Sending Out the Twelve Apostles
in the Spiritual World
By Rev. George DeCharms
[Reprinted from NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1982]
A STUDY
In Number 791 of the True Christian Religion we read:
After this work was finished, the Lord called together His twelve apostles who had followed Him in the world; and the next day He sent them all forth throughout the whole spiritual world to preach the
gospel that the Lord God Jesus Christ reigns, whose kingdom shall be for ages of ages, according to the prediction in Daniel (7:13, 14), and in the Apocalypse (11:15). Also that "Blessed are those that come to the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Apocalypse 19:1). This took
place on the 19th day of June, 1770. This is what is meant by the words of the Lord: "He shall send His angels, and they shall gather together His elect, from the end of the heavens to the end thereof" (Matthew 24:31).
Such is the testimony of the Writings concerning what we have come to recognize as the birthday of the New Church on earth. The specific reference is to what happened in the spiritual world but it
must have happened on earth at the same time because a specific date is given. The words "After this work was finished" refer to the completion of the first draft. Some months later, the draft that was submitted to the printer was completed, and in this draft we find the
following statement in number 180:
Some months ago the twelve apostles were called together by the Lord, and were sent forth through the whole spiritual world as formerly they had been sent through the whole natural world with the
command to preach this gospel. And to each apostle was assigned a particular province; and this command they are executing with great zeal and industry.
Why this added note was inserted at this point is a matter of conjecture. It is significant, however, that the subject being treated of in this number is the formation of a new Christian heaven by
the Lord.
We do not often reflect upon the long preparation the twelve apostles had to undergo before they were prepared to proclaim the gospel of the Lord's Second Coming. When they entered the spiritual
world, at the end of the first generation of Christians, they carried with them a simple faith in the Lord as their God. But His Second Coming was no more than a Divine promise and a distant hope. They had no idea whatever as to what it would be like.
They came into the first beginnings of the Christian heaven, where they were reserved and protected by the Lord during seventeen centuries of steadily declining faith in the church they had been
instrumental in establishing. Their preparation for the role they were to play in the spiritual world began in 1757, when Swedenborg first completed the writing of the Arcana Coelestia. This produced a profound effect in the world of spirits, and set on foot the Last
Judgment upon the imaginary heavens there. Meanwhile the Christian Church on earth had fallen into increasing error. Its leaders became confused as to the relation between Jesus Christ and the Infinite Father. It could not be otherwise because the inhabitants of Western
Europe who received the New Testament Gospel were for the most part very simple men without intellectual learning. Their faith was not spiritual except in potency. It was based on a natural understanding of the Lord's teachings. They had a vague idea of a Divinity within
those teachings, but wherein this Divinity lay they had no idea. Because they did not understand, they could be led astray by human interpretations of the Word. Of this the Lord had warned them, saying:
If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that if it were
possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold I have told you before (Matt. 24:23-25).
Many religious leaders arose proclaiming their human interpretations of the gospel as the very truth of God. Their followers divided the Christian Church into warring sects. When they died they
carried these mistaken beliefs with them and established in the world of spirits what the Writings call "imaginary heavens." Here the simple were held bound by their confidence in their leaders. But when the Arcana Coelestia had been written, the simple in faith among them
began to perceive the hypocrisy and self-seeking of those who had led them astray, and they rejected their leaders. This constituted the "Last Judgment" effected by the Lord. All who followed this new teaching from the Lord were gathered together into societies on the
outskirts of the Christian heaven. Here they were instructed by the Lord Himself in the teachings of the Heavenly Doctrine, Among those to receive this Divine teaching were the twelve apostles. It is impossible to imagine what a tremendous change this new teaching must have
effected in the minds of these simple Christians. It revolutionized their whole concept of what is meant by the glorification of the Lord's Human.
Concerning this they had previously had no idea whatever. They had no idea of the Lord's grievous temptations whereby He conquered the hells and held them under subjection to Himself. They had
known Him only in states of glorification, when He performed miracles and taught with Divine authority and power. Now for the first time they witnessed the Last Judgment and the separation of the good from the evil. In consequence their whole concept of the Lord's life and
work was completely changed. For the first time they began to glimpse the meaning of the gradual glorification of the Human, and its approach step by step toward eventual union with the Infinite Father. Even in the spiritual world this remarkable change could not take place
instantly but only by gradual stages. It had to progress for thirteen years, from 1757 to 1770, before these twelve apostles could possibly be prepared to teach the gospel of the Lord's Second Coming. They had to be introduced into the marvels of the Heavenly Doctrine, and
explore the mysteries of faith. They had to be introduced into the Laws of Order governing the creation of the universe, and the Laws of Order for the preservation of all things created. They had to learn how the two worlds are interrelated, the one being the world of
causes and the other the world of effects. They had to learn all these things before they could even begin to teach them. They had to behold the Lord in His glorified Divine Human, and worship Him as the one God of heaven and earth. Only when the Lord so appeared to them as
God-Man could they go forth to teach and preach in His name.
That these twelve human beings were actually sent forth to proclaim the Second Advent of the Lord we cannot doubt. They had established during their life on earth the proclamation of the gospel as
their life's love; and this love they took with them into the spiritual world. It was their whole life, not only on earth but also in the spiritual world. Nevertheless, the whole burden of transmitting or proclaiming the gospel throughout the vast heaven is an appalling
thought. Such a personal concept is, after all, a natural idea which is inadequate to explain the inner truth concerning the advent of the Lord to all the heavens. We must remember the teaching that the twelve apostles "represent all the goods and truths of the church in a
complex." It is the truths and goods of the Heavenly Doctrine that are to be spread through all the heavens. All who receive these truths and goods in faith and life become members of the New Christian Church on earth, and angels of the new Christian heaven after death. Everyone who so receives them is called upon to proclaim them openly, and so spread the "Good News" to others in both worlds.
This is what is meant by the Lord's words, "He shall send His angels, and they shall gather together His elect, from the end of the heavens to the end thereof' (Matt. 24:31). This means that in
addition to the twelve apostles, untold millions of angels also were sent forth to spread the gospel of the Lord's Second Advent. All who belong to the New Church on earth and all who belong to the new Christian heaven are called upon to spread the knowledge of the Lord's
Advent. We suggest that this is the specific use entrusted to those who belong to the New Church, because the Lord wishes to share with them the joy and the blessing of this great use. For the same reason He has introduced all the angels of the new Christian heaven into the
love of this use. We cannot begin to grasp the full meaning of this Divine mission. It includes not only those who come from the Christian world, but also those who come from the gentile nations descended from the Ancient Church. It includes not only those who come from our
earth but those who enter the spiritual world from the planets in our solar system, and even from the planets in the starry heaven. It cannot be otherwise, for the entire universe, in the sight of the Lord, is a Grand Man, of whom the Lord Himself is the inmost Soul. The
Lord came into the world to "save the whole human race," and His infinite mercy fills the heavens, to the utmost reaches thereof.
|
