The Symbolism of Animal Sacrifices and the Lamb of God

In certain passages of scripture, Jesus is declared to be the "lamb of God" (John 1:29, 36, 1 Pet. 1:19, Rev. 5:6). What is the symbolic meaning of this?  Some may guess it represents His humility and innocence, and they are very close to the truth, for each of the animals in scripture represents a different aspect of our humanity.  In general, in scripture animals are symbolic of affections of the will, while plants are representative of thoughts of the mind.  Under Moses animal sacrifices were instituted for the Jews, and each specific animal represented a different affection of the will.  To separate the blood from the animal, and to burn the flesh, in general is representative of separating oneself from one's lower natural desires, in order to preserve what is spiritual and holy represented by the blood.  This symbolism of animal sacrifices was explained in detail in revelations of the New Church. This was kept hidden from the Jews, who only followed the rituals given them without understanding them.  Christians know that animal sacrifices were representative of the sacrifice of Jesus, but most (not the Orthodox) have interpreted the Jewish rituals to support their doctrine of vicarious atonement (see What is Blood Atonement or Vicarious Atonement?).  So lets take a look at animal sacrifices, and why Jesus is called the lamb of God in the New Testament.

THE SYMBOLISM OF JEWISH ANIMAL SACRIFICES

The Jewish religion, at least before the destruction of the temple by the Romans, was a representative worship where everything holy is in the rituals.  Animal sacrifices were given for three reasons:

1.  To adapt a religion to the understanding of the Jews, who could only have an external form of worship in visible rituals.  These rituals are symbolic.  It was also given to prevent human sacrifices.
2.  Animal sacrifices were given to symbolically represent the purification of evils from man.
3.  In the highest sense. they represent the glorification of the Lord's human, who united it to His Divinity and made it Divine.

The first reason is the most obvious and is the one known about by most Jews.  I remember talking to an animal rights activist, and she could not understand how the Old Testament could be the word of God since it condoned the sacrifice of animals.  However what most people do not understand is that religions come in phases, and are always adapted to the understanding of the people at the time.  If animal sacrifices were not given, they would have resorted to human sacrifices.  Yet they are not just haphazard laws: the rituals of animal sacrifices are highly symbolic, and made the Jews become a representation of the spiritual church that came after it.

The other reasons for animal sacrifices are hidden.  The regeneration of man (#2) and the union of the Divine with the Human in the Lord (#3) are actually closely related:

"That sacrifices and burnt offerings in the supreme sense signify the glorification of the Lord's Human, is because all the rituals of worship instituted with the Israelitish and Jewish nation regarded the Lord alone, and sacrifices and burnt offerings thus especially regarded Him, since by them in general was represented the all of worship, as has been shown above. Also the regeneration of man is from no other source than from the Lord (n. 9486, 9487, 9506, 9715, 9809, 10019); therefore where in the Word the regeneration of man is treated of, in the supreme sense the glorification of the Lord's Human is treated of; for the regeneration of man is an image of the glorification of the Lord (n. 3138, 3212, 3296, 3490, 4402, 5688). To glorify the Human is to make it Divine, but to regenerate man is to make him heavenly, that the Divine of the Lord may dwell in him." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 10042.6)

This is the difference between the New Church and the older Christian churches.  The older Christian churches have only a superficial understanding of the symbolism of animal sacrifices, and can't explain all the details of the Jewish rituals, nor the different animals.  Moreover, some of them will make use of animal sacrifices to support the doctrine of vicarious atonement.  In the revelations of the New Church, the symbolism of the animal sacrifices are shown to represent the purification from evils by repentance.  This is effected in each person by the Lord alone, who had made His human Divine.  For God is Very Man, and we are but his images, and His spirit pervades through all of humanity through the angels. Only God can do what is good and resist evil, and we conjoin ourselves to Him by following the commandments.

