one man’s near-death experience p - new...

HEAVEN AND ANGELS

connectionchurchnew

2012

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One man’s near-death experience p.4

Help when things get bad p.18

Angels in training (six week small group study) p. 20

What happens when we die? p.14

Heaven and Angelsin this issue: New Church Connection explores the connection between religion and life. Every issue features content that highlights the personal nature of spirituality, providing applicable ideas to support your journey with insights from the New Church (Swedenborgian) faith.

PrOductIOn teAm

executIve edItOr David Lindrooth

mAnAGInG edItOr And creAtIve dIrectOr Bronwen Henry

creAtIve desIGnCaroline Kline

AssOcIAte EDITOR Michelle Chapin

AssIstAnt edItOrChelsea Odhner

cOPY edItOrsBruce Henderson

subscrIPtIOn mAnAGer Anita Halterman

General church Outreach A department of the General Church of the New Jerusalem

1100 Cathedral Road PO Box 743Bryn Athyn, PA 19009

[email protected]

For general information call 267-502-4911.

To contribute an article or personal story, or to request this magazine for yourself or a friend, please contact the production team at [email protected] for more information.

Cover Photo by: ALISON COLE

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We LcOm e

To the

extent that they

accept heaven,

people here too are

receptacles and heav-

ens, and are angels.

–Heaven and Hell 73

Connecting you with a New

Christian spirituality for everyday life

What’s Next?

submit your topic ideas online.

photo by NILS ECHOLS

What happens when we die? I resonate with the deep human longing for the existence of a heaven, and the comfort of angels. Some of the most beloved teachings

of the New Church are those regarding heaven. In the face of un-certainty and unknowing, Swedenborg paints a beautiful, sooth-ing, and deeply resonating image of a life where each person has a purpose, and life is more than the pursuit of happiness. What are your thoughts and questions about life after death? Which ideas of Swedenborg’s resonate? Which ones do you question? Check out this thought-provoking content on angels, heaven, near-death ex-periences and more. Join the conversation on facebook. We’d love to hear your story.

With gratitude,

Bronwen Henry

Look for issue 6 online.www.newchurchconnection.org

Subscribe online today.

changing LivesAfter his profound near-death experience, Blane

sought to share what he went through and the deep sense he feels that there's something more

out there, both in this life and the next.

seeking AnswersAlan Cowley answers questions about who

angels are, what they do, and what our relationship with them is like even

here on earth.

What Happens When We die?We’ve all asked this question. Rev. Jonathan Rose explores the stages we each go through before we

can enter heaven.

Going deeperRev. David Lindrooth shows us how a biblical story

has much to teach us of dealing with our own internal struggles of anger.

Angels in training small Group studyWhat can we do in our earthly lives to prepare us

for being angels? Gather some friends together and explore this 6-week small group study.

-Exploring Paradox

-Overcoming Negativity

-Why Do Bad Things Happen?

changinglives

One night, while sitting in a

car with a friend, 21-year-

old Blane Bostock’s heart stopped

beating. Just before this cardiac ar-

rest, Blane remembers turning to

his friend and asking, “Can I go?”

When his friend said yes, Blane

surrendered to a mighty force that

seemed to be taking him out of this

world.

The darkness got darker. He heard a strong wind and then saw everything around him collapse. It wrinkled, shrunk and turned into a ball, like a black hole at his feet.

Then he felt himself coming out of his body. “I was really scared, but too weak for the challenge. I knew I could either fight this and lose, or just let go. So I let go.”

So began Blane’s near-death experi-ence—an experience that he would re-

member with great clarity and emotion for the rest of his life. Now, thirty-four years after the fact, the majesty of this experience is evident in his descrip-tions of this other world:

“All your greatest dreams here could fit in a thimble of the world there. Your highest imagination becomes reality. All the things you’ve kept locked in your heart, they get to expand.”

Blane’s experience included many of the key elements of many near-death experiences: the tunnel, the light, the life review, the time travel, and unlimited percep-tions and abilities. At one point he visited the outskirts of a city where people were doing service work to help people on earth. Every-thing there was bright and illuminated. He was told that everyone there lived in service to greater humanity.

He added that everyone and everything there is made of light, and everyone is beautiful.

