Page:The Doctrines of the New Church Briefly Explained.djvu/256

250 no doctrine of hell at all; and not a few are coming to accept the latter alternative. And as ministers of the Gospel generally have no distinct idea as to what hell really is, nor feel able to interpret with accuracy the texts of Scripture which speak of it, therefore they prudently refrain from saying anything about it; or if they touch the subject at all, it is very lightly, and in a general way, as if it were something they know but little about, and therefore do not care to meddle with. Very different this, from the custom of the clergy a century ago, when hell formed the chief staple of so many pulpit discourses.

In view, then, of the doctrine held and taught a hundred years ago, it is clear that a further revelation on this subject was needed, and was therefore to have been expected; since God in his merciful providence, is always sure to give the things which his children really need, as soon as they are in a state to receive and profit by them. And what is the doctrine on this subject as revealed for the New Church? It should be rational and spiritual as well as Scriptural, else it would not meet the demands of this New Age. According to Swedenborg, hell (like heaven) is essentially a state of life. As the kingdom of heaven is spiritual—within the soul (Luke xvii.