THE SPECIFIC SYMBOLISM OF EACH ANIMAL

None of the Jewish laws are haphazard or insignificant.  Thus all the rituals, even the ones describes in the book of Leviticus, are symbolic of eternal and universal realities.  But to understand what each animal signifies in the human personality, one has to recognize that there are different spiritual and psychological levels to the human personality.  In each human, there are three levels, which are known as the celestial, spiritual and natural:

"There are three things with man which follow in successive order. These three are called the celestial, the spiritual, and the natural. The celestial is the good of love to the Lord, the spiritual is the good of charity toward the neighbor, and the natural thence is the good of faith, which, being from the spiritual, is called the spiritual natural. For with man it is as in the heavens: in the inmost heaven, which is also called the third, is the celestial, in the second or middle heaven is the spiritual, and in the first or outmost heaven is the natural therefrom, or the spiritual natural." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 9992)

Science tends to only regard the lowest aspect of humanity, the external natural (the physical body), but there are certain psychological theories that postulate the higher levels but these are harder to discern without revelation.  The middle or second level is often called the rational, above that is something commonly called conscience.  It is the higher levels of the human personality which survives after death, and since modern science is not aware of these higher levels, they tend to discount life after death.  Different animals correspond to each of these levels of the human personality:

"...by the sacrifices and burnt offerings of the bullock, the ox, and the he-goat were represented the purification and regeneration of the external or natural man; by those of the ram, the she-goat, and the he-kid were represented the purification of the internal or spiritual man; and by those of the he-lamb, the she-lamb, and the she-kid were represented the purification or regeneration of the inmost or celestial man." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 10042.8)

These three levels correspond to three levels of spiritual development, as explained in The Three Steps of Spiritual Development as well as The Golden Rule of Love of the New Church.  One first starts to live by the truth, in a sort of state of obedience or servitude; the second level is one of service to others; and the third level is acting out of love.  This process proceeds from external visible things to more spiritual internal things.

To cover the spiritual symbolism of each animal is beyond the scope of this article, one would have to examine each passage of the Bible in detail which mentions each sacrifice and delve in depth into Swedenborg's work Heavenly Arcana (aka Arcana Coelestia).  However I will mention one passage in particular as an example:

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.  Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left."  (Matt. 25:31-32)

This describes the last judgment of the Second Coming, which is an event that takes place in the spiritual world - not the physical.  It is a general judgment upon the souls in an area of the spiritual world between heaven and hell, who have not been judged yet.  The righteous are represented by sheep, and the wicked by goats.  This is not a random "figure of speech" as literalists will commonly say.  The sheep are those who are in charity and thence in faith.  Thus shepherd and sheep is a common image throughout scripture.  The goats are similar to the he-goats mentioned above, and represent those who are in appearances of truth with no charity.  These are religious people who are in the literal sense of scripture, but who do not apply what they know to their own lives and dwell upon lip service.

THE SYMBOLISM OF THE LAMB OF GOD

The highest state a human can achieve is a celestial state of love, in the good of innocence, and as Jesus achieved this state, he is called the "lamb of God":

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)

Now, most in the old Christian churches will look at this verse and believe since Jesus "took" their sins away from them on the cross 2000 years ago, everything is done and they are saved.  However sins are not automatically transferred to Jesus on the cross, as proponents of vicarious atonement state.  The way Jesus took away the sin of the world is that although his soul was Divine, the human he inherited from his human mother Mary had evil tendencies by which he could be tempted.  Through his human body, he was tempted and spiritually attacked by all of hell (see The Last Temptations of Jesus: the accounts of Swedenborg and Emmerich for a vivid description of this).  However, he successively conquered these temptations and removed them - this is how he took away the sin of the world.  He first did this in a natural state, then in a higher spiritual state, and finally in the highest state of the good of innocence.  The highest and final state is symbolized by a lamb - that is why John the Baptist mentions the lamb of God in conjunction with taking away the sins of the world.  Those who believe in vicarious atonement have no understanding of how Jesus saved humanity.  Thus the lamb of God, in the highest spiritual sense, represents how Jesus made his very human Divine, a Divine Human.  This is the reason for the ritual of communion, centered on his body, which few understand.  By uniting his human with the Divine, good and truth now flow from the body of Jesus, which is represented by the bread and wine. Instead of wine one could also say blood, and this is what being saved by the blood of Jesus means - from the Divine truth that flows from him.