Although he felt so far away from his life on earth, Blane felt that he had come home to his true spiritual family. There was a sense of reunion and deep connection with these people. He felt especially at home in the presence of "the Light"—a being that emanated in-credible, unconditional love. This Light

seem to encompass everything, includ-ing parts of the women he’d loved, all the children he knew, and all the peo-ple that had ever been born. To Blane, the joy of this reunion felt worthy of celebration.

One significant part of Blane’s near-death experience involved traveling to the future, the past and the present.

He was slowly taken through a timeline of Western thought and philosophy. He was also shown his family’s future, and how things would look if he did not come back. Know-ing it was best for his family, he reluctantly chose to come back.

At the end of his expe-rience, Blane was shown a black rose. To Blane, this symbolized a kind of reconciliation of good and evil. It had the darkness of his struggles along with the beautiful experience that followed. In many ways, the darkness and beauty of this image reflect Blane’s current internal conflict over how to hold his experience.

At first, Blane felt inspired with new hope and purpose. “When I spoke about my experience to others, I really felt like I had something to contribute.” He told others that they didn’t need to fear dying, because in fact, there is no death.

Over time, though, disillusionment

Blane’s near-death experience has

made a lasting effect on his life. Though dealing with his experi-

ence hasn’t been easy, he has a

sense of peace, not fear, of the afterlife that he

wishes to share with others.

Blane Bostock as told to Sasha Silverman

“Maybe logic and rationality aren’t going to ultimately lead

me to the truth.”

www.newchurch.org | 54 | new church connection HeAven And AnGeLs

changinglives

began to set in. He spoke to oth-ers who’d gone through similar experiences, and felt disap-pointed to see those people still struggling with petty arguments, judgments and comparisons. Didn’t near-death experience make people better? Many oth-ers dismissed it as a hallu-cination, or the function of a brain under trauma. Worst of all, Blane started finding out that some of his closest friends—some of the smartest people he knew—didn’t believe it was real.

When he told them about his incredible experiences, he’d see their eyes glaze over. Blane began feeling isolated. He had so much to share, so much to say, yet he felt frustrated be-cause he didn’t have the scientific knowl-edge to validate any of it.

And then he began to doubt himself. If others could dismiss it so easily, what really happened? Looking for answers, Blane delved into books on critical thinking and scientific processes.

Through his re-search, Blane has gained a lot of infor-mation, but at the expense of his early enthusiasm. “I’ve learned to question everything I had experienced. I’ve thrown away a lot of the comfort I used to get from taking

this experience as real and true.” Blane is still visibly torn over how to hold his experience.

“There are all these things that batter us and shatter us and make us think

What Is Your story?How has your life

been impacted by living New Christian spirituality? send us your [email protected]

that to believe is to be a fool. But then the joy is gone. We want to regain the innocence of our own hearts.” Then he adds, “Maybe logic and rationality aren’t going to ultimately lead me to the truth.”

Today, Blane suffers from a respiratory condition that makes it hard for him to breathe freely. In some ways, this reflects his current emotional state. “I feel like a man stuffed into a box. I feel trapped in a body too small to contain my soul. If I could burst out of the box, I’d go back to my spiritual family.”

Although Blane has found ways to stay busy, in the quieter moments he longs to go back to that world he once found. A world where his spirit is free to ex-pand.

photo by AN

GELA

CO

CK

ERELL

6 | new church connection HeAven And AnGeLs www.newchurch.org | 7

You are introduced into your place [in

Heaven] by the Lord in accordance

with your life.”

–Divine Providence 164

People may have different ideas about what really happened to Blane that night in the car, when his body went into cardiac arrest. One thing is certain though: what Blane experienced pro-foundly affected him. His story offers a poignant reminder of how much of the universe and of the human mind lies yet to be discovered.

Heaven and Hell Facebook Group

There is an active conversation online sponsored by Swedenborg Foundation, with more than 25,000 people involved, exploring the insights and experiences of Emanuel Swedenborg. Join the con-versation online today. www.facebook.com/HeavenandHellswedenborg

www.newchurch.org | 9

For He will command His

angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.

–Psalm 91:11

8 | new church connection HeAven And AnGeLs

seekinganswers

Q Where Do Angels Come From?

a People become angels through the life that they live while in the

natural world. When people live their lives from a love for other people, their spirit is prepared for heaven. So when their natural body dies their spirit lives on in a place that is best suited to their loves, heaven! Another meaning for an angel is a “messenger” for the Lord. So if we do the work of the Lord while liv-ing in this world we too can be angels here and now.

