to some particular body of people and say "Lo: here is the New Jerusalem! Here is the Lord's true church!"
But this is not, and never will be, possible. It is not possible so to separate the children of God from the sons of Belial, that we can point confidently to one class and say, "These are from above;" and to the other class, and say, "Those are from beneath." It is not and never will be possible, in all cases, to distinguish the children of God from the children of the devil in this world. And for the obvious reason that men, while they tabernacle in the flesh, are for the most part in the state of their externals. Their internals are usually covered up and concealed. Hearts do not always speak on earth, as they do in the world beyond. You cannot always tell what a person's character is by his profession or outward appearance. And it is not the outward appearance but the inward character of men—the state of their hearts—which determines whether they are in or out of the Lord's true church. Yet the profession and outward appearance are all we have to judge from in forming an opinion of character. Accordingly Swedenborg says:—
"It is very important to remember that the character of a man is determined by his interiors alone [which are known only to the Lord], and not by his exteriors separate from his interiors;
