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Matthew 10

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1 And having called to him his twelve disciples, he gave to them power over unclean spirits, so as to be casting them out, and to be healing every sickness, and every malady.

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

3 Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax-gatherer; James of Alpheus, and Lebbeus who was surnamed Thaddeus;

4 Simon the Cananite, and Judas Iscariot, who did also deliver him up.

5 These twelve did Jesus send forth, having given command to them, saying, `To the way of the nations go not away, and into a city of the Samaritans go not in,

6 and be going rather unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

7 `And, going on, proclaim saying that, the reign of the heavens hath come nigh;

8 infirm ones be healing, lepers be cleansing, dead be raising, demons be casting out -- freely ye did receive, freely give.

9 `Provide not gold, nor silver, nor brass in your girdles,

10 nor scrip for the way, nor two coats, nor sandals, nor staff -- for the workman is worthy of his nourishment.

11 `And into whatever city or village ye may enter, inquire ye who in it is worthy, and there abide, till ye may go forth.

12 And coming to the house salute it,

13 and if indeed the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; and if it be not worthy, let your peace turn back to you.

14 `And whoever may not receive you nor hear your words, coming forth from that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet,

15 verily 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 `Lo, I do send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves, be ye therefore wise as the serpents, and simple as the doves.

17 And, take ye heed of men, for they will give you up to sanhedrims, and in their synagogues they will scourge you,

18 and before governors and kings ye shall be brought for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the nations.

19 `And whenever they may deliver you up, be not anxious how or what ye may speak, for it shall be given you in that hour what ye shall speak;

20 for ye are not the speakers, but the Spirit of your Father that is speaking in you.

21 `And brother shall deliver up brother to death, and father child, and children shall rise up against parents, and shall put them to death,

22 and ye shall be hated by all because of my name, but he who hath endured to the end, he shall be saved.

23 `And whenever they may persecute you in this city, flee to the other, for verily I say to you, ye may not have completed the cities of Israel till the Son of Man may come.

24 `A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his lord;

25 sufficient to the disciple that he may be as his teacher, and the servant as his lord; if the master of the house they did call Beelzeboul, how much more those of his household?

26 `Ye may not, therefore, fear them, for there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed, and hid, that shall not be known;

27 that which I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light, and that which you hear at the ear, proclaim on the house-tops.

28 `And be not afraid of those killing the body, and are not able to kill the soul, but fear rather Him who is able both soul and body to destroy in gehenna.

29 `Are not two sparrows sold for an assar? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father;

30 and of you -- even the hairs of the head are all numbered;

31 be not therefore afraid, than many sparrows ye are better.

32 `Every one, therefore, who shall confess in me before men, I also will confess in him before my Father who is in the heavens;

33 and whoever shall deny me before men, I also will deny him before my Father who is in the heavens.

34 `Ye may not suppose that I came to put peace on the earth; I did not come to put peace, but a sword;

35 for I came 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 enemies of a man are those of his household.

37 `He who is loving father or mother above me, is not worthy of me, and he who is loving son or daughter above me, is not worthy of me,

38 and whoever doth not receive his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me.

39 `He who found his life shall lose it, and he who lost his life for my sake shall find it.

40 `He who is receiving you doth receive me, and he who is receiving me doth receive Him who sent me,

41 he who is receiving a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward, and he who is receiving a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man's reward,

42 and whoever may give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say to you, he may not lose his reward.'

   

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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.