Tuesday, April 9, 2013

The Spiritual Meaning of the Abomination of Desolation

I have been discussing the prophecy of the "abomination of desolation" - where Jesus describes the corruption of the Christian church at the end of its age.  Literalists assume that the Jewish temple will be rebuilt, which will be desecrated by a future Antichrist.  While this future event may indeed occur, in a more wider universal sense it refers to the corruption of the Christian Church, where an idol will be put at the center of worship, and regarded as "most holy" - for the idol will be worshiped in place of God. Here is the prophecy of Jesus again:
Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand),then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. (Matt. 24:15-18)
While some have interpreted the prophecies of Daniel as referring to the desecration of the Jewish temple by Antiochus Epiphanes IV of the Seleucid Empire in 167 B.C., Jesus speaks of a future event.  So the next popular interpretation is the destruction of the Jewish temple by the Romans. Again, this was an immediate, temporary fulfillment: for the Jewish nation was a symbolic example, or representation, of the Christian Church. Judaism was for the most part an external form of worship, where the rituals and ceremonies were symbolic of the spiritual Church. The corruption of worship, and the destruction of the Jewish temple, is a symbolic example of how towards the end of the age a church or religion will become corrupt, preceding a new revelation that is then given.  So in the above scripture, the literal sense contains a more spiritual meaning: those who flee to the mountains are those who are in love towards the Lord, those on the housetop are those who are in love towards the neighbor, and those who are in the field are in obedience from the truth that they know.  The warning here is: once you recognize that the established religion in which you were born is corrupt, do not depart from the Lord, and do not depart from a life of love and charity. The other warning is, once you are in a life of usefulness and charity towards others, beware of going backwards and just using religion for the sake of just learning truth.  Those who read this scripture literally will think that the reference to the mountain, housetop and field are just metaphors or figures of speech: not so, every word has a spiritual meaning. Many who see certain falsehoods in religion will leave the Lord entirely...I have seen this many, many times. I recognized the falsehoods very early on when I had questions...and there was no one who could answer them. I knew something was wrong with what was being taught, but could not put my finger on what was the exact truth. There are many who are disenchanted with the church in this way.

THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF ANIMAL SACRIFICES

There is another reason why literalists will continue to think that the "abomination of desolation" refers to the desecration of a future Jewish temple.  One is, two prophecies in Daniel mention the desecration in conjunction with animal sacrifices, which will cease:
And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. (Dan. 11:31) 
And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. (Dan. 12:11)
So, some who read the previous blog posts might have noticed the reference to the animal sacrifices, and might have concluded that the abomination of desolation must refer to the desecration of a literal physical Jewish temple, or a future Jewish temple. But if Israel and Judaism was a symbolic representation of the spiritual Church, what is the spiritual meaning of animal sacrifices?  I remember when I first read the Old Testament, and once I came to Leviticus, I just skipped it. All of those details just simply bored me. At that point, I jumped to the book of Revelation. I now know that there is a hidden spiritual meaning hidden behind these rituals, which were revealed in visions to Emanuel Swedenborg. But there are two obvious clues from scripture itself:
...the Jews answered and said to Him, "What sign do You show to us, since You do these things?"Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"But He was speaking of the temple of His body.Therefore, when He had risen from the dead, His disciples remembered that He had said this to them; and they believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said. (John 2:18-22)
So if Jesus spoke metaphorically then, He was probably speaking metaphorically concerning the last days: He is not speaking of the desecration of the Jewish temple, He is speaking of the desecration of the worship of the Lord, specifically, concerning the nature of His human body.  That the "abomination of desolation" will concern a false teaching concerning the Lord, is also shown by this passage:
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body."Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you.For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matt. 26:26-18)
This took place on the Passover, and instead of sacrificing a lamb, Jesus Himself became the sacrifice. The bread and wine are symbolic representations of His human body and blood, which in turn is a symbolic representation of Divine love and Divine truth. To prove that "bread" and "wine" are symbolic representations of love and truth is beyond the scope of this blog - but the point here is, Jesus is the sacrifice, and the other point that many miss: He made His very human body Divine, a part of the Divine nature. This is why communion is the absolute center and most holy thing of Christian worship.  But if you look at the theology of Catholics and Protestants, they declare that in Christ there is a Divine nature, and also a human nature.  They divide Christ into two natures.  This is the abomination of desolation, this is the desecration of the spiritual temple.

