And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem,
coming down from God out of heaven,
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a voice from heaven saying,
"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men,
and He will dwell with them..."
Revelation 21:2
The apostle John on the Isle of Patmos had been through a lot. He had witnessed incredible things in a strange world, a world to which he was not accustomed. He saw mythical beasts, evil creatures, violent and unsettling events, wonders, warfare, persecutions of the good... He had become involved as a witness in a dramatic conflict between good and evil.
John was not a dispassionate observer, he was moved by what he saw!
- When the Lord appeared in awesome form, speaking with a voice
that crashed and reverberated like many waters, John fell at His feet
'as one dead.'
- He wept when no one was found who could unseal an important scroll.
- He used adjectives like 'great' and 'marvellous' and interjections
like 'behold!'
- Once he wrote: 'I marvelled with great amazement.'
- Twice he was so overcome with holy awe that he fell down at the
feet of the angel who was speaking.
We can imagine that he was wrenched emotionally in different directions, as the powers of evil and good enjoyed success.
By the time the Lord showed John the resolution to some of these events, he must have been pretty engaged! How did he feel after the Lord had finally judged the dead, and cast Satan into hell? How did he feel when he saw a new heaven and a new earth in the place of the troubled former ones?
The Lord chose John to witness the symbolic birth of the New Church for a reason. John, the 'beloved disciple', was a loving person, someone who was very affected by the Lord and His truth. He was a person to whom the Lord could show His love and His truth in a fuller way, because he loved the Lord and let the Lord love Him! John represents the quality of love for the Lord and of responsiveness to His Word – bringing it right into life.
John's eyes and ears were open to experiencing the newness of the Lord's coming. He was willing – and so able – to see the new heaven and new earth. He was able to see the New Jerusalem, as fresh and new as a bride adorned for her husband! He was able to hear the Lord's voice saying, "Behold, I make all things new!"
Sometimes we may wonder what makes the New Church new. Yes, we have some striking doctrines that no other church recognises as we do. But somehow at times it just doesn't seem to us, or to others, that we have much to call 'new'.
The doctrines given to the New Church do have incredible power to bring clarity and meaning to life. Yet this power becomes operative from within. Ultimately what makes the New Church new for us as individuals is when we experience the love within its doctrines.
Love – the Lord's eternal love – is what renews, bringing freshness and hope to old ideas, to old relationships, to old routines and jobs.
As we prepare to celebrate the birth of the New Church this June the 19th, let us pray for the willing spirit represented by John, a loving responsiveness to our Lord!
Love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour
are what make a person new.
Arcana Caelestia 4727.2
A 'new state' is every state of the conjunction of good and truth,
which exists when a person who is being regenerated
acts from good, thus from affection which is of love,
and not as before from truth, or from mere obedience.
Arcana Caelestia 10114.2
