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Matthew 7

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1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and the measure which ye give, shall be measured to you again.

3 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thy own eye?

4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thy eye; and behold, a beam is in thy own eye?

5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thy own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

6 Give not that which is holy to dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened to you:

8 For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, the door shall be opened.

9 Or what man is there of you, who, if his son shall ask bread, will give him a stone?

10 Or if he shall ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?

11 If ye then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

12 Therefore all things whatever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.

13 Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in by it.

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth to life, and few there are that find it.

15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits: Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles:

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them,

21 Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out demons? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess to them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

24 Therefore whoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him to a wise man, who built his house upon a rock:

25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand:

27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it.

28 And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine.

29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 6806

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6806. 'And God knew them' means that He endowed it with charity. This is clear from the meaning of 'knowing' - when used in reference to God, that is, to the Lord - as endowing with charity. For charity is what joins the Lord and man together and what causes the Lord to be present with him and consequently know him. The Lord, it is true, knows all people everywhere; but He knows none in the way a father does his children except those who are governed by the good of love and charity.

[2] This explains why the Lord says of those who are governed by good, whom He calls His own sheep,

I am the good Shepherd; and I know those who are My own, and am known by those who are My own. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. John 10:14, 27.

But the Lord says of those who are governed by evil that He does not know them in Matthew,

Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by Your name, and by Your name cast out demons, and do many mighty works in Your name? But then I will declare to them, ! do not know you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity. Matthew 7:22-23.

In the same gospel,

At length the remaining virgins came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But He replying said, Truly, I say to you, I do not know you. Matthew 25:11-12.

In Luke,

Once the Householder has risen up and shut the door, then you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But He replying will say to you, ! do not know where you come from. Then you will begin to say, We ate in Your presence and we drank; and You taught in our streets. But He will say, I tell you, I do not know where you come from; depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity! Luke 13:25-27.

[3] From this it is evident that the expression 'being known', when used by the Lord, means being governed by the good of charity, that is, being endowed with that good; for the good of charity comes entirely from the Lord. And the expression 'not being known' means being governed by evil. 'Knowing' implies being joined together; and how far a person is said to be known by the Lord depends on how far he has become joined to Him. The Lord does also know those who have not become joined, indeed He knows the tiniest details of every individual person, John 2:24-25; but because those people are governed by evil they experience a different kind of presence, which is more like absence. This does not mean that the Lord is absent; rather, the person or the spirit governed by evil is the one who is absent, and that absence is what the Lord's not knowing them describes. Something comparable to this occurs among angels and spirits whose states of life are like one another's; they appear to be near one another and so they know one another. But those whose states of life are not alike appear to be distant from one another and for that reason do not know one another either. In short similarity of state causes people in the next life to be visibly present and to be known, while dissimilarity of state causes them to be absent to the sight and not to be known.

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