The Church is in man, and not outside of him; and the Church at large consists of the men who have the Church in them.--The Church consists of those who from the heart acknowledge the Divine of the Lord, who learn truths from Him by the Word, and do them.--Every one who lives in the good of charity and of faith is a Church and a Kingdom of the Lord.--The Church in general is constituted of those who are severally Churches, however remote they are from one another.--The Church of the Lord is scattered throughout the whole world. --_Heaven and Hell, n._ 57 --_Apocalypse Explained, n._ 388 --_Arcana Coelestia_, n. 6637; ib., n. 9256 A SUCCESSION OF CHURCHES There have been four Churches on this earth since the day of creation; a first, to be called the Adamic, a second, to be called the Noachic; a third, the Israelitish; and a fourth, the Christian. After these four Churches, a new one will arise, which is to be truly Christian, foretold in _Daniel_ and in the _Apocalypse_, and by the Lord Himself in the Evangelists, and looked for by the Apostles. --_Coronis_, Summary, I, VIII EARLY CHRISTIANITY AND ITS DECLINE When a Church is raised up by the Lord, it is in the beginning blameless; and one then loves the other as his brother, as we know of the primitive Church after the Lord's advent. At that time, all the sons of the Church lived together like brothers, and also called one another brother, and mutually loved each other. But in the course of time charity diminished, and vanished; and as it vanished, evils succeeded; and together with evils falsities insinuated themselves. Hence came schisms and heresies, which would never come to be, were charity regnant and alive. --_Arcana Coelestia, n._ 1834 THE LORD'S SECOND COMING: WHEN? HOW? Now is the Lord's Second Coming, and a New Church is to be instituted. The Second Coming of the Lord is not a coming in Person, but in the Word, which is from Him, and is Himself. We read in many places that the Lord will come in the clouds of heaven. The "clouds of heaven" mean the Word in its natural sense, and "glory" the Word in its spiritual sense, and "power" the Lord's power by means of the Word. So the Lord is now to appear in the Word. He is not to appear in Person because, since His ascension into heaven, He is in the Glorified Humanity, in which He cannot appear to any man, unless He opens the eyes of his spirit first, and this cannot be done with any one who is in evils and thence in falsities. It is vain, therefore, to believe that the Lord will appear in a cloud of heaven in Person; but He will appear in the Word, which is from Him, and so is Himself. --_True Christian Religion, nn._ 115, 776, 777