Swedenborgianism

New Church, Neodan Christians,
Church of the New Christ, The Lord’s New Church

The various denominations that grew out of the New Church movement, or Swedenborgianism, have been blessed with many mature spiritual insights.  They were among the first to acknowledge that salvation is an inner experience rather than the simple acceptance of a particular creed or doctrine.  As such, they understand the universal nature of the true church: Yahuwah will accept all who live up to all the light they have, for Yahuwah is love.

Divine truth is ever advancing, however, and some of the beliefs of these “New Christians” are intermingled with error.  Following are some of the errors found in New Church doctrines:

• New Christians correctly reject the pagan doctrine of the trinity, understanding that it entered Christian theology centuries after Yahushua.  However, in attempting to explain the nature of Yahuwah, His Son and the Holy Spirit, their explanations are inconsistent with Scripture.  The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is the breath of Yahuwah – His vital, life-sustaining presence.  It also teaches that Yahushua is the “only begotten Son of Yah.”  Thus, as the Son of the Omnipotent, Yahushua cannot be, as New Christians believe, “the one God of Heaven and Earth.” The Bible makes plain that Yahushua, while born of a virgin, is a human being - not a diety.

• New Christians deny the atoning nature of Yahushua’s death on the cross, believing instead that it was merely the last temptation He endured before the human was made Divine.  This contradicts Scripture which repeatedly declares:

  Yahuwah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.  . . . for the transgression of my people was He stricken.  By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. . . . He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.  (Isaiah 53:6, 11-12)

• New Christians deny the reality of death, believing that a person never truly dies but continues to live in a heaven or hell essentially of their own making based on their personal choices in this life.  Such a belief contradicts Scripture which reveals: “The living know that they will die; but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.  Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore will they have a share in anything done under the sun.”  (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6)
  
  Scripture further teaches that soul annihilation, death, and not eternal life in torment is the punishment of the wicked: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of Yahuwah is eternal life.”  (Romans 6:23)

• New Christians teach that the redeemed will inherit Heaven. Scripture, however, teaches the immortality in the earth made new is the reward of the saints.

• New Christians spiritualize away some of the most precious truths of Scripture.  One truth thus denied is the promise of Yahushua’s physical return to earth to save His people.  New Christians believe the Second Coming has taken place already and indeed is still taking place, as He returns to the hearts of His people in spirit and in truth.  The Holy Bible closes with an entire book of prophecy detailing the events surrounding Yahushua's return, revealing it will be a literal return to earth.

• Despite their understanding of the importance of obedience to the Divine law, New Christians follow the papal example of worshipping on Sunday, an act that actually breaks the fourth commandment.  All of Yahuwah’s holy days, His convocations, are to be kept and calculated by His method of time-keeping: the luni-solar calendar of Creation.

Yahuwah invites sincere New Christians to continue the journey of laying aside error and embrace all the truths of Heaven.