NJHD #2 “…After the Last Judgment was completed, a New Heaven was created or formed by the Lord. This heaven was formed of all those who, from the coming of the Lord to the present time, had lived the life of faith and charity, since these alone were forms of heaven…. From these things it may be known, who they are of whom the New Heaven consists; and thereby what its quality is, namely, that it is altogether unanimous. For he who lives the life of faith and charity, loves another as himself, and by love conjoins him to himself, and thus reciprocally and mutually; for in the spiritual world, love is conjunction. Wherefore, when all act thus, then from many, yea from innumerable individuals consociated according to the form of heaven, unanimity exists, and they become as one; for then nothing separates and divides, but everything conjoins and unites.”
Reflecting on this passage, I am reminded of the charity that has been building in recent years between the Swedenborgian denominations that enlivens my hopes of even more signs of the New Heaven, where we love one another as the Lord loves us. And, as we believe that those are received into heaven who receive heaven into themselves in this world, these signs give us guidance on our path to eternity.
Having been involved in the Gathering Leaves retreats that began in 2004, I can attest that women of diverse doctrines, found the Lord’s love together in this fellowship. As the non-profit In Company with Angels, working since 2007 to promote the Swedenborgian belief in angels, found supporters across the denominations, I felt we created a community effort to promote our angelology from diverse perspectives. And most recently, Swedenborgian Colloquiums have inspired many to listen to other belief systems with an open heart.
Where are we heading on this path? I believe we are walking the path to the New Heaven. We are being conjoined and united by our hearts. Charity is uniting us. Through face-to-face gatherings, as well as this new blog technology, we are all a part of the forming of the New Heaven as we add our voices to the call for open dialog and add our actions to the activities of fellowship, community efforts to promote our common beliefs, and opening our hearts to listen to the beliefs of others, accepting and rejoicing in the harmonies that are being created as we experience Heavenly unanimity! When we accept and share the Lord’s love, we harmonize our differences to create beautiful music, and love the experience of receiving the New Heaven into ourselves, together!