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Matthew 6

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1 Take care not to do your good works before men, to be seen by them; or you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 When then you give money to the poor, do not make a noise about it, as the false-hearted men do in the Synagogues and in the streets, so that they may have glory from men. Truly, I say to you, They have their reward.

3 But when you give money, let not your left hand see what your right hand does:

4 So that your giving may be in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will give you your reward.

5 And when you make your prayers, be not like the false-hearted men, who take pleasure in getting up and saying their prayers in the Synagogues and at the street turnings so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, They have their reward.

6 But when you make your prayer, go into your private room, and, shutting the door, say a prayer to your Father in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will give you your reward.

7 And in your prayer do not make use of the same words again and again, as the Gentiles do: for they have the idea that God will give attention to them because of the number of their words.

8 So be not like them; because your Father has knowledge of your needs even before you make your requests to him.

9 Let this then be your prayer: Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

10 Let your kingdom come. Let your pleasure be done, as in heaven, so on earth.

11 Give us this day bread for our needs.

12 And make us free of our debts, as we have made those free who are in debt to us.

13 And let us not be put to the test, but keep us safe from the Evil One.

14 For if you let men have forgiveness for their sins, you will have forgiveness from your Father in heaven.

15 But if you do not let men have forgiveness for their sins, you will not have forgiveness from your Father for your sins.

16 And when you go without food, be not sad-faced as the false-hearted are. For they go about with changed looks, so that men may see that they are going without food. Truly I say to you, They have their reward.

17 But when you go without food, put oil on your head and make your face clean;

18 So that no one may see that you are going without food, but your Father in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will give you your reward.

19 Make no store of wealth for yourselves on earth, where it may be turned to dust by worms and weather, and where thieves may come in by force and take it away.

20 But make a store for yourselves in heaven, where it will not be turned to dust and where thieves do not come in to take it away:

21 For where your wealth is, there will your heart be.

22 The light of the body is the eye; if then your eye is true, all your body will be full of light.

23 But if your eye is evil, all your body will be dark. If then the light which is in you is dark, how dark it will be!

24 No man is able to be a servant to two masters: for he will have hate for the one and love for the other, or he will keep to one and have no respect for the other. You may not be servants of God and of wealth.

25 So I say to you, Take no thought for your life, about food or drink, or about clothing for your body. Is not life more than food, and the body more than its clothing?

26 See the birds of heaven; they do not put seeds in the earth, they do not get in grain, or put it in store-houses; and your Father in heaven gives them food. Are you not of much more value than they?

27 And which of you by taking thought is able to make himself a cubit taller?

28 And why are you troubled about clothing? See the flowers of the field, how they come up; they do no work, they make no thread:

29 But I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.

30 But if God gives such clothing to the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is put into the oven, will he not much more give you clothing, O you of little faith?

31 Then do not be full of care, saying, What are we to have for food or drink? or, With what may we be clothed?

32 Because the Gentiles go in search of all these things: for your Father in heaven has knowledge that you have need of all these things:

33 But let your first care be for his kingdom and his righteousness; and all these other things will be given to you in addition.

34 Then have no care for tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Take the trouble of the day as it comes.

   

Ze Swedenborgových děl

 

Apocalypse Revealed # 840

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840. REVELATION: CHAPTER 20

1. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

2. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound it for a thousand years;

3. and he cast it into the bottomless pit, and shut it up, and set a seal on it, so that it should not lead the nations astray any more till the thousand years were completed. But after that it must be released for a little while.

4. And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was entrusted to them. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the Word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

5. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.

6. Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

7. Then, when the thousand years have been completed, Satan will be released from his prison,

8. and he will go out to lead astray the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.

9. And they went up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

10. Then the devil who led them astray was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

11. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. And there was not found any place for them.

12. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and their books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, in accordance with the things which were written in their books.

13. Then the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hell delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

14. Then Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

THE SPIRITUAL MEANING

The Contents of the Whole Chapter

The removal of those people meant by the dragon (verses 1-3), and the ascent then of those in the lower earth, 1 who worshiped the Lord and refrained from evils as being sins (verses 4-6). The judgment on those having no religion in their worship (verses 7-9). The damnation of the dragon (verse 10). The universal judgment on all the rest (verses 11-15).

