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Matthew 5

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1 And seeing the crowds, He went·​·up into the mountain; and when He had sat·​·down, His disciples came to Him.

2 And opening His mouth He taught them, saying,

3 Happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

4 Happy are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 Happy are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 Happy are they who hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall be·​·satisfied.

7 Happy are the merciful, for they shall have·​·mercy.

8 Happy are the clean in heart, for they shall see God.

9 Happy are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.

10 Happy are they who are persecuted for the sake of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

11 Happy are you when they shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say every wicked saying against you, telling·​·lies, on account of Me.

12 Leap·​·for·​·joy and rejoice, for your reward is much in the heavens; for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

13 You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt become saltless*, with what shall it be salted? After·​·that it is·​·of· no ·use, except to be cast out, and to be trampled by men.

14 You are the light of the world. A city that is laid·​·out on a mountain cannot be hidden.

15 Neither do they light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the lampstand, and it shines for all who are in the house.

16 So let your light shine in·​·front·​·of men, so·​·that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in the heavens.

17 Do not suppose that I have come to undo the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to undo but to fulfill.

18 For amen I say to you, Till heaven and earth pass·​·away, one yodh* or one little·​·horn shall not pass·​·away from the Law, till all things come·​·to·​·pass.

19 Therefore whoever shall loosen one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of the heavens; but whoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens.

20 For I say to you that unless your justice shall exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

21 You have heard that it was declared by the ancients, Thou shalt not murder*; and whoever shall murder shall be subject to the judgment*.

22 But I say to you that everyone who is·​·angry with his brother rashly shall be subject to the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be subject to the council; and whoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be subject to the gehenna* of fire.

23 If therefore thou offer thy gift on the altar, and·​·there rememberest that thy brother has anything against thee,

24 leave there thy gift in·​·front·​·of the altar, and go·​·thy·​·way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come offer thy gift.

25 Be of good·​·will with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him, lest the adversary deliver· thee ·up to the judge, and the judge deliver· thee ·up to the attendant, and thou be cast into prison.

26 Amen I say unto thee, Thou shalt not come·​·out from·​·there until thou hast paid the last farthing*.

27 You have heard that it was declared to the ancients, Thou shalt not commit·​·adultery.*

28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at another woman* to lust·​·after her has already committed·​·adultery with her in his heart.

29 And if thy right eye cause· thee ·to·​·stumble, pluck· it ·out, and cast it from thee; for it·​·is·​·expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body be cast into gehenna.

30 And if thy right hand cause· thee ·to·​·stumble, cut· it ·off, and cast it from thee; for it·​·is·​·expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body be cast into gehenna.

31 And it has been declared that whoever shall send·​·away his wife, let him give her a divorce.*

32 But I say to you, Whoever shall send·​·away his wife, outside·​·of the reason of scortation, makes her commit·​·adultery; and whoever shall wed her who is sent·​·away commits·​·adultery.

33 Again, you have heard that it has been declared to the ancients, Thou shalt not swear·​·falsely*, but shalt render to the Lord thine oaths.

34 But I say to you, Swear not at·​·all; neither by the heaven, for it is the throne of God;

35 nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

37 But let your word be, Yes, yes; No, no; and whatever is beyond these is from evil.

38 You have heard that it has been declared, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.*

39 But I say to you, Do not stand·​·against the wicked; but whoever shall hit* thee on thy right cheek-bone, turn to him the other also.

40 And if anyone wills to have· thee ·judged and take thy tunic, let· him ·have the cloak also.

41 And whoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two.

42 Give to him who asks thee; and turn· not ·away him who wills to borrow from thee.

43 You have heard that it has been declared, Thou shalt love thy neighbor*, and shalt hate thine enemy.

44 But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do well to those who hate you, and pray for those who injure you and persecute you,

45 so·​·that you may be sons of your Father who is in the heavens; for He makes His sun to rise on the wicked and the good, and sends·​·rain on the just and the unjust.

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the publicans do the same?

47 And if you greet your brothers only, what do you do beyond others? Do not even the publicans do so?

48 Be ye therefore perfect, just·​·as your Father who is in the heavens is perfect.

   


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

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Apocalypse Revealed # 20

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20. And makes us kings and priests. (1:6) This symbolically means, who grants those who are born from Him, that is, who are reborn or regenerated, to be governed by wisdom from Divine truths, and by love from Divine goods.

