The Last Judgment and the Lord's Return
by Rev. Paul Booth
Lessons: Isaiah 47:8-12 | Revelation 2: 3-7 | True Christian Religion 774
by Rev. Paul Booth
Lessons: Isaiah 47:8-12 | Revelation 2: 3-7 | True Christian Religion 774
The 'Last Judgment' has been accomplished. The Lord has returned as He said He would. These two statements are not believed by most Christians for they are still waiting for a judgment to take place, here, in the physical natural world and for the Lord to come again and set up His Kingdom on earth. However, like the Jewish nation before them, who waited for and still waist for the Messiah, the Christ to come, the Christian churches wait for the Lord Jesus Christ to return. Like the Israelitish and Jewish church, who misunderstood the truths written in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah's first coming, the Christian churches misunderstand the truths written in the New Testament abut the Lord's coming again and the Last Judgment.
Again; just as the Church on earth before the Lord's coming, the Jewish church does not accept the New Testament as the Word of God, neither does the Christian churches accept the Word of the Divine Human that has been revealed on earth as the Word of God. Both are blinded to such truths. In a prior sermon it was taught that the Word has an internal or a spiritual sense and that this is the life of the Word where the Lord is within, and that the external or the natural sense of the Word is but a vessel in which is its life just as a man's natural body is the vessel of his spirit and that he lives from the Lord, that is, for the truths and goods that proceed s from the Lord through the Word. Unless a man accepts and believes this and has, at least, some knowledge of what is signified and represented in the natural sense of the Word, that is unless he knows something of the spiritual sense he cannot receive genuine truths and the truth that he does receive are separated from its internal or from charity. Thus man's faith is at best a spurious or even a false faith having no charity or love from the Lord. The truths that he has are only seen as appearances and when confirmed will lead to heresies.
The reason the Word has an internal, a spiritual sense, is because the Word is also in Heaven and not just here on earth. It was said the Word is the conjunction between man and Heaven or an external without an internal is like an empty vessel in which there is no life, for the spirit has life from the Lord. We know that the Word is the Lord, so it is that the Lord's presence is within us according to our reception of it and, so, according to how we act from it - either with love or not.
I will tell you another truth that is unknown today by the Christian churches. There have been two prior last judgments before the one spoken of in the book of Revelation. This may seem unbelievable to you. In a prior sermon it was said that the 'Last Judgment' was upon all those who had lived from the time of the Lord's Coming upon the earth down to a time when man could learn and accept the truth that the Word has within it a spiritual sense - a time when man is ready to know and accept internal or spiritual truths. You might ask why was it not possible to know and understand these before and, therefore be revealed at the time the Lord was on earth or even before. However, in those times man would have rejected such truths. We now know that the Christian Church that was established on earth developed many false doctrines as one sees from the book of Revelation, and even in the Epistles. So, today, there are many different doctrines taught. At the time the Lord came on earth the state that mankind had reached was a state where the evils of hell ruled over the earth, therefore distorting all good coming to all man born then. The hells had upset the balance between good and evil within man that man would have died in his sins unless the Lord had came, thus Heaven was closed to man. The balance between Heaven and hell was upset. This is why the Lord came on earth to man: to redeem him so that he might be reformed, regenerated, and be saved. Yes, for unless the Lord cam no one could be saved.
Now, before the first or the old Christian Church was established on earth there were two prior Churches on earth: the first was called the Most Ancient and the second was the Ancient which existed down to the posterity of Jacob. What followed these - the Israelitish and Jewish church - was not a true church. The first was before the flood, the second was after the flood and it ended when the Lord came on earth. The Church before the flood is described in the early chapters of the book of Genesis up to the eleventh chapter and is know by the 'new creation of heaven and earth' and by 'Paradise'. Its end began as described by the eating of the tree of knowledge. This Church's last judgment was described by the flood. It has been taught that earth and heaven in the internal or spiritual sense means or signifies the Church on earth and in heaven. So, by the 'creation of heaven and earth' is meant the establishment of a Church and 'Paradise in Eden" is the celestial wisdom of the Church. Thus we know that Church was a celestial Church. The 'tree of knowledge' and the 'serpent' signified the knowledge which destroyed that Church. The 'flood', of course, was its end and its final or it's 'last judgment'.