Many of us have questions

about who angels are, and

what they do. Alan Cowley

responds to some of these

questions.

Q Is Heaven a State of Be-ing or a Place?

a In some ways, both are correct. Here on earth we are in a primarily

natural state of being and we are geo-graphically in some place. In heaven we will be in a spiritual state of being and in a spiritual place. Think about your best friend in the world; it could be your husband or wife or brother or sister. Do they not hold a “place” in your heart and in your thoughts? Heaven is a place, but it is not a physical place, it’s a spiritual place, with spiritual stuff and spiritual people. But try not to think of heaven as less real because it is not physical; think of it as being more real because it is not bound by physical time and space.

Q Do Guardian Angels Exist?

a Guardian angels do exist and they have a very important role in our

lives. Guardian angels are assigned to children to help protect them from evil spirits. But as children grow up and become adults, the guardians aren't as close so that the person can have a life that is more his or her own. Think of guardian angels as an extra set of parents. They help us learn how to live and protect us from danger, but at some point we have to move out of our parents’ house and form a life of our own, to make our own decisions and mistakes.

Q If guardian angels ex-ist, why do they still

let bad things happen to us?

a This has to do with the importance of our freedom. If guardian angels,

or even the Lord, were to step in and stop every bad thing from happening it would take away our freedom. We can also ask the question, what is the most important thing that the Lord protects in us? He constantly looks to what is in-finite and eternal in us. Our bodies are not infinite or eter-nal, but our soul is! Our soul is constant-ly protected from other people’s wrong doing.

Alan Cowley is a student at the Academy of the New Church Theological School. For more information visit

www.ancts.org.

QUESTIONSis full of

Share your questions about life. Email [email protected].

Mention “New Church Connection”.

One of Swedenborg’s best selling books, Heaven and Hell, explores an-

gels and the experience of heaven. You can order a copy online today at

www.newchurch.org/store

“To grow old in heaven is to grow young.”

-Heaven and Hell 414

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Q So what do angels do all day?

a What do you do all day that makes other people feel joy? There are so

many different things that angels do, and every angel is different so they do different things. I like to think that life in heaven is similar to life in this world, but a lot better. In heaven everyone loves the work that they do, and they are always trying to make each other happy with the skills the Lord gives to them. In addition to work, they do re-lax and have social gatherings and play games etc.

Rob Andrews is the web master of www.newchurch.org and helps answer inquires of new-comers to the New Church.

realsupport by Rob Andrews

If you believe in life-after-death, you realize that a person who

dies “goes somewhere else.” There is a natural world where we live now, and a spiritual world where our soul or spirit lives after our natural body dies. New Church theology describes a connec-tion between the natural and spiritual world. The Lord loves us, and His pur-pose for us on this earth is to prepare to be with Him in heaven. So He pro-vides connections that help with this. The most obvious and important is His Word.

While He wants us to be with Him in heaven, He loves us so much that He gives us freedom of choice, so that we can do what makes us happy, so we can do what we truly love in our prepara-tion for the spiritual world (whether we love good, or not-so-good).

In order to keep us in freedom, another form of connection is with spirits, both good and bad. Sometimes a person here can strongly feel the presence of a spirit. Other times, there is a con-nection which one can barely notice. How many times have you felt there

was something you needed to do, but couldn’t tell why? That a friend needed a visit?

We are constantly hearing thoughts or connections from the spiritual world. Curtis Childs created an entertain-ing video about this on YouTube.com called “Your Brain is Spamming You” (http://bit.ly/BrainSpam). But how can we tell whether to act on one of these thoughts? Is it from a good or evil spir-it?

“Heaven consists in a heartfelt desire for the good of others rather than one’s own good, and in serving them from the love of making them happy, not for the sake of any selfish hope of reward” (Secrets of Heaven 452).

Think about what is different between a good and evil spirit. The passage above gives a good indication. A de-fining characteristic is about what they love most: God and others; or self and worldly things. When we have a per-

When someone we love dies, we want to continue feeling close to them. Are we able to still commu-nicate with them or feel their pres-ence? Rob Andrews explores the connection between spirits and us here on earth.

