The Announcement of the Lord's Coming Concerning the New Church
A Doctrinal Study
Revealing the Establishment of the Lord's New Church on earth
By Rev. Paul Booth
Revelation 19: 5-10 | Apocalypse Revealed § 809-819
Part 3
A Doctrinal Study
Revealing the Establishment of the Lord's New Church on earth
By Rev. Paul Booth
Revelation 19: 5-10 | Apocalypse Revealed § 809-819
Part 3
It is with those who have the Lord's love and His wisdom as good and truth joined together within them as one mind where they willingly and understandingly give praise and glory and, thus, they rejoiced and exult the Lord as God of Heaven and earth. In this acknowledgment there is seen a marriage of the Lord with the person and in that person there is the true Church. Thus, here, in this verse, it is said 'for the Lamb's wedding has come' signifying there is the marriage of the Lord and His Church, thus, is the establishment of a New Church in Heaven. The Lord and they who willingly followed the truths taught in the Word and who were waiting for the Lord to come were about to become one with Him and come into Heaven. They were, then, free from the evils and falsities that have reigned over them before the Lord had come in the Last Judgment. They had waited for the Lord to come as promised to free them. The evils that reigned over them did so from within, so even though they had died and were now in the spiritual world, they were still threatened and led astray, if possible, by the evils there until the risen Lord came and subjugated them in hell. Up until then, there was no conjunction with the Lord, the Divine Human, with man, for man had not seen or understood the Lord as the Divine Human, but as another God being separate from the Father.
Up until this event of the marriage of the Lord and the Church, there had not been a true or full marriage of the Lord and the Church. In fact, most Christians, today, still wait for the Lord to return where they believe they will attend a marriage supper with the Lord, and they, then, will give praise, and glory and exult Him as the one God of Heaven and earth, though they, yet, see God as a Trinity of Persons. Still, Christians have come to understand the 'Lamb' as the Lord and that there is to be a marriage between the 'Lamb' or Lord and the Church, for they read that the Lord is the Lord of the vineyard and understand the Church is the vineyard and, also that the Lord is called the Bridegroom and Husband and the Church the bride and wife. And, so, they know that there is to be a marriage of the Lord and the Church when He returns. Yet, today, many still wait for His return, here, on earth and many think that those who have died will then be rise up out of their graves and be with the Lord as they themselves expect to with Him on this earth. However, they do not understand that such a marriage between them as the Lord's Church and the Lord is when they recognize the Lord as the Divine Human and that it is then when He reigns in them. Otherwise, the Lord only reigns when falsities and evils are shunned, that is, 'as it were' removed, thus allowing the truths and goods from the Lord through the Heavens to come to them 'as if' in a voice or in influx through the Word taught, here, on earth.
Meanwhile, in their waiting for the Lord's return, they have falsities and evils just as those who had when they died and were in the spiritual world and were held captive there by evils and falsities 'as it were' until the Lord came and freed them by subjugating the evils that then had infested the world of spirits and would have infested all Heaven if possible. When the Lord did come, they saw that He was one God in one Person which is the Divine Human of the Lord Jesus Christ. This John writes about where it is said 'unto our Lord and God' where He - God - was worshipped that sat on the throne, that is, that reigns. His Human was no longer separate as it was on earth, for He, as said, came into His glorification and was acknowledged there in Heaven to be Divine, and thus, God the Father and Himself and are to be acknowledged as one as soul and body are one person. That this is not believed today by many can be shown by the fact that so often they pray to the Father for the sake of the Son. In truth, they should approach the Lord and through Him God the Father, for the Father is in Him as in the same manner as the soul is in the body. In this, one sees that the Lord's Human was made Divine and, thus, He is the Divine Human.
To show that this is so, let us examine the Word as it pertains to the Lamb and His wedding. From a literal understanding of chapter one, verse 18 we read that John heard "I am the First and the Last; and am He that lives, and was dead; and behold I am alive for ages of ages", by which is understood to many today only that the Lord was crucified and yet lives. Then, in chapter five, verse six, they read "A Lamb standing as if slain" and know that the Lord is meant, for they know the Lord was 'slain' but still lives. He, of course, having been slain is compared to the sacrifice of lambs that represents His sacrifice of His natural life. We read it was the 'Lamb' or the Lord that was slain that only was able to take the book from Him who sat on the throne and open its seals. Wasn't it from the Divine that the Lord came putting on a human and who made it Divine? Thus, the Lamb signifies the Lord as to the Divine Human. Wasn't the Lord given all power in Heaven and earth? And, of course, it is only the Lord who knows the states of all those in the Heavens and on the earth and can judge man, for He is the Divine Truth and it is the truth that judges. That He was able to do this was because He was given all power and, thus, could execute judgment and separate those in evil from those in good. This, He has done by opening the book that was "written within and on the back". Is not this meant the Word, and that by 'opening' is meant revealing and thus, to know the Word within, that is, to know it's internal or spiritual sense and not just its external or natural sense? Those Churches that still see the Lord or the 'Lamb as if slain' signify they do not acknowledge His Human as Divine, for they do not know of the internal or spiritual sense of the Word.