Look at the state that mankind had reached before the flood. In Genesis, chapter 6, we read, "And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth" (11, 12, 13). It was not the physical earth that was corrupt, but the Church which was in man where the Lord's good and truth was given and which was life given to man. Man had turned from the good and truth, thus his life into evil and falsity by sinning through disobedience to the Lord God. The Church is constituted in man by the Lord's truth and His good and these are spiritual. Therefore, the judgment upon them was a spiritual judgment and was in the spiritual world. The result was those of that persuasion gradually came to their end and we see a new Church being raised up - the Ancient.
Reading the Word in its literal sense in verse 17, "And behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life, from under the heaven&…; ." God has no will to destroy the world, but He does evils and falsities that destroy man. The judgment was upon the evil that had taken over the spirits, that is, over the lives of men. In the spiritual sense, 'flood' is an inundation of evil and falsity. The evils and falsities with and within man could no longer be overcome and the freed of man was taken away. The equilibrium was upset in the spiritual world and had to be brought back into balance so that man could be free to follow the Lord or not. This was the judgment that was upon the Church at that time.
The second Church that was established after the flood ended when the Lord Himself came upon the earth in Word. I will read from the Word how this Church is described. It is found in Deuteronomy 32: 7-14. "Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generation: ask thy father, and he will show thee, thy elders, and they will tell thee. When the Most High divided their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the LORD'S portion is his people, Jacob is the lot of his inheritance". Is this not speaking of the patriarchs starting with Abraham and the sons of Adam, Adam meaning the Church before? It you read the rest of the verses to 17 you will see they do not describe the church at that time and its course and relation with God. It is easy to understand that a Church over time turns further and further away from God and becomes only representative of the true Church. This is what happened to those people following the Ancient Church. As is evident by the Prophets a Church is where the Lord is and where truths are taught and listened to, where there is a love of the truth and so, of doing good from love.
The Ancient Church's end along with those that followed that where not a true Church - the Israelitish and Jewish nation came when the Lord - Jesus Christ - came into the world. It too took place in the spiritual world, for all who died up that point from the flood where there. In that way order was restored in heaven and hell subjugated stopping the attacks of evil spirits and leaving man in equilibrium between good and evil and truth and falsity and a man could follow the truth and believe the Word or not. This was the Lord's first coming such a last judgment was upon the second Church as can be read in John 12: 11 "Now is the judgment of this world, now is the prince of this world cast out" And in John 16: 37 "These things have I spoken to you, that in Me ye have peace, be of good cheer I have overcome the world".
This brings us to the 'Last Judgment" that was written about in Revelation which was upon the Third Church, that is, upon the Christian Church that then existed and upon the people who then lived on earth. This judgment took place, as the others, in the spiritual world, for as said, there is where all can be gathered together who lived during each era. This 'Last Judgment' was affected by the Divine Human, the Glorified Lord and was at His second coming. He had returned in His Divine Human with all power and strength, thus, spiritually He could separate evil which had entered the Christian Churches and could hold the hells forever under His subjugation and keep heaven in order to eternity. For He reigns in His Kingdom, both in heaven and upon earth. After the Last Judgment a new Church, called the Lord's New Church and which is the New Jerusalem and is now the true Church being established. Now, a person who not only believes the Lord, the Divine Truth or Word in a new Heavenly light, but who act from the Lord's good comes into His New Church. His freedom is maintained and he can either believe or not believe, he can, from the Lord do good which the Word teaches. When he does his faith manifests itself as charity and he is in regeneration.
The Lord taught in Matthew 24 that after the 'Last Judgment' that He would come again "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in Heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth morn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (30). And in Revelation 1: 7 one reads, And He is coming with the clouds of Heaven". By the 'clouds of Heaven' in which He comes is meant the Word in the sense the letter and by 'the glory' the Word in its spiritual sense is meant. To most, a cloud is a cloud of this world, so they confirm the Lord's return to the natural world and think not the least of a spiritual return. Thus they wait in vain.
