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Matthew 7

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1 `Judge not, that ye may not be judged,

2 for in what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and in what measure ye measure, it shall be measured to you.

3 `And why dost thou behold the mote that [is] in thy brother's eye, and the beam that [is] in thine own eye dost not consider?

4 or, how wilt thou say to thy brother, Suffer I may cast out the mote from thine eye, and lo, the beam [is] in thine own eye?

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

6 `Ye may not give that which is [holy] to the dogs, nor cast your pearls before the swine, that they may not trample them among their feet, and having turned -- may rend you.

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

8 for every one who is asking doth receive, and he who is seeking doth find, and to him who is knocking it shall be opened.

9 `Or what man is of you, of whom, if his son may ask a loaf -- a stone will he present to him?

10 and if a fish he may ask -- a serpent will he present to him?

11 if, therefore, ye being evil, have known good gifts to give to your children, how much more shall your Father who [is] in the heavens give good things to those asking him?

12 `All things, therefore, whatever ye may will that men may be doing to you, so also do to them, for this is the law and the prophets.

13 `Go ye in through the strait gate, because wide [is] the gate, and broad the way that is leading to the destruction, and many are those going in through it;

14 how strait [is] the gate, and compressed the way that is leading to the life, and few are those finding it!

15 `But, take heed of the false prophets, who come unto you in sheep's clothing, and inwardly are ravening wolves.

16 From their fruits ye shall know them; do [men] gather from thorns grapes? or from thistles figs?

17 so every good tree doth yield good fruits, but the bad tree doth yield evil fruits.

18 A good tree is not able to yield evil fruits, nor a bad tree to yield good fruits.

19 Every tree not yielding good fruit is cut down and is cast to fire:

20 therefore from their fruits ye shall know them.

21 `Not every one who is saying to me Lord, lord, shall come into the reign of the heavens; but he who is doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens.

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

23 and then I will acknowledge to them, that -- I never knew you, depart from me ye who are working lawlessness.

24 `Therefore, every one who doth hear of me these words, and doth do them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house upon the rock;

25 and the rain did descend, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell not, for it had been founded on the rock.

26 `And every one who is hearing of me these words, and is not doing them, shall be likened to a foolish man who built his house upon the sand;

27 and the rain did descend, and the streams came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell, and its fall was great.'

28 And it came to pass, when Jesus ended these words, the multitudes were astonished at his teaching,

29 for he was teaching them as having authority, and not as the scribes.

   

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Arcana Coelestia # 7688

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7688. 'And the land was darkened' means that falsity was introduced where there had been truth. This is clear from the meaning of 'darkness' as falsities, dealt with in 1839, 1860, 4418, 4531, so that 'being darkened' is being subject to falsity. And since the vastation of those who belonged to the Church, had a knowledge of truths, but led an evil life, are the subject 'the land was darkened' means falsity where there has been truth. Truth is meant in the internal sense by 'light', and therefore falsity is meant by 'darkness'; for truth and falsity are opposites like light and darkness. And those guided by truth dwell in actual light, whereas those under the influence of falsity dwell in actual darkness. The inferior light which those under the influence of falsity in the next life dwell in turns into thick darkness at the presence of the superior light of heaven, and into even thicker darkness with those who have belonged to the Church, because their falsity has stood in opposition to the truth of faith, as accords with the Lord's words in Matthew,

If the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! Matthew 6:23.

And in the same gospel,

The sons of the kingdom will be thrown into outer darkness. Matthew 8:12.

'The sons of the kingdom' are members of the Church, and 'outer darkness' is more serious falsities, the term 'outer' being used because falsities in the outermost parts are more serious ones.

[2] The fact that falsities are called 'darkness' is clear from a number of places in the Word, for example in John,

Light has come into the world, but men preferred darkness rather than light, for their works were evil. John 3:19.

In the same gospel,

Walk, as long as you have the light, lest darkness overtakes you. I have come as light into the world in order that all who believe in Me may not remain in darkness. John 12:35, 46.

In Isaiah,

Woe to those who speak of evil as good, and of good as evil, who put darkness for light, and light for darkness! Isaiah 5:20.

In Jeremiah,

Give glory to Jehovah your God before He brings darkness and before your feet stumble on the twilight mountains; then you will look for light but He will turn it into the shadow of death, He will place it in thick darkness. Jeremiah 13:16.

In Ezekiel,

When I have blotted you out, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light. All the bright lights in the heavens I will make dark over you, and I will put darkness over your land. Ezekiel 32:7-8.

In Joel,

The day of Jehovah is coming, it is near, a day of darkness and thick darkness, a day of cloud and gloom. Joel 2:1-2; Amos 5:18, 20.

In Zephaniah,

A day of wrath is that day, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and thick darkness. Zephaniah 1:15.

In these places 'darkness' means falsities. In addition 'darkness' in the Word means lack of knowledge of the truth, such as exists with gentiles who do not have the Word and know nothing about the Lord.

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

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Zephaniah 1:15

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15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness,