Chapter 10.

Sending Out the Apostles

1. And calling for His twelve disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, so as to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every malady.

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

3. Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the publican; James the [son] of Alphaeus, and Lebbeus, [also] called Thaddaeus;

4. Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

5. These twelve Jesus sent out, charging them, saying, “Into the way of the nations go ye not, and into a city of the Samaritans enter ye not.

6. But go ye rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

7. And as you go, preach, saying that the kingdom of the heavens is near.

8. Cure the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons; freely you have received, freely give.

9. Possess not gold, nor silver, nor bronze for your belts,

10. Nor pack for a journey, nor two tunics, nor shoes, nor a staff; for the worker is worthy of his food.”

In the previous chapter Jesus said that “the multitudes were weary and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.” These “multitudes” represent our innocent affections and tender thoughts, especially our earnest desires to lead a deeply spiritual life. But these thoughts, affections are disorganized. We may have fragments of truth in our mind that we picked up from time to time, but they are not in a coherent framework. We may attempt meditation, or prayer, or daily readings from time to time, but we have no fixed aim or plan.

There comes a time, however, in the course of our spiritual development, when these scattered thoughts and affections must be gathered together, organized and arranged in proper order so that they can be summoned up quickly and used when necessary. Haphazard, hit-or-miss, random spirituality will no longer suffice.

This is precisely where we are at this point in the gospel narrative.

The religious leaders have begun to openly accuse Jesus of blasphemy and of being in partnership with the devil. It is becoming increasingly clear that Jesus’ life is in danger. Similarly, the time comes when our spiritual life is in danger; it is a time when we must bring together and organize all things of goodness and truth within ourselves, and prepare for action. It is time to organize the twelve disciples and send them out as apostles. ¹

Each of the twelve apostles represents an essential spiritual principle. Peter, for example, represents faith, and John represents charity (love). ² While this is not the place to go into the spiritual representation of each apostle, it should be noted that in calling them together and then sending them out in pairs, Jesus begins the initial work of organizing them. The “scattered sheep” are about to become apostles — those who, having been instructed, carry the message to others. But first, these individuals must be organized.

Having arranged the disciples into pairs, Jesus now sends them out, commanding them “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. But rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (10:5). In other words, they should not get sidetracked by misleading emotions and false beliefs (represented by the Gentiles and Samaritans). ³ Instead they should first of all gather together the lost sheep of Israel — the tender affections and innocent thoughts — and then subordinate them to the more comprehensive spiritual principles represented by each disciple. In this way they will be protected from oncoming attacks.

As they go, they are to preach, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (10:7). Jesus is giving them essential instruction in the art of good preaching. They are to begin with the exciting news: the kingdom of heaven is rapidly approaching and could be right around the corner! Once the goal is announced (receiving heaven), Jesus explains the means for attaining the goal: “Heal the infirm,” He says, “cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out demons.” This is what first needs to happen before the kingdom of heaven can be received. The healing of every disease and the casting out of every demon represents the acknowledgement of our sins, and the work of removing them. In other words, it’s about repentance. This is why both John the Baptist and Jesus said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (3:1 and 4:17).

The main thing to remember, as the apostles begin their ministry, is that the power to heal and the power to be healed is from the Lord: “Freely you have received,” says Jesus. And because of this they should “freely give” (10:8). It is vital, therefore, that in this work they include nothing of themselves. Their work is for God, and their power is from God. They must trust completely in His power and His providence. “Provide neither gold nor silver nor copper in your money belts, nor bag for your journey, nor two tunics, nor sandals, nor staffs” (10:10). God will see to it that all their needs are provided: “For a worker is worthy of his food” (10:10). As long as they are doing the Lord’s work, the Lord will continually instruct them, and every spiritual need will be met. ⁴

Wise as Serpents, Harmless as Doves

11. “And into whatever city or village you enter, search [out] who in it is worthy, and there remain until you go out.

12. And when you come into the house, greet it.

13. And if indeed the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

14. And if anyone shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when you go out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

15. Amen 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. Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore prudent as serpents, and simple as doves.”