Don't we sometimes say things like, "I see or I understand" because of 'light' or insight coming from heaven, that is, from the Lord, reasoning that we understand, not from any natural or scientific knowledge we may have gained, but that we understand from a inner or 'internal light' or revelation. Thus, we mean that we have received some spiritual insight or perception. Don't we also say things like, "My mind is so clouded that I don't understand". Of course we don't mean with clouds that are in the sky above. We mean that we have a mental obscurity to what the truth is. Thus, it is that the Lord in His Divine Human returns and that 'with glory' signifies the internal sense that is now revealed in His Word. Therefore isn't the Lord with man in His truth and in His good, which is the spiritual Word that is within our heart or will and in our understanding. The Lord in appearing in the 'clouds of heaven' and with 'glory' is not meant that He physically returns again as a man on earth, but that the Word's internal, it spiritual sense is now revealed in a new literal Word. Besides, the Lord's Kingdom is not of this world.
The First or the Most Ancient Church did not have a written Word because the art of writing was not yet developed. Still the Lord's truth was taught then to every man. Though later it was written down during this Church's existence. The fact is all of nature spoke, as it were, to them of God and of His love and they understood internally what was said, that is, celestially. The second Church lived when the written Word was developed mainly from the Most Ancient, but they knew the science of correspondences which were passed down from the Most Ancient and so, knew the representatives and significations of things of nature during it beginning and establishment. Thus at its beginning was a Spiritual Church. Sin, as we have said, destroyed the ability of perception that the Celestial Church had and eventually man lost the science of correspondences. Yet, the Lord was still with man, though not as before as when in Paradise - celestially - or as with the early men of spiritual Church. The ability to perceive and of perception was destroyed, however, the Lord still revealed Himself through the written Word naturally. When a person takes these words of truth into his or her mind and heart, into his understanding and will, the Lord is present within, even if the truths have been distorted and are only appearances of the truth and not genuine. Now, today the Lord has conjoined the spiritual man with the natural, for between Heaven and earth the conjunction is reestablished and man can now begin to understand the spiritual sense of the Word and learn genuine truths. Between heaven and earth there is a correspondence which conjoins man with heaven, thus a man can live from the Lord while here on earth and when coming into the next world will live in Heaven.
Amen
Again; just as the Church on earth before the Lord's coming, the Jewish church does not accept the New Testament as the Word of God, neither does the Christian churches accept the Word of the Divine Human that has been revealed on earth as the Word of God. Both are blinded to such truths. In a prior sermon it was taught that the Word has an internal or a spiritual sense and that this is the life of the Word where the Lord is within, and that the external or the natural sense of the Word is but a vessel in which is its life just as a man's natural body is the vessel of his spirit and that he lives from the Lord, that is, for the truths and goods that proceed s from the Lord through the Word. Unless a man accepts and believes this and has, at least, some knowledge of what is signified and represented in the natural sense of the Word, that is unless he knows something of the spiritual sense he cannot receive genuine truths and the truth that he does receive are separated from its internal or from charity. Thus man's faith is at best a spurious or even a false faith having no charity or love from the Lord. The truths that he has are only seen as appearances and when confirmed will lead to heresies.
The reason the Word has an internal, a spiritual sense, is because the Word is also in Heaven and not just here on earth. It was said the Word is the conjunction between man and Heaven or an external without an internal is like an empty vessel in which there is no life, for the spirit has life from the Lord. We know that the Word is the Lord, so it is that the Lord's presence is within us according to our reception of it and, so, according to how we act from it - either with love or not.
