1. THE FAITH OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW CHURCH

A statement of faith, set out in both universal and particular terms, is placed at the beginning to serve as a preface to the book which follows, to be like a doorway leading into a church, and a summary presenting in a short compass what follows at more length. It is called the faith of the new heaven and the new church, because heaven, where the angels are, and the church among men form a single unit, just as the internal and external sides of the personality make up a single individual. This is why a member of the church who possesses the good of love which arises from the truths of faith, and possesses the truths of faith which arise from the good of love, is, so far as the interiors of his mind are concerned, an angel of heaven. Therefore too after dying he comes into heaven, and there enjoys happiness depending upon how far the good and truth are linked. It should be known that in the new heaven, which is at the present time being established by the Lord, this statement of faith serves as its preface, doorway and summary.

340. II. Faith in brief is this, that a person who lives a good life and holds a proper belief is saved by the Lord.

A human being is created for everlasting life, and any person can inherit that life, so long as he lives in accordance with the means of salvation prescribed in the Word; every Christian, as well as every non-Christian who possesses a religion and sound reason, assents to this proposition. There are many means of salvation, but each and every one concerns living a good life and holding a proper belief, that is, charity and faith; for charity is living a good life, faith is holding a proper belief. These two general principles are not merely laid down for human beings in the Word as the means of salvation, but are actually imposed on them as a duty. Because of this it follows that by their means a person can ensure his everlasting life by the power planted in him and conferred by God; and that so far as a person makes use of that power, at the same time looking to God, so far does God strengthen it and turn every part of natural charity into spiritual charity, and every part of natural faith into spiritual faith. Thus God makes dead charity and dead faith come alive, and at the same time He does the same to the person.

[2] There are two things which must be present at once for a person to be termed 'living a good life and holding a proper belief': in the church these two are known as the internal man and the external man. When the internal man wills good and the external man acts well, then the two become one, the external impelled by the internal, the internal acting through the external. So too man is impelled by God, and God acts through him. On the other hand, if the internal man wills evil, and yet the external man acts well, then nonetheless each of them acts from hell, because this is the source of his willing, and his acts are hypocritical. Every hypocritical act has its will lurking in it, and this is hellish, like a snake in the grass or a worm in the bud.

[3] If a person not only knows of the existence of the internal and external man, but also knows what they are, that they can really act as one, and also appear to do so, and if he knows too that the internal man lives on after death, while the external is buried, such a person is potentially in possession of the secrets of heaven as well as earth, and in abundance. If anyone links those two men in himself with a view to good, he achieves eternal happiness; but if he separates those two, and more so if he links them with a view to evil, his lot is eternal unhappiness.

688. VII. By John's baptism the way was prepared for Jehovah the Lord to come down into the world and carry out redemption.

We read in Malachi:

Look, I am sending my messenger who will prepare the way before me, and suddenly the Lord whom you seek will come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Who will endure the day of his coming, and who will stand firm when he appears? Malachi 3:1-2.

and again:

Look, I shall send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of Jehovah comes, so that I may not come and strike the land with a curse, Malachi 4:5-6.

When his father Zechariah prophesied about his son John:

You, my child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, Luke 1:76.

The Lord Himself said about John the Baptist:

He it is of whom it was written, Look, I am sending my messenger before your ¹ face, who will prepare your way in front of you, Luke 7:27.

It is clear from these passages that John was the prophet who was sent to prepare the way for Jehovah God, so that He could come down into the world and carry out redemption. It is also clear that he prepared that way by baptising, and by announcing the Lord's coming; and that but for that preparation all there would have been struck with a curse and would have perished.

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