To show that this is so you only have to question 'What is in one's thought concerning the Lord and His Human?' Do not many believe there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit, when yet, it is taught "The Father has given all things into the Son's hands (John 3: 35) and The Father has given the Son power over all flesh (John 17: 2) and All things are delivered unto Me by My Father (Matthew 6: 27) and All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth (Matthew 28: 18)". In this, one understands that Christ, both to His Divine and His Human is the God of Heaven and earth and is thus, the Divine Human, for the Lord has glorified His Human, that is, has made it Divine. Therefore, those in Heaven, when they saw the 'Lamb' come and take the book, who they recognized as the Lord as having been 'slain', were astonished that He could take the book, since no mortal could do this, but only God alone, for they did not acknowledge Him as God as to His Human. Though, there is a deeper meaning meant here. The book, of course, is meant the Word, and by the 'Lamb', that is, by the Lord only being able 'to take and eat' it 'as it were' the Word is signified, thus, the Lord is able to open the spiritual qualities of the New Church which is called 'New Jerusalem' that was about to come on earth and reveal its doctrine to those both in Heaven and on earth, so that they could become conjoined with Him as He was with the Divine - the Father - as he has said, He was one with the Father and, so, has returned to the Father from where He came.
However, in the nineteenth chapter, the 'Lamb' is seen not 'as if slain', for here He is recognized as the Divine Human. You might say that there were those who recognized the Lord having been glorified and saw Him as the Divine Human before it was acknowledged by those Christians in the spiritual world. That is true, and with them there is a marriage of the Lord and the Church. Though they thought of His Divine when they approached the Lord they did not question if His Human was Divine or not. One sees that these were mostly the simple in faith and heart, that is, in doctrine and in will. Besides, there is one Church which was to become one wife that is to be married 'as it were' to one Husband as there is one soul and body; the Soul is the Lord and the body the Church; and, so, one Church and one soul or life which is of the one God in the Church is as their one faith and charity, which comes from the influx of His love and wisdom that now flows into them through a new Heaven to the Church on earth. With those who think otherwise and see a Trinity of three persons each being God there is no marriage of good and truth in them or of their conjunction of Church and the Lord, for such would be as one body with three heads - the Lord as Son, the Father as Divine, and the Holy Spirit as what proceeds - being the head of their church.
Thus, it is when the Lord came and after the Last Judgment took place that a marriage was fully affected with the true Church - those who followed the Lord in the spiritual world. The reason is that, up to then those who believed, false doctrines had still held sway over many in the world of spirits and those who were in evil there continually attacked those coming into the spiritual world from this world until the Lord had come again and separated them - the Babylonians and Philistines, that are also called the 'dragon' in the Word - in the spiritual world by the means of the Last Judgment. That this wedding with Lord would come has been foretold by Jesus. "The kingdoms of the Heavens is like unto a man, a king, who made a wedding for his son, and sent out servants and gave invitations to the wedding" (Matthew 22: 1-4), and "The kingdom of the Heavens is like unto ten virgins who went out to meet the Bridegroom of whom five made ready went in with the Bridegroom to the wedding" (Matthew 25: 1- 12). You may know that the Lord meant Himself for He later (verse 13) said: - "Watch, for you do not know the day and the hour when the Son of Man is going to come."
We now come to the last statement in this verse, "And His wife has made herself ready," By 'wife' here is meant the Lord's New Church, because it can be read in chapter twenty one, "I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her Husband" (verse 2). 'Jerusalem' signifies the Church, since it was there were the temple, the altar, and where sacrifices were offered, thus where divine worship was performed. The Lord was also there and taught in His own temple or the house of God. Therefore, the Church can be thought of or signified as the city of Jerusalem were truths and goods are taught, and that that city was destroyed, that we can see a New Church that is spiritual that comes, that it is signified by a 'city' in the Word and is called the 'New Jerusalem'. Did not the Lord say that if the city Jerusalem was destroyed that He would raise it up again, by which is meant His body, that is, His Church? And, is not the Church to be seen as the body of Christ? When the New Jerusalem, that is, the Lord's New Church has been inaugurated and instructed, which means 'has made herself ready', then it appears, first in Heaven as we see John witnessed and, then, also, on earth in those who accept the Word that was opened and see that within it is the spiritual sense seen. In other words, those in the spiritual world who waited for the Lord's coming, who loved truth and do good, were assembled, inaugurated, instructed, and thus, they became the Lord's New Church in Heaven. This was the 'making herself ready' that is seen in the next verse.