THE CORRUPTION OF CHRISTIANITY

The lamb of God thus represents the Divine Human, which is how Jesus saved humanity.  But in modern Christianity, over time this has been completely lost and forgotten, except perhaps among a few in the Orthodox church.  That this doctrine would be forgotten, was foreseen in the book of Revelation:

And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. (Rev. 5:6)

Most recognize that the lamb having been slain represents Jesus, and most presume this refers to the crucifixion of Jesus by the Jews.  However what is hidden from Christians here is that this is stating that the doctrine that the human of Jesus is Divine, which is how He saved humanity, is lost and rejected in the modern Christian churches.  To reject something is to kill or slay in the spiritual world.  Thus rarely do they mention how Jesus made his human Divine, instead preferring the teaching of vicarious atonement, and even the Orthodox refer to it as a mystery and do not explain it well.  Swedenborg explains this in the passage below:

"A Lamb standing as if slain, signifies the Lord as to His Human not acknowledged as Divine in the church. By the Lamb in the Apocalypse is meant the Lord as to His Divine Human; and by the Lamb slain, that His Human is not acknowledged as Divine in the church; the same as in chapter i. vers. 18, where it is said, I was dead, and behold, I am alive for ever and ever, by which is meant that the Lord has been neglected in the church, and His Human not acknowledged as Divine" (Apocalypse Revealed, n. 269)

For the lamb to be slain is for the Lord's Divine Human to not be acknowledged, or even denied as to its Divine nature:

"As if slain, signifies as yet acknowledged by few. This is evident from the signification of "slain," as being, in reference to the Lord, that He has not been acknowledged; here that few have acknowledged His Human to be Divine, for it is said "a Lamb standing as if slain," a "lamb" signifying the Lord in respect to the Divine Human... The meaning here is similar to what was said of the Lord (chap. i. 18), "and I became dead," which signifies that He was rejected... In the spiritual or internal sense, "slain" does not mean slain in respect to the body, but in respect to the soul; and man is slain in respect to the soul when he is no longer in any good of faith, for he then has no spiritual life, but death instead, which is called spiritual death. But this is not what the term "slain" signifies when applied to the Lord, since the Lord is life itself, and gives spiritual life to every one; but it signifies either that He is rejected or that He is not acknowledged; for with those who do not acknowledge, and still more with those who deny, He is as nothing. The Lord Himself, to be sure, and also His Divine, is acknowledged in the church, but in respect to the Human as a mere man and not as God; thus it is that His Divine Human is not acknowledged; this, therefore, is what is meant by "a Lamb standing as if slain." (Apocalypse Explained, n. 315)

The book of Revelation predicts that a false Christianity would arise, signified by the false prophet.  Those who follow the false prophet would not acknowledge the Divine Human:

And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. (Rev. 13:8)

The phrase "slain from the foundation of the world" is interesting, and some may suppose this means the sacrifice of the Lord foreseen from eternity.  However this is not the meaning: the "foundation of the world" is the foundation of the Christian Church:

"Slain from the foundation of the world, signifies the Lord's Divine Human not acknowledged from the first establishment of the church. ...From the foundation of the world signifies the first establishment of the church, as well the Jewish as the Christian. It is known that the Jews did not acknowledge the Lord's Divine Human. That the Roman Catholics do not, is also known: and that neither do the Reformed, see above (n. 294). The creation of the world is not meant here by the foundation of the world, but the establishment of the church" (Apocalypse Revealed, n. 589)

In brief, the corruption of the church began with early heresies until the Nicene Creed, which invented a Son of God "born from eternity."  Next came the Chalcedonian Council, which divided Jesus into two natures, a Divine and a mere human, for the sake of the Papacy to claim to be the Vicar of Christ, and finally by the anonymous Athanasian Creed which specifically mentions three persons.  Anyone who examines early Christian history can readily get confused, and one would fail to understand the meaning of these early Christological debates.

