Come, Preach the Gospel!

Isaac invites all who have received the truth of the Lord's coming to proclaim the good news fearlessly. With the enthusiasm of a biblical prophet, he warns everyone to share what they have or risk losing it. - Editor

Brothers and Sisters, you who have heard and clearly received the message of the Lord’s coming in Power and Glory in the Clouds of Heaven, come! You who are stirred by a zeal to teach and to lead, come share the good news around the world. Stay not behind. Pat each other not on the back and say “Well that we have known.” I say no! Let the gospel burn inside you! Be not ashamed! Be not afraid! Be of good courage and confess the Lord before the nations! He who is ashamed will only receive shame. He who is timid will receive timidity! Fearful and doubting spirits have no part in the New Jerusalem, but are cast alive into the lake of fire. So let us encourage one another in the strength we have from the LORD!

Jesus is LORD! In their heart of hearts, all people who are willing to set aside their own selfishness know that God is One, and they will recognize Him when they see Him! If we testify with love, our testimony will be recognized. If we testify with carefulness, timidity, persuasion, or proud infatuation, our testimony will fall to the ground. If we do not share our truth, the truth will pass out of us, because we are unprofitable managers. This process may come without warning, and the result can’t be comfortable. A light under a pot will quickly go out, and food in the stomach that is not digested for the body will begin to fester and produce nausea and may be vomited up, in which case the body would have been better off if it had not eaten in the first place! But take heart: humanity has been renewed by the Divine Human God, and though it may contract sickness, it will never die. The body is hungry for the Food of Life and the Holy Spirit is feeding every human cell!

Be patient. Though many people are eating so much junk that they are not hungry for wholesome food, it is a passing condition. Though the eyes of earthlings at this time may be drawn impulsively to junk food with synthetically titillating flavors and colors, we are gradually realizing the consequences and seeking that which is wholesome. Do not be shy to offer wholesome doctrine to your neighbors. Trust that they want it! The tongue may curl in disgust at fruit when it is used to candy, and the body may chide the stomach for passing on chewed and churned meat while it’s used to milk and honey, but in the end, we will each learn what brings us health and happiness.

If the light in us is truly enLightened, we will carry ourselves Lightly. We will hold an eternal sense of Wonder. When we are crossed, we will remember the Cross (the Lord’s Life through temptation) and will not be cross. We will wait patiently. We will have unshakable peace. Though we tremble, our feet shall remain firm. When people look at us with eyebrows raised, we will laugh together with them. You will not judge anyone, except from perfect love, knowing that our perspective is as a pixel on the screen, and all we have to do is shine our light in the color and timing given. And be bright! Like, “Hey, everybody, I’m doing hot pink! Whhooeeeee! Look at me! Ahh…now I’m a dim brown! Oh, I love this brown. What a relief, I can slip into the background!” Why bother analyzing so heavily what we do? Why consider whether to shine or not based on who might be watching? Life is not our own, but flows in from the Lord, and in His grace, we get to experience it as though it were our own.

How do we share something so Holy and close to our hearts as the Heavenly Doctrine with people who don’t seem to be receptive? Is it easy to be light-hearted when every time you breach the subject of religion and faith with your neighbor, you are met, at best, with only polite interest? Does it not bring heaviness and despondency to continually try to share and continually be mocked, corrected, or even admonished for your beliefs? No! Look at Joseph or Job or Paul. They never lost faith in the Lord through persecution! And yet the Gospel cannot be forced, so if you’ve shared with your neighbor next door, and he said, “Not interested,” all you can do is shake any dust of judgment for him or yourself off your feet, and let your peace return back to you and share again with someone new as the Lord leads. It may be that your whole town, or even your whole country, is not interested in your message. In that case, you must find a new country! It is not healthy to stay in a place where your gifts are not received, where your message is not heard. And it is not good to share the Good News with your family only, or with those who have already accepted. We must be willing to stretch, to reach out unconditionally, gathering wisdom as we go.

This is possible, for so the Lord has commanded us.

Don’t know about you, but I’m naturally introverted. Don’t know the psychology of how such modes of being begin, but when I’m alone with the Lord, I feel free and connected and get recharged. Then I can be with other people and my charge carries me through. Not to say I don’t also get a charge from being with other people, but it is a charge that comes with fatigue, and so I need to seek alone time again. Some people are naturally extroverted. When they are with other people they get charged up, and that charge carries them through alone times; and though they get perspective when they’re alone, they are very quickly ready to be with people again.