The sending out of the twelve apostles represents the way in which God gathers together the more general principles of spiritual truth in us, so that we can better organize the details of our everyday life. Some of these more general principles might include teachings such as the ever-present reality of the spiritual world, the importance of keeping the Ten Commandments, the acknowledgment that without God we can do nothing, the joy of useful service, the necessity of temptation as a part of regeneration, and the belief that God can bring good out of everything that arises, no matter how difficult it may seem at the moment. These are some of the fundamental truths that will become organizing principles for everything else we learn and do. ⁵

Spiritually speaking, this kind of ordering and arrangement of the mind is called “putting our house in order.” This is because in sacred scripture a “house” represents the human mind — the place where our thoughts and feelings are “housed.” This is why we are told to build our “house” (our mind) upon a rock (God’s commandments), and why our state of mind (what we are thinking about or “dwelling” upon) can be called our spiritual “dwelling-place.” Ideally, our minds should be like the mind of God, furnished with the most loving emotions and noble thoughts. This is the spiritual significance of David’s words, “And I shall dwell in the house of Lord, forever” (Psalm 23:6). ⁶

With an understanding of the spiritual significance of the word “house” in mind, we can see greater meaning in Jesus’ next command to the apostles. “If the household is worthy, let your peace come upon it.” This means that if a worthy thought or emotion arises, we are encouraged to enter into it, to dwell upon it, and let it become part of our peace. But Jesus also adds, “If it is not worthy, let your peace return to you” (10:13). In other words, if a thought or emotion arises that is not worthy, we should not enter into it or dwell upon it. Instead we should return to our state of peace.

This is the work of the “twelve apostles” in us, Spiritually seen, the twelve apostles represent the most general principles of spiritual life. These are the principles that will help us determine what thoughts and feelings our minds should enter into, and what thoughts and feelings we should avoid. If something does not agree with a spiritual principle, we are not to dwell there — or even visit. And if we find that something within us arises to disagree with a God-given principle, something that refuses to accept a clear teaching from God’s Word — we should withdraw from that state of mind and “shake it off” like dust from our feet. As Jesus says, “Whoever will not receive you nor hear your words, when you depart from that house or city, shake off the dust from your feet” (10:12-14).

This means that we can live our lives in quiet assurance, trusting in the power and permanence of truth to guide and protect us. There will be times, however, when objections will arise — doubts about the most fundamental truths we know. But we are not to worry. If there is no goodness or truth in these objections, they have no power over us. They are like dust on our shoes, which can easily be brushed off as we continue our journey. Others might disagree with us; doubts and reservations might arise in our mind. But we are not the ones being judged. Rather, the judgment is upon those doubts and reservations. Jesus puts it like this: “Verily, I say unto you. It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city” (10:15).

The task of spiritual discernment, however, is not an easy one. “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves” says Jesus (10:16). The “wolves” are the evil desires and false beliefs that will consume our good impulses and noble ideals. Therefore, we must be “gentle as doves” — non-violent in our behavior, but “wise as serpents” — very careful about the feelings and thoughts we allow to enter our minds. ⁷ Like a serpent with eyes on both sides of its head, we need to have 360 degree spiritual vision; we need to remain vigilant, aware of evil desires and false thoughts — predators that might endeavor to silently creep into our minds unnoticed. And whenever the wolves come sniffing around, we must be like doves, able to gently take wing and rise above them.

Warnings about Coming Persecutions

17. “And beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and will scourge you in their synagogues.

18. And you shall be led before governors and also kings on account of Me, for a witness to them and to the nations.

19. But when they shall deliver you up, be not anxious [about] how or what you shall speak, for it shall be given to you in that hour what you shall speak.

20. For you are not they that speak, but the spirit of your Father [is] what speaks in you.

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

22. And you shall be hated by all on account of My name; but he that endures to the end, he shall be saved.

23. And when they persecute you in this city, flee into the other; for amen I say to you, you shall not have finished the cities of Israel until the Son of Man has come.

24. The disciple is not above the teacher, nor the servant above his lord.

25. It is sufficient for the disciple that he become as his teacher, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the householder Beelzebub, how much more them of his household?

26. Fear them not therefore; for there is nothing covered, that shall not be uncovered, and secret, that shall not be known.

27. What I say to you in the darkness, say ye in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach ye upon the housetops.