The importance here is to acknowledge the union of the human with the Divine, for that is how Jesus saved humanity, for from that He continues to operate in each person as they resist sin and temptation.  This is how Jesus saved humanity, and every Christian who understands this will experience a change from a blind faith to a more rational and thus spiritual faith. This is the promise of the revelations of the New Church.

The Golden Rule of Love of the New Church

The Golden Rule, do unto others as you would have done to you, is practically universal among all religions.  This is also true of the New Church, but with the difference that there are many doctrines concerning love and charity on how to apply it.  The main mistake people make is when they try to apply it, they apply it equally to everybody, and they quickly find out it cannot be applied in this way.  For the doctrine of the New Church states that love must be guided by truth and discernment.  In fact, all doctrines of the New Church concern the marriage or conjunction between love and truth.  Love with truth becomes adulterated, and truth without love quickly dies out.

The New Church is different from the older Christian churches, in that the older Christian churches tend to be focused on belief or faith alone.  This leads to narrow minded and dogmatic tendencies, and religions that emphasize belief or faith alone will tend to condemn anyone who does not believe as they do or follow their organization.  In the New Church, love is primary in end or purpose.  However in order to reach a state of love, one must first follow the truth.  The truths of faith that one learns is first in time, but they are not first in one's goal.  Many get stuck in faith as the primary goal, and do not proceed to living a life of love, of service to others, of usefulness.  For when love and truth become conjoined, one becomes useful to oneself, to others, and to the society.

In the end God cares about love, how we live our life, for God is Love itself.  Moreover, faith without love is not faith:

"They who have separated faith from love do not even know what faith is; some in their notion of faith know it as a mere thought; some as thought concerning the Lord, a few as the doctrine of faith. But faith is not merely the knowledge and acknowledgment of all things that the doctrine of faith embraces; but is chiefly obedience to all that it teaches. The first thing that it teaches, to which men ought to yield obedience, is love to the Lord and love to the neighbor. Whoever is not in this love is not in faith, as the Lord so clearly teaches in Mark that it cannot be doubted: The first of all the commandments is: Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God is one Lord. Therefore thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment, and the second, like unto it, is this: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these (xii. 29-31). In Matthew. He calls it The first and great commandment, and says that On these commandments hang the Law and the Prophets (xxii. 35-40). The Law and the Prophets are the whole doctrine of faith, and all the Word." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 36)

THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT

In the New Church, emphasis is placed on the gospels of Jesus, which emphasize love and service, over the writings of the apostle Paul, which emphasizes faith.  So let's take a look at the greatest commandment, and see how the New Church doctrines bring further light to it:

Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
This is the first and great commandment.
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matt. 22:36-40)

Notice, Jesus states that on just these two commandments hang "all the law and the prophets."  In the literal sense, the law is the Torah, or the first 5 books of Moses, and the prophets are all the books after that.  Anyone who reads the Bible knows it contains some very odd stories, genealogies, and other seemingly irrelevant data.  But in the revelations received in the New Church in the 18th century, it is shown how each and every word of scripture is Divinely inspired, which is especially spelled out in a massive work known as "Heavenly Arcana" or "Arcana Coelestia" or "Heavenly Secrets" depending on the publication.  Through symbolic correspondence, every word becomes abstracted from space and time, and concern the universal principles of love and truth.  No one has ever been able to demonstrate how truthful Jesus words were when He explained the Golden Rule, or the greatest commandments.

Contained in the spiritual sense of Jesus' discourse on the greatest commandment, there are three levels of spiritual development, which are actually also revealed in the three main Jewish festivals (see The Three Steps of Spiritual Development);

1.  Knowledge of good (the "Law" containing commandments) and knowledge of truth (the "Prophets")
2.  Living by the truth, in loving others
3.  Acting out of love, seeing God in the love in other people.

Note here, that the spiritual steps of development are in reverse order in time from the order of priority.

