Page:The Doctrines of the New Church Briefly Explained.djvu/19

Rh Dispensation of religious truth, and are believed to be what is meant, according to the true spiritual interpretation of the apostle's vision, by "the holy city. New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven." For a city, spiritually interpreted, denotes a church in respect to its doctrine; and "the holy city. New Jerusalem," denotes that new and august system of doctrinal theology now revealed, whereby a New Christian Church is to be built up, or a new and heavenlier state of mind produced among the various churches and peoples on earth. This city was seen "coming down from God out of heaven," and thereby was represented, symbolically, the truth, that this new doctrinal system is not a mere human invention, but that it comes from the Lord out of heaven;—that it is such doctrine as is believed in heaven, and such as accords with all pure, exalted and heavenly states of mind, and actually comes down from the heavenly sense of the Sacred Scripture.

These doctrines therefore claim to be a new revelation,—not a Revelation to supersede the written Word, but to help us rightly to understand the Word; to unfold for us its deeper and true meaning, by means of which a purer and more heavenly state of life may be attained. 2