28. And be not afraid of those that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather be afraid of Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

29. Are not two sparrows sold for an assarion [penny]? And not one of them shall fall upon the earth without your Father.

30. And of you, even the hairs of the head are all numbered.

31. Fear not therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

32. Whoever therefore shall profess Me before men, I also will profess him before My Father that [is] in the heavens.

33. But whoever shall deny Me before men, I also will deny him before My Father that [is] in the heavens.

34. Suppose not that I am come to cast peace upon earth; I am not come to cast peace, but a sword.

35. For I am come 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 man’s enemies [shall be] they of his own house.

37. He that loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me, and he that loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me.

38. And whoever does not take his cross, and follow after Me, is not worthy of Me.

39. He that finds his soul shall lose it, and he that loses his soul for My sake shall find it.

40. He that receives you, receives Me, and he that receives Me, receives Him that sent Me.

41. He that accepts a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive the reward of a prophet; and he that accepts [someone] just in the name of [someone] just shall receive the reward of [someone] just.

42. And whoever shall give a cup of cold [water] to one of these little ones to drink in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”

As the apostles are being prepared for their mission, Jesus tells them to be wary of human reasoning. This is the tendency to twist and pervert spiritual truths so as to make them subordinate to one’s own will: “Beware of men, for they will deliver you up to councils and scourge you in their synagogues” (10:17). Evil desires and false ideas will invade our minds attacking the good emotions and true thoughts that proceed from God just as mercilessly as the religious leaders of Jesus’ day attacked and persecuted Him. In other words, Jesus warns them in advance that whatever is good and true in them will be tested. In fact, they will be delivered up to councils and scourged.

The news is not pleasant. It will be rough going. Nevertheless, Jesus offers His disciples the greatest encouragement: “When they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how, or what you should speak. For it will be given you in that hour what you should speak, for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you” (10:19-20).

In terms of the continuous internal sense of this gospel, it is important to recall the final miracle in the previous episode: a mute man was given the gift of speech. We too shall be given the gift of speech; we shall speak from love, for that is what is meant by the words, it is “the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” ⁸

Jesus continues to balance bad news with good news: “And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved” (10:22). Such words are to be read simultaneously on two different levels. On one level Jesus is forewarning His disciples of the persecutions they will face as they go forth to proclaim and live His message. On a more interior level, these apostles represent spiritual principles in ourselves that will meet with one form of opposition or another. Nevertheless, we should not worry about these inevitable attacks, for no matter what happens to us, these principles — which are the very soul of our life — cannot be harmed. “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul” (10:28).

In truth, spiritual life — the life that endures forever — is the only real life; it is the only life that really matters. What is the loss of a few earthly years compared to the gain of eternal life? In giving up ego concerns, which seem to be our very life, God flows in with spiritual blessings beyond number. If we willingly surrender the old life and its selfish ways, we gain an entirely new life. Therefore, Jesus says, “He who loses his life for My sake will find it” (10:39).

In asking His apostles to give up everything, even their very lives, in order to faithfully follow Him, Jesus takes another step in revealing His Divine identity. It is here that Jesus confesses that He has been sent by the Father: “He who receives you receives Me,” He says. “And he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me” (10:40). Jesus’ promise is unmistakable and profound. His words add up to this: Whoever receives Me, receives God. Surely, Jesus is gradually manifesting His divinity.

This chapter closes with a final word of encouragement to the disciples: “Whoever gives one of these little ones a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward” (10:42). Here Jesus assures His disciples that even the least effort to share truth (“cup of cold water”) with others or to perform an act of kindness will be rewarded — provided that it is done “in the name of a disciple.” That is, as long as God is acknowledged as the source of all goodness and truth, it matters not how little or how much we accomplish. Even “a cup of cold water,” given in the right spirit, will suffice.

It’s a powerful lesson, and one that is given to inspire and encourage the disciples who are about to face persecution. In brief, Jesus is assuring them that whatever they say or do, no matter how small or great, if done in the right spirit, will have the blessings of heaven within it — inner peace and limitless joy. This is what Jesus means when He says, “Whoever shall give to one of these little ones a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple shall not lose his reward” (10:42).