I remember one person who studied the history of the Christian church found the theological debates concerning the human nature of Christ which occurred for the most part in the fifth century A.D. unimportant.  But it is not unimportant, for it is important to realize that by making His human Divine, this is how Jesus saves all of humanity. To do this, He had to resist sin and temptation, which originated from all of the worst hells which attacked Him with such ferocity that no other human has ever experienced. Before the physical attack of the crucifixion, there was a very intense mental attack - thus Jesus sweated blood in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Thus when we make acts of repentance, turning away from evil - inasmuch as we try to remove these internal sins inside of us, so Jesus will act through us through His Holy Spirit.  This is how sins are removed.  There is no such thing as an "automatic transfer" of guilt to Jesus on the cross through mere belief or lip confession.  There is no "covering of evil" so that when God looks upon a person He sees the righteousness of Jesus. Scripture teaches over and over again: God will judge everyone according to their works.  The Protestant theology of salvation...is wrong at its very core.  Its an excuse to continue in ones sins...Paul recognized this problem, and thus said:
And why not say, "Let us do evil that good may come"? --- as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their condemnation is just. (Rom. 3:8)
Unfortunately, this theology is prevalent in Protestant churches. They say, oh, forget about it, your sins are transferred, just believe and offer lip confession. Then when communion comes, they say the opposite: examine yourselves, and take care of those faults and sins. It is in communion that a remnant of the truth remains. I attended a service and this is exactly what was taught.  Many, who grew up in Protestant churches, do not see the error. That is why it is important to recognize that Jesus made His human Divine. That is why His body is at the center of worship in communion. Sins are not removed until you resist and turn away from them. In Protestant churches in particular, belief alone is held to be more important than acts of repentance. At this one particular service, they even quoted Tullian Tchividjian the grandson of Billy Graham to make their point. So what. The point is false: it gives people a false sense of security concerning their salvation: for they do not examine their lives, and seek to remove those inner sins from within.

THE SPIRITUAL MEANING OF ANIMAL SACRIFICES

Back to the spiritual meaning of animal sacrifices...let's look at where in scripture the "daily sacrifice" is first mentioned: it first appears in Exodus chapter 29. I won't go into all the symbolic details that are explained in more detail by Swedenborg, but I will sum it up like this: the flesh that is offered and burned symbolizes purification by removing the evils in one's lower natural body.  The separation and the offering of the blood symbolizes the Divine truth received by the Holy Spirit: for when the truth is received, one then acknowledges one's sin and turns away from it through repentance. Its not an easy thing to do: and that is why it is a special offering to God when one does this of their own free will. Acts of repentance in each person is a simulation of the act that Jesus did to glorify His human and make it Divine:
From what has been said, some idea may be formed concerning the glorification of the Human of the Lord; for as the Lord glorified His Human, so He regenerates man, therefore, as has been many times already said, the regeneration of man is an image of the glorification of the Lord. Thus it is plain that the first state of His glorification was to make His Human Divine truth, and to unite it with the Divine good which was in Him; and that the second state was to act from Divine good by Divine truth. For by Divine truth proceeding from the Divine good of the Lord heaven and the church are established; and by it all who are in the church are regenerated. This it is which is described by the sacrifices and burnt offerings, and their ceremonials ordained in this chapter. (Heavenly Arcana, 10057.5)
And this is the hidden spiritual meaning behind all of those animal sacrifices. In themselves, the sacrifices did nothing. But it established a representative form of worship, and creates a symbol in the mind as to what happens in the spiritual world when one commits an act of repentance in this earthly life. It is through these symbolic representations in the mind that a link is formed with the angelic heaven, as it provides a means for spiritual communion. This type of representation has been abolished, and in its place, there is now the Eucharist or Communion.

So, it should be more clear what the "abomination of desolation" is, and it should be clear what the removal of the daily sacrifice means: it concerns a theology that divides God into three persons, and from that error, they then divide Christ into two natures, and from that error, make acts of repentance of no account, transfer sins away automatically, and put religion in its lowest most basest form, that of belief only and lip confession. Which in fact is no religion at all, for it allows one to continue in one's evil life without committing acts of repentance. This is the desecration of the spiritual temple, the spiritual crucifixion of the Lord.

So with that, in the next blog I will discuss in detail of how the Christian Church became corrupt in its theology, focusing on the controversies of the 5th century A.D.