Perception is nothing else than the speech or the thought of the angels who are pres-

ent with a person. –Secrets of Heaven 5228

photo by ANDY SULLIVAN


I feel as if I am having a connection with some-one who has passed away. Is that possible? If so, how do I know if I’m communicating with an angel or devil?

ception, or when we think we’re having a spiritual connection, we might think about whether the thoughts are looking to the good of others, or for ourselves. While the answer may not be straight-forward, it will be a good indicator of the source, and whether to act on it, or ignore it. Or perhaps the thoughts are just trying to make us miserable, which is another indicator that an evil spirit wants you to be as miserable as he is. Prayer is another good way to make sense of these connections. Ask what God would want you to do with the thoughts and experiences.

Pay attention to your perceptions, or spiritual connections, and notice where they are leading you. It can make a big difference in your life, and the life of others.

defend us from evil spirits

especially love and protect children

guard us while we sleep

help us find our way

celebrate with us

help us make the transition when we die

sit on clouds and play the harp

What do angels do?

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realchallenge

realchallenges | realsupport

Quotes

About Heaven

“One thing I have de-sired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life.”

– Psalm 27:4

“Wherefore let him who wishes to be eter-nally happy know and believe that he will live after death. Let him think of this and keep it in mind, for it is the truth.”

–Secrets of Heaven 8939:3

“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

–Luke 12:31-32

“A person was created so that, as to his inter-nal, he cannot die. For he can believe in God, and also love God, and therefore he can be conjoined with God by faith and love. Being conjoined with God means living to eternity. “

–New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine 223

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.”

–John 11:25, 26


“Love pervades the whole of heaven, for in the heav-ens no other life is found

except the life that belongs to love.”

-Secrets of Heaven 32

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“It is not so difficult to live the life of heaven as some believe. When any thing presents itself to a person that he knows to be dishonest and un-just…it is simply necessary for him to think that it ought not to be done because it is opposed to the Divine laws. When a person has made a beginning the Lord stimulates all that is good in him, and helps him to see evils to be evils, to refrain from willing them, and finally to turn away from them.”

–Heaven and Hell 533

Should we fear death? Will we be harshly judged and condemned for our sins? Or will we experience eternal peace and joy? The Writings of Eman-uel Swedenborg offer a fair, yet merci-ful picture of what we can anticipate in the world to come. Swedenborg ex-plains that after death, we immediately come into the presence of the Lord. This presence fills us with a greater sense of peace, as well as a greater clarity about the troubled areas of our lives. In a sense, this clarity is what the “judgment” is all about. It’s a chance for us to look more closely at our heart, mind and the actions we’ve taken. As we read in Jeremiah 17:10, “I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his

ways.” There are three elements here: our heart, mind, and ways. All three are taken into account. It’s not only about what we’re doing; it’s the way that our deeds come from the state of our heart and mind.

It can be of great comfort to know that mistakes from our past will not keep us out of heaven. Instead, the Bibli-cal view of salvation encompasses the whole direction of our lives. “If a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, [and] keeps all My statutes... he shall surely live..... None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteous-ness he has done, he shall live” (Eze-kiel 18:21, 22). We see the reason why

in the Lord’s statement: “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” (23). Although we can choose a hellish life, it’s not anything that a lov-ing God would want us to experience.

According to Sweden-borg, there are multi-ple stages to the clari-fication process we undergo after death. Soon after we die, he explains, we receive a warm, loving welcome from the Lord. In this presence of love, we experience a kind of pre-evaluation of our lives. Following this comes fur-ther evaluation and treatment. This process is described allegorically in the book of Revelation.

In the first three chapters of Revelation, the Lord appears in person to John, and then says, in effect, to the seven churches, “You’ve done some good things; you’ve done some things that

weren’t so great; I invite you to re-pent.” Next, seven seals are opened, then seven trumpets sound, and then seven bowls are poured out. These can be seen as the various phases of evalu-ation and treatment we go through when we are in the Lord’s presence.

Amazingly enough, our digestive tract demonstrates a similar order. Food en-ters our mouth, and we enjoy the taste and sensations. This is similar to the welcoming nature we experience upon entering the spiritual world. The food then goes through multiple processes of being filtered to take away the harm-ful and unnecessary elements. This can be compared to the way we learn to remove or let go of the harmful ways

we’ve been think-ing or acting. And just as the food’s nutrients are then ready to be ab-sorbed and used by the body, we also become prepared to enter our useful new life in a heav-enly society.

