THE END OF THE CHURCH.

No assertion is made more positively, by Swedenborg, and few repeated more frequently, than that the first Christian church has come to an end. He not only declares this consummation to have taken place, but all that he teaches concerning the relations of one religious dispensation to another, would lead to the conclusion, that the decay and extinction of the first Christian church are implied as an inevitable inference from the coming of the church of the New Jerusalem. And in his explanation of those passages of Scripture in which the desolation and destruction of an existing state of things are spoken of, and sometimes illustrated by the darkening of the sun, the moon, and the stars, he always refers these prophecies to that "End of the Church" in which they were to find, and already have found, their fulfilment. It is obviously of importance to those who listen to Swedenborg, to know what this statement means; and in this Essay I shall endeavor to show what is meant by or implied in "The End of the Church;" and what is not.

It is easy to state both of these things in a general way. The End of the Church, or of the first Christian church, certainly does mean the passing away from

the earth, or from the minds of men living upon the earth, of those peculiar elements of faith and love which came to it with and by means of the first Christian church, and constituted the distinctive character of that church.

On the other hand, it certainly does not mean the decay and extinction of all goodness among men, or of all genuine and religious goodness; nor yet of all the forms and institutions of the former church.

It is, however, a different and a more difficult thing to answer the questions to which such a statement as that just made, gives rise. They may perhaps be classed under these two heads. First, what are the peculiar forms or principles of truth or good which constituted the first Christian church, and by their decay have brought it to an end? And, secondly, what is the truth and good which survive among men the End of the Church?

Any answer to these questions must begin with defining, to some extent at least, the idea of a church. And we may be helped in our endeavor to do this, by referring to the origin and literal meaning of the word. It is derived from, or rather is a contraction of, two Greek words, which mean precisely "The Lord's House;" nor can a better definition of the Church be given in a few words, than to call it "The House of the Lord."*

*The Greek words are Kupiov "Oikos, or in English letters, Kuriou Oikos ; this was soon contracted into one word, and from this came "Kirche" in German, "Kirk" in Scottish, and "Church" in

But this phrase, "The House of the Lord," is itself metaphorical, and without literal, or rather sensuous truth, for "He dwelleth not in a House made with hands." What then do we mean by a church, in a more exact or definite sense?

In the most external sense, it means a house appropropriated for the meeting for worship of those who come together in His name, that He may fulfil His promise, and be "there in the midst of them."

We may be at once met with the difficulty which will come up again and yet again, as we consider the other senses of this word. Is not God omnipresent; is He not in every assembly, in every person, in every house? Certainly, He is so; but, He is present, in one sense, or in one way, in this assembly, person or house, and otherwise in that. And avoiding metaphysical refinement and obscurity, we say only what every one who wishes to may understand and know to be true, when we declare that God is more present, more near, or present or near in a peculiar sense, at one time, and under some conditions, and not others. And while

English. In the south of Europe, they use a word derived from the Greek word ekklesia, or ecclesia, which is from a verb meaning "to call upon," whence ecclesia means the assembly of those called together to worship. We have in English the adjective, ecclesiastical, but no substantive from this origin; and we use our word church either as an adjective or a substantive; thus, whether we say, "church history" or "ecclesiastical history," we mean the same thing; the word church meaning either the House of the Lord, or of or belonging to the House of the Lord, while the word ecclesia means the assembly meeting for the worship of the Lord, in His House.

the language of this kind which is constantly used in Scripture, has not a sensuous truth, it has a most substantial, real, and vital truth. Hence, in the most external sense of the word church, we mean such a building as that above described, in which the Lord dwells, in the midst of those who there meet to worship Him. This is the House of the Lord.

In a higher sense, however, this word means the collection of living men in whose midst He may thus dwell. Here, as before, while it is true that no man and no body of men could exist for a moment if His presence were withdrawn, it is quite as true, that in one assembly, or body of men, He may be present in a far different way from that which is possible in another. An assembly may be properly called a church; it is so, if in the midst of it He dwells as the recognized source of its life, its truth, and its good; and the more clearly, affectionately, and faithfully He is so recognized there, the more He dwells there, and the more this church is a House of the Lord, or a true church. In respect to its size, or numbers, He has given us, perhaps, a limitation in one direction, and there seems to be none in the other. He has said, “Where two or three are met together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." But the two or three may grow into tens, or hundreds, or thousands; and the word church, using it in this sense, may be applied with equal accuracy, to a single society, to a body formed of many societies, or to a vast assemblage distinguished by some national name, or some pecu

liarity of doctrine; as we say the Episcopal church, the Greek church, the Gallican church, the Catholic church, the Protestant church, or more generally still, the Christian church.

Moreover, while this sense requires a meeting of persons, it is to be remembered that the name is deserved, or truly applicable, only when there is that state of mind and heart, of faith and love and life, which permits the Lord thus to live in the midst of them. And when this state of mind and heart exists in an individual, he too may be called a church: for two or three-his love, his faith, and his conduct― have met together in him; in his midst the Lord dwells as He wills to dwell, in a heart devoted to Him, and kept clean for Him. It follows, therefore, that we may form an idea of a church, and represent this idea by this word, with a personal reference to one, or many, or all, or with reference only to the affections and the truths which constitute a church.

It is obvious that a church, in all the forms thus. far spoken of, depends for its genuineness and vitality upon something within the external; something of mind and heart, of faith, affection, and life. For as that building should not be called a church into which they who assemble bring no faith in God, so that society has lost the nature and should lose the name of a church, which does not meet in worship, and to worship. And so also that society, be it larger or smaller, has lost the characteristics which entitle it to the specific name of any one specific church, if it has