SWEDENBORGISM
Swedenborgism was started by Emaunel Swedenborg who lived from 1688-1772. This cult group goes by many different names including; The New Church, The Church of the New Jerusalem, or the Swedenborg foundation. The history of this cult starts out with Emanuel Swedenborg in 1743 claiming he was visited by the Lord God Jehovah himself. Emanuel claims that God commissioned him to reveal to humanity the true interpretation of the word of God. Today this cult continues onward and claims to have divine revelations to the word of God.
Emanuel Swedenborg once stated;
"The falsities of the dogmas of the faith of the present Church must first be exposed and rejected, before the truths of the dogmas of the New Church are revealed and received."
The "New Church" that Emanuel Swedenborg was referring to in this quote was his own church or cult.
The basic tenant and teaching of this cult is Institute the new church is God's new plan for the world. Swedenborgism claims to represent the only true interpretation of "The Word" meaning the Bible. To achieve this only the writings of Swedenborg are acceptable portions of the Bible because they are interpreted by him. All other parts of the Bible that have not been interpreted by Emanuel Swedenborg are considered erroneous and are disregarded.
The basic doctrinal teachings of the Swedenborg Foundation are as follows. They believe that God is a unipersonal, moralistic and pantheistic in his tendencies. They believe that Jesus or Jehovah (The Father) was a incarnated man not that divine Son of God. The Trinity is taught to be within the One Divine Person of one's self. Salvation is achieved by a combination of faith and works not by faith only. They teach that the fall was Symbolic and that Man is the "symbol" of God. The bible is believed to contain the Word of the Lord but is authoritative only when interpreted by Swedenborg's writings. When a person dies it is seen as a continuation of life on earth in the spirit world. How one spends your time here on earth as a spirit is dictated by your spiritual condition at death. Just as the "Mighty I AM" cult Swedenborgism teaches that heaven and hell is a temporal state of mind.
Over all the Swedenborg Foundation is not big in the United States. Most of it's followers are found overseas in European regions. While this cult does not pose a major concern here in the United States it is growing and bible believing Christian should be aware of its teachings.
Emanuel Swedenborg once stated;
"The falsities of the dogmas of the faith of the present Church must first be exposed and rejected, before the truths of the dogmas of the New Church are revealed and received."
The "New Church" that Emanuel Swedenborg was referring to in this quote was his own church or cult.
The basic tenant and teaching of this cult is Institute the new church is God's new plan for the world. Swedenborgism claims to represent the only true interpretation of "The Word" meaning the Bible. To achieve this only the writings of Swedenborg are acceptable portions of the Bible because they are interpreted by him. All other parts of the Bible that have not been interpreted by Emanuel Swedenborg are considered erroneous and are disregarded.
The basic doctrinal teachings of the Swedenborg Foundation are as follows. They believe that God is a unipersonal, moralistic and pantheistic in his tendencies. They believe that Jesus or Jehovah (The Father) was a incarnated man not that divine Son of God. The Trinity is taught to be within the One Divine Person of one's self. Salvation is achieved by a combination of faith and works not by faith only. They teach that the fall was Symbolic and that Man is the "symbol" of God. The bible is believed to contain the Word of the Lord but is authoritative only when interpreted by Swedenborg's writings. When a person dies it is seen as a continuation of life on earth in the spirit world. How one spends your time here on earth as a spirit is dictated by your spiritual condition at death. Just as the "Mighty I AM" cult Swedenborgism teaches that heaven and hell is a temporal state of mind.
Over all the Swedenborg Foundation is not big in the United States. Most of it's followers are found overseas in European regions. While this cult does not pose a major concern here in the United States it is growing and bible believing Christian should be aware of its teachings.