This clarification process, spiritually speaking, works to break off what’s evil and false from what’s good and true in us. If we don’t get all the junk out in one phase, we get another chance in the next.

According to Swedenborg, the purpose of all of these levels is to prepare us for heaven. If we have anything whatsoev-er in us that is good or useful, the Lord

After we die, we each go through a series of stages

before we can enter heaven. Rev. Jonathan Rose

describes what this process is like and how close

the Lord is to us throughout the process.

by Jonathan Rose (transcribed and edited by Chelsea Odhner)

Soon after we die, we receive a warm, loving welcome from

the Lord.

What Happens When We Die?

photo by JOY FEERRAR



The Rev. Dr. Jonathan Rose is a pastor in Bryn Athyn, PA and works as a translator of Emanuel Swedenborg’s works.

wants us to be utilized in heaven. Even if every other part of the digestive tract found us hard to deal with, heaven’s “large intestine” may find that we con-tain at least some water or vitamins.

What is doing this spiritual digesting? Swedenborg explains that it’s the body of the Lord—the kingdom of God. The heavens spend a tremendous amount of energy searching to see if there’s anything redeemable in us. If we con-tain anything good, they’ll find it.

It’s empowering to remember that we

Mistakes from our past will not

keep us out of heaven.

The heavens spend a tremen-dous amount of

energy searching to see if there’s

anything redeem-able in us.

are the ones that get to decide what we will let go of. In Romans, Paul agonizes about this struggle between his inner and outer self. He says at first, “I am carnal, sold under sin” (7:14), but later declares, “With the mind I myself serve the law of God” (7:25). In effect, he gets to decide whether to be the matter that is rejected or the food. We too get to decide that. The only way to go to hell is to insist on identifying with the evil and falsity. We have to be determined because to get to hell we have to pass through the entire digestive system of heaven. Hell is never a place we are predestined to go, or sent against our will.

In fact, Swedenborg says the only kind of predestination is predestination to heaven (Divine Providence 329–330; see also 1 Timothy 2:3–4). The whole process of life is set up to invite us into heaven. It behooves us while we are here to start the process of repentance, reformation, and regeneration. Let’s not go through our whole lives only to

photo by JOY FEERAR

photo by JOY FEERAR

find that we have no nutritional value whatsoever. Let’s develop a little value now by laying aside some of the evil we see in ourselves and allowing the Lord to work some goodness into our hearts.

Led by Jonathan Rose, the spirit and Life bible study (formerly known as Nunc Licet Bible Study) looks through a Swedenbor-gian lens at the rich promise to be found in the Bible, to help us know the one, loving God, and to see how a journey of repentance—laying aside evil and choos-ing good—will lead us to heaven, now and after death.

Want to Hear More?

Tune into the Spirit and Life Bible Study on Wednesday evenings starting at 7:30pm EST or view archived videos at www.ustream.tv/channel/nunclicet-biblestudy or find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/spiritAn-

dLifebiblestudy

goingdeeper

There are stories in the Bible that remind us that the conditions of our spiritual life can sometimes

get pretty bad. In fact, things can get so out of control that without Divine inter-vention, or God’s help, we are toast.

The story in the book of Daniel about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego getting thrown into the burning fiery furnace because they refused to bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden im-age is one example. It is poignant be-cause it not only illustrates how bad life can get, but it also shows an incredible power that the Lord has to rescue us from destruction.

When, on a spiritual, emotional level, do we experience something similar to being thrown into “the burning, fi-ery furnace?” I think of times when feelings of hatred or revenge run wild in our thoughts and intentions. These destructive feelings are so powerful, we have no power against them by our-selves—it is as if we are bound by our hot anger and thrown into an oven and on our own these feelings are impos-sible to control.

I see the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego as reminding us that we can’t stand up to such dark and power-ful feelings alone. By ourselves, we are

consumed and destroyed by such feel-ings of rage. But we can get help.

