Coronis, or Appendix,
to True Christian Religion

Emanuel Swedenborg

Summary

1. There have been four churches on this earth from the day of the creation: the First, which is to be called the Adamic; the Second, the Noachian; the Third, the Israelitish; and the Fourth, the Christian.

2. There have been four periods, or successive states, of each church, which in the Word are meant by "morning," "day," "evening," and "night."

3. In each church there have been four successive changes of states; the first of which was the appearing of the Lord Jehovih and redemption, and then its morning or rise; the second was its instruction and then its mid-day or progression; the fourth was its end, and then its night, or consummation.

      After its end or consummation the Lord Jehovih appears and executes a judgment on the men of the former church, and separates the good from the evil, and elevates the good to Himself into heaven, and removes the evil from Himself into hell.

      After these things, from good elevated to Himself, He founds a new heaven, and from the evil removed from Himself, a new hell; and in both He establishes order, so that they may stand under His auspices and under obedience to Him to eternity; and then through this new heaven He successively inaugurates and establishes a new church on earth.

      From this new heaven, the Lord Jehovih derives and produces a new church on earth; which is effected by a revelation from His mouth, or from His Word, and by inspiration.

4. These periodical changes of state, which occurred in succession in the first or Most Ancient Church, which was the Adamic, are described by Moses in the first chapters of Genesis; but by heavenly representatives, and by other things, belonging to the world, to which spiritual things correspond.

5. The periodical changes of state, which occurred in succession in the second or Ancient Church, which was the Noachian, area also described in Genesis, and here and there in the four remaining books of Moses.

6. The periodical changes of state which occurred in the succession in the third church, which was the Israelitish, are also described in Moses, and afterwards in Joshua, in the books of Judges, Samuel, and Kings, and also in the Prophets.

7. The periodical changes which occurred in succession in the fourth church, which is the Christian, are described in the Word of both Testaments; its rise, or morning, in particular, in the Evangelists, and in the Acts and Writings of the Apostles; its progression toward noon-day, in the ecclesiastical histories of the first three centuries; its decline, or evening, by the histories of the centuries immediately following; and its vastation even to consummation, which is its night, in the Apocalypse.

8. After these four churches, a new one is to arise, which will be truly Christian foretold in Daniel and in the Apocalypse, and by the Lord Himself in the Evangelists, and expected by the Apostles.

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9. The church successively declines from the truths of faith and goods of charity, and it declines in the same proportion also from the spiritual understanding and genuine sense of the Word.

10. Consequently, the church departs in the same proportion from the Lord and removes Him from itself.

11. In proportion as this is effected, it approaches its end.

12. The end of the church is when there no longer remains any truth of faith and genuine good of charity.

13. The church is when in falsities and the evils therefrom, and in evils and the falsities therefrom.

14. Hence hell increases from those who have departed from the world, so that it raises itself up towards heaven, and interposes itself between heaven and the church, like a black cloud between the sun and the earth.

15. Through this interposition, it is brought about that no truth of faith, and hence no genuine good of charity penetrates to the men of the church; but, instead of them, falsified truth, which in itself is falsity, and adulterated good, which in itself is not good.

16. Then naturalism and atheism rush in together.

17. This state of the church is meant and described in the Word, by "vastation," "desolation," and "consummation."

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18. While the vastation lasts, and before the consummation supervenes, the Lord's Coming is announced, also redemption by the Lord, and after this, a new church.

19. These three, while the Israelitish Church still continued were announced in many passages of the Word in the Prophets.

20. The Coming of the Lord.

21. Redemption.

22. A new church.

      Almost everywhere in the prophetic Word it treats of vastation and consummation, the Last Judgment, the Lord's Coming, a new church, and redemption.

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23. As regards redemption in particular, through which alone salvation is effected, it was accomplished by Jehovah God incarnate, who is our Lord Jesus Christ.

24. The first part of redemption was a total subjugation of the hells.

25. The second part of redemption was the separation of the evil from the good, and the casting down of the evil into hell, and the raising of the good into heaven.

26. And, lastly, there is the arrangement in order of all in hell, and the arrangement in order of all in heaven.

27. And then, at the same time, instruction concerning the truths which are to be of faith, and the good which are to be of charity.

28. And thus the establishment of a new church.

29. The final and efficient cause of redemption was the regeneration, and thereby the salvation, of man.

30. The Lord, because He is the only Redeemer, is therefore the only Regenerator, and thus the only Savior.

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31. By His First Coming and the redemption then wrought, the Lord could not form a new heaven of Christians, and from that a new church, because there were no Christians as yet, but they became Christians gradually through the preachings and writings of the Apostles.

