Where are the online New Church (Swedenborgian) Communities?

So where exactly are people of the New Church hiding throughout the world?  There are few of us here and there, and it is hard to find a local church that teaches the new revelation of the Second Coming as there is opposition to it from tradition churches, as declared in the prophecy of Revelation 12. Church offers a community where we can share with each other, and now it has become harder to gather together due to the coronavirus pandemic as many are forced to stay at home or in quarantine. But the problem was there before that, as more and more people have become isolated from each other in their individual homes.

So I looked around, I did find this if you want to view live stream services of the New Church within your home: Find live-streamed New Church Services.

To interact with others there are some Facebook groups as well (just look up "New Church" or "Swedenborg").  But for more direct personal interaction, I recently found a couple of online Discord chat groups. As luck would have it - but there is no luck, perhaps it is Divine Providence, I was cleaning out my email and found an invite to one of them.  Here they are:

New Church Discussion

Swedenborgian Community Online

An excellent Youtube channel which discusses many New Church teachings and ideas can be found here, which I highly recommend: offTheLeftEye

And this is the way of heaven.  In heaven there are myriads of heavenly societies, and we will automatically dwell in a community in heaven with those whom we regard the closest of friends. This is some of what Swedenborg wrote concerning the heavenly societies he encountered in his waking visions:

"All who are in similar good also know one another, just as men in the world do their kinsmen, their near relations, and their friends, though they have never before seen them; for the reason that in the other life there are no other kinships, relationships, and friendships than such as are spiritual, thus such as are of love and faith. This has sometimes been given me to see, when I was in the spirit, thus withdrawn from the body, and so in company with angels. Then some of them seemed as if known from childhood, but others as if not known at all. They whom I seemed to have known from childhood, were those who were in a state similar to that of my spirit; but they who seemed unknown to me, were in dissimilar state." (Heaven and Hell, n. 46)

"By brethren in the internal sense are signified those who are in similar good and truth, that is, in similar affection for good and truth. For in the other life all are consociated according to affections, and those who are consociated constitute a brotherhood. Not that they call themselves brethren, but that they are brethren by conjunction. Good and truth themselves in the other life make that which on earth is called consanguinity and relationship, and corresponds thereto. For goods and truths viewed in themselves, do not acknowledge any other father than the Lord, for they are from Him alone. Hence all who are in goods and truths are in brotherhood; but still there are degrees of relationship according to the quality of the goods and truths." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 4121).

Mystical Christianity, or the Spiritual Kingdom Within

As one grows spiritually, one advances where one becomes withdrawn from external cares or concerns, towards an internal way of living in love and truth. This internal communion with God, which governs the intentions in the way we live, becomes a constant source of hope and happiness, where external worries or concerns disappear.

This is a secret way of living, where one is no longer concerned with the opinions of others:

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you (Matt. 6:6)

To go into one's room is to go into one's mind, and have communion with the Lord in prayer. And yet, all of our thoughts and deeds will become fully known and revealed:

Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known (Luke 12:2)

This is fulfilled when our spirit departs from the body, and we enter into the spiritual realm of heaven in our spiritual bodies. An spiritual aura emanates from our spiritual bodies, where all of our thoughts are revealed to others, and cannot be hidden. All of our deeds are recorded as in a book (Rev. 20:12). This is known in theosophy as the "Akashic record," and it is something that is tapped into by clairvoyants, who can see events of the past, present and sometimes the future. The first documented evidence of clairvoyance was done by Emanuel Swedenborg, which was investigated by the German philosopher Kant in the 18th century. A friend of mine was able to foresee the downing of flight MH17; something that came up as most of the casualties were Dutch, and I am half Dutch. These are things that occur for those who are open to gifts of the Spirit.

This realm, where all things are recorded, is the spiritual realm, where time and space lose meaning. Instead of time there is state, and instead of space there is love - the closer we are to a person, the more likely we will be with that person in heaven. It is a higher dimension that interacts with the lower natural material dimension. Our souls reside in this higher realm, while our bodies exist in the material dimension. Our internal communion with the Lord is within us, thus Jesus stated that the kingdom of God is within us:

The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you (Luke 17:20-21)

Our soul will reside in a different area of heaven and hell, depending on our state of being. For the spiritual realm governs our state of being, and we change it through free will - by recognizing the evil within ourselves, and turning against them in practice. All too often people look for external signs in the material world as evidence for the kingdom of God. But the revelation of the kingdom of God is a spiritual revelation from heaven, not a material appearance that occurs in the skies. This is described in detail in an earlier article: Is the Second Coming a Physical Event or Spiritual Event?

The true Second Coming is the revelation of the spiritual sense in God's Word, for now the Word is opened to us in all its glory. Although we have been cut of from heaven due to the fall in the Garden of Eden, it is reopened to us through scripture, by going to the Lord alone. All too often people are caught up in the literal sense of the Word, and fail to see its spiritual meaning. But it is now there for anyone who wishes to see it, all one has to do is look, and examine the revelations that have been given. For this is the New age of Christianity, one where the Lord is worshiped as one person, where a true spiritual life is one where one lives by His commandments:

If you love me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:15)

And this leads to a communion with the Lord in our heart:

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me (Rev. 3:20)

Quit the Old Church, and Join the New

Here is an interesting article: a pastor is telling people to quit church: I'm a pastor and I want you to quit church. Now! He is recognizing a fact: church attendance is shrinking, apathy is growing, and there is a lot of doubt about core beliefs. And yet he is completely blind as to the root cause.

But here is the point he is missing: the core foundational beliefs of the church are simply false. True Christianity over the centuries has been falsified.  Instead of a belief in one God, there is a belief in three gods. And since it cannot be explained, ministers don't attempt to, but keep emphasizing a blind faith. And this goes against the modern age of enlightenment, where true spirituality is in agreement with reason, and not just blind belief based on tradition and authority.

What those within the traditional churches fail to see is that the religion from within is dying. The theology is inconsistent and not rational. Swedenborg pointed this out over 200 years ago:

"The rulers of the church insist that the understanding is to be kept under obedience to faith, nay, that faith, properly speaking, is a faith in what is unknown, which is blind, or a faith of the night. This is their first paradox; for faith is of truth, and truth is of faith; and truth before it can become an object of faith, must be seen in its light and understood; otherwise what is false may be believed as true. The paradoxes flowing from such a faith are many, as that God the Father begat a Son from eternity, and that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both, and that each of these three is a Person by Himself and a God: that the Lord, both as to His soul and body, was from the mother: that the above three Persons, consequently three Gods, created the universe; and that one of them descended, and assumed human nature, to reconcile the Father, and thus to save mankind; and that they who by grace obtain faith, and believe these paradoxes, are saved by the imputation, application, and translation, of His righteousness to themselves; and that man, at his first reception of that faith, is like a statue, a stock, or a stone, and that faith comes by the mere hearing of the Word; that faith alone without the works of the law, and not formed of charity, is saving; and that it produces the remission of sins without previous repentance; and that, merely by such remission of sins, the impenitent man is justified, regenerated, and sanctified; and that afterward charity, good works, and repentance, spontaneously follow: besides many other like paradoxes, all which, like offspring from an illegitimate bed, have issued from the doctrine founded on the idea of three Gods." (Summary Exposition, n. 54)

