from an high mountain he shewed him that great city the holy Jerusalem, chap. xxi. 9, 10. The marriage of the lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready; blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the lamb, chap. xix. 7, 9. I am the root and offspring of David, the bright and morning star; the spirit and the bride say, Come; and let him that is athirst come; and whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely, chap. xxii. 16, 17.
It is agreeable to divine order that a new heaven be formed before a new church on earth; for the church is both internal and external, and the internal church maketh one with the church in heaven, consequently with heaven, and the internal must be formed before the external, and afterwards the external by the internal, which is a truth known and acknowledged by the clergy in the world. In proportion as this new heaven, which constituted the internal of the church in man, groweth and increaseth, in the same proportion the New Jerusalem, that is, the new church cometh down from that heaven; wherefore this cannot be effected in a moment, but in proportion as the falses of the former church are removed; for what is new cannot gain admission where falses have before taken possession, unless those falses are first rooted out; and this extirpation of falses must first take place amongst the clergy, and by their means amongst the laity; for the Lord saith, No man putteth new wine into old bottles, else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out; but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved, Matt. ix. 17. Mark ii. 22. Luke v. 37, 38. That these things cannot come to pass till the consummation of the age, by which is meant the end of the church, is plain from these words of the Lord, Jesus said, The kingdom of heaven is likened
