Bible

 

Matthew 8

Studie

   

1 And when he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.

2 And behold, there came to him a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.

3 And he stretched forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou made clean. And straightway his leprosy was cleansed.

4 And Jesus saith unto him, See thou tell no man; but go, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

5 And when he was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him,

6 and saying, Lord, my servant lieth in the house sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.

7 And he saith unto him, I will come and heal him.

8 And the centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed.

9 For I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers: and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

10 And when Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

11 And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven:

12 but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast forth into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

13 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; as thou hast believed, [so] be it done unto thee. And the servant was healed in that hour.

14 And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother lying sick of a fever.

15 And he touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose, and ministered unto him.

16 And when even was come, they brought unto him many possessed with demons: and he cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all that were sick:

17 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying: Himself took our infirmities, and bare our diseases.

18 Now when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandments to depart unto the other side.

19 And there came a scribe, and said unto him, Teacher, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.

20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven [have] nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

21 And another of the disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.

22 But Jesus saith unto him, Follow me; and leave the dead to bury their own dead.

23 And when he was entered into a boat, his disciples followed him.

24 And behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the boat was covered with the waves: but he was asleep.

25 And they came to him, and awoke him, saying, Save, Lord; we perish.

26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

27 And the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?

28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, there met him two possessed with demons, coming forth out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man could pass by that way.

29 And behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

30 Now there was afar off from them a herd of many swine feeding.

31 And the demons besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, send us away into the herd of swine.

32 And he said unto them, Go. And they came out, and went into the swine: and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep into the sea, and perished in the waters.

33 And they that fed them fled, and went away into the city, and told everything, and what was befallen to them that were possessed with demons.

34 And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought [him] that he would depart from their borders.

   

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Apocalypse Revealed # 413

Prostudujte si tuto pasáž

  
/ 962  
  

413. And a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, and a third of them was darkened. This symbolically means that because of their evils springing from falsities and their falsities springing from evils, they did not know what love is, or what faith is, or any truth.

A third means, symbolically, all (no. 400). The sun symbolizes love (no. 53). The moon symbolizes intelligence and faith (no. 332). The stars symbolize concepts of truth and goodness from the Word (no. 51). To be darkened means, symbolically, to be unseen and unknown because of evils springing from falsities and falsities springing from evils.

Evils springing from falsities are found in people who adopt falsities having to do with religion and defend them to the point that they appear to be true. Then, when they live in accordance with them, they do evils as a result of the falsities, or the evils of falsity.

On the other hand, falsities springing from evils are found in people who do not regard evils as being sins, and still more in people who employ reasonings issuing from their natural self, and moreover from the Word, to establish in themselves that evils are not sins. Their very arguments are falsities springing from evils, and what we call the falsities of evil.

[2] Darkness symbolizes these falsities because light symbolizes truth, and when the light has been extinguished, darkness is left.

To confirm this we will first cite passages where things similar to those here in the book of Revelation are said regarding the sun, moon and stars, and darkness ensuing upon their being extinguished:

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and terrible day of Jehovah. (Joel 2:31)

...the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened in its rising, and the moon will not cause its light to shine. (Isaiah 13:10, cf. 24:21, 24:23)

When I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens..., I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. All the luminaries of light in the heavens I will make dark over you, and bring darkness upon your land... (Ezekiel 32:7-8)

...the day of Jehovah... is at hand... The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars diminish their brightness. (Joel 2:1, 10)

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven... (Matthew 24:29, cf. Mark 13:24-25)

Who, if he elevates his mind, cannot see that in these places it is not the world's sun, moon and stars that are meant.

[3] That darkness symbolizes falsities of various kinds is clear from these passages:

Woe to you who desire the day of Jehovah! ...It will be one of darkness, and not light... Is not the day of Jehovah darkness and not light? Very dark, without any brightness? (Amos 5:18, 20)

(The day of Jehovah will be) a day of darkness and thick darkness, a day of clouds and overcast... (Zephaniah 1:15)

In that day... it will look to the land, which, behold, will be darkness...; and the light will grow dark in its ruins. (Isaiah 5:30, cf. 8:22)

...behold, the darkness covers the earth, and thick darkness the peoples. (Isaiah 60:2)

Give glory to Jehovah... before He causes darkness...; you look for light, but He turns it into thick darkness. (Jeremiah 13:16)

We look for light, but there is darkness and no brightness; we walk in thick darkness... We stumble at noonday as at twilight; among the living we are as dead men. (Isaiah 59:9-10)

Woe to those... who put darkness for light, and light for darkness. (Isaiah 5:20)

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. (Isaiah 9:2, cf. Matthew 4:16)

...the rising sun from on high (has appeared) to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death... (Luke 1:78-79)

If you give your soul to the hungry..., your light shall rise in the darkness, and your thick darkness shall be as the noonday. (Isaiah 58:10)

In that day... the eyes of the blind who are in thick darkness and gloom shall see. (Isaiah 29:18, cf. 42:16; 49:9)

(Jesus said,) "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12)

Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you... I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. (John 12:35, 46)

When I sit in darkness, Jehovah is a light to me. (Micah 7:8)

This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, but men loved the darkness more than light... (John 3:19, cf. 1:4-5)

If... the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:23, cf. Luke 11:34-36)

...this is your hour, and the power of darkness. (Luke 22:53)

Darkness in these places symbolizes falsity arising either from ignorance of truth or from some false tenet of religion, or from a life of evil.

Regarding people caught up in falsities having to do with religion, who are therefore caught up in evils in life, the Lord says that they should be "cast out into outer darkness" (Matthew 8:12, cf. 22:13; 25:30).

  
/ 962  
  

Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.