11. They maintain, that there is not in the universal Heaven a single angel that was created such at first, nor a single devil in all Hell, that had been created an angel of light, and was afterwards cast out of Heaven; but that all both in Heaven and Hell are of the human race: in Heaven such as had lived in the world in heavenly love and faith, and in Hell such as had lived in hellish love and faith.

12. That the material body never rises again; but that man, immediately on his departure from this life, rises again as to his spiritual or substantial body, (which was inclosed in his material body, and formed from his predominant love, whether it be good or evil) wherein he continues to live as a man, in a perfect human form, in all respects as before, save only the gross material body, which he puts off by death, and which is of no further use.

13. That the state and condition of man after death is according to his past life in this world; and that the predominant love which he takes with him into the spiritual world, continues with him for ever, and can never be changed to all eternity; consequently, if it be good, he abides in Heaven to all eternity; but if evil, he abides in Hell to all eternity.

14. That true conjugal love, which can only subsist between one husband and one wife, is a primary characteristic of the New Church, being grounded in the marriage of Goodness and Truth, and corresponding with the marriage of the Lord and his Church; and therefore it is more celestial, spiritual, holy, pure, and clean, than any other love in angels or men.

15. That the Science of Correspondences (which has been lost for some thousands of years, but is now revived in the theological works of the Hon. Emanuel Swedenborg) is the only key to the spiritual or internal sense of the holy WORD, every page of which is written by correspondences, that is, by such things in the natural world as correspond unto and signify things in the spiritual world.

16. That all those passages in Scripture, generally supposed to signify the destruction of the world by fire, etc. commonly called the last judgment, must be understood according to the above science, which teaches, that by the end of the world, or consummation of the age, is not signified the destruction of the world, but the destruction or end of the present Christian Church, both among Roman Catholics and Protestants of every description; and that this last judgment actually took place in the spiritual world, in the year 1757.

17. That the second advent of the Lord, which is a coming, not in person, but in the spiritual or internal sense of his holy WORD, has

already commenced; that it is effected by means of his servant Emanuel Swedenborg, before whom he hath manifested himself in person, and whom he hath filled with his spirit, to teach the doctrines of the New Church by the WORD from him; and that this is what is meant in the Revelation by the new heaven and new earth, and the New Jerusalem thence descending.

[Such are the general outlines of the Doctrines of the NEW JERU SALEM CHURCH, on the merits of which we shall leave to the judgment of our readers to decide. In the mean time, we would take up the foregoing subjects in detail, and place them in such a light as will leave no room for doubts concerning their truth and importance. But in order to do this, we know of no better plan than to copy the language of the enlightened and illuminated SWEDENBORG, from a work of his, published in London, entitled THE HEAVENLY DOCTRINE OF THE New JeRUSALEM.]

THE HEAVENLY DOCTRINE OF THE NEW-JERUSALEM.

[BY EMANUEL SWEDENBORG.]

I......OF GOODNESS AND TRUTH.

1. Every thing in the universe which existeth according to divine order, hath relation to Goodness and Truth. There is nothing in Heaven or on earth which doth not derive its existence from these twa principles; the reason whereof is, that both Goodness and Truth proeeed from the Divine Essence of the Godhead, which is the first cause of all being.

2. Hence it appears, that there is no knowledge more necessary for man, than to understand clearly the nature of Goodness and Truth, in what they consist, and how they have a mutual regard to, and union one with another. This knowledge is more especially necessary for every member of the Church; because, as all things in Heaven have relation to Goodness and Truth, so likewise all things in the Church have the same relation, inasmuch as the same Goodness and Truth prevail in both. It is on this account that we begin the doctrine of the New Jerusalem with explaining the nature of Goodness and Truth.

3. Divine order requireth that Goodness and Truth should be united, and not separated; that so they may exist and act in unity, and not in separation; for they proceed in unity from the Godhead, they are united in Heaven, and therefore they should be united also in the Church

on earth. The union of Goodness and Truth is called, in Heaven, Celestial Marriage, inasmuch as all the inhabitants of Heaven are the subjects of such a marriage. This is the reason why, in the Word of God, Heaven is compared to a marriage, and the Lord is called the bridegroom and husband, whilst Heaven, and the Church on earth, are called the bride and the wife. These names are given to Heaven and to the Church, because they are the recipients of divine Goodness in Truths.

4. The angels in Heaven derive all their understanding and wisdom from this marriage union of Goodness and Truth, but not from either of them apart, or separate from the other. This is the case too with the members of the Church on earth.

5. Inasmuch as the union of Goodness and Truth beareth resemblance to a marriage, it is plain that Goodness loveth Truth, and that Truth in return loveth Goodness, and that they have a mutual desire to be united with each other. The members of the Church, therefore, who have no such love and desire, are no subjects of the celestial marriage, and of consequence have nothing of the Church or its spirit in them; for the union of Goodness and Truth alone constitute the church.

6. There are various kinds of Goodness, all of which may be comprehended in the general division into spiritual and natural Goodness; and these are both united in genuine moral Goodness. And as Goodness admitteth of variety, so also doth Truth, inasmuch as every Truth is derived from Goodness, and is the form thereof.

