Page:Swedenborg, Harbinger of the New Age of the Christian Church.djvu/34

 for their special vocation, but its larger, all-embracing fulfilment could not come till the new revelation of His face in His Word, which was indeed the same thing, and before which the Gospel must first be preached unto all the nations. It was by the opening of the heart to the Holy Spirit that the revelation of the grace and truth in His Word could be given.

The Word from Alpha to Omega is one. Only the interpretation varies as gradually given with man's developing capacity to receive. The ages for infantile reception, for childhood instruction and obedience, for blind reliance on priests and their dogmas, had passed. The new light now needed must explain the will of God and His providence for man in a rational, intelligible way, not as a substitute for faith, but as her handmaid, for her ultimate support. It must be addressed to the understanding and must therefore come, not with authority to compel, but with light leading into all truth, in accordance with our Lord's promise. The mind to receive this new light in fulness must be trained in the learning and reason of the world, and the heart must be open to the Spirit. Where was it to be found?