An Affectionate Address to the Clergy. On the second page of the cover of this little pamphlet, you will find an offer to clergymen of three valuable books, free of all charge except postage. In the "True Christian Religion,” almost the last and the crowning work of Swedenborg's life, in which he has summed up the doctrines of the New Christian Church that is now being established on earth, you will find a discussion of all the vital topics of Christian belief, including chapters on God the Creator, the Lord the Redeemer, the Holy Spirit, the Word, the Decalogue, Faith, Charity, Repentance, etc. The central and distinctive doctrine taught in this book is the supreme and sole divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, a doctrine which will be seen to stand out in clear light from almost every page of the Sacred Scriptures when rightly interpreted, and the full recognition of which alone can make the Church in reality what it is in name-the "Christian Church. In it also you will find a clear and simple' explanation of the great mystery concerning the Trinity, and the still greater mystery concerning the Lord's saving work, or the means by which He redeems men from the power of the enemy. You will find, further, new and practical doctrines concerning charity and faith, the necessity of repentance, free-will, imputation, reformation and regeneration, baptism, and the Holy Supper; all of which are based squarely and firmly on the Word of the Lord, the true nature of which is briefly explained in this work, and opened and unfolded in extenso in other of Swedenborg's writings. In the work on "Heaven and Hell" you will find a beautiful and rational revelation, by the Lord Himself through His chosen servant, of the state of men after death, of heaven, hell, and the intermediate world, and of the relation of this world to the other, and the preparation of man in this world for an eternal life in the spiritual world. In the "Apocalypse Revealed" you have an explanation, by the application of an entirely new method of interpretation that no one but "the Lion of the Tribe of Judah" could reveal (see Rev. v. 5), of that last and most wonderful book of the Holy Word which has been spoken of as the "despair of theologians," an explanation which will be seen to be in perfect harmony with the dignity of the subject and the Divine character of its Divine Author, and to afford a key to the opening of many of the greatest mysteries that have excited the curiosity and taxed the ingenuity of men in the past. Thousands of clergymen have AN ADDRESS TO THE CLERGY. iii obtained these wonderful volumes, and many have read them and accepted the sublime truths they teach. Some are beginning to teach them to their people; especially the more practical doctrines that all religion has relation to life, and the life of religion is to do good; that he who shuns any evil as a sin against the Lord will find the opposite good affection flowing in and taking possession of his soul; and that we are to be judged not by our faith or belief alone, but by our works as seen in the light of the motives by which we were actuated in doing them. What have you to lose, dear brethren of the Christian ministry, by an examination of these revelations, wherein others claim to see the truths of a new dispensation of Divine truth? You must see that the Jewish priesthood made a grievous error when they rejected the Lord Jesus at His first coming. Is it not possible that you may do the same to-day at His Second Coming? Can you not see the signs of the times? Can you not realize that wonderful changes, not to be accounted for on any mere natural supposition, are taking place around us, and that the Lord's promise in Revelation, "Behold, I make all things new," is being fulfilled under our eyes? Let us assure you that if you will go to the Lord, pray to Him that if these things are true you may be enabled to see them, and if not to put them away, and will then study them in the light of the internal or spiritual sense of the Word, you will find a new and reasonable explanation of all the so-called mysteries of the Word, and new and penetrating light on all the problems of life. In this little volume you have the "Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem." We entreat you to read it with care, that you may see how perfectly it harmonizes both with reason and Scripture, and what a wonderful and needed light it throws upon our pathway through life. And if this taste of the good things provided for you is sufficient to sharpen your appetite, we beg you, if you have not already done so, to send for the "Gift-Books," and to read them prayerfully and without prejudice. If you desire to study the "Science of Correspondences," in accordance with which the Sacred Scriptures were written, you will find on the second page from this where you can obtain the book you need by simply paying the postage on the same. It is in no sectarian spirit that this little pamphlet is sent out, but to call attention to the New Dispensation of Divine Truth that is now being established among men by the Lord Jesus Christ, and to show that He is now coming in "the clouds of heaven," or, in the literal sense of His Holy Word, with the "power and great glory" of its spiritual or heavenly sense. |