7. What hath been said of Goodness and Truth, may justly be applied, in a reversed sense, to evil and falshood. For as every thing in the universe, which existeth according to divine order, hath relation to Goodness and Truth, so every thing which existeth contrary to divine order hath relation to evil and falshood. And again, as Goodness loveth to be united with Truth, and Truth with Goodness, so evil loveth to be united with falshood, and falshood with evil. Lastly, as all wisdom and understanding arise from the union of Truth, so all madness and folly arise from the union of evil and falshood. This union is called the Infernal Marriage.

8. From the contrariety existing between Good and evil, Truth and falshood, it is plain that Truth cannot be united with evil, nor Good with falshood that ariseth from evil; for if Truth be united with evil, it is no longer Truth, but becometh falshood, inasmuch as it is falsified; and if Good be united with falshood that ariseth from evil, it is no longer Good, but becometh evil, inasmuch as it is adulterated. Nevertheless, falsbood which doth not arise from evil may be united with Good..

9. It is impossible for those who have confirmed themselves in evil and falshood by false reasoning, and an evil life, to understand any thing relating to Goodness and Truth; inasmuch as evil, in their imagination, is Goodness, and falshood Truth. But such as have confirmed themselves in Goodness and Truth by right reasoning and a good life, have a capacity to know and distinguish what is evil and false. The reason of this is, because all Goodness, and its attendant Truth, are, as to their essences, celestial or from above; but all evil and its attendant falshood, are, as to their essences, infernal, or from below. And every thing that hath a celestial essence, or origin, is in the light; but every thing that hath an infernal essence, or origin, darkness.

(To be continued.)

FOR THE HALCYON LUMINARY.

LETTER TO GEORGE FOX, FROM ERASMUS, ON THE
LAWFULNESS OF BEARING ARMS.

Amongst the various sects of professing Christians, at this day, there is one which, on conscientious grounds, refuse to be at all concerned in the business of war. We profess not to know particularly the whole ground of doctrine on which this opinion rests, but we may with safety, from what we do know, assume as the foundation of it, that command which saith, " Thou shalt do no murder ;" and, the example of the peaceable unresisting life of our Lord, which men are bound to follow in all things, as well as his counsel to his disciples, in telling them, that they who take the sword shall fall by the sword.

As to the sixth command, which saith, thou shalt do no murder, this in the civil natural sense is to be understood agreeably to the judicious regulation of our civil code, which, within the general term of mankilling, includes three distinct states of action, the criminality of each being made to depend on the intention, according to which, as far as a court of justice can recognize, the judgment upon each one is awarded. The first class, is termed justifiable homicide. Here there is no evil imputed. As in the case of a robber killed whilst depredating on the highway, or in forcing a house, in the night. Or a man, insane by liquor or otherwise, killed when violently and outrageously attacking another, without provocation. Or a soldier, acting under the authority of his government, killing an enemy agreeably to the laws of war. These are cases of the first class.

The second class, is termed manslaughter. This is killing in defence also, but with more criminality of intention, as in a duel, where there is room for a presumption that the party may have been in the wrong originally, or at any rate did not take advantage of his option, to decline the contest; or, where language mutually irritating, is succeeded by blows, in which one of the parties is killed. Such are cases of the second class.

The third class, is where killing is committed, without any palliating circumstances, being then said to be from malice aforethought. This, in the strictest legal sense, is murder, and punishable by death.

Pardon is asked of the gentlemen of the bar, if, in encroaching on their chartered limits, technical accuracy should suffer; but as moral, rather than legal accuracy, is aimed at, it is hoped that the offence will appear venial.

Incidental with those, we are enjoined spiritual-naturally to avoid giving any blow, or wound, nor to hurt any one's reputation unjustly, a good reputation being held by many as dear as life itself. Also, enmity, hatred, and revenge, these being murders in embryo.

By murder in the spiritual sense, is the killing the souls of men, by turning their thoughts from God, from religion, and divine worship, by insinuating improper objections against them: hence, the Devil is called a murderer from the beginning. John viii. 44

Spiritual murder, is also imputed to those who teach, as Divine Truths, founded on the WORD, doctrines that are of their own self-derived intelligence merely..

By murder in the CELESTIAL SENSE, is animosity against the Lord, and a desire to blot out his name, by exalting all things of man, above what is of God.

Having thus stated the Law, we shall proceed to discuss the merits of the question.

One of the first things which we are to consider is, the state and condition of man under the law; for if the subject be in such a condition as to render his obedience impracticable, the law, so far, is a dead letter, and his good intention, in this case, must be his atonement for non-performance, if we assume it as a fact, that he had previously accepted the law as a rule of life. If this was not the case, there would be a constant jarring in respect to the exercise of functions; as, for instance, if we suppose the command to obey those in authority sacred, and the command not to take up the sword sacred, it is evident, that when the government orders its citizens out to defend their country, one of these two laws, both equally authoritative, must fall to the ground. So that