Footnotes:

805. Verse 8. And all that dwell on the earth shall worship him, signifies the necessity of acknowledgment by those who have been born within the church. This is evident from the signification of "worshipping," as being to acknowledge and believe that a thing is true, and thence to receive it in doctrine and worship. That this is the signification of "worshiping" can be seen from what has been said above (n. 789, 790), where what is signified by "they worshipped the dragon which gave authority unto the beast, and they worshipped the beast" is explained. That they acknowledge from necessity is evident from what has been said and shown in the preceding article. The above is evident also from the signification of "those that dwell on the earth," as being those who have been born within the church; for "the earth" signifies the church, and "those who dwell upon it" signify those who are there and live there. Those that have been born within the church are meant, because everyone adopts the religion of his native land, in the first place because he is educated in it, and is afterwards confirmed in it by preachings, and particularly because there are but few who study the doctrine of the church and the interior meaning of the Word, believing that such things transcend their comprehension, and also that they are not to be seen or understood, but only to be believed. This is the reason for the necessity of acknowledgment by those who have been born within the church, which is signified by "all that dwell on the earth shall worship the beast."

[2] That this is so can be seen, in the first place, from the received faith which is called the only saving faith, "That God the Father sent His Son into the world, that through the passion of His cross He might effect propitiation, redemption, and salvation." This faith if understood according to the ideas of those who defend faith separate from life, and thence according to preachings from their doctrine, is no faith; as is evident from each and every thing that is contained in that faith and that follows as a consequence from it; and these are:

1. That there is propitiation, that is, a propitiation of God the Father by the passion or by the blood of His Son.

2. That there is mercy or compassion of God the Father for the Son's sake.

3. That there was a bearing of our iniquities by the Lord, and a consequent deliverance from them.

4. That there is an imputative principle, and thus an imputation of the Lord's merit, through which we are saved.

5. That there is an intercession of the Lord with the Father.

6. That there is redemption and salvation without the means of life and faith, and thus there is immediate mercy.

7. That in such a faith there is no religion, but it is emptiness and vacuity.

8. That there is in it neither any faith in the Lord, nor any acknowledgment of His Divine in His Human.

9. That consequently the trust and confidence of that faith which at this day is received as the only saving faith is an empty sound.

10. That saving faith is wholly different.

But since it is on the lips of nearly all who are of the church that the Lord endured the cross for our sins, and that He took them upon Himself and bore them, and thereby not only reconciled the Father but also redeemed us from hell, and that by this merit of the Lord we are saved, provided we believe this in trust and confidence-it is necessary to inquire, in the first place, whether these things should be understood according to the common opinion.

1.

[3] In respect to the first proposition, "That there is propitiation, that is, a propitiation of God the Father by the passion or by the blood of His Son." This involves a rejection or alienation of the human race because of some anger or vengeance, that is called vindictive justice, which was laid upon His Son by God the Father, to the end that by the passion of His cross He might be reconciled to the human race, and thus be propitiated. But who does not see that for God the Father to reject from Himself the human race, or from justice to revenge their alienation, is contrary to the Divine essence itself, which is love itself, mercy itself, and goodness itself? Such vengeance, indeed, could not exist in any angel, and scarcely with any well disposed man, much less with God. Who does not also see that it is difficult to think that such vengeance was laid upon the Son by His Father, or that the Son took such vengeance upon Himself, and that God the Father has mercy from seeing or recalling this, and not from the Divine love itself, which in its essence is infinite, eternal, and immediate towards the whole human race? I do not know, therefore, whether anyone can think from God and with God that he has been rejected of God, and therefore that by the will of the Father the Son was condemned, and was thereby made a propitiatory and a throne of grace. Moreover, justice is a Divine attribute, but not vindictive justice, and still less can it be in one on another's account; and if it is not justice neither is it according to Divine order for one to be saved on another's account, though it may be by means of another. Nor can God be reconciled by any other means than by the repentance of the man himself. To be saved by means of the Lord, and also by means of the passion of His cross, thus by the Lord, is propitiation and expiation, as will be seen in what follows.

2.

