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Telling People About the Second Coming by Rev David W Ayers
Consider The Lillies by Norman Heldon
Going Home: Thoughts Inspired by the Movie The Trip to Bountiful By Bill Hall
Our Actions Are Everything submitted by Rev Wendell Barnett
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Arguably, the most challenging New Church idea to share with people is the distinctive teaching on the Lord's Second Coming. While the entire Christian world waits for the Lord's physical return to our world, we know that the Lord Jesus Christ made His Second Coming over 200 years ago - and that His Coming was a spiritual, not a physical phenomena, made by a revelation of the internal sense of His Word through the Writings for His New Church. No other idea (other than the doctrine of the trinity) stands in such stark contrast to the teachings of Christianity. No other idea elicits more shock, surprise and confusion for those who hold true to their Christian traditions. Perhaps that is why it can be so difficult for those who hold to the doctrines for the New Church to talk about the Second Coming. We can almost count on people responding in ways that will either require a defence of our belief, and/or will lead to a rather lengthy explanation on our part. Both of these anticipated responses can lead us to avoid the subject all together.
But something has happened recently that may provide an easy way for us to introduce people to the real Second Coming. The year 2000 has come - the new millennium is here (let's forget the debate about whether it really begins in 2001 or not - as far as most people are concerned, the new millennium is here!). This is the event many people expected would cause catastrophic change to sweep over the globe - but instead it passed with deafening silence (other than the raucous New Year's Eve celebrations!). Many Christians also believed that the turn of the millennium would usher in the end of the world and provide the stage for the Lord's Second Coming. But the same things happened as when the year 999 A.D. turned over to the year 1000 A.D. - nothing has changed and the Lord still hasn't returned.
As people realise that their expectations for the new millennium did not materialise, there is fertile ground for us to plant the seed of truth concerning the Second Coming. The disappointment and doubt in some people's minds that once again the Lord did not come when they expected gives us an opportunity to offer fresh insights for the new millennium - insights that can only be found in the Writings for the Lord's New Church.
If we have a new opportunity to discuss the Second Coming, how can we take advantage of it? What can we offer that may help people to look at the Lord's promised Coming in a different way? While we have 30 volumes of heavenly truth to draw from, I propose a simple three-step approach - one that is based on familiar Scriptural teachings and common observations of changes that are gradually altering the character of people in this world.
Step 1: Compare the Prophecies of the First and Second Comings
Most of us are familiar with the prophetic images of the Second Coming from the New Testament. We read that in the last days the earth will experience great tribulation, with wars, famines, earthquakes and other tragedies (see Mathew 24:6-21; Mark 13:7-21; Luke 21:10-24); the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven and the powers of the heavens will be shaken (see Matthew 24:29; Mark 13:24-25; Luke 21:25). And then the Son of Man will come again on the clouds of heaven, and every eye will see Him (see Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27; Revelation 1:7). When these cataclysmic events are past, the Lord will establish a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and first earth will pass away (see Revelation 21:1).
Clearly these images suggest that the world as we know it will end when Christ returns. But have you ever considered that the same imagery was used in predictions of the Lord's First Coming? Let's take a look at some examples of how three of the major prophets spoke concerning the Lord's birth in Bethlehem.
First we read in Isaiah, "Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He will destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine" (Isaiah 13:9-10). Isaiah predicted that the Lord would shake the heavens and move the earth out of her place, laying waste to the mountains and hills (see Isaiah 13:13-15). When the Lord finally appeared, He would come with fire and with chariots like a whirlwind (see Isaiah 66:15). Afterwards the Lord would make new heavens and a new earth. "'For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me,' says the Lord." (Isaiah 66:22).
Next, let's turn to Ezekiel. He too predicted that the Lord's coming would be a dramatic and destructive event. "'I will also water the land with the flow of your blood, even to the mountains; and the riverbeds will be full of you. When I put out your light, I will cover the heavens and make its stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you, and bring darkness upon your land,' says the Lord God." (Ezekiel 32:6-8).