How does this relate to the gospel? If you are naturally introverted when it comes to reading and living the Word, you may have to compel yourself more fiercely than others to find a way to reach out and share beyond yourself and those very close to you who will nod and affirm you, you may have to go much farther to leave father and mother and house and lands – all your selfish comforts and pursuits – that are hindering you from the reward of truly and powerfully touching your neighbor. I testify that the reward in committing to stretch is great, so I’m asking that you take an honest inventory of yourself, of your church, and ask, “What would it take for me to become outwardly focused in my study of the Word? What would it take for my society to become an integrated member of the church mother, the communion of saints throughout the world?” On the other hand, if you are already naturally integrated with those around you, it might take some disintegration before you can become spiritually integrated.

Speaking of integration, let me highlight for a moment the United States of America. America was established before the Last Judgment1 by people who wanted to escape the religious oppression of Europe, who wanted to find new opportunity to prosper, and new land to explore and own. Though its inception may have been largely self-centered, much good has come out of the men and women who established this nation state. America has been a shining light for civil and moral freedom throughout the world, welcoming people from all walks of life, and has therefore been a haven for spiritual freedom to find expression, and worldly power and wealth to increase and multiply. The American dream has been to have one’s own safe and happy home, led according to one’s own desire; and for that, Americans have worked hard, and most of the world is following this dream in some manner. Along with the American focus on individual freedom and pursuit of happiness, the Christian church in America has developed a vast variety of denominations which have developed many styles of worship, and these denominations and their various ways have spread abroad. Surely the Lord has blessed America for its love of natural justice and freedom as a basis of spiritual freedom. Although not proud, I’m happy to be an American!

Now let me highlight Africa. Africa is a New World of energy for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Though there has been much darkness manifesting itself since the arrival of Europeans, we know that Light has conquered and is reclaiming and restoring His territory. Today, with tribalism, crime, poverty, and disease being addressed like never before, and new communication technology available, Africa is in a transitional phase of coming into the power to show forth God’s glory in a way that will inspire the whole world to look up to the clouds of heaven. The recent external developments toward peace and stability are flowing from the internal transformation being effected by the Lord’s divine mercy. As Africa is grounding in its heart the Heavenly Gospel, the spirit of covetous clinging to some European or American denomination for material support is being broken, and with it the false doctrines that have clung and persecuted Africans (and indeed all of us) in different ways since the Last Judgment and the subjugation of the dragon of faith alone.

It is the African race that has maintained the worship of one God, and so they must be leaders in crowning the Lord Jesus Christ. In Providence, the introduction of nation states and denominational zeal from America and Europe has helped to displace selfishness and the negative elements of tribalism. Rather than bickering only over land and resources, tribes began bickering over what is good and true, and nation states about what is just and fair! And now, in the growing presence of the Holy Spirit, it is becoming increasingly difficult in Africa to preach as “The Truth” some path or way of being besides Jesus Christ. Corruption of all kinds is being challenged as new initiatives for peaceful and prosperous society are taking root. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and Africans know that we will all find our places in heaven according to how we love and obey Him. As they are learning to love and appreciate each other’s life of faith and perspective in the Word, they also are learning to honor the diversity and special contributions of their many tribes, and so, peace is imminent. In Africa, anyone who denies Jesus is not inwardly respected; and today, more than ever, they are eager for His coming.

SO, if anyone who has found the Treasure hidden in the Field, and bought It, and has a desire to invest in the Kingdom of Heaven, Wow, Wow, Wow! There is good ground around for planting. If you have been receiving the Lord in His second coming, and you are being born again in the rational degree of spiritual life with a deep love for the Word written through Emanuel Swedenborg, raise your eyes and look for a good spot to garden or feed hungry flocks with the abundance of seed and food that Jesus Christ the Lord is pouring into your bosom! The more you sow the good field and feed the lambs, the more you’ll receive! Go forth! In Africa I have witnessed pure gold lying on some mountain slopes and collecting in the valleys! But beware, my brother, and take heed, my sister, it’s not there for the taking. It belongs to the inhabitants.

Isaac Synnestvedt

Isaac Synnestvedt is a vessel bringing forth the Word of the Lord Jesus Christ. His mission has most recently taken him to Louisville, Kentucky, where he is fighting the good fight with the Church of Truth. He is praying for a conjugial partner who loves the Lord all-out. Any leads?

Comments

[Alanna]

Isaac,

Your urging everyone to fully digest the truth they have been given, to latch onto it and spread it with enthusiasm is inspiring. I would like to be a vessel for love and truth myself. What troubles me about what you have written is this:
"Fearful and doubting spirits have no part in the New Jerusalem, but are cast alive into the lake of fire." I would hope that someone like yourself, with a command of the writings and some access to the internal sense of the word as revealed through Swedenborg, would illuminate the meaning of a phrase like that rather than stir up a mortal fear of damnation. What was your intention in writing that?
Also, I think that the hope you express about Africa is muddied by the fact that you are speaking about the internal state of an entire continent. I would have found it more palatable if you had related an experience of a specific person or translated a conversation you had with an individual. Even though what you say is positive it feels like it discounts African's personal struggles and experiences. What about the widespread violence in Sudan? What about the hatred and persecution of gay people in Uganda? Those are just two issues at odds with your appraisal of those nations. Do you have any thoughts about that?
Thanks-

[Isaac Synnestvedt]

Thanks, Alanna.