In the spiritual sense the Law and the Prophets refers to knowledge of good and truth, which in the material world we receive from the Bible.  But in the most universal sense, it simply refers to knowledge of good and truth.  Good itself, is the more internal form of the Truth which represents it.  Thus instead of "law and prophets" scripture sometimes phrases this as "Moses and the prophets."  Moses represents the most internal revelation, that concerning love, which is hidden at first to many who are at a lower level of understanding.  Thus Moses could not speak well, and Aaron represents Moses.  Moses alone could ascend the mountain, representing love, which is hidden in obscurity to those at a lower level of understanding, represented by the clouds that surrounded the mountain.  When Moses descended from the mountain, the people could not look directly at his shining face, so he covered it with a veil.  This represents how internal spiritual truths are hidden in the literal sense of the Bible.

So, when one enters the first state, of learning knowledge of good and truth, this is a state of servitude and obedience.  One is in the truth, but one's life may be one of sin and evil.  In this state, a conflict arises within oneself: if one has a desire to follow the truth, it will come into conflict with one's desire for sin or evil.  Then one can enter into a period of temptation, internal conflict, sadness and depression.  This internal conflict, in reality, is a conflict that plays out between good and evil spirits associated with one's spiritual soul, who influence everything that you do or think.  But it is the Truth which cleanses, if one follows Truth, from the Truth one can achieve salvation.  In the literal sense, Truth is symbolized by blood.  This is the spiritual meaning of the blood of Jesus, but few Christians know this.  Thus Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."  And "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."  And, "Sanctify [cleanse] them through Your Truth, Your Word is Truth."  Temptation is overcome in repentance, but one must be in conjunction with Divine Truth and ask for Divine aid when one does this, for one must acknowledge that sin and evil originate from one's selfish ego.

The second stage is one who loves and desires the truth, and enjoys doing it.  This becomes a life of service and use to others, to one's neighbor.  But it is not indiscriminate love.  Love guided by truth, loves each person according to need and use.  You can't give a hug to someone who is about to hit you.  You can't talk nicely to someone who is stealing or gossiping about others.  You can't agree with someone engaged in jealousy.  Love must be according to use, according to what is good and true.  This is known as the principle of DISCRIMINATE CHARITY:

"It is a common opinion at this day that every one is a neighbor in the same degree, and that good must be done to every one in need. But it is the part of Christian prudence to explore well the quality of a man's life, and to exercise charity accordingly. The man of the internal church does this with discrimination, thus with intelligence; but the man of the external church, since he cannot exercise such discernment, does it without discrimination." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 6704)

This is the principle that most people miss.  I have seen some highly intelligent people reject Christianity just because of this, loving everybody indiscriminately they know is not going to work.  In the ancient world, the doctrine of charity was the primary doctrine, but since everyone knew it they didn't write it down:

"The ancients reduced the neighbor to classes, and gave each class the names of those who appear in the world to be especially in need; they taught also how charity was to be exercised to those in one class, and how to those in another; and thus they reduced the doctrine and the life according to it into order. Thus the doctrine of their church contained the laws of life, and from it they saw the quality of every man of the church, whom they called a brother, but with distinction in the internal sense according to his exercise of charity from the genuine doctrine of the church, or from doctrine changed by himself; for every one, because he wishes to appear blameless, defends his own life, and therefore either explains or changes the laws of doctrine in his own favor." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 6705)

In other words, one has to discriminate among people according to their state, do they need help because they are lacking something, or should they be restrained because they are committing evil?  These different states that a person is in, is signified by those who are blind, by the lame, those who are sick, or those who in prison, etc.  The blind are those who are in ignorance, and need the light of truth.  The lame are those who are lacking in ability to do good.  The sick are those suffering from evil they have committed.  Those in prison are those who have imprisoned their mind due to a false persuasion.  The doctrines of the New Church on these matters, are endless.