And since this theology cannot be explained in a rational manner, it is simply avoided by the ministers:

"the tenets of the present church cannot be learned and retained without great difficulty, nor can they be preached or taught without using great care and caution to conceal their nakedness, because sound reason neither discerns nor receives them." (Summary Exposition, n. 58)

This leads to a spiritual dilemma to those who can discern it: that there is something not quite right in what the church is teaching. They just want you to blindly believe and follow without understanding. Because they themselves do not see the truth. This is prophesied by Jesus as what will happen near the end of the age:

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:8)

And so ministers, who are blinded by their own faith, cannot see the source of the problem. They wonder why people attend church and do not apply it to their lives. Because they themselves teach faith alone saves, which to them is but a belief in the memory and empty words in the mouth. The paradoxes that are taught are many:

"They teach that faith without good works, as being alive, justifies; and at the same time, that faith without good works, as being dead, does not justify. They teach that faith is neither preserved nor retained by good works; and at the same time, that good works proceed from faith, as fruit from a tree, light from the sun, and heat from fire. They teach that good works being adjoined to faith make it perfect; and at the same time that being conjoined as a marriage, or in one form, they deprive faith of its saving essence. They teach that a Christian is not under the Law; and at the same time that he must be in the daily practice of the Law. They teach that if good works are intermixed in the business of salvation by faith, as in the remission of sins, justification, regeneration, vivification, and salvation, they are hurtful; but that if not intermixed they are profitable. They teach that God crowns His gifts, which are good works, with rewards even of a spiritual nature, but not with salvation and eternal life, because He crowns faith with these, without works." (Summary Exposition, n. 59)

So the answer?  Quit the old traditional church, and join the New Church.  The New Church corrects the many errors that have entered Christianity through the traditions and teachings of men. And the New Church is founded on direct revelations from Jesus Christ. The tenets of the New Church are simple:

1. Worship one God in one person, who revealed Himself in incarnate form as Jesus Christ, and,
2. Shun evils as sins, and do what is good.

Which Swedenborg says in his own words:

"But do you, my friend, snatch yourself from such contradictions, and shun evils as sins, and do good, and believe in the Lord, and saving justification will be given you." (Summary Exposition, n. 59)

True faith is living by the truth, according to God's word, and worshiping Jesus Christ as the One God of the universe. It is not a blind belief where the rational understanding is suspended. Even the apostle Peter stated we should be ready to give a rational argument:

"but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect" (1 Pet. 3:15)

And if you can't make a rational defense to a devil's advocate, something is wrong. Of course you cannot share your faith if you can't justify it.  Before making a defense, examine the teachings yourself: is what your church teaching true or false?  There are two kinds of people: those who believe what they are told, and those who examine what they are told to determine if they are true or not, by reading scripture themselves.

And if you want to take a shortcut, and avoid the long arduous path of searching, examine the theology of the New Church in the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. It will answer all your questions, but you must be ready for one thing: be ready to admit that the way you think, what you believe, may be wrong.

But, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and when you see it, you will quit the old church and join the new. And there is no turning back. So yes, quit the church, but for a completely different reason then what this pastor is saying: reject what is false and follow what is true. For this is the truth of the Second Coming, revealed from heaven.

And then you will have a new personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and acknowledge Him as the One Person you should pray to. For He is the One, and there is no such thing as a second or third person. For within Him the Divine itself is the Father, His human form is the Son, and the Divine proceeding from Him is the Holy Spirit. And in the teachings of the New Church, the true spiritual meaning of scripture will be opened, where one will see the light of heaven to apply it to one's daily life, to live a new life and to turn away from the old way of death, which the masses blindly follow.

The Prophecy of the Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet

The book of Revelation overall is a prophecy of the end times of the Christian Church, where two main enemies arise who will be opposed to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ: the trinity of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, followed by the whore of Babylon that sits on top of the beast. Most Christian churches will teach that this will be fulfilled by some future political system headed by an antichrist.  But in the prophetic revelations of the New Church, something more concerning is revealed: it will not be some "always future" political system, it is a prophecy of a falsified version of Christianity. And this is the AntiChrist: for "anti-Christ" can mean anything opposed to Christianity, but the other meaning is "substitute Christ." The latter is the more dangerous threat: for it is a spiritual danger that arises within the church, not outside of it.

What this post will show is that the prophecy of the book of Revelation is something that can be applied now: for with it, one can identify false doctrines that have crept into the very Christian Church itself.  While most Christian churches will always talk about some always future event, in the spiritual sense the book of Revelation speaks of the false religious systems that will creep into the majority of churches, and will deceive many.

A FALSE TRINITY

It is blatantly obvious, that the dragon, beast and false prophet represent a falsified Christianity, in that they are presented in the book of Revelation as a triad or trinity of three beings:

And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. (Rev. 16:13-14)

For frogs to come out of the mouth signifies a teaching that has a strong but false persuasive ability to convince others.  Frogs signify false persuasions, for their tongue can reach out and catch bugs in mid-air; things that fly in mid-air signify reasonings. The devastation of the ancient church that preceded Judaism was also signified by the plague of frogs before the Jewish exodus from Egypt (Ex. 8:2-13, see Heavenly Arcana, n. 7345-7357, 7379-7409). Egypt signifies the natural man opposed to the spiritual man, represented by Israel. The "kings of the whole world" are not political kings, but kings represent truths as kings uphold the laws of the land, the "whole world" are those of the church. The great battle here is a spiritual battle, for those under false religious persuasion will vehemently defend it.

Most Christian churches will state that this thus represents a "counterfeit trinity."  But this false religious system will be Christian in appearance, which we know from the description of the false prophet:

Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. (Rev. 13:11)

To have two horns like a lamb is to have an appearance that it is Christian. To speak like a dragon, means that it teachings will be spiritually opposed to the truth and favor one's evils.

So I am going to state what should be obvious, which few will admit: the idea of a trinity of three persons is utterly foreign to both Judaism and the Christian church of the first three centuries. It simply did not exist until it was invented by a group of men in the fourth century A.D. in order to combat the Arian heresy. In the heavenly revelations of the New Church, the dragon, the beast and the false prophet are revealed to be the following:

"They in the present church are also treated of, who from doctrine believe in a trinity of Persons, and in the duality of the Person of Christ, and in justification by faith alone: these are meant by the dragon. The persecution of the New Church by these on account of its doctrine; and its protection by the Lord until from a few it spreads among many, are then treated of." (Apocalypse Revealed, ch. 12)

In other words, the dragon, the beast and the false prophet represent a false religious system that is common among Protestant and Reformed churches.  Why is this false theology opposed to the New Church? The New Church follows two simple principles:

1. God is one person in Jesus Christ, He is the Divine God-Man. His human form is the Son. A theology of three persons is opposed to this.
2. Salvation is through repentance by following the 10 commandments.  A theology that makes works of charity nothing is strongly opposed to this.