And finally in Daniel we find much the same imagery. He spoke of seeing war-making beasts, followed by the Lord coming on the clouds of heaven. "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven!" (Daniel 7:13).
These prophecies were written between 740 and 537 B.C., and clearly referred to the Lord's birth as Jesus Christ. The predictions about the sun, moon and stars giving no light, the Lord coming in the clouds of heaven, and the destruction of the old heavens and earth all spoke of that time. Yet did any of these things literally happen in this world? No, they did not. Instead, the Lord was born quietly in Bethlehem as a tiny helpless baby. His coming was unknown to most of the world, and only noticed by people who were open to the Scriptures. And even to those people, the actual physical events did not even remotely resemble the dramatic imagery used by the prophets.
These facts give us an opportunity to explain that the same dynamics are at work with the Second Coming. It appeared from the Scriptures that the Lord's Coming would be in a dramatic earthly pageant - but in fact, just as in His First Coming, the Lord appeared in a very different way than people expected.
Step 2: Emphasise That The Scriptural Descriptions of the Lord's Advents Described Spiritual Rather Than Natural Phenomena
Even Christians must admit that there was a discrepancy between common expectations of the Lord's First Advent, and the reality of His Coming. The church of the day (the Jewish or Israelitish Church) had heard and read centuries of prophecy which told of a Messiah Who could rescue them from oppression, establish His Kingdom, and restore the Israelites to their proper place as God's Chosen People. But when the Lord finally came, the church of the day did not acknowledge Him. Instead, because His message urged them to change their hearts and consider the heavenly kingdom which is not of this world, they rejected Him. They had expected an earthly Saviour, and they felt they had earned earthly reward. The Israelitish church missed the Lord's Coming because they had interpreted centuries of spiritually symbolic prophecy in a literal way. Amazingly, even in the year 2000 A.D., the Jews still await their Messiah!
In speaking to Christians about the New Church, we can work from this agreed upon point, and begin to move toward the obvious conclusion: 1) Both of the Lord's Advents were described using almost identical language - and that language was full of spiritual symbolism; 2) The First Advent took place in a way that was misunderstood and therefore missed by most people; 3) The Christian Church has repeated the mistake of the Jewish Church: they have put a literal interpretation on spiritual prophecy, and thereby missed the fact that the Lord has already made His Second Advent.
In supporting this position, we again turn to the Scriptures. Let's first turn to the Book of Revelation, where we find the most extensive prophecy concerning the Lord's Second Coming.
From the first chapter of this amazing book, it is clear we are reading about things seen in the spiritual, not the physical world. John wrote, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's DayÉ" (Revelation 1:10). John goes on to describe some of the most puzzling and frightening visions any human has ever seen - descriptions that take up the remainder of the book's 22 chapters. He wrote about beasts, a dragon, four horsemen, a woman clothed with the sun - things that were clearly seen in the spiritual world. Nowhere does John say that these things materialised in this world, or ever would come to the natural plane. But because Christians have tried to understand spiritual visions in a material way, the false conclusion was drawn that the events of Revelation would take place in the natural world. In making this conclusion, people have missed the Lord's message - much as the Jews did two thousand years ago.
John wrote that the Lord "is coming with clouds, and every eye will see HimÉ" (Revelation 1:7). Like everything else John saw, these were clouds seen in the spiritual world - they were the clouds of heaven, not the clouds of the natural world. Even viewed logically, it would not be possible for the Lord to come on natural clouds and expect that every eye would see Him, i.e. if He showed up in the Southern Hemisphere, how could anyone in the Northern Hemisphere see Him? Even when He was born in Bethlehem he was not visible to people living on the other side of the region, much less all around the world. Obviously, the clouds of heaven are different than people think. In His Writings for the New Church, the Lord tells us that the clouds of heaven is the literal sense of Scripture - the stories, parables, psalms and prophecies that tell of the Lord and the life of heaven. This literal sense contains the life of the universe in its internal spiritual sense, yet is as a "cloud" obscuring the spiritual sense. Through the Writings we learn that the Word is the very Word of God, and contains nothing that is not holy, down to each word and letter. The Writings enable the spiritual life that lives within the literal stories to shine through, breaking apart the clouds of spiritual obscurity. And these are the clouds that can be seen by every eye - people the world over can hold the Word in their hands and approach the Lord with directness and clarity.