The three men were protected in the furnace by a fourth who was “like a son of the gods.” That is a powerful mes-sage for us when we are going through these tough times. The imagery in the story presents the power that the Lord has to protect us in times of emo-tional turmoil. A passage in the book Secrets of Heaven describes this protection by noting that “the Lord alone fights on behalf of a person and protects him when he is under attack from the hells; and does so constantly, espe-cially in temptations which are spiritual conflicts” (8273). The message here is clear, that when we ask the Lord to help protect us from the feelings of rage that well up within us from hell—He will come. It is even helpful to vi-sualize Him standing beside us offering us His protection.

This protection is an important part of our lives. The more we remember to turn to the Lord and call upon His protection, the stronger and more able

we become to withstand being swept away in times of emotional conflict. When we can stand at peace in these times, we can then help offer the Lord’s wisdom in situations that are tense and difficult.

This is how angels work subconscious-ly in our lives. They constantly work

to quietly, sub-consciously influ-ence people in ways that offer the Lord’s protection.

If you could ask them about their role, they might reply that they

were just bringing the Lord’s presence to a situation and they of themselves had no power at all. That is a funda-mental principle in heaven. Angels who know they are powerless of themselves have the greatest strength against the forces coming from hell because they are more open to receiving true power, coming from the Lord alone.

By Rev. David Lindrooth

Rev.David Lindrooth is the director of General Church Outreach, sup-porting the international growth of the New Church. Learn more at

www.newchurch.org.

Help When things Get bad

Bible Story: Daniel 3: portions of 19-28

Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and com-manded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to throw them into the blaz-ing furnace.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire? Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and they saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants!”

The Lord alone fights on behalf of you and protects you when you are under

attack from the hells. –Secrets of Heaven 8273


photo by JASON BUSS

Week One Being an Angel is All about Being Useful

“It is not so difficult to live the life of heaven as some believe.” (Heaven and Hell 533).

dIscussIOn What are your impressions of what angels do? What are these ideas based on? Do they resonate? When have you felt the greatest joy in life? Does the notion that angels are constantly engaged in useful service resonate with you? What resistance do you have to this idea? How does it change/impact your concept of what you should be doing now/today?

FOcus/tAsk This week instead of view-ing your duties/responsibilities/jobs as a burden, try to see them as a gift. How can you infuse your current responsi-bilities with the joy of knowing you are serving the Lord?

Week TwoAngels are messengers

[Speaking to Zacharias in the temple] “I am Gabriel, who stands in the pres-ence of God, and was sent to speak to you and bring you these glad tidings.” (Luke 1:19)

dIscussIOn What kind of messages do you hear online? In print? On the radio? From your friends? Co-workers? Neigh-bors? Are they angelic? What is the quality of messages that angels carry? Do they seem authentic to you? Do you believe them?

FOcus/tAsk Observe the messages you carry, about yourself, others, your workplace, your school, your country. Are they joyful? Positive? Hopeful? This week commit to carrying a message of hopefulness and joy. Even in the face of hopeless situations pray that the Lord

might help you to be a messenger of good news about life and the possibil-ity of miracles.

Week ThreeAngels Guard and Protect People

“The average person, of course, is not so much threatened by fire or hungry lions as he is by his own burning hatred or insatiable desires. Angels protect us from these, too.” –John Odhner

dIscussIOn What does guarding and protecting others look like in your life? Is it guarding their reputation? Their innocence? Their self esteem? How can you encourage a safe environment in your home, school, or workplace?

FOcus/tAsk This week purposefully guard your own tongue that you might protect others from discouragement, teasing, sarcasm, and negativity. When you see others being attacked, prayer-fully consider how you could help to protect them. Then, take courageous action.

Week FourAngels Offer Comfort

“When we cried to the Lord, He heard our voice, and sent an angel.” (Num-bers 20:16)

dIscussIOn Does offering comfort come easily to you? Why might you hesitate? Think of a time someone has effectively comforted you. What did they say? Do? Not say? Not do?

FOcus/tAsk Consider areas of your life where you have experienced dis-comfort, pain, or suffering. Might the lessons you have learned from this

experience help you offer comfort to another? Make a point this week to comfort someone who is struggling.

Week FiveAngels Work Together

[N]o one becomes an angel or comes into heaven except one who brings an angelic character with him from the world. Present in an angelic character is a knowledge of the way from walking in it, and a walking in the way through a knowledge of it. (Divine Providence 60)

dIscussIOn How does viewing your-self on one team with others impact your opinion and attitude about their actions and behaviors? How does it change your own behaviors? What would it look like to work with more unity in your job? Family? Friendships? Neighborhood? Where do you notice discord? Is there a step you could take towards greater unity? What part of you resists?