32. Neither could He afterwards, since from the beginning so many heresies broke forth, that scarcely any doctrine of faith could appear in is own light.

33. And at length the Apostolic doctrine, in process of time, was torn, rent asunder, and adulterated by atrocious heresies.

34. This is meant by "the abomination of desolation," and by "the affliction such as was not, neither shall be," and by "the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars," in the Evangelists, in Daniel, and also in the Prophets; likewise by "the dragon," and many things, in he Apocalypse.

35. Because the Lord foresaw these things, therefore, owing to its necessity in order that man might be saved, He promised He would come again into the world, and would accomplish a redemption, and would establish the New Church, which would be a truly Christian Church.

36. The Lord Himself foretold His Second Coming, and the Apostles frequently prophesied respecting it, and John openly so in the Apocalypse.

37. In like manner respecting the New Church, which is meant by the "New Jerusalem" in the Apocalypse.

38. This second redemption was effected in the same way as the first (of which above, from n. 28. to 30.).

39. And, also, for the sake of the regeneration and hence the salvation of the men of the church, as its final and efficient cause.

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40. The falsities which have hitherto desolated, and have at length consummated, the Christian Church, were chiefly the following:

41. They receded from the worship of the Lord preached b the Apostles, and from faith in Him.

      They severed the Divine Trinity from the Lord, and transferred it to three Divine Persons from eternity, consequently to three Gods.

42. They divided saving faith among these three Persons.

43. They separated charity and good works from that faith, as not at the same time saving.

44. They deduced justification, that is, remission of sins, regeneration, and salvation, from that faith alone, apart from man's cooperation.

45. They denied to man free-will in spiritual things, thus asserting that God alone operates in man, and on the other hand that man does nothing.

46. From this necessarily flowed forth predestination, by which religion is abolished.

47. They make the passion of the cross to be redemption.

48. From these heresies, falsities burst forth in such abundance that there does not remain any genuine truth which is not falsified, consequently, neither any genuine good which is not adulterated.

49. The church knows nothing at all about this, its desolation and consummation, nor can it know, until the Divine truths revealed by the Lord in the work entitled, The True Christian Religion, are seen in light and acknowledged.

      The Word has been so obscured and darkened, that not a single truth any longer appears in it.

50. For many reasons this New Christian Church is not being established through any miracles as the former was.

51. But, instead of them, the spiritual sense of the Word is revealed, and the spiritual world disclosed, and the nature of both heaven and hell manifested; also, that man lives a man after death; which things surpass all miracles.

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52. This New Church, truly Christian, which at this day is being established by the Lord, will endure to eternity, as is proved from the Word of both Testaments; also it was foreseen from the creation of the world; and it will be the crown of the four preceding churches, because it will have true faith and true charity.

53. In this New Church there will be spiritual peace, glory, and internal blessedness of life, as is also proved from the Word of both Testaments.

54. These things will be in this New Church, for the sake of the conjunction with the Lord, and through Him with God the Father.

55. An invitation to the whole Christian world to enter this church; and an exhortation to worthily receive the Lord, who has Himself foretold that He would come into the world for the sake of this church and to it.

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LASTLY, ABOUT MIRACLES

1. Miracles were done in the church before the Lord's Coming because, at that time, men were external or natural, who could not be led to their representative worship except by miracles.

      The miracles done in Egypt, in the wilderness, and in the land of Canaan, even to the present time, are to be recounted.

      And nevertheless they never affect men.

2. After the Lord's Coming, when man from external became internal, and when the faculty of being able to know was imparted to man, miracles were prohibited.

      Also, if that faculty were impeded, man would become more external than before.

3. Miracles would abolish worship truly Divine, and introduce the former idolatrous worship; as also has been done for very many centuries back.

      Nevertheless, the latter have not been Divine miracles, but such as were wrought by the magicians of old.

4. In place of miracles, there has, at this day, taken place a manifestation of the Lord Himself, an intromission into the spiritual world, and enlightenment there by immediately light from the Lord, in such things as are interior things of the church.

      But chiefly, the opening of the spiritual sense in the Word, in which the Lord is in His own Divine light.

5. These revelations are not miracles; since every man is in the spiritual world as to his spirit, without separation from his body in the natural world; I, however, with a certain separation, though only as to the intellectual part of my mind, but not as to the voluntary; and, as to the spiritual sense, the Lord through it is with all who in faith approach Him in that light, and through that are in its natural light.