While we could point to myriad examples that prove the spiritual nature of John's vision, one more will suffice. In Chapter 20 John wrote about a sequence of events that took over 1000 years, while the dragon or Satan was bound in a bottomless pit. If this sequence is taken literally, many aspects of the Second Coming would have already taken place at this point - and the entire process would then be put on hold for 1000 years - after which it would resume. How could every eye see a process that would last for many lifetimes before it was completed? How can anyone reconcile the actual sequence of events described in Revelation with the belief that the Second Coming will happen in an instant as Christ suddenly appears in the clouds of this world? Clearly, there is no logical explanation to be found in a literal interpretation of this obviously spiritual vision.
We can return to the Old Testament prophets for support of this view. None of them wrote about things that would happen in the natural world. Instead, like John, they saw things in visions that were shown in the spiritual world. From the beginning of the first chapter, Isaiah tells us that what he saw was in vision in the spiritual, not the natural world. "The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah" (Isaiah 1:1). In the 6th chapter he writes "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple" (Isaiah 6:1).
The book of Ezekiel makes it even clearer that his predictions were of spiritual, not natural things. "Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God" (Ezekiel 1:1). Perhaps more than any other major prophet, Ezekiel's visions most closely resembled those of John in Revelation; they are full of supernatural beasts, spiritual conflicts between the forces of light and darkness, and otherworldly descriptions of heavenly sights.
And we are told plainly that Daniel was able to rise in favour in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar and perform his services because he "had understanding in all visions and dreams" (Daniel 1:17). And again, "In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me - to me, Daniel - after the one that appeared to me the first time" (Daniel 8:1). The Lord instructed Daniel and told Him what to say by showing Him things in the spiritual world - things that had implications for the natural world that were symbolically depicted in the spiritual world.
Step 3: Look For Evidence Of The Second Coming In The World
Two of the biggest challenges we face in explaining that the Second Coming has already taken place are: 1) The fact that the vast majority of the world's population is unaware of it; and 2) Nothing seems to have changed in the world - it still goes on as it always has, with all the problems that stem from human evil. We have already found a way to answer the first objection by explaining that people missed the Lord's Second Coming because they were looking for a natural event. But what about the second? This one is much more challenging to explain, especially since in some ways it seems the world has gotten worse rather than better, i.e. since so many people now reject religion outright, and so much immoral conduct is blatantly supported and encouraged in the world. How do we address this problem? The Writings teach that the changes that have occurred after the Second Coming are not external, but internal. In other words, just as the Lord's Coming was a spiritual event, so the repercussions of His Advent are spiritual.
LJ 73. The state of the world hereafter will be altogether similar to what it has been heretofore, for the great change which has taken place in the spiritual world, does not induce any change in the natural world as to the external form; so that after this there will be civil affairs as before, there will be peace, treaties, and wars as before, with all other things which belong to societies in general and in particular, The Lord said that: In the last times there will be wars, and then nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places (Matt. 24:6, 7). This does not signify that such things will exist in the natural world, but that the things corresponding with them will exist in the spiritual world: for the Word in its prophecies does not treat of the kingdoms on earth, nor of the nations there, thus neither concerning their wars, nor of famines, pestilences, and earthquakes there, but of such things as correspond to them in the spiritual world; É But as for the state of the church, this it is which will be dissimilar hereafter; it will be similar indeed as to the external appearance, but dissimilar as to the internal. As to the external appearance divided churches will exist as heretofore, their doctrines will be taught as heretofore; and the same religions as now will exist among the Gentiles. But henceforth the man of the church will be in a more free state of thinking on matters of faith, thus on the spiritual things which relate to heaven, because spiritual freedom has been restored to him. For all things in the heavens and in the hells are now reduced into order, and all thought concerning Divine things and against the Divine inflows from thence; from the heavens all thought which is in harmony with Divine things, and from the hells all which is against Divine things.
