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Matthew 11

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1 And it came to pass when Jesus had finished commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and preach in their cities.

2 But John, having heard in the prison the works of the Christ, sent by his disciples,

3 and said to him, Art *thou* the coming [one]? or are we to wait for another?

4 And Jesus answering said to them, Go, report to John what ye hear and see.

5 Blind [men] see and lame walk; lepers are cleansed, and deaf hear; and dead are raised, and poor have glad tidings preached to them:

6 and blessed is whosoever shall not be offended in me.

7 But as they went [away], Jesus began to say to the crowds concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? a reed moved about by the wind?

8 But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in delicate raiment? behold, those who wear delicate things are in the houses of kings.

9 But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say to you, and more than a prophet:

10 this is he of whom it is written, Behold, *I* send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.

11 Verily I say to you, that there is not arisen among [the] born of women a greater than John the baptist. But he who is a little one in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he.

12 But from the days of John the baptist until now, the kingdom of the heavens is taken by violence, and [the] violent seize on it.

13 For all the prophets and the law have prophesied unto John.

14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, who is to come.

15 He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

16 But to whom shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the markets, which, calling to their companions,

17 say, We have piped to you, and ye have not danced: we have mourned to you, and ye have not wailed.

18 For John has come neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He has a demon.

19 The Son of man has come eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a man [that is] eating and wine-drinking, a friend of tax-gatherers, and of sinners: -- and wisdom has been justified by her children.

20 Then began he to reproach the cities in which most of his works of power had taken place, because they had not repented.

21 Woe to thee, Chorazin! Woe to thee Bethsaida! for if the works of power which have taken place in you, had taken place in Tyre and Sidon, they had long ago repented in sackcloth and ashes.

22 But I say to you, that it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in judgment-day than for you.

23 And *thou*, Capernaum, who hast been raised up to heaven, shalt be brought down even to hades. For if the works of power which have taken place in thee, had taken place in Sodom, it had remained until this day.

24 But I say to you, that it shall be more tolerable for [the] land of Sodom in judgment-day than for thee.

25 At that time, Jesus answering said, I praise thee, Father, Lord of the heaven and of the earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes.

26 Yea, Father, for thus has it been well-pleasing in thy sight.

27 All things have been delivered to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son but the Father, nor does any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom the Son may be pleased to reveal [him].

28 Come to me, all ye who labour and are burdened, and *I* will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest to your souls;

30 for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

   

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Apocalypse Revealed # 10

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10. John, to the seven churches. (1:4) This symbolically means, to all who are in the Christian world where the Word exists and where through it the Lord is known, and who turn to the church.

The seven churches mean, not seven churches, but all who are constituents of the church in the Christian world. For numbers in the Word symbolize properties, and seven symbolizes all things or all people, and so also fullness and completeness, and it occurs in the Word where the subject is something holy, and in an opposite sense, something profane. Consequently this number involves holiness, and in an opposite sense, profanation.

Numbers symbolize properties, or rather they serve as a class of adjectives to substantives, assigning some attribute to their subjects, because a number in itself is a natural quantity. For natural things are measured by numbers, but spiritual things by properties and their states. Therefore someone who does not know the symbolism of numbers in the Word, and particularly in the book of Revelation, cannot know the many secrets that it contains.

Now, because seven symbolizes all things or all people, it is apparent that the seven churches mean all people in the Christian world where the Word exists and where through it the Lord is known. If these live according to the Lord's commandments in the Word, they form the real church.

[2] It is because of this that the Sabbath was instituted on the seventh day, and that the seventh year was called a sabbatical year, and the forty-ninth year the year of Jubilee, which symbolized everything holy in the church.

It is because of this, too, that a week in Daniel and elsewhere symbolizes an entire period from beginning to end and is predicated of the church.

Similar things are symbolized by seven hereafter, as for example, by the seven golden lampstands, in the midst of which was the Son of Man (Revelation 1:13); by the seven stars in His right hand (1:16, 20); by the seven spirits of God (1:4; 4:5); by the seven lamps of fire (4:5); by the seven angels to whom were given seven trumpets (8:2); by the seven angels having the seven last plagues (15:5-6); by the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues (16:1; 21:9); by the seven seals with which the book was sealed (5:1).

Likewise in the following places: That their hands should be filled for seven days (Exodus 29:35). That they should be sanctified for seven days (Exodus 29:37). That when they were inaugurated they should go in seven days, clothed in holy garments (Exodus 29:30). That for seven days they should not go out of the Tabernacle while being initiated into the priesthood (Leviticus 8:33, 35). That atonement should be made for the altar seven times on its horns (Leviticus 16:18-19), and also seven times toward the east (Leviticus 16:12-15). That the water of separation should be sprinkled seven times toward the Tabernacle (Numbers 19:4). That Passover should be celebrated for seven days and unleavened bread eaten for seven days (Exodus 12:1ff., Deuteronomy 16:4-7).

So, too, that the Jews should be punished sevenfold for their sins (Leviticus 26:18, 21, 24, 28), on which account David says, "Requite our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom" (Psalms 79:12). "Sevenfold" means fully.

[3] Also in these places:

The words of Jehovah are pure words, silver... in a furnace... purified seven times. (Psalms 12:6)

The hungry have ceased, until the barren has borne seven, while she who has many children has become feeble. (1 Samuel 2:5)

"The barren" is the church of the gentiles, who did not have the Word. "She who has many children" is the church of the Jews, who did have the Word. Similarly,

She will languish who has borne seven; she will breath out her soul. (Jeremiah 15:9)

Those who dwell in the cities of Israel will... set on fire and burn the weapons...; and they will make fires with them for seven years... ...they will bury Gog, and... for seven months... will be cleansing the land. (Ezekiel 39:9, 11-12)

(The unclean spirit) will take seven other spirits more wicked than himself... (Matthew 12:45)

Profanation is described there, and the seven spirits with which he would return symbolize all falsities of evil, thus a complete extinguishing of goodness and truth.

The seven heads of the dragon, and the seven jewels 1 on its heads (Revelation 12:3), symbolize the profanation of all goodness and truth.

This makes apparent that "seven" involves holiness or profanation, and symbolizes completeness and fullness.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. The word translated as "jewels" here means diadems or crowns in the original Greek and Latin, but the writer's definitions of the term elsewhere make plain that he regularly and consistently interpreted it to mean jewels or gems.

  
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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.