6 comments:

  1. pg1Dear Christian believers,
    There are two identical Jesus Christ. Revelation 17:8, Matthew 7:22, Isaiah 14:12-14, 2 Thessalonians 2:4
    Revelation 6:2 How does this man have a crown riding a white horse sent out to conquer with a bow and no arrows?
    In Revelation 19:11, Jesus is on a white horse and behind him are horses of the saints bearing witness to the truth. But the one mention in Revelation 6:2 behind him follows horses of destruction.
    there are two horns described in the word of God. Take a look at these scriptures.
    From the Torah
    Satan the old serpent-Daniel 11:45,And he will pitch his palatial tents (Churches)between the seas and the beautiful holy mountain, and he will come to his end, and no one will help him.
    Christ-Zechariah 9:10,And I will cut off the chariots from Ephraim, and the horses from Jerusalem; and the bow of war shall be cut off. And he shall speak peace to the nations, and his rule shall be from the sea to the west and from the river to the ends of the earth.
    Daniel 8:8-9 this little horn is from Revelation 13:2
    Luke 1:69 this horn is the Lord's Christ
    the devil comes as a roaring lion 1 peter 5:8
    Jesus is from the tribe of Judah Revelation 5:5
    In Luke 4 satan comes to Christ looking like him. that's why satan said to Christ twice if you be the son of God.
    Coincidence????

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  2. pg2What Jesus saw on the mount of temptation is what he talked about in Matthew chapter 24. Jesus told his disciples of our generation. we are that generation according to the book of Revelation 17:5 and 2 thessalonians 2: 4, 9-10.
    this is happening in the spirit realm. the abomination of desolation in the torah says it is silent, mute, meaning you can't see or hear it because it's happening in the spirit realm (Torah Daniel 11:31, 12:11)the Torah says it is a secret but the KJV says it is a wonder.
    the OT in KJV does not have the correct words of the Torah. that's why the preachers are telling the people it will take place in the earthy realm at Jerusalem. No! it's happening in the spirit realm in these buildings made by man's hands for worship and teaching...
    Why do the people in the churches having problems, getting sick, dying? God is not mocked. God sent his son to save men's lives not destroy them.
    Most of Revelation is happening in the spirit realm until the Last day and hour it will be of earthly devastation Joel 3:14-15>Revelation 8:12, that's why Jesus said it would be like the days of Noah and lot.
    the first shall be last and the last shall be first for the seven vials and seven trumpets (shofar). the resurrection of the dead happens right when the son of man appears, meaning death and hell give up the dead. When this happens Revelation 19:20 has already took place and Revelation 20:9 is already happening while the son of man is coming from the heavens to earth Matthew 3:12.

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  3. pg3The word "Host" refers to ministers in the word of God. Ministers meaning they are men doing the will of God on earth. The Torah in the OT is correct in scripture of what God said to his prophets word for word. The king james version is not in line with the Torah. Also notice the wording for the beast is given "The Small Horn" and then referred to as "It".
    The Torah reads in Psalms 103:21
    Psalms-Bless the Lord, all His hosts, His ministers, those who do His will.
    Daniel 8:8-13
    And the he-goat waxed exceedingly huge, and when it (the he-goat) became strong, the great horn broke, and an appearance of four sprouted in its stead, to the four directions of the heavens.
    And from one of them emerged a small horn, and it became very great to the south and to the east and to the coveted land (west America).
    And it (small horn identical jesus christ)grew until the host (ministers) of heaven, and it (small horn identical jesus christ) cast down to the ground some of the host (ministers) and of the stars and trampled them.
    And until the Prince (Jesus Christ) of the host (ministers) it (small horn identical jesus christ)grew, and through him the daily sacrifice (Mystery of Christ) was removed, and the base of His (Jesus Christ) Sanctuary was cast down.
    And a time will be given for the daily sacrifice (Mystery of Christ) because of transgression, and it (small horn identical jesus christ) will cast truth to the earth, and it (small horn identical jesus christ) will do and prosper.
    Then I heard one holy one speaking, and one holy one said to the anonymous one who was speaking, "How long will be the vision of the daily sacrifice (Mystery of Christ) and the mute abomination, permitting the Sanctuary and the host (ministers)to be trampled?"
    God is showing some of his people two identical Jesus Christ. this is not a joke. If you saw two Jesus in a dream or vision. Would you know which one is the real son of God? Matthew 7: 22

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  4. Hi Anonymous,
    According to New Church thought, and Swedenborg's interpretation of the book of Revelation, Revelation 17 primarily refers to the Roman Catholic religion, which early Protestant reformers identified once the Bible was translated back into the vernacular. But the beast with 10 horns that wants to burn the whore of Babylon with fire refers to the split between Catholics and Protestants, with the Protestants turning against the false traditions of the Catholic Church, but retaining a tritheistic view of God and a theology of belief alone, which is contrary to the original doctrines of Christianity. In the 12th century Hildegard of Bingen had a vision in which revealed the future split of the Protestant Reformation, which was due to the Papacy's misuse of religion to gain political power. At one point Swedenborg talks about France turning against the Catholic Church in "Apocalypse Explained," and this was long before the French Revolution broke out at the end of the 18th century.