People know that in the Word the Lord is called a king and also a priest. He is called a king owing to His Divine wisdom, and a priest owing to His Divine love. People who are governed by wisdom from the Lord are consequently called children of the king, and also kings, while people who are governed by love from Him are called ministers and priests. For the wisdom and the love in them do not originate from them, and so are not theirs but the Lord's. It is these people who are therefore meant in the Word by kings and priests. Not that they are kings and priests, but that they have the Lord in them, and He causes them to be termed such.

Such people are called also children born of Him, children of the kingdom, children of the Father, and heirs - children born of Him in John 1:12-13ff.), children of the kingdom in Matthew 8:12; 13:38, children of their Father in heaven in Matthew 5:45, and heirs in Psalms 127:3, 1 Samuel 2:8, Matthew 25:34. And being heirs, children of the kingdom, and children born of the Lord as their Father, they are therefore called kings and priests. Moreover, in Revelation 3:21 it is also said that they will sit with the Lord on His throne.

[2] The whole of heaven has been divided into two kingdoms - the spiritual kingdom and the celestial kingdom. The spiritual kingdom is what is called the Lord's kingship, and because all who are in it are governed by wisdom founded on truths, therefore it is they who are meant by the kings that the Lord will make those people who are governed by wisdom from Him. The celestial kingdom, on the other hand, is what is called the Lord's priesthood, and because all who are in it are governed by love arising from goodness, therefore it is they who are meant by the priests that the Lord will make those people who are governed by love from Him. The Lord's church on earth is likewise divided into two kingdoms. Regarding these two kingdoms, see nos. 24, 226 in the book Heaven and Hell, published in London, 1758.

[3] Someone who does not know the spiritual meaning of kings and priests may be deluded in regard to many things said in the prophets and in the book of Revelation about them. For example, in regard to these statements in the prophets:

The sons of foreigners shall build up your walls, and their kings shall minister to you... You shall suck the milk of gentiles, even the breasts of kings you shall suck, that you may know that I, Jehovah, am your Savior and your Redeemer... (Isaiah 60:10, 16)

Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their princesses your wet nurses. (Isaiah 49:23)

Also elsewhere, as in Genesis 49:20; Psalms 2:10; Isaiah 14:9; 24:21; 52:15; Jeremiah 2:26; 4:9; 49:3; Lamentations 2:6, 9; Ezekiel 7:26-27; Hosea 3:4; Zephaniah 1:8. Kings there do not mean kings, but people who are governed by Divine truths from the Lord, and abstractly, Divine truths themselves, from which comes wisdom.

"The king of the south" and "the king of the north" who waged war with each other in Daniel 11 do not mean kings either, but the king of the south means people who are governed by truths, and the king of the north people who are caught up in falsities.

[4] Likewise in the book of Revelation, which many times mentions kings, as in the following passages:

The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, so that the way of the kings from the rising of the sun might be prepared. (Revelation 16:12)

(With) the great harlot who sits on many waters... the kings of the earth committed whoredom... (Revelation 17:1-2)

...of the wine of the wrath of (Babylon's) whoredom all the nations have drunk, and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her... (Revelation 18:3)

And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war with Him who sat on the (white) horse... (Revelation 19:19)

And the nations that are saved shall walk in His light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into (the New Jerusalem). (Revelation 21:24)

Elsewhere also, as in Revelation 16:14; 17:9-14; 18:9-10. The kings there means people who are governed by truths, and in an opposite sense, people caught up in falsities, and abstractly, truths or falsities themselves. The whoredom of Babylon with the kings of the earth means the falsification of the truth of the church. Obviously Babylon, or the woman who sat on the scarlet beast, did not commit whoredom with kings, but rather falsified truths of the Word.

[5] It is apparent from this that the Lord's going to make people who are wise from Him kings does not mean that they will be kings, but that they will be wise. The reality of this is also something that enlightened reason sees.

Likewise in the following:

You have made us kings and priests to our God, that we may reign on the earth. (Revelation 5:10)

That by king the Lord meant truth is apparent from His words to Pilate:

Pilate... said to Him, "Are You a king then?"

Jesus answered, "As you have said, because I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice."

Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?" (John 18:27, 38)

To bear witness to the truth is to be Himself the embodiment of truth. And because He called Himself a king by virtue of it, Pilate said, "What is truth?" - which is to say, "Is truth a king?

As for priests, we will see in later explanations that they symbolize people who are governed by the goodness of love, and abstractly, goods of love themselves.

  
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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.