This is why certain Protestant theologians will declare the theology of the New Church as "dangerous" or "heretical."  For it is directly opposed to the theology that they assume to be the truth, when in fact their theology was invented by men.  The Nicene Creed was unknown until the fourth century A.D. (see Is the Nicene Creed Biblical? Does the Nicene Creed define True Christianity?)  Justification by faith alone was unknown until the 16th century A.D. This strong opposition is represented by the 11th chapter, where the beast arises from the abyss to kill the two witnesses. The two witnesses represent the theology of true monotheism (traditional Christianity is inherently tritheistic) as well as living by the 10 commandments (traditional Christianity follows vicarious atonement which contradicts a life of repentance) - see The Identity of the Two Witnesses of Revelation.

THE FALSE THEOLOGY OF THE PROTESTANT AND CATHOLIC CHURCHES

The Protestant or Reformed tradition has a tendency to this false theology of justification by faith alone, based on a belief in a "vicarious atonement" where sins are automatically transferred without reforming one's life (for a better explanation of Christianity, see A Rational Explanation for Atonement: Christus Victor, the Divine Human). This belief system is founded on a false understanding of the writings of Paul, in which the works of the Mosaic law - the Jewish rituals - are confused with good works in general. The false theology makes the will of man passive, where God does everything, and we do nothing.

Some interpreters will interpret the beast, or the false prophet, as the Roman Catholic Church.  But that is incorrect.  The Roman Catholic Church is represented by the whore of Babylon in Revelation 17-18.  There are many false religious beliefs that the Catholic Church simply invented over time, but their primary interest above all others is the false belief in Papal primacy, or in the spiritual authority of their priesthood. In such a way they have transferred Divine authority to themselves. In the spiritual sense harlotry is the profanation of what is holy, and the worse profanation occurs when Divine worship is transferred away from God towards the worship of men. This does not apply to all Catholics:

And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. (Rev. 17:6)

To be drunk with blood is to profane the truth, to be drunk is to not have a correct understanding. There are thus many good people within the Catholic Church:

Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. (Rev. 18:4-5)

Thus most within the Catholic Church are simply ignorant of the truth, and do not recognize the falsehoods that have been mixed in with the original Christianity. But there are many who would rather have spiritual authority over others, and will put the authority of the Catholic church above that of scripture - for that, see the comments section in Is the Second Coming a Physical Event or Spiritual Event?  That kind of false religious reasoning is represented in the spiritual world as drinking blood from a cup.

This is why the "whore of Babylon" sits on top of the beast of 10 horns in Rev. 17-18 - for internally, the Protestant theology was completely inherited from the Roman Catholic Church. But in the prophecy of the book of Revelation, it the Protestant Reformation is foretold, for by Divine Providence the Reformation was initiated to break the political power of the Roman Catholic Church:

And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the whore. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. (Rev. 17:16-17)

This was fulfilled during the religious wars of Europe, which lasted over 100 years, in which the power of the Roman Catholic Church was broken.  The beast is said to have "10 horns" as the Protestant churches gained power from the literal sense of the Word, which was used to oppose the falsehoods of the Roman Catholic Church. Thus the word "Protestant", which persists to this day, based on "protest" against the authority of the Catholic Church. On the positive side, the Protestant churches tend to be greater light as they recognize the Word as having primary spiritual authority.

There are other interpretations of Daniel and Revelation that support this conclusion - a conclusion most religious authorities want to avoid or cannot see.  For most acknowledge that the beast of 10 horns is what arises out of the ashes of the Roman Empire. See The Spiritual Meaning of Daniel's Prophecy of the Statue of Nebuchadnezzar.

So, not exactly what everyone wants to hear: the revelation of the New Church is opposed against the majority theology of the Protestant-Catholic alliance.  The Old Testament does not give a favorable opinion for the Jews either: God does not mince His words.  But the truth must be revealed, and to reveal the truth, falsehoods must be exposed. This opposition between the two theologies is what is known in Revelation as the "battle of Armageddon," which is a spiritual battle against the revelation of the Second Coming of Christ.

The Spiritual Meaning of the Woman of the Apocalypse

The book of Revelation, or the Apocalypse, is a highly symbolic work.  The most comprehensive interpretation can be found in the works of Emanuel Swedenborg (he wrote 3 volumes entitled Apocalypse Revealed, which was drawn from about 6 volumes of an unpublished work entitled Apocalypse Explained, combined here in one work: The Apocalypse Revealed and Explained). Many others have tried to interpret and failed, and where they failed Swedenborg only succeeded as the internal spiritual meaning was revealed in spiritual visions. Whether or not one believes in visions, the interpretation is rational and consistent.

I would like to focus here on the symbolism of the woman of the Apocalypse, mentioned in chapter 12:

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. (Rev. 12:1-6)

In the traditional interpretation, the woman is the church or the virgin Mary, the child is Jesus, the dragon that wishes to devour the child is Herod who tried to kill Jesus after he was born, and the child being caught up to heaven is a reference to the ascension of Jesus. As for the woman dwelling in the wilderness, the Seventh Day Adventists (and others) apply this to a 1260 year period of Roman Catholic dominion ending in the 18th century, which happens to coincide with the time Swedenborg began receiving heavenly revelations concerning scripture, the afterlife, and the Second Coming.

There is an inherent problem in this interpretation: with the way the book of Revelation is structured, this describes future events from John's time, not a flashback of what already happened. That this is so, can be seen from the following earlier commandment of Jesus to the apostle John:

Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this (Rev. 1:19)

The "things which you have seen" are the past, which covers chapter 1, "those that are" are the present, which covers chapters 2-3, "those that are to take place after this" is the future state of the church and the last judgment, covered in chapters 4-22. This can be seen at the beginning of chapter 4:

Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this (Rev. 4:1)

THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF THE WOMAN

This means the woman, the child, and the dragon describes a future spiritual conflict from John's time. Overall, the book of Revelation describes the final end state of the Christian church itself, and the establishment of a New Christian Church. The woman of the apocalypse seen in heaven represents this New Christian Church, which is seen in heaven as it will be first established in the spiritual realms before being manifested here on earth. Thus the traditional interpretation that identified the woman with the Church is correct, which is supported in scripture as the church is described as the bride of Christ. What the traditional interpretation does not know, however, is that the woman of the apocalypse represents a new age of the Christian church.

So why is the woman clothed with the sun, has a crown of stars, and has the moon under her feet? Some have interpreted these as an astronomical references.  However that is not the case: throughout scripture, the physical sky is used as symbolic reference to the spiritual heaven. The sun, moon and stars have the following meaning:

1. The Sun is a symbolic reference to love of the Lord. The reason for this is that in the spiritual heaven, the Lord lights all of heaven as a spiritual Sun. This central Sun of heaven has been seen by visionaries and in Near Death Experience accounts. This is the origin of "sun worship" in the ancient world. For the woman to be clothed with the sun signifies that this new Church will consider love to the Lord as primary, and faith or religious belief as secondary.
2. The moon, in general, is a spiritual symbol of those who follow the commandments according to their faith. They act primarily from truth, instead of first from love. In the spiritual heaven they are more distant, thus the central sun of heaven appears to them like a moon, as truth is but a reflection of love.
3. The stars, in general, represent different angelic societies of heaven which appear at a distance as a star. Stars in the spiritual sense also signify spiritual knowledges. One is first introduced to higher spirituality through knowledge, and this is represented by the Magi who followed the star of Bethlehem.