[4] "There is no mercy or compassion of God the Father for the Son's sake." The customary prayer in the churches, and by the men of the church at home and abroad, when they are in pious worship is, "May God the Father have mercy upon us for the sake of the Son, and for the sake of the passion of His cross." This prayer flows from the accepted belief respecting the propitiation or reconciliation of the Father by the Son, as mentioned just above; likewise from the doctrine of the church respecting justification by faith alone without good works. And as the defenders and vindicators of that doctrine separate the life which is of good works from faith, they could acknowledge nothing else as a saving faith than that God the Father sent His Son, and that He is moved to mercy by the passion of His cross; and for this reason this prayer is at this day accepted by the general body as the only voice that can enter heaven and move God even if man utters it with a confession of trust only at the hour of death. And yet that such a prayer has in it nothing of life from truth and good, can be seen from what has been said just above respecting propitiation and reconciliation, and thence the mercy of the Father; also from what will be said presently respecting the bearing of our iniquities by the Lord, respecting the imputation of His merit, respecting intercession, and respecting redemption and salvation apart from life as a means. Here let it be said merely that it is never granted to any man of the church to approach God the Father immediately, and to pray to Him for the Son's sake; for it is the Lord who must be approached and prayed to, since no one comes to the Father except by the Lord and in the Lord; and the Lord equally as the Father is God, infinite, eternal, uncreate, omnipotent, and neither of them is first nor last, nor greater nor less, but they are altogether equal. That no one comes to the Father except by the Lord He teaches in John:

No one hath seen God at any time; the only-begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He hath brought Him forth to view (John 1:18).

In the same:

Ye have never heard the Father's voice nor seen His form (John 5:37). In Matthew:

No one knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son willeth to reveal Him (Matthew 11:27).

In John:

No one hath seen the Father save He who is with the Father, ¹ He hath seen the Father (John 6:46).

In the same:

I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one cometh unto the Father but through Me (John 14:6).

No one cometh to the Father except in the Lord, is because the Father and He are one, as He also teaches in John:

If ye know Me ye know My Father also; he that seeth Me seeth the Father. Philip, believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in Me? Believe Me, that I am in the Father and the Father in Me (John 14:7, 10, 11).

In the same:

The Father and I are one. That ye may know and believe that I am in the Father and the Father in Me (John 10:30, 38).

Add to this:

That the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, as He Himself teaches (John 3:35; 17:2; Matthew 11:27; 28:18);

and that thus He must be approached. It is also to be known, that unless the Lord is approached man is unable to think with the angels, because all angelic thought about God is about God-Man. Angels are unable to think otherwise about God, and consequently about things Divine, because their thoughts go forth into every part of heaven; and heaven is heaven in the form of a man. But on this more elsewhere.

3.

[5] "There was no bearing of our iniquities by the Lord, and a consequent deliverance from them," as is taught by the common faith, which is, that the Lord took upon Himself the sins of the world and cast them into hell, and thus took them away. This they conclude from the words of John respecting Jesus:

Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world (John 1:29);

also from Isaiah, where the Lord is treated of:

He hath borne our sicknesses and sorrows, and He hath carried our iniquities (Isaiah 53:4, 11).

But what is signified by "carrying iniquities" has not yet been understood in the churches; therefore it shall be told. It was according to Divine order for the prophets to represent the state of their church, that its quality might thus be known, as can be seen from the following. Isaiah was commanded:

To go naked and barefoot three years, for a sign and a wonder (Isaiah 20:2, 3).

In this way he represented that there were no longer any truths in the church; for this is signified by "going naked and barefoot." Hosea was commanded:

To take to himself a woman of whoredoms, and children of whoredoms, because the land had committed whoredom (Hosea 1:2, seq.).

"A woman of whoredoms" signified a church that falsifies the truths of the Word. Also Ezekiel was commanded:

To take to himself a tile and to portray upon it Jerusalem, and to lay siege against it; and to lie upon his left side three hundred and ninety days, and afterwards upon his right side forty days. Also he was commanded to eat a cake of barley made with cow's dung; and it was said that so shall they be in want of bread and water in Jerusalem and shall pine away for their iniquity (Ezekiel 4).

This signified that the church was without goods and truths, and in mere falsities from evil; and it is said:

That thereby he should bear the iniquity of the house of Israel (Ezekiel 4:4-5).