At some point, few reach the third stage, which is acting out of love.  Instead of loving others, one loves the love within them. In other words, one loves God who is love itself.  In this kind of state, one does care about debating or learning the truth any more, but acting out of love.  When one acts out love, one gains a secondary perception of truth automatically.  It becomes a matter of intuition, or inner knowing.  This is what Jesus meant when he said not to take an oath (following the truth), but rather let your yes be yes and your no be no.  For in love, the perception of truth is immediate, and comes within.  This third and final stage is explained in the following passage:

And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matt. 25:33-40)

One last point, living the Golden Rule comes from effort, and it is not immediate: one must follow the three steps.  Inasmuch as we approach God, God will approach us.  Thus it is said, you shall love the Lord your God with all your HEART, with all your SOUL, and with all your MIND.  The heart represents one's will, one's intent, one's desire.  The soul here is one's spiritual understanding of the truth.  The mind is our lower level mind, which seeks ways on how to apply love and truth in one's life.  One's will is not passive, as some religious philosophies teach.

The other secret, as revealed in the New Church, is that love in its external from is represented by the woman, and truth in its external form is represented by the man.  The spiritual conjunction of love and truth is the origin of marriage love between a man and woman.  In fact, forms of love and truth can be seen and experienced in all levels of reality, and in all walks of life.  It is always within you, and becomes your kingdom in heaven in the afterlife.

For those interested, here is a French version of La Vie en Rose, followed by an English version:

The New Church Prophecy of Juneteenth, or St. John's Day

In the New Church there are very few prophecies, as the doctrines deal with the universal principles of love and truth and how to live by them.   The more important teaching is not to be worried about the future, for this is the state that angels are in.  Nevertheless, angels are able to have perception of future things to come:

"I have spoken with the angels concerning the memory of things past, and anxiety thence for things to come; and have been instructed that the more internal and the more perfect the angels are, the less they care for past things, and the less do they think of things to come; and that thence also is their happiness. They say that the Lord gives them every moment what to think, and this with blessedness and happiness; and that they are thus without cares and anxieties. Also, that this was meant in the internal sense by manna being received daily from heaven, and by the daily bread in the Lord's Prayer [see The True Spiritual Meaning and Interpretation of the Lord's Prayer]; also, by the instruction not to be solicitous about what they may eat and drink, and wherewith they may be clothed. But that though they do not care for things past, and are not solicitous about things to come, they still have the most perfect recollection of past things, and the most perfect intuition of things to come; because in all their present there is as well the past as the future." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 2493)

This perception of future things to come can sometimes flow into our mind during a precognitive dream, which if we forget, we sometimes will have a deja vu experience.  During our physical time in our material bodies, we prepare ourselves for the angelic life by living a life of love and charity:

"When men who are in love to the Lord and in charity toward the neighbor are living in the world, they have with themselves and in themselves angelic intelligence and wisdom, but stored up in the inmosts of their interior memory; which intelligence and wisdom can in no way be apparent to them, before they put off corporeal things. Then the memory of outward particulars, which has been spoken of, is put to sleep; and they are awakened into the interior memory, and successively afterward into the angelic." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 2494)

So at the moment, our minds our dense, and we are sort of like a fat caterpillar munching on leaves, preparing to morph into a butterfly.  But in those mundane simple acts of love, or performing use towards others, there is hidden our future angelic state.  As it is important to always act according to free will and reason, it is important not to fall into a "fatalistic" attitude where the future is determined:

"As a knowledge of future events takes away the human itself, which is, to act from freedom according to reason, a knowledge of the future is therefore given to no one; but it is allowable for every one to form conclusions about the future from reasons; reason with all that belongs to it is in its life from this. It is for this reason that a man does not know his lot after death, or know any event before he is in it; for if he knew, he would no longer think from the interior self, how he should do or how he should live so as to come to it; but only from the exterior self, that he is coming; and this state closes the interiors of his mind, in which the two faculties of his life, liberty and rationality, have their chief seat. The desire to know the future is born with most people; but this desire has its origin from a love of evil; it is therefore taken away from those who believe in the Divine Providence, and there is given them a trust that the Lord is disposing their lot; and consequently they do not wish for a foreknowledge of it, lest in some way they should interfere with the Divine Providence." (Angelic Wisdom concerning Divine Providence, n. 179)

Because of the importance of free will, and developing one's own rationality, prophecies often come in symbolic or obscure form, and it is not known what the prophecy means until the event has taken place.  I would like to discuss one of these, and this concerns the New Church as foreseen in the visions of Emanuel Swedenborg.

