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Matthew 10

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1 And calling·​·for His twelve disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, so as to cast· them ·out, and to cure every disease and every malady.

2 And the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother;

3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, also called Thaddaeus;

4 Simon the Kananite*, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

5 These twelve Jesus sent·​·out, charging them, saying, Into the way of the nations go ye not, and into a city of the Samaritans enter ye not.

6 But go ye rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

7 And as you go, preach, saying that the kingdom of the heavens is near.

8 Cure the·​·sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast·​·out demons; freely you have received, freely give.

9 Possess not gold, nor silver, nor bronze for your belts,

10 nor pack for a journey, nor two tunics, nor shoes, nor a staff; for the worker is worthy of his food.

11 And into whatever city or village you enter, search out who in it is worthy, and·​·there remain until you go out.

12 And when you come into the house, greet it.

13 And if indeed the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

14 And if· anyone shall ·not receive you, nor hear your words, when you go·​·out of that house or city, shake·​·off the dust of your feet.

15 Amen I say to·​·you, it shall be more·​·tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.

16 Behold, I send· you ·out as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore prudent as serpents, and simple* as doves.

17 And beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and will scourge you in their synagogues.

18 And you shall be led before governors and also kings on account of Me, for a witness to them and to the nations.

19 But when they shall deliver· you ·up, be· not ·anxious about how or what you shall speak, for it shall be given to you in that hour what you shall speak.

20 For you are not they who speak, but the Spirit of your Father is what speaks in you.

21 And brother shall deliver up brother to death, and father child; and children shall rise up against parents, and put· them ·to·​·death.

22 And you shall be hated by all on account of My name; but he who endures to the end, he shall be saved.

23 And when they persecute you in this city, flee into the other; for amen I say to you, You shall not have finished the cities* of Israel until the Son of Man has come.

24 The disciple is not above the teacher, nor the servant above his lord.

25 It is sufficient for the disciple that he become as his teacher, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the householder Beelzebub, how·​·much more them of his household?

26 Fear them not therefore; for there is nothing covered, that shall not be uncovered, and secret, that shall not be known.

27 What I say to you in the darkness, say ye in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach ye upon the housetops.

28 And be not afraid of those who kill the body, but are· not ·able to kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who is·​·able to destroy both soul and body in gehenna*.

29 Are not two sparrows sold for an assarion*? And not one of them shall fall upon the earth without your Father.

30 And of you, even the hairs of the head are all numbered.

31 Fear not therefore; you are·​·of· more ·value than many sparrows.

32 Whoever therefore shall profess Me before men, I also will profess him before My Father who is in the heavens.

33 But whoever shall deny Me before men, I also will deny him before My Father who is in the heavens.

34 Suppose not that I am come to cast peace upon earth; I am not come to cast peace, but a sword.

35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law* against her mother-in-law.*

36 And the man’s enemies shall be they of his own house.

37 He who loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me, and he who loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me.

38 And whoever does not take his cross, and follow after Me, is not worthy of Me.

39 He who finds his soul shall lose it, and he who loses his soul for My sake shall find it.

40 He who receives you, receives Me, and he who receives Me, receives Him who sent Me.

41 He who accepts a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive the reward of a prophet; and he who accepts someone just in the name of someone just, shall receive the reward of someone just.

42 And whoever shall give· a cup of cold water to one of these little·​·ones ·to·​·drink in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Apocalypse Revealed # 502

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502. Which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt. This symbolizes the two hellish loves, namely, a love of ruling springing from a love of self, and a love of holding sway from a conceit in one's own intelligence, loves which are present in the church where there is not one God and where the Lord is not worshiped, and where people do not live in accordance with the Ten Commandments.

Sodom symbolizes, in the spiritual sense, a love of ruling springing from a love of self, as we shall presently see; and Egypt symbolizes, in the spiritual sense, a love of holding sway from a conceit in one's own intelligence, as we shall also presently see. So, because these two loves are symbolized, therefore the city is called, spiritually speaking, Sodom and Egypt.

These two loves are present in the church where there is not one God and where the Lord is not worshiped, and where people do not live in accordance with the Ten Commandments, because people are born with these two loves, and they come into them as they grow up. Nor can these loves be removed except by God the Savior and by a life in accordance with His commandments, and God cannot remove them unless people turn to Him, and neither is a life in accordance with His commandments possible unless a person is led by Him. Actually it is possible, but not a life that contains anything of heaven and so of the church.

A life like that is possible only from Him who is life. That the Lord is that life may be seen in John 1:1, 4; 5:26; 6:33-35ff., 11:25-26; 14:6, 19, and in many other places.

[2] A love of ruling springing from a love of self, and a love of holding sway from a conceit in one's own intelligence, are the principal loves of all the loves in hell, and so are the origin of all the evils and thus of all the falsities in the church. This is something unknown at the present day. The delights of these loves, which surpass the delights of all the heart's pleasures, cause it to be unknown, even though they are, spiritually, Sodom and Egypt.

That Sodom is a love of ruling springing from a love of self can be seen from the description of Sodom in Genesis, where we are told that when angels arrived there, the inhabitants tried to forcibly assault them at the house of Lot, and that fire and brimstone rained down on them from heaven (Genesis 19:1ff.). Fire and brimstone symbolize that love, together with its appetites.

I saw similar sights when cities and societies of people like that were overthrown at the time of the Last Judgment and their inhabitants cast into hell.

These loves and their accompanying evils are symbolized by Sodom and Gomorrah in the following passages: Isaiah 1:10; 3:8-9; 13:19.

[3] That this love is symbolically meant by Sodom is unknown in the world, but remember it and recall it when you come after death into the world of spirits and you will be completely convinced.

It should be known, however, that a love of ruling springing from a love of self and a love of ruling springing from a love of performing useful services are two different things. The latter love is a heavenly love, while the first is a hellish one. Consequently, when one is in first place, the other is in last place; which is to say, when a love of ruling springing from a love of self forms the head, then a love of ruling springing from a love of performing useful services - which is a love of serving the neighbor originating from the Lord - forms first the feet, then the soles of the feet, and finally is trampled underfoot.

On the other hand, when a love of ruling springing from a love of performing useful services - which, as we said, is a heavenly love - forms the head, then a love of ruling springing from a love of self - which, as we said, is a hellish love - forms first the feet, then the soles of the feet, and finally is trampled underfoot.

Still, these two loves can hardly be distinguished by a person in the world. That is because in outward appearance they are similar. But they can be told apart by this, that a heavenly love is present in people who turn to the Lord and live in accordance with the Ten Commandments, while a hellish love is present in people who do not turn to the Lord, and who do not live in accordance with the Ten Commandments.

  
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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.