    As for the White Horse of Rev. 6 and Rev. 19, they are both one and the same. The four horses of the apocalypse represent the gradual decline of the Christian Church, and symbolically depicts the progressive decline of the church as outlined in Matt. 24. The "white horse" in Revelation symbolizes understanding of the truth, which was there in the beginning, lost, and will be restored in the end by the New Church. Swedenborg wrote a small work called "The White Horse" just to discuss this symbolism. But you are correct, in the end, many will be following a false christ or false christs. This false Christian religion of tritheism, and religion by mouth only and faith alone, is described in Revelation 13. And it shall deceive many. Not few, but many. Antichrist is not an individual - it is a system of thought that appears like Christianity, but isn't.

    There are many matters of scripture which talk about the spiritual realm, and not the literal material physical realm that our eyes can see. Thus there is a heavenly New Jerusalem, which represents the New Church which will succeed the present Christian era, albeit gradually as the older churches will oppose it.

    If you are interested in exploring the spiritual symbolism of the Old Testament, I can recommend "Heavenly Arcana" by Emanuel Swedenborg, and if you just want to concentrate on the Apocalypse, you can look at "Apocalypse Revealed" or "Apocalypse Explained." The latter two are combined in a work called "Apocalypse Revealed and Explained", and all works are bound together in one volume of all of Swedenborg's published theological works called "The Divine Revelation of the New Jerusalem." I have not seen any Biblical interpretation more comprehensive and complete than Swedenborg's works.

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  5. As far as the historical record , has any Christian/sect ever confessed Tritheism ? Trinitarian theology emanates from Matthew 28:19 and as a means to address how scripture declares of God in John 1:14 that He has an only begotten beloved Son etc , a reckoning with all the scripture , with Christ's physical birth , his maturity from childhood and death burial and resurrection on the one hand and His eternal Divinity on the other does direct the theology of two natures one person , or in the Trinitarian scheme , one nature and three persons - these concepts do not stand by themselves for the sake of themselves but hold together a wide berth of theological concepts and scriptures - in the eighteenth and well into the nineteenth centuries , Unitarianism increased in popularity among Protestants even among the formerly most creedal bound sects - so Swedenborg seems to have followed the fashion of his time in regards to anti Trinitarianism but could he have answered all the questions and all the scriptures which Trinitarianism and Dual Nature Christology sought to address and still regard Christ as Immanuel , God with us ?

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    Replies
    1. Hello Andrew, as far as the traditional theology goes, people think of three beings in the mind and confess one in the mouth, and if they dont understand it, pass it off as a mystery of faith. And in the end they wonder which person they should pray to.

      The proper understanding of Matt. 28:19 can be seen in the book of Acts, where they never baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but in the name of Lord Jesus Christ. And in the name "Lord Jesus Christ" one can see three titles for one person, Jehovah, and Jesus is Jehovah in human form.

      In terms of history, the Apostle's Creed predates the Nicene Creed. The Apostles Creed merely states that Jesus was the son of God, born of a virgin. In the original understanding, Jesus simply calls God his "Father" as he was born of a virgin. The theological concept came later in the 4th century A.D.

      The theology of the New Church does discuss at length the Christological concept of the two natures, which was declared in the decree of Chalcedon in opposition to a previous council that declared that a heresy. But it was adopted for the sake of the Papacy to declare themselves the Vicar of Christ. In the Christological theology of the New Church, Jesus is indeed born with two natures, but in the end the Divine nature wins out, and He is resurrected with a Divine human body. The Divine Human is the Son of God, and the doctrine of perpetual two natures denies it.

      Unitarianism is different, it denies the Divinity of Christ. The theology of the New Church is unique, and supported by scripture with proper understanding of doctrine. The only one who came close to it was Michael Servetus in the 16th century, but he was burned at the stake. Swedenborg definitely went against the fashion of the time, to his own detriment. I have not seen any passage of scripture go unanswered in the theology, and it is rationally coherent.

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