Thus in the prophetic last days, it is said the sun will turn black, and the moon will be blood red. This is not an astronomical event, but rather signifies that spiritual love and charity will die, and truths will be falsified and profaned. One can see this in that most people talk about religious "faith," but only rarely do they first talk of love and charity, and living a life according to the commandments. If love was the focus, all the religious disputes would disappear.

The spiritual meaning is governed by context, and for the woman to be standing on the moon has an interesting meaning. In this sense, it signifies a state of the New Christian church revealed from heaven, but not yet in conjunction with a church on earth that follows the doctrines of the New Church. If what was revealed from heaven was in union with a church on earth, the woman would have been seen as standing upon the earth. But she is not, which signifies a state in which a revelation is made that is not yet accepted in practice on earth. This is the state where we are today: we have one of the most spectacular Christian revelation sitting right in front of us in the works of Emanuel Swedenborg, and yet so few Christians are aware of it.

The Roman Catholic interpretation is based on their false practice of Marian veneration, and is thus a superficial interpretation. It is "superficial" in the sense that Mary herself is a symbol of the church, but inasmuch as one identifies the woman with Mary the individual it becomes a false interpretation. Both the Roman Catholic and Protestant versions of Christianity will be replaced by this New Christian Church which is first established in heaven. The falsification of Christianity by both the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches are represented by the woman Jezebel in the letter to the church of Thyatira, and the whore of Babylon described in chapters 17-18. As many will hold onto their old traditions with their inherent falsehoods, this will lead to a spiritual conflict between the older traditional Christian churches and the new. This conflict is first described in chapter 11 (see The Identity of the Two Witnesses of Revelation) and continues in chapter 12 of the Apocalypse.

THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF THE CHILD CAUGHT UP TO HEAVEN

In the traditional interpretation, the child born to the woman that is caught up to heaven is Jesus Christ. Another interpretation is that the child collectively refers to the saints who are "raptured" before a final tribulation (for a more spiritual interpretation of the rapture, see Is the Second Coming a Physical Event or Spiritual Event?).

The spiritual interpretation is not so literal as the above two interpretations. In the spiritual sense, for the woman to be in pain and travailing to give birth signifies the difficult reception of a doctrine in regard to Jesus Christ. In dreams, when one sees woman who is pregnant that signifies a troublesome time, and to be in pain giving birth means to accept a very hard truth. In this particular case, the child that is born represents the doctrine that Jesus is the Divine God Man, who is Divine even as to his human. His human form is known as the Son of God.  It is a difficult truth, because of three primary false doctrines that have infested the traditional Christian church:

1. The division of God into three personal beings, a form of tritheism, and,
2. The division of Jesus Christ into a permanent Divine and human nature, and,
3. The separation of faith from charity or good works, that living a good life contributes nothing to salvation.

The above three points, unfortunately, forms the foundation of modern traditional Christian churches. They accept it without question as the foundation, even though these particular doctrines were not known or generally defined until centuries after Jesus had come. The primary doctrine of the New Church is centered on the Divine Human, and that the true Trinity is the Divine itself, the Divine Human, and the Divine proceeding, which is present in one person, Jesus Christ.

For the child to be caught up into heaven signifies that the doctrine of the Divine Human of the Lord will be protected by heavenly angels, despite intense opposition from those who make God three and separate faith from charity, represented by the dragon. The woman then flees to the wilderness, which signifies that the doctrines of the New Church will be in obscurity and known to a select few people for a long period of time. This represents the present state of the New Christian Church. The story of Enoch ascending into heaven has a similar meaning, which signifies the spiritual knowledge of the ancient church was preserved among a select few for future posterity.

Although Swedenborg does not make the connection, the interpretation that the child born to the woman seen in heaven is the doctrine of the Divine Human can be seen in the spiritual sense of Joseph's dreams (Genesis 37), where Joseph sees the sun, moon and eleven stars bowing down to his sheaf. This is explained in detail in the work Heavenly Arcana (aka Arcana Coelestia or Heavenly Secrets).

OLD IDEAS DIE HARD

Old traditions die hard, and it takes time for those who have been falsely taught since childhood to change their mind. Preconceived falsehoods prevent people from understanding and accepting the truth. I recently heard a minister divide doctrines into three buckets: essential doctrine, bible teachings, and a "gray area" of teachings that don't matter which cause useless arguments. The first thing he mentioned for essential doctrine was of course the trinity, and by that meant a trinity of three persons. Anything outside of that he classified as "heresy" and was worth fighting against. And that immediately brought to mind the image of the dragon fighting against the woman and child of the Apocalypse. He got his buckets right, but dropped the wrong thing into the wrong bucket. What most do not realize is that it is possible to drop that Nicene Creed into the bucket of "gray areas" that do not matter and yet still follow essential doctrines of Christianity (see Oneness Theology vs. a Trinity of Three Persons and Is the Nicene Creed Biblical? Does the Nicene Creed define True Christianity?).

The Prophecy of Daniel 11-12 Explained

The prophecies of Daniel, in the literal sense, explain the successive political kingdoms that would come to power in the Middle East and rule over the kingdom of Judea. But in the spiritual sense, the prophecies of Daniel explain the successive states of the Christian church, even to the point of its final corruption. Thus many interpreters fail to interpret Daniel properly, and assume that there is some "gap" of time in these prophecies and apply everything to a forever future date. This is because interpreters are unable to see the falsehoods of their own religion: everyone assumes the religion they are born into is the absolute truth, and few question what they have been taught.

I covered the literal and spiritual meaning of the prophecy of Daniel 2 in the blog post The Spiritual Meaning of Daniel's Prophecy of the Statue of Nebuchadnezzar. Each successive dream vision of Daniel builds on each other. Babylon, which took Judea captive, is symbolic of how the Roman Catholic Church subverted Christianity and used it to obtain religious dominion. Although the political dominion of the Roman Catholic Church has collapsed, theologically they still distort Christianity by using it to place spiritual authority in their own priesthood, and this keeps the majority in blind obedience to the theology they invented (see Does Primary Spiritual Authority reside in the Roman Catholic Church? and Truth by Religious Tradition & Authority vs. Spiritual Truth).

OTHER LITERAL INTERPRETATIONS OF THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 11-12

The prophecies of Daniel have both a literal and spiritual meaning, but most interpret Daniel only in its most external literal meaning. But even here there is a lot of erroneous interpretations. In the literal sense, most assume that Dan. 11:21-35 refer to the rise of Antiochus IV (Antiochus Epiphanes, 175-164 B.C.), a Seleucid king that persecuted the Jews and desecrated the Jewish temple. However when everyone reaches Dan. 11:36, all of a sudden it becomes future and is taken to mean that this will be fulfilled by a future Antichrist. But this is a sign that the most common literal interpretation itself is incorrect. At best, the events surrounding the Jewish temple during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes was only a partial fulfillment. In the spiritual sense the Jewish temple represents the Christian Church, and in the highest sense, the Divine Human of the Lord Himself (see also The Spiritual Meaning of the Abomination of Desolation).