"And it was granted to her that she should be arrayed in fine linen clean and bright, for the fine linen [signifies] the just deeds of the saints" (Revelation 19: 8).
Here, in this verse, it is signified that those who are of the Lord's New Church are instructed by the Lord in genuine and pure truths by means of the Word. We are speaking of the New Church that is granted to be clothed in 'linen clean and bright'. When you see that clothing in the spiritual sense are understood as truths, then to be 'arrayed' or clothed is meant to be instructed in truths; 'white' garments are genuine truths and so, 'fine linen clean and bright' are signified as shinning by virtue of good, and 'pure' by virtue of truths. You can understand that being 'clean' is being free from evil and that by 'bright' or shinning is being free from untruths, thus being pure. However, let us confirm this by the Word. In Ezekiel we can read, "O Jerusalem, I have clothed you with needlework, I have girded you with linen and I have covered you with silk: thus were you adorned with gold and silver, and your raiment was linen and silk" (16: 10, 13). Here, it is the Israelitish Church that is spoken of that was instructed with the Word of God, for surely it is not the city Jerusalem that is clothed with 'linen and silk'. It is the Word that gives pure truth from the Lord, for it is through divine revelation that the Word comes, which is the Divine Truth and from which all things come into existence.
Then, it is by 'for the fine linen [signifies] the just deeds of the saints' that shows that it is the truths of the Word with those who have the 'goods of life' who belong to the Lord's New Church, for these live from the Lord's life that has been implanted within them. It is the 'just deeds' which means the goods of life of those who are in truths and the 'saints' are those who belong to the Lord's Church. Let us look at two words here - 'just' and 'deeds.' First, no one can live in truth unless he is 'just' and lives according to Divine laws, which are truths out of the Word. This is even known from the natural sense, thus in civil and moral laws as well as spiritual laws. 'Deeds' are the acts that come from following those laws which are taught in the Word that has been revealed to mankind. You can see that it is the reformation and regeneration of men who live accordingly by the means of the truths and, thus, they have the 'goods of life' and are in the Lord's New Church. This is what separated them from those who became subjugated in hell, for they who were not clothed in 'fine linen', that is, they did not live according to the truths taught in the Word.
John was in the spiritual state listening and watching the Final Judgment come upon those in the spiritual world who had rejected the truth and the Lord and who had lived evilly on earth. In the first four verses of chapter 19, he hears that the judgment was upon those who 'corrupted the land' and that the Lord had 'avenged the blood of His servants'. And what followed was an adoring of God who sat upon the throne. Then the voice from the throne came to John through the Heavens and it was 'as if' the angels all spoke, which, as we said, were an influx and a perception from the Lord, as we have shown in verse five.
Up until this event of the marriage of the Lord and the Church, there had not been a true or full marriage of the Lord and the Church. In fact, most Christians, today, still wait for the Lord to return where they believe they will attend a marriage supper with the Lord, and they, then, will give praise, and glory and exult Him as the one God of Heaven and earth, though they, yet, see God as a Trinity of Persons. Still, Christians have come to understand the 'Lamb' as the Lord and that there is to be a marriage between the 'Lamb' or Lord and the Church, for they read that the Lord is the Lord of the vineyard and understand the Church is the vineyard and, also that the Lord is called the Bridegroom and Husband and the Church the bride and wife. And, so, they know that there is to be a marriage of the Lord and the Church when He returns. Yet, today, many still wait for His return, here, on earth and many think that those who have died will then be rise up out of their graves and be with the Lord as they themselves expect to with Him on this earth. However, they do not understand that such a marriage between them as the Lord's Church and the Lord is when they recognize the Lord as the Divine Human and that it is then when He reigns in them. Otherwise, the Lord only reigns when falsities and evils are shunned, that is, 'as it were' removed, thus allowing the truths and goods from the Lord through the Heavens to come to them 'as if' in a voice or in influx through the Word taught, here, on earth.
Meanwhile, in their waiting for the Lord's return, they have falsities and evils just as those who had when they died and were in the spiritual world and were held captive there by evils and falsities 'as it were' until the Lord came and freed them by subjugating the evils that then had infested the world of spirits and would have infested all Heaven if possible. When the Lord did come, they saw that He was one God in one Person which is the Divine Human of the Lord Jesus Christ. This John writes about where it is said 'unto our Lord and God' where He - God - was worshipped that sat on the throne, that is, that reigns. His Human was no longer separate as it was on earth, for He, as said, came into His glorification and was acknowledged there in Heaven to be Divine, and thus, God the Father and Himself and are to be acknowledged as one as soul and body are one person. That this is not believed today by many can be shown by the fact that so often they pray to the Father for the sake of the Son. In truth, they should approach the Lord and through Him God the Father, for the Father is in Him as in the same manner as the soul is in the body. In this, one sees that the Lord's Human was made Divine and, thus, He is the Divine Human.
To show that this is so, let us examine the Word as it pertains to the Lamb and His wedding. From a literal understanding of chapter one, verse 18 we read that John heard "I am the First and the Last; and am He that lives, and was dead; and behold I am alive for ages of ages", by which is understood to many today only that the Lord was crucified and yet lives. Then, in chapter five, verse six, they read "A Lamb standing as if slain" and know that the Lord is meant, for they know the Lord was 'slain' but still lives. He, of course, having been slain is compared to the sacrifice of lambs that represents His sacrifice of His natural life. We read it was the 'Lamb' or the Lord that was slain that only was able to take the book from Him who sat on the throne and open its seals. Wasn't it from the Divine that the Lord came putting on a human and who made it Divine? Thus, the Lamb signifies the Lord as to the Divine Human. Wasn't the Lord given all power in Heaven and earth? And, of course, it is only the Lord who knows the states of all those in the Heavens and on the earth and can judge man, for He is the Divine Truth and it is the truth that judges. That He was able to do this was because He was given all power and, thus, could execute judgment and separate those in evil from those in good. This, He has done by opening the book that was "written within and on the back". Is not this meant the Word, and that by 'opening' is meant revealing and thus, to know the Word within, that is, to know it's internal or spiritual sense and not just its external or natural sense? Those Churches that still see the Lord or the 'Lamb as if slain' signify they do not acknowledge His Human as Divine, for they do not know of the internal or spiritual sense of the Word.
To show that this is so you only have to question 'What is in one's thought concerning the Lord and His Human?' Do not many believe there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit, when yet, it is taught "The Father has given all things into the Son's hands (John 3: 35) and The Father has given the Son power over all flesh (John 17: 2) and All things are delivered unto Me by My Father (Matthew 6: 27) and All power is given unto Me in Heaven and in earth (Matthew 28: 18)". In this, one understands that Christ, both to His Divine and His Human is the God of Heaven and earth and is thus, the Divine Human, for the Lord has glorified His Human, that is, has made it Divine. Therefore, those in Heaven, when they saw the 'Lamb' come and take the book, who they recognized as the Lord as having been 'slain', were astonished that He could take the book, since no mortal could do this, but only God alone, for they did not acknowledge Him as God as to His Human. Though, there is a deeper meaning meant here. The book, of course, is meant the Word, and by the 'Lamb', that is, by the Lord only being able 'to take and eat' it 'as it were' the Word is signified, thus, the Lord is able to open the spiritual qualities of the New Church which is called 'New Jerusalem' that was about to come on earth and reveal its doctrine to those both in Heaven and on earth, so that they could become conjoined with Him as He was with the Divine - the Father - as he has said, He was one with the Father and, so, has returned to the Father from where He came.
However, in the nineteenth chapter, the 'Lamb' is seen not 'as if slain', for here He is recognized as the Divine Human. You might say that there were those who recognized the Lord having been glorified and saw Him as the Divine Human before it was acknowledged by those Christians in the spiritual world. That is true, and with them there is a marriage of the Lord and the Church. Though they thought of His Divine when they approached the Lord they did not question if His Human was Divine or not. One sees that these were mostly the simple in faith and heart, that is, in doctrine and in will. Besides, there is one Church which was to become one wife that is to be married 'as it were' to one Husband as there is one soul and body; the Soul is the Lord and the body the Church; and, so, one Church and one soul or life which is of the one God in the Church is as their one faith and charity, which comes from the influx of His love and wisdom that now flows into them through a new Heaven to the Church on earth. With those who think otherwise and see a Trinity of three persons each being God there is no marriage of good and truth in them or of their conjunction of Church and the Lord, for such would be as one body with three heads - the Lord as Son, the Father as Divine, and the Holy Spirit as what proceeds - being the head of their church.
Thus, it is when the Lord came and after the Last Judgment took place that a marriage was fully affected with the true Church - those who followed the Lord in the spiritual world. The reason is that, up to then those who believed, false doctrines had still held sway over many in the world of spirits and those who were in evil there continually attacked those coming into the spiritual world from this world until the Lord had come again and separated them - the Babylonians and Philistines, that are also called the 'dragon' in the Word - in the spiritual world by the means of the Last Judgment. That this wedding with Lord would come has been foretold by Jesus. "The kingdoms of the Heavens is like unto a man, a king, who made a wedding for his son, and sent out servants and gave invitations to the wedding" (Matthew 22: 1-4), and "The kingdom of the Heavens is like unto ten virgins who went out to meet the Bridegroom of whom five made ready went in with the Bridegroom to the wedding" (Matthew 25: 1- 12). You may know that the Lord meant Himself for He later (verse 13) said: - "Watch, for you do not know the day and the hour when the Son of Man is going to come."
We now come to the last statement in this verse, "And His wife has made herself ready," By 'wife' here is meant the Lord's New Church, because it can be read in chapter twenty one, "I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her Husband" (verse 2). 'Jerusalem' signifies the Church, since it was there were the temple, the altar, and where sacrifices were offered, thus where divine worship was performed. The Lord was also there and taught in His own temple or the house of God. Therefore, the Church can be thought of or signified as the city of Jerusalem were truths and goods are taught, and that that city was destroyed, that we can see a New Church that is spiritual that comes, that it is signified by a 'city' in the Word and is called the 'New Jerusalem'. Did not the Lord say that if the city Jerusalem was destroyed that He would raise it up again, by which is meant His body, that is, His Church? And, is not the Church to be seen as the body of Christ? When the New Jerusalem, that is, the Lord's New Church has been inaugurated and instructed, which means 'has made herself ready', then it appears, first in Heaven as we see John witnessed and, then, also, on earth in those who accept the Word that was opened and see that within it is the spiritual sense seen. In other words, those in the spiritual world who waited for the Lord's coming, who loved truth and do good, were assembled, inaugurated, instructed, and thus, they became the Lord's New Church in Heaven. This was the 'making herself ready' that is seen in the next verse.
"And it was granted to her that she should be arrayed in fine linen clean and bright, for the fine linen [signifies] the just deeds of the saints" (Revelation 19: 8).
Here, in this verse, it is signified that those who are of the Lord's New Church are instructed by the Lord in genuine and pure truths by means of the Word. We are speaking of the New Church that is granted to be clothed in 'linen clean and bright'. When you see that clothing in the spiritual sense are understood as truths, then to be 'arrayed' or clothed is meant to be instructed in truths; 'white' garments are genuine truths and so, 'fine linen clean and bright' are signified as shinning by virtue of good, and 'pure' by virtue of truths. You can understand that being 'clean' is being free from evil and that by 'bright' or shinning is being free from untruths, thus being pure. However, let us confirm this by the Word. In Ezekiel we can read, "O Jerusalem, I have clothed you with needlework, I have girded you with linen and I have covered you with silk: thus were you adorned with gold and silver, and your raiment was linen and silk" (16: 10, 13). Here, it is the Israelitish Church that is spoken of that was instructed with the Word of God, for surely it is not the city Jerusalem that is clothed with 'linen and silk'. It is the Word that gives pure truth from the Lord, for it is through divine revelation that the Word comes, which is the Divine Truth and from which all things come into existence.
Then, it is by 'for the fine linen [signifies] the just deeds of the saints' that shows that it is the truths of the Word with those who have the 'goods of life' who belong to the Lord's New Church, for these live from the Lord's life that has been implanted within them. It is the 'just deeds' which means the goods of life of those who are in truths and the 'saints' are those who belong to the Lord's Church. Let us look at two words here - 'just' and 'deeds.' First, no one can live in truth unless he is 'just' and lives according to Divine laws, which are truths out of the Word. This is even known from the natural sense, thus in civil and moral laws as well as spiritual laws. 'Deeds' are the acts that come from following those laws which are taught in the Word that has been revealed to mankind. You can see that it is the reformation and regeneration of men who live accordingly by the means of the truths and, thus, they have the 'goods of life' and are in the Lord's New Church. This is what separated them from those who became subjugated in hell, for they who were not clothed in 'fine linen', that is, they did not live according to the truths taught in the Word.
John was in the spiritual state listening and watching the Final Judgment come upon those in the spiritual world who had rejected the truth and the Lord and who had lived evilly on earth. In the first four verses of chapter 19, he hears that the judgment was upon those who 'corrupted the land' and that the Lord had 'avenged the blood of His servants'. And what followed was an adoring of God who sat upon the throne. Then the voice from the throne came to John through the Heavens and it was 'as if' the angels all spoke, which, as we said, were an influx and a perception from the Lord, as we have shown in verse five.