Yet he did not thereby take away their iniquities, but only represented them; and this because a "prophet" signified doctrine from the Word, thus the church in respect to doctrine and worship therefrom. The like is meant by "bearing iniquities" where these words are applied to the Lord, who was the greatest Prophet, for He represented in Himself how the Jewish Church treated with contumely the Divine truth or the Word, for He was Himself the Word; therefore their scourging Him, spitting in His face, smiting Him with a reed, setting a crown of thorns upon Him, giving Him vinegar to drink, dividing His garments, and finally crucifying Him, were all representative of the state of that church (See above n. 83, 195, 627, 655). This, therefore, is signified by "bearing iniquities;" and in like manner also by His enduring temptations more grievous than those of all others. And yet to transfer to Himself the sins of others, and to take them away by sorrows and punishments admitted in Himself is contrary to the nature of the annulling of sins. For sins can be annulled only by repentance of life by him who has sinned. To take them away by drawing them from another upon oneself is a dogma of the Papists in which there is no truth.

4.

[6] "There can be no imputation, and thus no imputation of the Lord's merit." This cannot be because salvation by imputation is contrary to the laws of Divine order set forth in the Word; which are that man must learn what the sin is that he must shun, and what the truth is that he must do; and if he lives contrary to truths he must repent. These laws, with each and every thing that the doctrines of the churches teach from the Word, would be more than superfluous if man were saved by declaring with the confidence of faith that God has mercy on him for the sake of His Son and through the passion of His cross; and that thus the merit of the Lord would be imputed to him. For thus man might live wickedly, might commit adulteries, steal, act fraudulently, exercise hatred and revenge, calumniate, and other things, since be could not be saved by good works, but only by a faith that is wholly apart from any life. And yet it is blasphemy to say that a man can live wickedly and yet live from the Lord. It is likewise a contradiction that man must shun evils and do goods, and yet can be saved by mere faith in an imputed merit. The merit of the Lord is that from His own power He subjugated the hells and glorified His Human; by this He acquired for Himself the power to save all who believe in Him and who do what He taught. This merit cannot be attributed or imputed to anyone, still less can this be done by the Father, since it is the Lord's own merit; and salvation also is by the Lord, thus through the Lord, and not for the Lord's sake. In a word, no one's merit can be attributed to another unless he is a sharer with him through his life, according to which everyone is rewarded or punished; but life is from the Lord; this follows from His merit. Moreover, anything imputative is contrary to the essence of Divine love, which extends to all; for to impute means to love one and not another except for the sake of the one; it is also contrary to justice, which requires that everyone should have reward to the extent that he lives from the Lord.

5.

[7] "That there is intercession of the Lord with the Father" falls indeed into the ideas of men who are wholly simple, who think of the three Persons of the Divinity only as three sitting and talking together about what is to be, and that one moves the other to be merciful for His sake, which is to intercede. But the more learned see that intercession means a perpetual remembrance from love, since the one Person has the same essence or substance as the other, and the same love, thus the same mercy; and this cannot be excited or recalled to memory by any entreaty.

6.

[8] "That there is redemption and salvation without the means of life and faith, and thus there is immediate mercy." It is known that truths belong to faith, and goods to the life, and that without truths there can be no faith, as for example, without these truths: that there is a God, that the Lord is the Savior of the world, that there is a heaven and a hell, that there is a life after death, that the Word is holy, that the things that are in the Word must be believed and done, that the Holy Supper is the most holy thing of worship, and other like things; these must constitute faith; likewise that without goods there is no life of faith; for the Lord says:

He that heareth and doeth not is like a foolish man that buildeth his house upon the ground without foundation; but he that heareth and doeth is like a prudent man that buildeth his house upon a foundation from the rock (Matthew 7:24, 26).

These and like things, so far as they are to be believed, are means, and are said to belong to faith; and so far as they are to be done are means, and are said to belong to the life, without which man cannot be saved. All these things would be unmeaning, if in their place there were only this one thing which is called faith, namely, that man is saved by the mere mercy of the Father for the sake of the Son and by the imputation of His merit. That there is no such thing as immediate mercy, but mediate, and that yet man from pure mercy is led by the Lord from infancy to his old age, and afterwards to eternity, may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell 521-527. Thus neither is there any immediate salvation. From this it follows that redemption consists solely in the Lord's redeeming from hell those who believe in Him, and who do what He has commanded; moreover, these, without His coming into the world, could not have been saved, since without His coming they could not have believed in Him, or have done what He has commanded, and thus have lived from Him. That these are those that are meant in the Word by "the redeemed" will be seen elsewhere.