The literal exposition of Daniel 11 is a bit more accurate among the Seventh Day Adventists, however their interpretations have other inaccuracies. They correctly see a transition to the Roman Empire in Dan. 11:16, which is followed by a transition to Papal Rome in Dan. 11:36. This is in line with the previous dream visions of Daniel, which foresaw a corrupted Christian Church under Papal Rome arising from the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century A.D.

The word "antichrist" can mean both "against Christ" as well as "substitute Christ." That a substitute version of Christianity has been put in place in most churches can be seen in the almost universal acceptance of the Nicene and Athanasian creeds, which falsely created three gods although most Christians orally confess "one God" (see Is the Nicene Creed Biblical? Does the Nicene Creed define True Christianity? and The Corrected New Athanasian Creed).

THE SPIRITUAL INTERPRETATION OF THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 11-12

When one reads the literal interpretation of Daniel 11-12, most of it references obscure historical events between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic kingdoms which arose after the fall of Alexander the Great of Greece:

The Seleucid (yellow) and Ptolemaic (green) kingdoms

These two kingdoms are described as the "kingdom of the north" and the "kingdom of the south." However in the spiritual sense, Swedenborg confirms that this prophecy concerns the gradual corruption of the Christian church itself:

"That the "north" signifies the darkness of falsity, and the "south" the light of truth, is very evident in Daniel, where the ram and the he-goat are described, as also the king of the south and the king of the north. Concerning the ram and the he-goat it is said:
I saw the ram pushing with his horn westward, northward, and southward; so that no beast could stand before him. A he-goat came from the west over all the faces of the earth; and out of one of his horns there came forth a horn, which grew exceedingly toward the south and toward the east, and toward beauty (Dan. 8:4-5, 9). ... [also quotes Dan. 11] ...That the "king of the south" signifies those who are in the light of truth, and the "king of the north" those who are at first in shade, and afterwards are in the darkness of falsity, may be seen from all the particulars; and that thus it is a description of the state of the church, and of the way in which it is successively perverted. They are called "kings of the south and of the north," because by "kings," in the internal sense of the Word, are signified truths, and in the opposite sense falsities (n. 1672, 2015, 2069); and by "kingdoms," the things which are of truth, and in the opposite sense, those which are of falsity (n. 1672, 2547)" (Heavenly Arcana, n. 3708.23).

The spiritual sense can be determined by each particular word, which is demonstrated in Heavenly Arcana by correlating the symbolism of each word with its usage throughout scripture. However when I first read this interpretation from Swedenborg I was admittedly surprised, and even somewhat doubtful. But the spiritual sense becomes clear, when one realizes that the capital of the Seleucid Empire was Antioch, and the capital of the Ptolemaic Empire was Alexandria. And lo and behold, the early Christian Church was at first divided between the patriarchates of Antioch and Alexandria:

The "Pentarchy" of the Five Patriachates

The map shows five patriarchates, however in 325 A.D. there were only three: Antioch, Alexandria and Rome. Jerusalem only gained significance in the fifth century A.D., and Constantinople was only added in 451 A.D. In the early Christian Church, the primary theological disputes concerned the Divinity of the human of Jesus Christ, and the primary dispute was between the sees of Antioch and Alexandria.

And who won the theological dispute? Antioch, with the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D., which divided Jesus into two natures, which ironically was earlier declared as a heresy in 431 A.D. This theological dispute originated with the division of God into three persons in the Nicene Creed. A trinity of three persons is a falsehood, which replaced the central truth that there is one God in Jesus Christ, who has one Divine nature, the Divine Human (see The Lost Doctrine of the Temple of the Divine Human). The wars described in Daniel 11-12 in the highest spiritual sense are spiritual wars:

"This chapter [Daniel 11] treats of the war between the king of the north and the king of the south, and "the king of the north" means those within the church who are in the falsities of evil, and "the king of the south" those who are in the truths of good; collision and combat at the end of the church are described in the spiritual sense by their war; therefore "the army of the king of the north" means falsities of every kind, and "the army of the king of the south" truths of every kind." (Apocalypse Explained, n. 573.12)

A DETAILED INTERPRETATION OF THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 11-12

I have given an introduction and broad overview above. Here is a detailed interpretation, covering both the literal and spiritual senses of the prophecy. In the literal sense, the prophecy is focused on the kingdom of Judea and the foreign political powers that overtook it. In the spiritual sense these historical events correspond to the spiritual degeneration and corruption of the Christian Church, and its eventual restoration.

This is a complicated prophecy, one may want to first go through the prophecy from a literal sense first (the second column), then start to look at it again from a higher spiritual sense (the third column).

At times even the spiritual sense is related to specific historical events within the Christian church. The spiritual sense cannot be disclosed except by knowledge of spiritual correspondences, so at times I will quote from relevant passages from Swedenborg.

Text	Literal Interpretation	Spiritual Interpretation
Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. (Dan. 10:5-6)	This describes the angel that gives Daniel the vision of the future.	Compare this description with that of Jesus Christ in the book of Revelation: "And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters." (Rev. 1:13-15) In the spiritual sense, the angel represents Jesus in His resurrected state. Before the incarnation angels would represent the Lord; when spiritual communication began to be cut off this was restored by the Lord making His human Divine; the Divine Human is symbolically represented here.
Then he said, Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come. But I will tell you what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince. (Dan. 10:20-21)	Spiritual warfare is described between heaven and hell for control of mankind on earth.	In the spiritual sense, this represents the conflict between heaven and hell over mankind; before Jesus came the angels could no longer hold back the power of hell with its control over humanity. It then became necessary for the Lord Himself to become incarnate in human form and to make it Divine, this is represented by the angelic society of "Michael" which means "Who is like God" - see also note on the angel Michael below. This prophecy was given during the reign of Darius the Mede, a co-ruler under Cyrus. Note that in the prophecy of Isaiah, Cyrus the first king of Persia is a type of the Messiah (see Isa. 44:28, 45:1)
Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. (Dan. 11:2)	Kingdom of Medo-Persia. The three kings are Cambyses 530-522 BC, Smerdis 522 BC, Darius I 522-486 BC. Xerxes I 484-465 BC attacked Greece and was defeated at Salamis in 480 BC.	Three kings signify truths from good, the fourth king is to be in good from truth (for the spiritual significance of numbers, see Heavenly Arcana). The union of faith and charity in the Christian Church at its beginning is signified, which is also represented by Persia in Daniel 8 (as indicated in multiple passages in Heavenly Arcana). This presents the early church which was rich in knowledges of the truth, expanding to the Gentiles: "The reason that the Revelation was made to John in Patmos was, that it was an island in Greece, not far from the land of Canaan, and between Asia and Europe; and by islands are signified nations more remote from the worship of God, but which still are to draw near to it, because they can be enlightened; and the same by Greece" (Apocalypse Revealed, n. 34)
And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. (Dan. 11:3)	Alexander the Great 330-323 BC. who established the Grecian Empire.	Christianity moved into Greece and would become an integral part of the later Byzantine Empire.
And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those. (Dan. 11:4)	With Alexander's sudden death, the Grecian Empire was divided among his four generals: Cassander (Macedonia), Lysimachus (Thrace + Asia Minor), and Seleucus (Middle East + Persia) and Ptolemy (Egypt)	The early Christian church developed into four main Patriarchates: Rome, Constantinople, Antioch and Alexandria. These closely correspond with the four divisions of the empire of Alexander the Great.
And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion. (Dan. 11:5)	The king of the south is the Ptolemaic kingdom, the king of the north is the Seleucid kingdom. The strong king is Ptolemy II Philadelphus 283-246 BC). The prince is Ptolemy III Euergetes (246-221) who was an even stronger ruler.	The Patriarchates of Antioch and Alexandria first arose as an early center of Christianity. Antioch was under the influence of the apostle Peter; Alexandria was founded by Mark. Alexandria is still the center for the Coptic Orthodox Church.
And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times. (Dan. 11:6)	Ptolemy II’s daughter, Berenice, married the north king Antiochus II Theos bringing a short lived alliance. Berenice’s children were to be the new heirs to the throne. But Antiochus left later returned to his first wife and Berenice and her children were all killed.	The "daughter of the south" represents those in affection for love and charity based on truth, centered on the Divine Human of the Lord. This symbolically represents the rise of the Gnostic heresy, which denied that Jesus ever became incarnate in the flesh. One early heretic that arose to prominence in the north was Marcion, who rejected the Old Testament and used only the gospel of Luke and the letters of Paul.
But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail (Dan. 11:7)	Berenice’s brother Ptolemy III waged a war against the Seleucid kingdom, which was known as the 3rd Syrian War (245-241 BC), and won taking the capital at Antioch.	Various Gnostic sects were successfully destroyed by the early Christian church, battling against them from truths of the Word.
And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, [and] with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north. So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land. (Dan. 11:8-9)	Ptolemy III carried back to Egypt immense booty and 2,500 molten images and idolatrous vessels with 40,000 talents of silver.	""Their gods and their princes, and vessels of desire, and silver and gold, that shall be carried captive into Egypt," signify that the defending truth will take away all truths and goods of the church from those who are in falsities..." (Apocalypse Explained, n. 811.11)
But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress. (Dan. 11:10)	Seleucus II’s son, Antiochus III the Great, took his forces all the way to Ptolemais, retaking all the territories lost to Ptolemy III, who was now succeeded by Ptolemy IV Philopator.	A second wave of Gnosticism began from Persia, Manichaeism (3rd century AD), which was more widespread than the other Gnostic movements.
And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand. When he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened (Dan. 11:11-12)	Ptolemy IV responded quickly the following year and defeated Antiochus III at Raphia (217 BC), one of the largest battles of ancient times. This was a temporary setback: Antiochus III waged a later war and won back the land taken by Egypt.	This describes the spiritual combats of the early Church against other heresies, especially Gnosticism. Gnostic Manichaeism managed to survive the opposition of the early Christian church more than the other Gnostic sects.
For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches. And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south. (Dan. 11:13-14)	Antiochus III Magnus retook Palestine and attacked Ptolemy V Epiphanes in the 5th Syrian War (202-195 BC). Provinces within Egypt also arose in rebellion.
Also the sons of the robbers of your people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall stumble. (Dan. 11:14)	According to Josephus ("Ant." xii. 3, § 3), in 202 BC the Jews in Jerusalem aided Antiochus and even besieged the Egyptian garrison independently. The Jews would later come into conflict with Antiochus IV Epiphanes.	In the spiritual sense, "robbers" are those who take away spiritual truths from others. This refers to the rise of Arianism, which followed the false doctrine of declaring that Jesus was a created angelic being. Compare this with Jesus' statement, that those who do not approach God through Him are thieves and robbers: "He who entereth not by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber; but he who entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep; to him the porter openeth. . . . I am the door of the sheep; by Me if any one enter in, he shall be saved (x. 1-3, 7, 9). Here the door stands for truth and good, and thus for the Lord, Who is truth itself and good itself." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 2356.2)
So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. (Dan. 11:15)	The Egyptian general Scopas who tried to retake Palestine for Egypt, was defeated at the sources of the Jordan, his army being wholly destroyed at Sidon (Jerome on Dan. xi. 15).	Arianism spread among the Goths in the western Roman Empire. "Wars" in scripture signify spiritual battles, and Arianism put the Christian church on the defense, but it did not have the proper truths to defend against it.
But he that comes against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed (Dan. 11:16)	This refers to the rise of Rome (see also v. 3). From this verse onwards the traditional literal interpretation is incorrect. In 200 BC, Roman emissaries told Antiochus III to refrain from invading Egypt, and he and his ally Philip of Macedon complied. In 168 BC Rome intervened to tell Antiochus IV to withdraw from invading Egypt. Under Pompey the Romans conquered Judea in 63 BC.	For the Christian Church this refers to the rise of Constantine the Great in the fourth century AD, which legalized Christianity and ended Roman persecutions. "the land of beauty stands for the church of the Lord, in which is Divine truth or the Word." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 9815.2)
He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand, neither be for him. (Dan. 11:17)	Before Ptolemy XI Auletes died in 51 BC, he asked Rome to become the guardian of his daughter Cleopatra and son Ptolemy XII until they could both rule jointly. Eventually Julius Caesar become involved in a political battle in Egypt, and Jews under Antipater came to his aid. Cleopatra had a child with Julius Caesar, but would later become involved with Mark Antony, and ultimately committed suicide by poisoning herself with a cobra.	The "daughter of women" that gets corrupted is the Christian Church, which got corrupted with the Nicene Creed of 325 AD which divided God into three persons. Note the correspondence with queen Cleopatra, who is involved with three men: first her own brother, then Julius Caesar, then Mark Antony. She poisons herself with a serpent, which signifies false reasoning.
After this shall he turn his face unto the coastlands, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him. Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found. (Dan. 11:18-19)	In 47 BC Julius Caesar left Egypt and defeated Pharnaces II of Pontus and the Bosporan Kingdom. Caesar then moved on and defeated Pompey's supporters in Africa and Spain. After being granted dictatorial powers, he was assassinated in 44 BC in Rome by conspirators of the Roman Senate	The "coastlands" or "isles" represent those who are remote from the truth. An internal civil war represents the internal dispute of the Christian Church against the Arians, which caused it to stumble and fall with the invention of three persons who existed from eternity.
Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within some days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.  (Dan. 11:20)	After the end of the civil wars of the Roman republic, Caesar Augustus became the first emperor of the Roman Empire (27 BC - 14 AD). Luke 2:1 also mentions Caesar Augustus as a raiser of taxes.	A "raiser of taxes" or "taskmasters" (Ex. 3:7) are those who oppress others through falsehoods. With the acceptance of the Nicene Creed, the Christian Church began to destroy itself from within. Anyone that does not accept this creed was declared to be a "heretic." "And they set over them taskmasters. That this signifies falsities to compel them to serve, is evident from the signification of masters as primary truths (see n. 1482, 2089, 5044); here in the opposite sense primary falsities; and from the signification of tasks, to which they were driven by the masters set over them, as servitude (see n. 6394)." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 6659)
And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. (Dan. 11:21)	Caesar Augustus was followed by Tiberius Caesar (14 - 37 AD). Tiberius was chosen as Princeps but refused the titles Pater Patriae, Imperator, and Augustus, and declined the most solid emblem of the Princeps, the Civic Crown and laurels.	Falsehoods began to be accepted within the Christian church as truths, here indicated by "flatteries,"
And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant. (Dan. 11:22)	The Romans invaded Judea in 70 AD and destroyed its temple, and put down the Bar Kokba rebellion in 135 AD (see also Dan. 9:26 which describes this invasion as a flood). The prince of the covenant is Jesus Christ (Dan. 9:25) who was crucified in 31 AD. See Mal. 3:1 which describes the Messiah as the "messenger of the covenant."	In the spiritual sense the Jewish temple corresponds with the Divine Human of the Lord. This refers to early Christological disputes within the Christian Church which divided Jesus into two natures, falsely regarding the human form as not Divine.
And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time. (Dan. 11:23-24)	The league made with a small people refers to the gradual union between the bishops of Rome with the political forces of the Roman Empire. This also refers to the rise and expansion of the Roman Empire, which expanded by making alliances with the peoples it conquered. A "time" may refer to a period of 360 years (see Dan. 12:7) which would refer to the period from 136 - 496 AD.	The false doctrines that invaded the Christian church caused it to withdraw from earlier monotheistic religions that had preceded it: "By fathers are meant those who were of the Ancient Churches... Fathers have the like signification in Daniel (xi. 24, 37, 38). That they who were of the Ancient Churches are meant by fathers in these passages, is not apparent in the sense of the letter, but from the internal sense, in which the church is described and its goods and truths." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 6075.2)
And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain. And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land. (Dan. 11:25-28)	The "king of the south" here refers to the Jews of Judea, who rebelled when they discovered Emperor Hadrian planned on creating a temple dedicating to Jupiter on the site of the Temple Mount. This led to the Bar Kokhba rebellion in 132-135 AD. To be against the "holy covenant" also refers to Rome's persecutions of Christians at this time.	"Wars", in the spiritual sense, signify spiritual combat between truth and falsity. For both sides to "speak lies at one table" indicates that both sides in internal theological disputes of the Christian Church were both wrong, as both sides mixed in falsehoods with the truth. To be against the holy covenant is to follow a trinity of three persons instead of one God, one personal Divine Being.