I will tell you another truth that is unknown today by the Christian churches. There have been two prior last judgments before the one spoken of in the book of Revelation. This may seem unbelievable to you. In a prior sermon it was said that the 'Last Judgment' was upon all those who had lived from the time of the Lord's Coming upon the earth down to a time when man could learn and accept the truth that the Word has within it a spiritual sense - a time when man is ready to know and accept internal or spiritual truths. You might ask why was it not possible to know and understand these before and, therefore be revealed at the time the Lord was on earth or even before. However, in those times man would have rejected such truths. We now know that the Christian Church that was established on earth developed many false doctrines as one sees from the book of Revelation, and even in the Epistles. So, today, there are many different doctrines taught. At the time the Lord came on earth the state that mankind had reached was a state where the evils of hell ruled over the earth, therefore distorting all good coming to all man born then. The hells had upset the balance between good and evil within man that man would have died in his sins unless the Lord had came, thus Heaven was closed to man. The balance between Heaven and hell was upset. This is why the Lord came on earth to man: to redeem him so that he might be reformed, regenerated, and be saved. Yes, for unless the Lord cam no one could be saved.
Now, before the first or the old Christian Church was established on earth there were two prior Churches on earth: the first was called the Most Ancient and the second was the Ancient which existed down to the posterity of Jacob. What followed these - the Israelitish and Jewish church - was not a true church. The first was before the flood, the second was after the flood and it ended when the Lord came on earth. The Church before the flood is described in the early chapters of the book of Genesis up to the eleventh chapter and is know by the 'new creation of heaven and earth' and by 'Paradise'. Its end began as described by the eating of the tree of knowledge. This Church's last judgment was described by the flood. It has been taught that earth and heaven in the internal or spiritual sense means or signifies the Church on earth and in heaven. So, by the 'creation of heaven and earth' is meant the establishment of a Church and 'Paradise in Eden" is the celestial wisdom of the Church. Thus we know that Church was a celestial Church. The 'tree of knowledge' and the 'serpent' signified the knowledge which destroyed that Church. The 'flood', of course, was its end and its final or it's 'last judgment'.
Look at the state that mankind had reached before the flood. In Genesis, chapter 6, we read, "And the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth" (11, 12, 13). It was not the physical earth that was corrupt, but the Church which was in man where the Lord's good and truth was given and which was life given to man. Man had turned from the good and truth, thus his life into evil and falsity by sinning through disobedience to the Lord God. The Church is constituted in man by the Lord's truth and His good and these are spiritual. Therefore, the judgment upon them was a spiritual judgment and was in the spiritual world. The result was those of that persuasion gradually came to their end and we see a new Church being raised up - the Ancient.
Reading the Word in its literal sense in verse 17, "And behold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life, from under the heaven&…; ." God has no will to destroy the world, but He does evils and falsities that destroy man. The judgment was upon the evil that had taken over the spirits, that is, over the lives of men. In the spiritual sense, 'flood' is an inundation of evil and falsity. The evils and falsities with and within man could no longer be overcome and the freed of man was taken away. The equilibrium was upset in the spiritual world and had to be brought back into balance so that man could be free to follow the Lord or not. This was the judgment that was upon the Church at that time.
The second Church that was established after the flood ended when the Lord Himself came upon the earth in Word. I will read from the Word how this Church is described. It is found in Deuteronomy 32: 7-14. "Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generation: ask thy father, and he will show thee, thy elders, and they will tell thee. When the Most High divided their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel. For the LORD'S portion is his people, Jacob is the lot of his inheritance". Is this not speaking of the patriarchs starting with Abraham and the sons of Adam, Adam meaning the Church before? It you read the rest of the verses to 17 you will see they do not describe the church at that time and its course and relation with God. It is easy to understand that a Church over time turns further and further away from God and becomes only representative of the true Church. This is what happened to those people following the Ancient Church. As is evident by the Prophets a Church is where the Lord is and where truths are taught and listened to, where there is a love of the truth and so, of doing good from love.
The Ancient Church's end along with those that followed that where not a true Church - the Israelitish and Jewish nation came when the Lord - Jesus Christ - came into the world. It too took place in the spiritual world, for all who died up that point from the flood where there. In that way order was restored in heaven and hell subjugated stopping the attacks of evil spirits and leaving man in equilibrium between good and evil and truth and falsity and a man could follow the truth and believe the Word or not. This was the Lord's first coming such a last judgment was upon the second Church as can be read in John 12: 11 "Now is the judgment of this world, now is the prince of this world cast out" And in John 16: 37 "These things have I spoken to you, that in Me ye have peace, be of good cheer I have overcome the world".
