True Christianity: The Portable New Century Edition, Volume 1

[ 4 ] Since the church in the Israelite and Jewish nation was obviously

destroyed by falsifying the Word, therefore we read of Ephraim,

I will give you away, Ephraim. I will hand you over, Israel, like Admah,

and I will make you like Zeboiim. (Hosea 11 : 8 )

Because the prophet Hosea from the first chapter to the last is about

a genuine understanding of the Word becoming falsified and the church

being destroyed by that, and because “whoring” there means falsifying

the truth, therefore the prophet Hosea was commanded to represent the

condition of the church by marrying a whore and having sons by her

(Hosea 1 ); and later by marrying an adulterous woman (Hosea 3 ).

I have quoted these passages to make known, and to support the con-

cept, that the quality of the church is the quality of its understanding of

the Word. If its understanding is based on genuine truths from the

Word, the church is excellent and highly valuable. If its understanding is

based on falsified truths from the Word, the church is ruined and in fact

becomes something foul.

9

There Is a Marriage between the Lord and the Church,

and Therefore a Marriage between Goodness and Truth,

in the Individual Details in the Word

248 Until now people have not seen that there is a marriage between the Lord
and the church, and therefore a marriage between goodness and truth, in
the individual details in the Word. It has been impossible for people to
see this because the Word’s spiritual meaning was not revealed before,
and this marriage is visible only through the spiritual meaning.
There are two meanings in the Word that lie hidden inside its literal
meaning. They are called the spiritual meaning and the heavenly mean-
ing. The elements of the Word’s spiritual meaning relate primarily to
the church, and the elements of its heavenly meaning relate primarily
to the Lord. The elements of the Word’s spiritual meaning also relate
to divine truth, while the elements of the heavenly meaning relate to
divine goodness. These two come together in the marriage that exists in
the Word.

316 TRUE CHRISTIANIT Y §247