THE PROPHECY OF THE NEW CHURCH

The culminating work of Emanuel Swedenborg was True Christian Religion, in which he describes the true future form of Christianity: one that worships God in one person in the human form of Jesus Christ, and one where people live by God's commandments.  This is the future state of Christianity, for in the present state the old churches have divided God into three, and many emphasize belief alone over service to others, or a life according to God's will.  True Christian Religion offers a simple and rational view of Christianity.  When Swedenborg completed it, he was given the following vision:

"After this work was finished the Lord called together His twelve disciples who followed Him in the world; and the next day He sent them all forth into the whole spiritual world to preach the Gospel that the Lord God Jesus Christ reigns, whose kingdom shall be for ages of ages, according to the prediction by Daniel (vii. 13, 14), and in the Apocalypse (xi. 15); and that Blessed are they who come to the marriage supper of the Lamb (Apoc. xix. 9). This took place on the nineteenth day of June, in the year 1770. This is meant by these words of the Lord: He will send His angels, and they shall gather together His elect from one end of the heavens even to the other (Matt. xxiv. 31). (True Christian Religion, n. 779)

The prophecy of Daniel 7 is as follows:

"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." (Dan. 7:13-14)

This is the prophecy of the Second Coming.  Most take it literally, and expect Jesus to appear riding on the clouds of heaven.  But this is from a false appearance based on the literal sense of the scripture.  In the hidden spiritual meaning, the "clouds of heaven" are visions revealing the spiritual sense of scripture.  The "Son of man" is Divine truth, which appears in the literal sense of scripture, which is signified by clouds.  For the literal sense of scripture hides the spiritual sense, just as the clouds hide the stars, moon and sun.  This spiritual sense of scripture is the proof that the Bible is Divinely inspired, and was the main purpose of Swedenborg's mission.  Whereas in the first coming the Divine truth appeared in human form, in the Second Coming the Divine truth has now appeared in the literal sense of scripture, for anyone who cares to look and examine the revelations received in Swedenborg's visions.

As for the kingdom, in the spiritual world a new heaven was created for the new Christians who follow God in one person and obey His commandments.  That kingdom is gradually manifesting itself here on earth as the New Church.  It is among the small and few at the moment, but in the future it is destined to grow, and it will not fall and go away as the previous churches will.  In the old churches, faith or belief is primary.  In the New Church, love is the first principle.  Notice the following the phrase of the above prophecy:

And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom

Compare this with the Doxology of the Lord's Prayer, which some churches have falsely removed [see The True Spiritual Meaning and Interpretation of the Lord's Prayer]:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever.

The Doxology of the Lord's Prayer was not added later.  It is actually based on the prophecy of Daniel, and looks forward to it.  The New Church revelations are the fulfillment of the Lord's Prayer.  For the Lord's Prayer should not be prayed to a being separate from Jesus, but rather to Jesus Christ Himself.  For when it is mentioned "Hallowed be Thy name" - the name here is that of Jesus, who is Lord of all.  The prophecy of Daniel is another proof that the Lord's Prayer should be directed to Jesus alone.

Perhaps many will doubt that the revelations given to Swedenborg are the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy.  But there is actually a strong proof for this, for we have a time period given in the prophecy of Daniel:

And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (Dan. 7:25)

The phrase "time, times and half a time" is a bit odd, but scholars of Biblical prophecy, especially in the 19th century, were able to determine that this phrase refers to a 1260 year period.  I have discussed this at length in previous blog posts, and have come to the conclusion this ended in the latter half of the 18th century, between 1759 and 1789.  The Seventh Day Adventists have analyzed this prophecy in detail, and have come to the conclusion that it refers to the dominion of the Papacy of the Catholic Church, which they regard as having ended in the 18th century during the time of Napoleon.  But that is as far as they get.  Swedenborg was given a vision of the Last Judgment that took place in the 18th century, at around the same time as predicted in the Bible.  In the New Church, this time period of spiritual captivity of the Christian Church includes both the Catholic and Protestant churches, for in reality the Protestant churches inherited most of their theology from the Catholic Church.

