from Sacred Scripture.

The reason why the proposition says that this faith is united to good works is that it is not even possible to have faith in the one God if that faith is not united to good works.