FOcus/tAsk This week strive for mutual cooperation in your work and your re-lationships.

Week SixAngels Rest in the Lord

“In the world, you will have tribulation; But be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

dIscussIOn Think of the cultural imag-ery of angels resting. What might this mean on a spiritual level?

FOcus/tAsk What would it look like for you to stop worrying?

Angels in Training

So, what do angels do anyway? How do I bring a more angelic charac-ter to my life today, on earth? Explore teachings from the Bible and the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg on the topic of angels and consider how these teachings can help you to live well, with kindness and service to others, today. In individual study or with a group of friends explore these teachings, topics, and applications.

By Bronwen Henry, with ideas adapted from John Odhner’s ‘What Angels Do’(www.biblemeanings.info)

Small Group Outline


Go online to find com-plete study with more discussion questions and quotes.photo by GRANT SCHNARR

The perspectives in this magazine are

based on the teach-ings of the New Church

found in the Old and New Testaments and the Theological Writ-ings of Emanuel Swedenborg.

Core teachings of the New Church:

There is one loving, personal God, and He is the Lord Jesus Christ. His providence is powerful and unending. God guides each person’s spiritual path, from the smallest things up to the biggest things, and His an-gels are with us every moment.

The Old and New Testaments have a deep-er meaning, revealed in the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, which help people lead happy and useful lives to eternity.

Spiritual growth is a process. Through recognizing our sins, praying, shunning evils, and living a new life, we are trans-formed and united more closely with God.

All religions have goodness in them. Peo-ple of every faith are saved if they live sin-cerely according to their religion.

Each of us continues life as a complete per-son immediately after the death of the body.

While people are free to choose to live in hell, God wants everyone to live with Him in heaven to eternity.

Marriage can last forever, for God blesses people with a special love in marriage that goes on after death, even to eternity.

getconnected

Congregations around the world

The New Church is a new Christianity that provides a clear path to eternal happiness and addresses many questions about God, love, and life after death. The teachings are immediately practical and deeply spiri-tual. The New Church is based on the teachings of the Bible as illuminated in the Writings of Emanuel Swe-denborg.

The New Church (General Church of the New Je-rusalem) has congregations around the world. All people are welcome to join in worship and partici-pate in the life and community of the church.

About Swedenborgand Works Cited

Emanuel Swedenborg was an 18th-century scientist and philosopher who continually studied the Word. Late in Swedenborg’s life, the Lord called him to receive revelation for a new church. The New Church teaches that these Writings are divinely inspired revelation for the modern age—heavenly doctrines touch-ing on many aspects of religion with a rational and merciful approach.

In this issue the following works of Swe-denborg are referenced: Divine Love and Wisdom, Secrets of Heaven (Arcana Coelestia), New Jerusalem and Its Heav-enly Doctrine, Heaven and Hell, Divine Providence.

new church

teAcHInGs

Please look online or call for more information

www.newchurch.org/contact/locations

Find a new church near You...

...and Get Connected!tel. (267)502-4911

photo by MARYAN VAN GENNE

focus on the New Church inRochester, Michigan, USA

We at Oak Arbor Church believe in your spiritual freedom, so you won’t feel any pressure. What you will find is a family-oriented congregation that be-lieves in a loving and merciful God. He is always looking for ways to gently lead us toward an eternal life of increasingly healthy relationships with Him, our spouse, family, friends and those we have yet to meet. Our goal as a church is help each other open the door to His message and love, allowing Him to guide and inspire us on our path.

photos by MARK PERRY

22 | new church connection

Find out more at

www.oakarbor.org

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Thank you for the

many donations and encour-

aging words of support for New

Church Connection. We are thrilled

to be able to continue to offer this

publication online, and this single print

issue. We continue to look for ways to

get print copies to readers unable to

access the content online.

–Bronwen Henry,

General Church Outreach

Your support is making a difference.

To make a donation today go online to www.newchurchconnection.org and click on do-nate. Or mail a check to ‘General Church’ with a note in memo field ‘New Church Connection’ to po box 45 Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.”

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