If the Second Coming happened why is there still so much pain and dysfunction in the world?

  

If the Second Coming happened why is there still so much pain and dysfunction in the world?

By Ronald Schnarr | Friday, December 2, 2011

Ronnie is walking a fine line. Informed by the teachings of the New Church, he acknowledges the torment in the world, yet finds a place for this agony within a benevolent perspective. -Editor.

Many people in this world are waiting for the Second Coming because they are so frustrated with some of the apparent pain and dysfunction in the world. So how can we say that the Second Coming has taken place when there is so much craziness in the world?
Well, here is my best understanding from the Heavenly Teachings of the New Church on this issue:
The ideal world portrayed in the last chapters of the book of Revelation is coming, and is on its way. The New Heaven has already been formed, and it is growing daily. The New Earth, which represents a New Church, is still among the few for a period, and this is what is symbolized by the woman in the wilderness being kept safe in the wilderness for a time, time and half a time (Revelation 12:14).
If you look at what has happened since the eighteenth century, and more specifically in the world of theology, you will see a world that is increasingly changing for the better. Yes, it is true that much dysfunction is now coming into the open, but this is part of the process. This process is much like the one Swedenborg describes in the second state of processing that people go through after they die; their internal life has to be exposed, and their inner life must be seen.
So, for instance, you can look at some of the abuses that Catholic priests have committed in recent years and think this world is getting worse and worse. Yet, if you do a little study, or read some of Swedenborg's Spiritual Diary, you will realize this stuff has been going on behind closed doors for a long time. It's only now that people care. Although things are now coming out in the open on a deeper level, some really good stuff is happening also. There is a new light of rational thinking in religion, and there is a new freedom to come to religion by one's own choice, unlike the past.
This new spiritual light is from the Lord coming again in the spiritual world and in the Word with a new set of Heavenly Teachings to set in order a world which has almost completely fallen into spiritual darkness.
The prophecy of Jesus’s Coming again "with glory in the clouds" can more literally be translated as coming "with a light in the cloudiness," (Daniel 7:13; Matthew 24:30; Luke 21:27). This coming, while it happened literally in the spiritual world, represents a new spiritual light in the mind. It is a new enlightenment (glory) in the confusion surrounding the scriptures (cloudiness).
If you take a deep look at what has changed in the last two hundred years, you will see that an understanding of who God is, what the Bible means, and how one should live and believe has really grown. This is seen in the freedom of religion that has entered the world. No longer can religious leaders and kings compel people to believe, as was done during the Spanish inquisition, and other religious movements throughout the dark ages. People can now come to the Lord freely.
Also, people are more and more being turned off by the image of an angry and vengeful God who demands the sacrifice of His Son to quell His anger. They are instead beginning to see that Jehovah loved us so much that He was born into this world and suffered enormous temptations, both spiritual and physical, to save us from the forces of darkness. This belief is being professed by many in the new Emergent movement, and also in some new, more conservative movements within the Evangelicals.
And more and more people are beginning to see spirituality as a process of growing with God, not a one time profession that magically makes us worthy of heaven, but a life committed to being transformed and reformed by the Lord Himself acting upon us.
Hoping for the world to become a better place is a very noble thing, but just like life, things take time. The Lord is in the process of bringing a new light into this world. And, as it is said in the last chapter of Revelation, He will be the light of our hearts in that city, and the “crystal waters” of truth and justice will “flow from the throne of God"—a symbol of the Lord’s loving judgment. God will “wipe away every tear” representing the pain of false and hurtful teachings being dispelled, and there shall be “no more death” meaning the damnation accompanying an evil life being removed.
One thing that must happen before the New Earth can be established is that the hypocrisy that has existed in the world, and especially in the church, must be exposed before healing can occur. When things come out into the open, and people freely choose to reject what comes out, the reformation of society can begin. It is a process of starting to reflect what has already been established in the New Heaven. Then we will start to see the New Earth as the Lord has promised.
Well that’s my spiel on the Second Coming. I promise I know how to kick back and have fun when its called for. :) In fact I’m off to play poker. Hope you are doing well and are finding time to rest in this crazy world.