That Swedenborg was allowed to have full continual visions of heaven and hell, for a period of 27 years in the latter half of the 18th century, to explain the spiritual sense of scripture, was no accident.  It was foreseen in Biblical prophecy, but no one imagined it would be fulfilled this way.  Prophecies are always given in symbolic and obscure form, until the event is realized.

THE NEW CHURCH DAY OF JUNE 19, 1770

The date of June 19, 1770, is the only special date that Swedenborg mentions in all of his writings.  Thus there is a tradition within the New Church to call this "New Church day" (see New Church Day (June 19, 1770) for it represents the time when the angelic realm started to prepare for the formation of the New Church, which would be gradual.

So, its this obscure little tradition that hardly anyone knows about.  The first New Church was accidentally established on June 19.  I would have thought if any special day was chosen, it would have fallen on a Jewish festival. But no, it falls on a day that is completely unrelated to any of the Jewish festivals.  This is perhaps because the Jewish festivals were already fulfilled during the life of Jesus - the feast of Tabernacles was fulfilled by his birth, the feast of the Passover by his death, and the feast of firstfruits by Pentecost.  So why June 19, is it indeed significant?

June 19 is indeed very significant.  As New Church day is known as a day of spiritual liberation, among African Americans it is known as Juneteenth celebrations, to celebrate their liberation from physical slavery.  From History of Juneteenth:

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States.  Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19^th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation - which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance.

If that is not enough, on June 19, 1862, the U.S. Congress prohibits slavery in United States territories, nullifying Dred Scott v. Sandford.  Exactly three years before slaves were declared free on June 19, 1865, "Juneteenth" day.

Wow, is that just a happy coincidence?  I think not.  For in one of Swedenborg's visions, he saw that the doctrines of the New Church were being relayed by angels to those in Africa.  Evidence that this is taking place surfaced in the year 2012, with some heavenly visions being given to a young woman from Congo - see A Divine Revelation from Africa, concerning Heaven and Hell,  It was because of Swedenborg's vision that many early Swedenborgians pushed for the abolition of slavery, and participated in the Abolitionist movement to free them.  As Europe and the U.S. is still under the influence of the older churches, those in Africa have the potential to be more receptive to New Church teachings.  Thus it is no coincidence that the largest New Church contingent in the world is in South Africa.

The New Church should take note, and African-Americans in the U.S. should take note of this as well.  For even though physical slavery has ended, racial prejudice has not.  Divine Providence has a habit of extending salvation to those who have been enslaved and been put down by others, thus we have the story of the Israelites being saved from the bondage of the Egyptians in the book of Exodus.

June 19 happens to be around the time of Midsummer celebrations that has a strong tradition in Europe as well as in the U.S.  From Midsummer:

Midsummer, also known as St John's Day, or Litha, is the period of time centred upon the summer solstice, and more specifically the Northern European celebrations that accompany the actual solstice or take place on a day between June 19 and June 25 and the preceding evening.

Midsummer celebrations are ancient, as they celebrate the summer solstice.  It is also known as St. John's Day, which is traditionally the birth of John the Baptist.  John the Baptist, in the New Testament, was a symbolic representation of Elijah, who was to come before Jesus declared Himself openly.  Perhaps that is also the symbolism for New Church day, except in place of John the Baptist we have the revelations given to Emanuel Swedenborg, to prepare people to receive the truth of the Second Coming.

I am not exactly familiar with this ancient Midsummer ritual, so to educate myself I found this enlightening and weird video entitled, "Swedish Midsummer for Dummies."  June 19, is definitely an interesting yet odd choice for New Church day.