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Matthew 16

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1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees having come, tempting, did question him, to shew to them a sign from the heaven,

2 and he answering said to them, `Evening having come, ye say, Fair weather, for the heaven is red,

3 and at morning, Foul weather to-day, for the heaven is red -- gloomy; hypocrites, the face of the heavens indeed ye do know to discern, but the signs of the times ye are not able!

4 `A generation evil and adulterous doth seek a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, except the sign of Jonah the prophet;' and having left them he went away.

5 And his disciples having come to the other side, forgot to take loaves,

6 and Jesus said to them, `Beware, and take heed of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees;'

7 and they were reasoning in themselves, saying, `Because we took no loaves.'

8 And Jesus having known, said to them, `Why reason ye in yourselves, ye of little faith, because ye took no loaves?

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 I did not speak to you of bread -- to take heed of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees?'

12 Then they understood that he did not say to take heed of the leaven of the bread, but of the teaching, of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

13 And Jesus, having come to the parts of Cesarea Philippi, was asking his disciples, saying, `Who do men say me to be -- the Son of Man?'

14 and they said, `Some, John the Baptist, and others, Elijah, and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.'

15 He saith to them, `And ye -- who do ye say me to be?'

16 and Simon Peter answering said, `Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.'

17 And Jesus answering said to him, `Happy art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood did not reveal [it] to thee, but my Father who is in the heavens.

18 `And I also say to thee, that thou art a rock, and upon this rock I will build my assembly, and gates of Hades shall not prevail against it;

19 and I will give to thee the keys of the reign of the heavens, and whatever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be having been bound in the heavens, and whatever thou mayest loose upon the earth shall be having been loosed in the heavens.'

20 Then did he charge his disciples that they may say to no one that he is Jesus the Christ.

21 From that time began Jesus to shew to his disciples that it is necessary for him to go away to Jerusalem, and to suffer many things from the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and to be put to death, and the third day to rise.

22 And having taken him aside, Peter began to rebuke him, saying, `Be kind to thyself, sir; this shall not be to thee;'

23 and he having turned, said to Peter, `Get thee behind me, adversary! thou art a stumbling-block to me, for thou dost not mind the things of God, but the things of men.'

24 Then said Jesus to his disciples, `If any one doth will to come after me, let him disown himself, and take up his cross, and follow me,

25 for whoever may will to save his life, shall lose it, and whoever may lose his life for my sake shall find it,

26 for what is a man profited if he may gain the whole world, but of his life suffer loss? or what shall a man give as an exchange for his life?

27 `For, the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father, with his messengers, and then he will reward each, according to his work.

28 Verily I say to you, there are certain of those standing here who shall not taste of death till they may see the Son of Man coming in his reign.'

   

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Apocalypse Revealed # 639

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639. 14:13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, "Write: 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.'" This symbolizes a prediction by the Lord concerning the state of people after death who will belong to His New Church, namely that those who undergo temptations or trials because of their faith in the Lord and a life in accordance with His commandments will have eternal life and happiness.

To hear a voice speaking from heaven symbolizes a prediction by the Lord. It is a prediction about the state of people after death who will belong to His New Church, because that state is the subject in this verse. Those who die from now on symbolize their state after death. The injunction to write means symbolically that it be something to be remembered by people later (nos. 39, 63). The blessed symbolize people who have eternal life and happiness, since they are the people who are blessed. The dead symbolize people who have afflicted their soul, crucified their flesh, and undergone temptations or trials. That these are the people meant here by the dead will be seen below.

[2] Regarding those who have undergone temptations or trials because of their faith in the Lord and a life in accordance with His commandments, that they will have eternal life and happiness is apparent from the verse just preceding, which says, "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus," which symbolically means that a New Church person will be examined through temptations or trials to discover his character as regards a life in accordance with the commandments and as regards faith in the Lord (see just above, no. 638). It is apparent also from the words following, that they will have rest from their labors, which means symbolically that those who undergo temptations or trials will have peace in the Lord, as explained just below in no. 640. Temptations or trials here mean spiritual temptations or trials, which occur in the case of people who have faith in the Lord and live in accordance with His commandments when they are driving away the evil spirits in them who ally themselves with their lusts. These temptations or trials are symbolically meant by a cross in the following passages:

Whoever does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. (Matthew 10:38)

...Jesus said..., "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. (Matthew 16:24, cf. Luke 9:23-25; 14:26-27)

And by crucifying the flesh in Galatians:

Those who are Christ's crucify the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24)

[3] The dead symbolize people who have afflicted their soul, crucified their flesh, and undergone temptations or trials, because by so doing they have ended their previous life and so become as though dead in the eyes of the world. For the Lord said,

Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. (John 12:24)

Nor are any others meant by the dead in John:

(Jesus said,) "as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will." (John 5:21)

Also in John:

(Jesus said,) "the hour is coming..., when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and... live." (John 5:25)

And also by the resurrection of the dead (Luke 14:14, Revelation 20:5, 12-13, and elsewhere). See no. 106 above.

And in the book of Psalms:

Precious in the sight of Jehovah is the death of His saints. (Psalms 116:15)

Moreover Jesus said,

Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. (Matthew 10:39; 16:25, cf. Luke 9:24-25; 17:33, John 12:25)

  
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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.