The Contents of the Individual Verses:

Verse ContentsSpiritual Meaning
1. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.The Lord's Divine operation into the lower regions by virtue of His Divine power to close and open and to bind and loose.
2. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, which is the Devil and Satan,Those meant by the dragon were detained, who because they think about matters of faith sensually and not spiritually, are called that serpent of old, who because they are caught up in evils in the way they live, are called the Devil, and who because they are caught up in falsities as regards their doctrine, are called Satan.
and bound it for a thousand years;Those meant by the dragon here were forcibly drawn away and separated from the rest of the people in the world of spirits to keep them from having any communication with the rest for a while or a period of time.
3. and he cast it into the bottomless pit, and shut it up, and set a seal on it, so that it should not lead the nations astray any moreThe Lord removed entirely those who were caught up in faith alone and took away all their communication with the rest, to keep them from inspiring any of their heresy in people who were being raised into heaven.
till the thousand years were completed. But after that it must be released for a little while.This was the case for a while or for a period of time until people with truths springing from goodness were raised by the Lord into heaven, after which those meant by the dragon would for a short time be set loose and have a communication opened with those who were left.
4. And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was entrusted to them.The Word's truths were laid open, in accordance with which all people are judged, and those in the lower earth were then raised up, who had been hidden away by the Lord to keep the dragon and its beasts from leading them astray;
I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the Word of God,who had been rejected by those caught up in falsities hatched out of their own intelligence, because they worshiped the Lord and lived in accordance with the truths in His Word,
who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or on their hands.and did not acknowledge or accept the doctrine of faith alone;
And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.who possessed a conjunction with the Lord already and had been in His kingdom for some time.
5. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were completed.Besides these just described, no others were raised into heaven until after the dragon was set loose and they were then tried and examined to discover their character.
This is the first resurrection.Salvation and eternal life consist primarily in worshiping the Lord and living according to His commandments in the Word, because these are the means to conjunction with the Lord and affiliation with angels in heaven.
6. Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection.Through conjunction with the Lord those who enter heaven enjoy the felicity of eternal life and enlightenment.
Over such the second death has no power,They do not suffer damnation,
but they shall be priests of God and of Christ,because they are kept by the Lord in the goodness of love and so in truths of wisdom.
and shall reign with Him a thousand years.They were already in heaven when the rest who did not live again, that is, who did not accept the life of heaven, were still in the world of spirits.
7. Then, when the thousand years have been completed, Satan will be released from his prison,After the Lord raised into heaven those who previously had been hidden away and protected in the lower earth, and the New Christian Heaven was increased by their number, all those who had confirmed themselves in falsities of faith were let loose.
8. and he will go out to lead astray the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for battle,Those meant by the dragon here drew to their side from any land throughout the world of spirits all who lived the life of an external, natural worship only and no internal, spiritual worship, and roused them up against those who worshiped the Lord and lived according to His commandments in the Word.
whose number is as the sand of the sea.The multitude of such people.
9. And they went up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city.Being roused up by followers of the dragon, they scorned every truth in the church and attempted to destroy everything connected with the New Church and its fundamental doctrine regarding the Lord and life.
And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.They were destroyed by the lusts of their hellish love.
10. Then the devil who led them astray was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.People who were caught up in evils in the way they lived and in falsities as regards their doctrine were cast into hell.
11. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. And there was not found any place for them.A universal judgment executed by the Lord on all the former heavens that were occupied by people possessing a civil and moral goodness, but no spiritual goodness, thus who gave the appearance of being Christians outwardly, but who inwardly were devils. These heavens with their lands were totally dispersed so that no part of them was seen anymore.
12. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God,All people of every condition and character, who had died from earthly lands and were now among those in the world of spirits, gathered by the Lord for judgment.
and their books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.The interiors of their minds were opened, of both the good and the evil, and by an influx of light and warmth from heaven their characters were seen and perceived in respect to the affections of their love or will, and so in respect to the thoughts of their faith or intellect.
And the dead were judged according to their works, in accordance with the things which were written in their books.All were judged in accordance with the inner life within their outward appearances.
13. Then the sea gave up the dead who were in it,External and natural people in the church called together for judgment.
and Death and Hell delivered up the dead who were in them.The impious at heart in the church, who in themselves were devils and satanic spirits, called together for judgment.
And they were judged, each one according to his works.The same as before.
14. Then Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire.The impious at heart, who in themselves were devils and satanic spirits, and yet in outward appearances seemed to be people of the church, were cast down into hell among spirits who were caught up in a love of evil and so in a love of falsity according with evil.
This is the second death.This is their final damnation.
15. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.Those who had not lived in accordance with the Lord's commandments in the Word and did not believe in the Lord were condemned.

THE EXPOSITION

20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. This symbolizes the Lord's operation into the lower regions by virtue of His Divine power to close and open and to bind and loose.

An angel coming down from heaven means the Lord, as may be seen in nos. 5, 258, 344, 465, 657, 718, and also the Lord's operation, nos. 415, 631, 633, 649, here His operation into the lower regions, because the angel is described as coming down. Having the key to the bottomless pit symbolizes the Divine power to open and close hell, as may be seen in nos. 62, 174. And having a great chain in his hand symbolizes the endeavor and so the action of binding and loosing.

It follows, therefore, that there was no key or chain in the Lord's hand, but that its appearing so to John was representative of the Lord's Divine power. This chapter also refers two or three times to the opening and closing of hell.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. Cf. references to the lower parts of the earth in Psalms 63:9, Isaiah 44:23, Ezekiel 32:24, and also Ephesians 4:9.

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

Bible

 

John 14:8-9

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8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us."

9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, 'Show us the Father?'