New Church Life Mar/Apr 2014 | Page 80

new church life: march / april 2014 I did not properly acknowledge Jesus for who He was – because without this knowledge, people pray to the Father for the sake of the Son, sort of bypassing Jesus. It reminded me of the passage, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.” (John 19:37) A host of other issues were resolved, and after further research, there was just no conceivable way he (Swedenborg) thought of this on his own. He was being guided to reveal these spiritual truths, to show us who God is: it is important to love, for He is love itself, and came to us in human form. And that was just the beginning. I have encountered many other surprises along the way. I know people who still have visions and dreams similar to what Swedenborg describes, but they typically keep this private. The symbolism that Swedenborg describes is universal, and I often use it to interpret dreams. After I began to study Swedenborg I had another dream: I saw a doorway in front of me. I then heard a booming voice: WELCOME MY CHILD, TO THE MIRROR OF TRUTH. The doorway then changed into a full-length mirror, and I saw a true reflection of myself. The mirror shimmered and turned into liquid, and I walked right through it. Behind the mirror was a huge labyrinth of stone walls, with many passageways and directions. On the walls were endless passages of writing – different letters, which I thought were from the Bible, revealing certain secrets. As I started to read the letters I then awoke. I have been wandering in the labyrinth ever since. My point is: do not take the truths that you know for granted. Try to live them, for then they become life changing. They have great value, and many are still seeking for these answers. Share with others. Many will reject them, but he re and there a light bulb will turn on for those who are ready. Doug Webber is an Information Technology Director for a U.S. financial company, and has been a software architect and consultant for 20 years, specializing in business rule engines and middleware technologies.  He has a degree in Near Eastern Studies from the University of California-Berkeley, where he studied ancient Akkadian and Sumerian, as well as another degree in Software Engineering. He is the author of the book, The Decoded Prophecies of Nostradamus, and in 1994 appeared as a subject matter expert on the CBS documentary, Mysteries of the Ancient World. He has published the entire works of Emanuel Swedenborg in a digital e-book, The Divine Revelation of the New Jerusalem, where all the references are hyperlinked for easy reference (standard edition: amzn.com/B008GHMPSO, expanded edition: amzn.com/B00AMLPBHO). His blog on spiritual topics can be found at http:// dream-prophecy.blogspot.com/. He is working on a new translation of the Psalms to correct mistranslations. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and three children. Contact: theodore. [email protected] 176