I wrote the above article in October while in a state of elation at the amazing things I was witnessing and sharing in Kenya. Since then, the Lord has been dealing with me on the tone and focus of my life, that it lacks humility and judgement, and therefore true service. Having received the news that this article was published, I am just now praying about how to deal with it, so I appreciate your feedback. To address your specific questions, "Fearful and doubting spirits have no part in the New Jerusalem, but are cast alive into the lake of fire" was included to stir fear and excitement at the urgency of our choice about eternal death or life, and how that fits into our choice to share or be ashamed of the Lord and His truth. That's the state I was in, and I am trusting the Lord to bring me into a wide green pasture of deep peace, from which I can wisely warn and rebuke.
Your criticism of my internal analysis of the continent of Africa is well taken. May I guard my conclusion jumping with clear-headed and appropriate relation of personal experience. The Lord has certainly implanted an unshakable hope, based on the internal state of the spheres I entered, and surely there is a way to truly express that. Evil and its falsity must be seen and acknowledged and condemned before it can be put away, so it must be with violence in Sudan and hatred in Uganda. So it must be in my heart and words. Perhaps as I am going through this process in the wake of my last trips to Africa, the Lord will give me spiritual clarity and new enlightenment to share.

[Alanna]

Thanks for responding Isaac. I hear you. Good thoughts.

[Jared Alden]

Issac my dear friend. Your article has a very different tone compared to what I am used to reading in New Church Perspective. If I must articulate my observation I'd say your speech is prophetical with much confidence and deep passion. My heart like yours Isaac cares deeply for the Lord's Church and it's establishment. Surely we are all members of the Church universal and thus vessels of Good and Truth. What stands out to me in your article is that your confidence comes across more as overconfidence. Please allow me to explain this observation: it appears to me that your speech is less a reflection, questioning or meditating upon the Lord's Will and Plan to establish the New Jerusalem but to me appears to be more of a declaration of the Lord's Plan. On top of this I find sweeping generalizations in your article that seem to be disconcerting. For example "It is the African race that has maintained the worship of one God, and so they must be leaders in crowning the Lord Jesus Christ.". The African race is not the only race that has maintained the worship of one God, there are many people from other races who too believe in One God and many many African people who don't. I lived in Africa for two years and experienced some Animism even but mostly Islam. Muslims do believe in One God but it's not Jesus its Allah - so if this counts as One God than the Arab race would also qualify as maintaining a belief in One God. If belief in Allah doesn't count as One God than much of Africa doesn't believe in One God. Also, the Muslims I met in Africa convinced me that they will not be converting the Christianity anytime soon - not in our lifetime at least. In fact, it seems like all we really have is the choice to wish the death of them or embrace them as Muslim brothers. They are equally as passionate about Allah as you are of Jesus Christ. The article above also says that "Africans must be leaders in the crowning of the Lord Jesus Christ". So Why must they??? Is it because the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg say this? or because you are saying this? Or is there some very convincing rational explanation that can explain why this is the case and thus we can conclude that it "must" be true? Finally, what I find hardest to accept in the above article is this sentence: "In Providence, the introduction of nation states and denominational zeal from America and Europe has helped to displace selfishness and the negative elements of tribalism." Although Providence is somehow at work in regards to such matters there is also much Permission of the Lord's Will happening too. The Writings say that we cannot see and understand the Lord's Providence, only the Lord perceives the exact distinction between what is Permission and what is Providence. It seems dangerous to me that the above statement begins with "In Providence" as this almost sounds as if you have insight into God's Providence. Perhaps a better way to go about this statement would be to say something about how we might reflect and meditate upon the Lord's Providence at work in preparing the Africans for His Word despite the terrible suffering and Permission that occurred throughout colonialism. *** The Writings say that the celestial angels have complete confidence in the Lord no matter what the circumstance, but this is not to say that the celestial angels know and understand how the Lord is at work in Providence. I believe it is essential for us to see Providence as a Mystery so that in effect we may be humbled by our limitation as human beings on earth and thus pay sharp attention for each little glimpse of God's Mercy and Guidance which reminds us that the Lord is at Work and that we may be confident in It. I think you have wonderful thoughts Issac and I support your mission and certainly your passion. We are all imperfect human beings living among other imperfect human beings, I hope I didn't make too many mistakes in sharing these thoughts.