At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter. For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant. (Dan. 11:29-30)	The "ships of Chittim" refer to the Arian Goths, which began to overrun the western Roman Empire. In the 5th century A.D. the Arian Vandals established a formidable naval fleet and occupied north Africa. The Roman Empire sought help from the Christian Church at this time to combat Arianism. Those that "forsake the holy covenant" are those who subscribed to the doctrine of a trinity of three persons.	Chittim stands for the external rituals of worship (Heavenly Arcana, n. 1156), and ships are corrupt knowledges of falsehood (Heavenly Arcana, n. 1368). This signifies the false knowledge of Arianism, which was adopted by the Goths who were in mere externals of worship. Arianism falsely regards Jesus as a created angel, a being different from God. "Chittim" spiritual signifies those who are in external worship only with no spirituality; ships signify their doctrines. This may also refer to the creation of the Athanasian Creed, an anonymous creed that originated in southern France in the 5th century AD to combat Arianism. It also further the doctrine of three persons from eternity. Those that "forsake the holy covenant" are those that follow a trinity of three persons - the Athanasian Creed has been used to confirm the Nicene Creed.
And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily [sacrifice], and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate. (Dan. 11:31)	This refers to the corruption of the Christian Church, which began with the Nicene Creed of 325 AD which divided God into three persons. This was followed by the falsehood of dividing Jesus into two natures - the Divine and the human nature - as declared in the Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD. This doctrine was created so that the Popes could declare themselves to be the "Vicar of Christ." This was soon followed by the sack of Rome by the Vandals in 455 AD, which stole the treasures of the temple of Jerusalem.	The "abomination of desolation" is spoken of as a future event by Jesus Christ (Matt. 24:15, Mark 13:14). In the spiritual sense, the temple is the Divine Human, in which the Lord's human is acknowledge to be Divine, for it is the Lord's human which is the Son of God. This is destroyed by dividing God into three persons, and from thence dividing Jesus into two natures in the Council of Chalcedon of 451 AD. Thus in the theology of western churches, the Divinity of the human in the Lord is internally not acknowledged. "That daily and this day signify what is perpetual is also evident from the sacrifice which was made every day. This on account of the signification of day, daily, and this day, was called the continual or perpetual sacrifice (Num. xxviii. 3, 23; [Dan]. viii. 13; xi. 31; xii. 11). This is still more plainly evident from the manna which rained from heaven, of which it is thus said in Moses: Behold, I will rain bread from heaven; and the people shall go out and gather a portion day by day . . . and let no man leave of it till the morning. What they left till the morning bred worms, and putrefied, except what was kept the day before the sabbath (Exod. xvi. 4, 19, 20, 23). This was because the manna signified the Lord's Divine Human (John vi. 31, 32, 49, 50, 58). And because it signified the Lord's Divine Human, it signified heavenly food, which is nothing else than love and charity with the goods and truths of faith." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 2838.4) "In it the worship of the Lord ceased, because they departed from Him to three Gods from eternity, and thus relapsed into mere falsities, so that not one spiritual truth remains. Therefore it is there called the bird of abominations, desolation, consummation, destruction, and devastation ([Dan. 9] verse 27); and by the Lord the abomination of desolation foretold by Daniel the prophet (Matt. 24:15)" (Scriptural Confirmations, n. 38)
And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed. (Dan. 11:32-35)	From these false creeds Christianity was corrupted. The Byzantine Empire would eventually declare that the original Christians of the Middle East which rejected the Council of Chalcedon as heretics. Ironically, these Christians allied with the Muslims to rebel against the Byzantine Empire, but over time much of the Middle East would convert to Islam.	Thence, the fall of the Christian Church, perverted by an internal falsehood concerning the nature of the one God, not recognizing that Jesus Christ is Jehovah in human form, and that making his human Divine was how humanity is saved. To "fall by sword" is for falsity to fight against truth, "flame" is the evil of self love, to be in "captivity" is to be held in bondage by falsehoods.
And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all. (Dan. 11:36-37)	This refers to the rise of Papal Rome (see v. 3, 16). The Roman Catholic Church used Christianity as a means of obtaining religious dominion, by transferring power and authority into its own priesthood, above that of the Lord and His Word. They would not regard "the desire of women" - this refers to the rise of celibacy and monasteries. The power of Papal Rome dates from the time of the baptism of Clovis in 496 AD, the first king of France, as Italy at this time was ruled by the Arian Ostrogoths. The alliance with Clovis meant Catholicism would eventually win over Arianism.	The "king" that regards himself above every god is the falsehood of using religion to control others from the love of dominion. To disregard the "God of his fathers" is to depart from the truth of the original Christian church; to not regard "the desire of women" is to depart from the affection of love and charity.
But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain. (Dan. 11:38-39)	Rise of the Protestant Reformation, leading to the religious wars of Europe.	This refers to those who began to separate faith from charity, a new doctrine that was not known before. To "divide the land for gain" signifies the eventual division of the church into different sects. The gold, silver and precious stones signify the knowledges of the Word which were used to support the false doctrine of salvation by faith alone. ""the king of the north" means those who are in knowledge from the Word, but not in life, thus who are in so-called faith alone, but yet not in charity, since they reject charity as not contributing to salvation. But "the king of the south" means those who are in intelligence from the Word, because they are in charity; such are "the king of the south," or pertain to "the king of the south," because "the south" means light, and "light" signifies intelligence, and those who are in charity, which is the life of faith, have the light of intelligence from the Word. But "the king of the north," or those who belong to "the king of the north" are such as are described above, because the "north" means night, and also a cold light, such as is the light of winter, from which, because there is no heat in it, there is no fructification; for spiritual heat is charity, and all germination is from heat through light. The war between these kings is described because the last time of the church is treated of when everything of salvation is placed in knowledge from the Word, and nothing in the life, and with the Jewish nation, in the traditions by which they falsified the Word; the truths of the Word become traditions when there is no life of charity, and the truths of the Word likewise become falsities when faith is separated from charity. From this it can be seen that "the king of the north" also means those who are in faith alone, that is, in faith without charity." (Apocalypse Explained 717.17)
And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. (Dan. 11:40-41)		This refers to the Protestant Reformation, those who held to the doctrine that one is saved by "faith alone" - that is, belief separate from works of charity. Historically the Protestant Reformation occurred among the northern nations that had formerly belonged to the Catholic Church. "Chariots" signify their doctrines, "horsemen" those who use false reasoning, and "ships" their false knowledges. The "glorious land" refers to the Christian church which has the Word. "Edom, Moab and Ammon refer to those who are in simple good outside of religion, and who are thus not affected by false theological doctrines: "of what quality is the religion that is signified by Moab and the sons of Ammon, may be evident from their origin, as described; as also from many passages in the Word, both the historic and the prophetic, where they are named. They are in general those who are in external worship, which appears in a manner holy, but not in internal worship; and who seize upon the things which are of external worship as goods and truths, but reject and despise those of internal worship... The king of the south stands for those who are in goods and truths, the king of the north for those who are in evils and falsities; the king of the north with chariot, horsemen, and ships, coming upon the lands, overflowing, and passing through, signifies that the evils and falsities meant by chariots, horsemen, and ships, are to prevail; Edom, Moab, and the chief of the sons of Ammon who are to be rescued out of his hand, stand for those who are in such good not yet so defiled by falsities; on which account they are called the firstfruits of the sons of Ammon." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 2468.1, 3) "Here the last state of the church is treated of; the king of the north stands for falsities, or what is the same, for those who are in falsities; Edom for those who are in simple good, which is such good as is with those who constitute the external church of the Lord; in like manner Moab and the sons of Ammon (n. 2468); and because both, namely, Edom and Moab, signify those who are in good, therefore in many passages both are named together; but the difference is, that Edom is the good of the natural to which are adjoined the doctrinals of truth, while Moab is natural good, such as is with those with whom they are not conjoined; the two appear alike in external form, but not in internal." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 3322.5)
He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. (Dan. 11:42-43)		The Protestant Reformation had power due to their knowledge of the Word, which had been suppressed by the Catholic Church: "Put and Cush here stand for internal knowledges from the Word; and Egypt for external knowledges" (Heavenly Arcana, n. 1164.6)
But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many. (Dan. 11:44)		The "east" or the sunrise signifies the coming of the Lord. This would signify the revelations of the New Church which is founded on One God and obedience to the 10 commandments, which is diametrically opposed to the theology of three persons and salvation by faith alone. This predicts significant opposition to the New Church by Protestant churches. The "north" typically signifies falsehood or truth in obscurity, but as the direction is from the east it signifies the power of truth from celestial love, which can be seen from the commentary on Ps. 48:1-3: ""The sides of the north" signify truths from celestial good, because those who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom dwell in the east in heaven; and those who are in truths from that good, towards the north there." (Apocalypse Explained, n. 405.27). The other reason why the south is not referenced here is the "kingdom of the south" represents original Christianity which had become perverted by falsehoods. The "tidings our of the east and the north" thus represents the announcement of the New Church which will overtake the false theology of the older falsified churches.
And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. (Dan. 11:45)		The "seas" represent the false external knowledges upon which the false theology of faith separate from charity is based upon; the "tabernacle of the palace" is the false church. This will be opposed to the doctrine of love and repentance, a life according to the commandments, represented by the "glorious holy mountain," as mountains in scripture signify the good of love of the church.
And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. (Dan. 12:1-3)		This signifies a last judgment that took place in the spiritual world in 1757, in which captive souls caught in the spiritual world between heaven and hell were liberated and brought up to heaven; and evil spirits who appeared good in the externals were cast down. This is described by Swedenborg in his work The Final Judgment. A similar event took place at the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (see Heavenly Arcana, n. 8018.2-3). This same event is described in Rev. 12:7-9: ""And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels," signifies the falsities of the former church fighting against the truths of the new. "And prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven," signifies that they were convicted of being in falsities and evils, and still remained in them, and that on that account they were torn away from conjunction with heaven, and cast down. "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan," signifies that they were turned away from the Lord to themselves and from heaven to the world, and hence were in the evils of lusts and in falsities. "That seduceth the whole world," signifies that they pervert all things of the church. "He was cast out into the earth, and his angels with him," signifies that they were cast out into the world of spirits which is in the midst between heaven and hell, from which there is immediate conjunction with men on earth." (Apocalypse Revealed, n. 532) Such a last judgment took place in the spiritual world, to remove the influence of the false religion on earth, and to begin the establishment of a New Church that will restore Christianity back to its original form. The angelic society of "Michael" (meaning, Who is like God?) are those that defend the Divinity of the Lord in His human against those who profess a trinity of three beings.