This is not to say that the implications of the Lord's Second Coming will never become visible in the natural world. They will indeed become evident as people turn to the Lord, learn of Him, and live the life He intends for us all to live. The change will therefore be gradual and manifest itself as the Lord slowly builds His New Church in human hearts and minds.
Yet the number from the Last Judgment does indicate some things we can point to, especially as regards the freedom people now have to think about spiritual things. And it is possible to see evidence of this freedom in the last 200 years: the increased emphasis and value put on freedom of thought and expression (even though there are nations where this kind of expression is discouraged and punished, the global trend is toward this ideal), and the growth in forms of government that allow for this expression, i.e. some form of democracy; the now almost universal denigration of the institution of slavery in all its forms; the mistrust of man-made creeds, churches and institutions which rigidly held people in blind, unthinking spiritual bondage for so long, and promoting the ideal that for religious life to be genuine, people must be free to approach God on their own; and the increased belief in spiritual things, even though some of these belief systems are trendy and false - the fact that people are turning more to some kind of spiritual dimension shows that a force is at work in human minds.
Conclusion: Explaining the Second Coming from The Writings
Lastly, it is useful for us to know how Emanuel Swedenborg, the Lord's servant, himself was instructed to write about the Lord's Second Coming. We will close with these two passages from the Writings.
Inv. 52. The manifestation of the Lord, and intromission into the spiritual world, surpass all miracles. This has not been granted to anyone since the creation, as it has been to me. The men of the golden age, indeed, conversed with the angels; but it was not granted to them to be in any other than natural light; but to me it is granted to be in both spiritual and natural light at the same time. By this means it has been granted to me to see the wonderful things of heaven, to be together with the angels like one of them, and at the same time to draw forth truths in light, and thus to perceive and teach them; consequently to be led by the Lord.
TCR 779. This, the Lord's second coming, is taking place by means of a man, to whom He has shown Himself in person, and whom He has filled with His spirit, so that he may teach the doctrines of the new church which come from the Lord through the Word. Since the Lord cannot show Himself in person, as has just been demonstrated, and yet He predicted that He would come and found a new church, which is the New Jerusalem, it follows that He will do this by means of a man, who can not only receive intellectually the doctrines of this church, but also publish them in print. I bear true witness that the Lord has shown Himself in the presence of me, His servant, and sent me to perform this function. After this He opened the sight of my spirit, thus admitting me to the spiritual world, and allowing me to see the heavens and the hells, and also to talk with angels and spirits; and this I have now been doing for many years without a break. Equally I assert that from the first day of my calling I have not received any instruction concerning the doctrines of that church from any angel, but only from the Lord, while I was reading the Word.
A little girl might pick a bunch of flowers from the bush or even from the grass beside the footpath, carry it home and put it in a vase with water. It gives her a lot of pleasure. Simple, unremarkable flowers - or are they?
The Lord tells us to "Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet (He adds) I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." (Matthew 6:28). Solomon was a great king, rich and powerful, surrounded by luxury. In his palace, dressed magnificently, and seated on an ornate throne, he would have looked and felt very impressive, very grand. Why is a simple looking flower more wonderful than Solomon in all his glory?
Those things, like flowers, that proceed from God begin from seeds in which are inmost principles, and the more interiorly they are examines, the more beautiful they appear (see SD 252). That is because, we are told, the more closely we examine something in nature, the nearer we are approaching the Divine, Who is Infinite. The people of very ancient times knew this, and were delighted to reflect on the heavenly things that were represented by objects in nature. If we go to Heaven we too will see magnificent gardens which contain flowers of great beauty and variety, many of which are not seen on earth. In fact, we can begin now to enjoy learning correspondences, and might already know many from our reading of the Word and from sermons and classes.
When the Lord tells us to "consider the lilies of the field, how they grow," He speaks in the style of parable. Like most of His teaching when He was on the earth, the Lord used stories that were simple on the surface, yet contained the deep secrets of His Divine Wisdom - eternal truths that applied to the people who heard them uttered from the Lord's mouth, for us today as we read His Word, and to people for all time to come.
