n e w c h u r c h l i f e : m ay / j u n e 2 0 1 5
‘there was war in heaven’
Did we think it would be easy, the birth of the New Church? It wasn’t
easy in the spiritual world. “There was war in heaven: Michael and his angels
fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels. And the great
dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, who deceives
the whole world: he was cast out onto the earth, and his angels were cast out
with him.” (Revelation 12:7, 9)
In our world today, the New Jerusalem is descending out of heaven from
God, but its establishment on earth is not going unchallenged. The more
known it becomes, and the stronger its influence grows, the more opposition
we can expect from those under the sway of contrary spirits.
The establishment of the first Christian Church was not accomplished
easily. The Lord Himself suffered and died. He wasn’t crucified for being nice.
He was crucified for speaking the truth, about Himself, and about those who
hated the truth. He “spoke truth to power.”
Nor did He send forth His disciples to tell people what they wanted to
hear. They weren’t sent to “win friends and influence people,” but to call people
to repentance and preach the truth. He told them what to expect: they would
be persecuted; and they were, and are today in many places.
Wars and all the horrors associated with them are raging all around the
globe, and these are outward effects of a spiritual war. At home we speak of
“culture wars,” but these are really spiritual wars between good and evil. The
“great dragon who deceives the whole world” is hard at work.
Some teachings of the New Church are easy to accept. The Lord loves
everyone, condemns no one. No harm that anyone may suffer is ever God’s
will. Charity is supreme. People of all religions can go to heaven. These truths
are met with a warm welcome. When people hear them they often say, “that’s
what I’ve always believed.”
But there are other truths which are more challenging. Some are downright
offensive, even outrageous to the modern, materialistic, relativistic mindset.
Such as: That there is a God, and only one, the Lord Jesus Christ. Or the reality
of hell and human evil, and the need for everyone to repent, reform and be
regenerated; and that this requires a difficult struggle with our own lower self
(“temptation combats”). Or that marriage is holy and can only exist between
one man and one woman. Even the existence of heaven, much less hell, is hard
for many to accept.
When the Lord was on earth, His words drew many people to Him. But
not all His words. Some of the things He said caused many of His disciples
to say: “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” And, “many of His
disciples went back and walked with Him no more. Then Jesus said to the
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