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Matthew 16

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1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees, coming to [him], asked him, tempting [him], to shew them a sign out of heaven.

2 But he answering said to them, When evening is come, ye say, Fine weather, for the sky is red;

3 and in the morning, A storm to-day, for the sky is red [and] lowering; ye know [how] to discern the face of the sky, but ye cannot the signs of the times.

4 A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it save the sign of Jonas. And he left them and went away.

5 And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.

6 And Jesus said to them, See and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

7 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, Because we have taken no bread.

8 And Jesus knowing [it], said, Why reason ye among yourselves, O ye of little faith, because ye have taken no bread?

9 Do ye not yet understand nor remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many hand-baskets ye took [up]?

10 nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets ye took [up]?

11 How do ye not understand that [it was] not concerning bread I said to you, Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees?

12 Then they comprehended that he did not speak of being beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

13 But when Jesus was come into the parts of Caesarea-Philippi, he demanded of his disciples, saying, Who do men say that I the Son of man am?

14 And they said, Some, John the baptist; and others, Elias; and others again, Jeremias or one of the prophets.

15 He says to them, But *ye*, who do ye say that I am?

16 And Simon Peter answering said, *Thou* art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

17 And Jesus answering said to him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed [it] to thee, but my Father who is in the heavens.

18 And *I* also, I say unto thee that *thou* art Peter, and on this rock I will build my assembly, and hades' gates shall not prevail against it.

19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be bound in the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest loose on the earth shall be loosed in the heavens.

20 Then he enjoined on his disciples that they should say to no man that he was the Christ.

21 From that time Jesus began to shew to his disciples that he must go away to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised.

22 And Peter taking him to [him] began to rebuke him, saying, [God] be favourable to thee, Lord; this shall in no wise be unto thee.

23 But turning round, he said to Peter, Get away behind me, Satan; thou art an offence to me, for thy mind is not on the things that are of God, but on the things that are of men.

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, If any one desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

25 For whosoever shall desire to save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it.

26 For what does a man profit, if he should gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

27 For the Son of man is about to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will render to each according to his doings.

28 Verily I say unto you, There are some of those standing here that shall not taste of death at all until they shall have seen the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 10083

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10083. 'And you shall wave them as a wave offering before Jehovah' means the life from God which comes as a result of this. This is clear from the meaning of 'waving a wave offering' as endowing with life, thus the life [present in something]; and since it says from 'before Jehovah' the life from God is meant. The fact that 'waving a wave offering' means endowing with life, that is, imparting the life from God, is clear from places in the Word where 'waving a wave offering' is spoken of, as in Moses,

When you bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, he shall wave the sheaf before Jehovah, so that you may be acceptable; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. Leviticus 23:10-11.

'Harvest' means a state when the truth of faith springing from good exists, thus a state when good is present, 9295; 'a sheaf of the firstfruits' means all collectively constituting that state. 'Being waved by the priest' therefore means being endowed with life to receive a blessing; for every blessing, to be a blessing, must have life from God within it.

[2] In the same author,

Aaron shall wave the Levites before Jehovah as a wave offering 1 from among the children of Israel, that they may be used in the service of Jehovah. You shall stand the Levites before Aaron and before his sons, and you shall wave them as a wave offering to Jehovah. After that the Levites shall go in to serve in the tent of meeting; and you shall purify them, and wave them as a wave offering. And when the Levites had been purified, Aaron waved them before Jehovah as a wave offering, and Aaron expiated them to purify them. Numbers 8:11, 13, 15, 21.

These verses show what 'waving a wave offering' means, namely endowing with life through acknowledgement, which is the first phase of faith, and so the first phase of life from God with a person. Knowledge, it is true, comes before acknowledgement, but knowledge has none of God's life within it until it becomes acknowledgement and then faith. The Levites represented truths serving good, while Aaron represented the good they served; that is why they were 'waved', that is, were endowed with life. This also accounts for its being said that they were to be purified. For truths must have life from God within them if they are to serve good, and that life first flows in through acknowledgement.

[3] Much the same is meant by 'a wave offering of gold' in Moses,

They came, the men with the women ... they brought brooches, nose-jewels, rings, girdles 2 , all vessels of gold; and every man who waved a wave offering of gold to Jehovah. Exodus 35:22.

'Waving a wave offering of gold to Jehovah' means endowing with life through the acknowledgement that it was Jehovah's, that is, the Lord's. 'Waving a wave offering' means such things by virtue of what that action corresponds to; for every motion corresponds to a state of thought. In the Word therefore advancing, travelling on, and like movements mean states of life, see 3335, 4882, 5493, 5605, 8103, 8417, 8420, 8557.

[4] In John,

At the pool of Bethesda lay a large multitude of sick people; and an angel went down at a certain time to the pool and stirred up the water. Then whoever stepped in first after the movement of the water was cured of whatever disease he had. John 5:2-7.

'Stirring up the water' here was in like manner a sign of the endowment of life through acknowledgement and faith, and therefore also a sign of purification by means of truths.

'Movement' means states of life, see 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381, 9440, 9967.

'Water' means the truths of faith, 2702, 3058, 3424, 4976, 8568, 9323.

All purification is accomplished by means of the truths of faith, 2799, 5954 (end), 7044, 7918, 9088.

Healings represented the restoration of spiritual life, 8365, 9031 (end).

[5] Since 'the waving on Aaron's palms' means the endowment of life through acknowledgement of the Lord and the acknowledgement that all things come from Him, something brief must be stated with regard to that acknowledgement and resulting faith. The Lord often said, when sick people were being healed, that they should have faith, and, 'Let it be to you according to your faith', as in Matthew 8:10-13; 9:2, 22, 27-29; 13:57-58; 15:28; 21:21-22, 31-32; Mark 5:34, 36; 10:49, 52; 16:16; Luke 7:9, 48-50; 8:48; 17:19; 18:42-43. The reason why He said it was that the very first thing a person needs to do is to acknowledge that the Lord is the Saviour of the world; for unless he acknowledges this no one can receive any truth or good at all from heaven, or therefore receive faith from there. And since it was the very first and most essential thing, therefore in order that He might be acknowledged when He came into the world the Lord questioned the sick, when He healed them, about their faith; and those who had faith were healed. This faith was that He was the Son of God who was to come into the world, and that He had power to heal and save. Furthermore every healing of sickness by the Lord when He was in the world served to mean a healing of spiritual life, thus served to mean the things that belong to salvation, 8364, 9031(end), 9086.

[6] Since acknowledgement of the Lord is the first thing of all belonging to spiritual life and is the most essential feature of the Church, and since no one, unless he acknowledges Him, can receive any truth of faith or good of love at all from heaven, the Lord also often says that whoever believes in Him has eternal life, and whoever does not believe in Him does not have it, as in John 1:1, 4, 12-13; 3:14-16, 36; 5:39-40; 6:28-30, 33-35, 40, 47-48; 7:37-38; 8:24; 11:25-26; 20:30-31. But at the same time He also teaches that they have faith in Him who live according to His commandments, so that the life which results from doing so goes to compose their faith. These things have been stated to cast light on and corroborate the truth that acknowledging the Lord and acknowledging that all salvation comes from Him constitute the beginning of the life from God with a person. That beginning of it is meant by the offering waved on Aaron's palms.

Poznámky pod čarou:

1. i.e. the Levites were to be offered to Jehovah as though they were a wave offering

2. i.e. bracelets, necklaces, etc

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.