This brings us to the 'Last Judgment" that was written about in Revelation which was upon the Third Church, that is, upon the Christian Church that then existed and upon the people who then lived on earth. This judgment took place, as the others, in the spiritual world, for as said, there is where all can be gathered together who lived during each era. This 'Last Judgment' was affected by the Divine Human, the Glorified Lord and was at His second coming. He had returned in His Divine Human with all power and strength, thus, spiritually He could separate evil which had entered the Christian Churches and could hold the hells forever under His subjugation and keep heaven in order to eternity. For He reigns in His Kingdom, both in heaven and upon earth. After the Last Judgment a new Church, called the Lord's New Church and which is the New Jerusalem and is now the true Church being established. Now, a person who not only believes the Lord, the Divine Truth or Word in a new Heavenly light, but who act from the Lord's good comes into His New Church. His freedom is maintained and he can either believe or not believe, he can, from the Lord do good which the Word teaches. When he does his faith manifests itself as charity and he is in regeneration.
The Lord taught in Matthew 24 that after the 'Last Judgment' that He would come again "And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in Heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth morn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (30). And in Revelation 1: 7 one reads, And He is coming with the clouds of Heaven". By the 'clouds of Heaven' in which He comes is meant the Word in the sense the letter and by 'the glory' the Word in its spiritual sense is meant. To most, a cloud is a cloud of this world, so they confirm the Lord's return to the natural world and think not the least of a spiritual return. Thus they wait in vain.
Don't we sometimes say things like, "I see or I understand" because of 'light' or insight coming from heaven, that is, from the Lord, reasoning that we understand, not from any natural or scientific knowledge we may have gained, but that we understand from a inner or 'internal light' or revelation. Thus, we mean that we have received some spiritual insight or perception. Don't we also say things like, "My mind is so clouded that I don't understand". Of course we don't mean with clouds that are in the sky above. We mean that we have a mental obscurity to what the truth is. Thus, it is that the Lord in His Divine Human returns and that 'with glory' signifies the internal sense that is now revealed in His Word. Therefore isn't the Lord with man in His truth and in His good, which is the spiritual Word that is within our heart or will and in our understanding. The Lord in appearing in the 'clouds of heaven' and with 'glory' is not meant that He physically returns again as a man on earth, but that the Word's internal, it spiritual sense is now revealed in a new literal Word. Besides, the Lord's Kingdom is not of this world.
The First or the Most Ancient Church did not have a written Word because the art of writing was not yet developed. Still the Lord's truth was taught then to every man. Though later it was written down during this Church's existence. The fact is all of nature spoke, as it were, to them of God and of His love and they understood internally what was said, that is, celestially. The second Church lived when the written Word was developed mainly from the Most Ancient, but they knew the science of correspondences which were passed down from the Most Ancient and so, knew the representatives and significations of things of nature during it beginning and establishment. Thus at its beginning was a Spiritual Church. Sin, as we have said, destroyed the ability of perception that the Celestial Church had and eventually man lost the science of correspondences. Yet, the Lord was still with man, though not as before as when in Paradise - celestially - or as with the early men of spiritual Church. The ability to perceive and of perception was destroyed, however, the Lord still revealed Himself through the written Word naturally. When a person takes these words of truth into his or her mind and heart, into his understanding and will, the Lord is present within, even if the truths have been distorted and are only appearances of the truth and not genuine. Now, today the Lord has conjoined the spiritual man with the natural, for between Heaven and earth the conjunction is reestablished and man can now begin to understand the spiritual sense of the Word and learn genuine truths. Between heaven and earth there is a correspondence which conjoins man with heaven, thus a man can live from the Lord while here on earth and when coming into the next world will live in Heaven.
Amen
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