[Brian]

I appreciate this conversation, and Isaac for sharing the article that brings these up. If I were put on several spectrums, I would fall on the side of: careful, apologizing, self-deprecating, doubtful and fearful. This type of personality has many things to offer and also many short comings, but it means that I am very appreciative when people are willing to speak boldly, confidently, with conviction and force.

I continue to do work on understanding individual freedom, and this work leads me to read an article like this one with a strong sense of the author's freedom to express himself as plainly as possible and my freedom as a reader to take what I will. (and part of this freedom includes the opportunity to respond and confront). I guess my point there, is that I am happy for people to ere on the side of overconfidence because I spend so much time on the side of underconfidence.

Brian

[Brian]

(I will use a second comment for a slightly different idea)

Regarding stereo typing. I'm for it, at times. I very much appreciate the cautions which Jared and Alanna raise which remind me that generalizations can easily be heard and understood differently by different listeners. That said, I think it a matter of survival and inevitability that humans generalize about their expereiences in order to quickly make sense of the zillions of bits of information they are trying to process. If someone tells me they are not predjudice I am inclinded to call them mistaken. I think it is impossible to avoid being predjudice. What we can choose is not to be racist/sexist etc (an intentional, defended position of predjudice) and we can commit to contantly working to improve our generalized ideas and gain more clarity into individual cases.

And I think there is a power in speaking in generalization. These generalizations are logical fallacies and never entirely describe the individual pieces, but they still offer us an ability to speak about and address globalized themes.

I wonder why different people have different tolerance for this type of generalized communication. I love generalizations/stereo types about the difference between men and women. I listen to them, laugh at them and reflect on them. I probably find more than a quarter of the stereo types about males as not applying to me. But I still love to hear em and think about them. It is certainly an imprecise science, but I think it allows us to care about, think about at shoot at an understanding of essences, or Platonic forms (if you like). By stereo typing about women, (in a charitable way) I get the chance to poke around at thinking about the most beautiful and deep parts of my wife.

But, I recognize that some people are more sensitive to this.

Broam

[Isaac Synnestvedt]

Dear Brother Jared,

I had this sense of holy fear and also foreboding at opening NCP just now, knowing something was coming. The holy fear remains, and the foreboding is gone. The Lord is merciful. The foreboding was from the "old man" who is being crucified in me. It did not take the Lord by surprise that this article was published and is now eliciting responses from my neighbors. (When I wrote it, I did look over it!) And rather than fearing to come across as overbearing and full of it, let me fear being overbearing and full of it.

For years I have continually labored to keep face for the sake of the Lord's Word in me, and I have missed the point. I don't need to keep face. Yes, I have endeavored to confirm in my mind and life the amazing and special things said of the African race by the Teachings given through Swedenborg; I have guarded my mind against the negative and looked toward the truth, and for this confirmation and guarding, I am unashamed. In this moment I am grateful for the opportunity to listen and notice how my words affect loved ones. I honor your passion for the Word and a true understanding of Him.

Brother Brian,

The Lord bless your living testimony of providing a place.

[Isaac Synnestvedt]

I see that the Lord loves everyone with one Divine Love, and it is according to our response that we love Him and are useful. I am deeply moved and rebuked and inspired by the love of many African brothers and sisters and I want to share this love with my non-African friends.

As for nation states, colonialism, and the truth and falsity mixed up in various church denominations, I recognize that this is too big of a topic for me to address in an article, and I wonder why I tried to make a generalization about it, except to express that I deeply care about the larger themes of the church as well as the smaller. I do have a sense that colonialism as a whole, the development of nation states, and the spread of many church denominations have been permissions of Providence toward the goal of reforming and regenerating His people.

[Jared Alden]

"Seek no more for the source, since you are in its very innermost! [...] Fill your understanding with all that is good from this gushing spring!" (Emanuel Swedenborg: The Worship and Love of God # 55)

"Those who have something significant to teach are essentially only those who understand the supreme are of opening oneself without reserve to the divine: the sun-drenched, the superior." (Vilhelm Ekelund: Pa Hafsstranden ((On the Seashore)) p.8.)

"But the living all mistakenly stress what separates. Angels often do not know if they move among the living or the dead. The eternal flood, deafening, drags all the ages through both realms." (R M Rilke: Duino Elegies ((First Elegy)))

[Jared Alden]

Correction:

"Those who have something significant to teach are essentially only those who understand the supreme ART of opening oneself without reserve to the divine: the sun-drenched, the superior." (Vilhelm Ekelund: Pa Hafsstraden ((On the Seashore)) p. 8)