SUMMARY

As with the book of Revelation, the book of Daniel prophetically describes the rise and fall of the Christian Church, and its eventual restoration.  The prophecy of Daniel 11-12 presents the future state of the Christian Church by using historical events which would occur to the kingdom of Judea, for through the Old Testament the Jews are representative of the spiritual Christian Church. Even in the spiritual interpretation it presents a grand view of the entire history of Christianity.

The traditional Jewish commentary does not go beyond the desecration of the Jewish temple by Antiochus Epiphanes IV over 2000 years ago. Most Christian commentaries cannot see the true interpretation as they are unaware of the falsehoods of traditional modern Christian theology. For this see The Corrected New Athanasian Creed and Is the Nicene Creed Biblical? Does the Nicene Creed define True Christianity? A doctrine of a trinity of three persons, and dividing the nature of Jesus Christ, has subverted Christianity in the minds of many. In reality there is one Lord, one personal Divine Being, who has revealed Himself in human form. Also the other issue is many assume a literal resurrection will take place here on earth, but this describes events in the spiritual world. This is described further in Swedenborg's works Heaven and Hell and The Final Judgment.

Without an understanding of the spiritual world, and without knowing the spiritual sense of scripture, the books of Daniel and the book of Revelation are closed books. Thus Daniel was told this:

I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, “O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?” He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand. (Dan. 12:8-10)

However with the new revelations, these prophecies are no longer a closed book, but are now open to those who are willing to understand.