The Trip to Bountiful is set in the American South. It is a touching story full of pathos. The brilliant Geraldine Page brings loving tenderness to this story of an elderly woman who goes home to her old, dilapidated homestead.
The final scene is a treasure to remember forever. Because of its striking beauty, this scene becomes deeply engraved on the viewer's mind. The scene has three elements: a patch of earth of the left, and extensive field of golden flowers, and, in the distance, Page walking slowly toward the camera. The background music to this scene woman singing the southern gospel hymn, Jesus is Calling Me Home.
This scene just has to fill our hearts with feelings of love. It shows that the Lord is always calling us home to heaven. He is filling us constantly with His unfailing love. He is reaching out to bless us with His mercy, coming from a love that never falters.
As we live each day we try to do the Lord's will. Unfortunately, we often fail. Often we lack the inner strength and resolve to be His servants, and instead we give in to earthly loves. Our minds can become enmeshed in material things, and we forget about trying to do the Lord's will. But the Lord is always there with us, trying to lift our hearts and minds to appreciate the spiritual meaning of life. We have to learn to trust in the Lord and turn to Him for guidance and enlightenment every moment of our lives. We have to learn to feel His love within us for He is always there to help and support us.
We have so much to be thankful for. The Lord gives us the opportunity to become His servant if we learn to transcend our limited state and allow Him to call us home to heaven.
The Lord's love is with us is an inner reality that He wants us to express in our relationships. The Lord wants us to do as He commands "to love one another as He has loved us"(see John 13:34). The Lord wants us to live from that love for one another so that this becomes our ruling love so that we reach out to one another from the love that the Lord freely gives us. This is the state of heaven, and is a beautiful feeling because as we think of loving others, care for our selfish concerns and problems fades away. We no longer care what others think of us, because the loves of self and the world no longer dominate our thinking and willing. We are free from those loves, and instead love to do the Lord's will.
If we learn to live in this way, we can be filled with gratitude to the Lord for the wisdom and love that lifts up our hearts and minds, and strengthens us with a humility and gentleness that can come from Him alone. If we learn to live this way, our fear of life fades, for the Lord is with us, leading and guiding our every step. No longer do we falter in our resolve to serve the Lord and the neighbour, for He enables us to cross over the hellish pitfalls of self-pity and contempt for others.
Each one of us can feel the Lord's power within us if we strive to do His holy will. His eternal truth is the rock upon which we can build our lives. And from this rock we know the peace of the Lord's love. We will know from an unshakeable inner conviction that the Lord is forever calling us home to live with Him as angels in His heaven forever and ever.
Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10).
Innocence is the good of love to God, and dwells within ignorance, especially with the wise at heart. Those who are wise at heart know, indeed perceive, that nothing whatever of the wisdom within themselves originates in themselves, but that the all of wisdom is attributable to the Lord, that is, the all of the good of love and the all of the truth of faith are attributable to Him, and that for this reason even with the wise innocence dwells in ignorance. From this it is evident that the acknowledgment of this matter, and especially the perception of it, constitutes the innocence of wisdom (AC 9938:2)
The situation in all this is that there are three heavens, which are separated from one another by their degrees of good. In the inmost heaven there is the good of celestial love, which is the good of love to the Lord; in the second or middle heaven there is the good of spiritual love, which is the good of charity towards the neighbour; and in the first or lowest heaven there is the good of natural love from the spiritual and from the celestial, which is the good of faith and obedience. In each heaven there is an internal part and an external. The internal in the inmost heaven consists in the good of love to the Lord, as stated above; and the external there consists in the good of mutual love, which is that of the love of good for its own sake. This good is what should be understood by the truth of celestial love, meant by 'a cord of violet'. In the sphere where this kind of truth exists the perception reigns that the Lord's Human is God Himself in the heavens. Therefore as soon as an angel is raised into that sphere he also passes into that light. Such perception flows in from the Lord since the Lord's Divine Human composes heaven; and this influx is what is meant here (AC 9933:2)
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