Page:The Doctrines of the New Church Briefly Explained.djvu/250

244 Word, and are therefore ignorant of the Lord, without whom there can be no salvation. Nevertheless it may be known, from these considerations alone, that they also are saved: That the mercy of the Lord is universal, that is, extended towards every individual; that they are born men as well as those within the church, who are comparatively few; and that it is no fault of theirs that they are ignorant of the Lord.

"Every person who thinks from enlightened reason, may see that no man is born for hell; for the Lord is love itself, and it is agreeable to his love that all be saved. Therefore also He has provided that all shall have some kind of religion, and thereby be in the acknowledgment of a Divine, and in the enjoyment of interior life."

"That Gentiles are saved as well as Christians, may be known to those who understand what it is that makes heaven in man. For heaven is in man; and those who have heaven in themselves enter heaven after death." (H. H. 318, 319.)

"It is provided by the Lord that those whom the Gospel cannot reach, but yet some religion, may likewise have a place in heaven, . . . and that they may live in heavenly joy as well as others. It matters not whether a person be in such joy as is experienced by the angels of the highest or the lowest heaven, since every one who is received into heaven, enters into the supreme or full joy of his heart." (D. P. 254.)

The apostle to the Hebrews speaks of a rest that "remaineth to the people of God," and of the