7.

[9] "That in that faith there is no religion, but it is emptiness and vacuity." What is religion except that man may so live that he may come into heaven, and that he may know how he should live? To know this is called doctrine; and to believe it and live according to it is called religion. From doctrine man will know not only what must be thought but also what must be done; for man must think that he may do, but not think what involves doing nothing. The faith here described consists in thinking without doing, so that it may be called a mere cogitative (or thought) faith, while man implores mercy alone, because the Son of God suffered for him, and took upon Himself the sins of the world, and thus redeemed and delivered him from hell, believing at the same time that the merit of the Son of God is attributed to him. Let anyone who is willing and able consider whether there is in this anything of the Word, in which believing and doing are so often mentioned, consequently whether there is in this faith anything of the church or anything of religion. For in the things presented here, where are the truths that must constitute faith, and the goods that must constitute life, and that must make the genuine doctrine from the Word, and thus the theology of the Christian world? And as these things do not exist in that faith, it follows that it is not only a faith empty and void but also a faith in what is not true. It is a wonder to many in the spiritual world, and to all in heaven, that the theology of the Christian world has been reduced to such emptiness and vacuity that at length the whole of it is comprised in a mere utterance of thought that is possible also to the evil at the hour of death from a fear of hell. Thus the same emptiness that prevails with the Papists is found with very many of the Reformed in the Christian world. But let them consider, if they will, whether such as these can have any lot among the angels of heaven, whose intelligence is from the truths in the Word, and whose wisdom is from truths in act, which are called goods. This is what is meant by the Lord's words:

When the Son of man shall come will He find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8).

8.

[10] "That there is in them neither any faith in the Lord nor any acknowledgment of the Divine in His Human." For he who prays to the Father to have mercy for the sake of His Son approaches the Father, and does not approach the Lord, when yet the Lord must be approached, for He is the God of heaven and earth; and the Word teaches that the Father cannot be approached except by the Lord and in the Lord, as has been shown above; also that faith must be in the Lord; for the Lord says:

He that believeth in the Son hath eternal life, but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the anger of God abideth on him (John 3:36).

Likewise:

This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that everyone who seeth the Son and believeth in Him may have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:40).

And again:

Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life; he that believeth in Me, though he die, yet shall he live; but everyone that liveth and believeth in Me shall not die forever (John 11:25, 26);

and elsewhere. To believe in Him and not to approach Him, but to entreat the Father for His sake, is not to believe in Him; for all faith approaches Him in whom man believes; therefore to approach and see the Father was denied to Philip; and it was said:

That to see the Lord is to see the Father (John 14:7-11).

Thence also all were healed of their diseases who prayed to the Lord to have mercy upon them, and who had faith in Him. And the sons of Israel also were saved in the wilderness who looked upon the brazen serpent, which represented the Lord as to the ultimate in His Human, which is called the sensual. Furthermore, in the spiritual world all sight and thought from acknowledgment conjoins; but sight directed to the Father conjoins no one; for the Lord says:

Ye have never heard the Father's voice nor seen His shape (John 5:37).

[11] Add to this that he who supplicates the Father to have mercy for the sake of the Son has no other idea of the Lord than as of an ordinary man; for he regards Him as beneath the Father, thus as a man from the mother Mary, who suffered the cross, and because of this there is mercy for man; thence the Lord's Divine is separated from His Human, although there is no such separation in the doctrine of the Nicene Council respecting the Trinity; for this teaches that the Divine and the Human of the Lord are not two but one Person, and that they are like the soul and body in man.

[12] But those who look to the Father, although they acknowledge the Lord's Divine yet do not approach it; for they place it near the Father above the Human of the Lord, and thus they see His Human apart from His Divine, although His Divine is His soul. This is why many at this time confess the Divine of the Lord with the mouth, while but few acknowledge it in heart; and he who does not acknowledge the Divine of the Lord in His Human, and does not look to that in his supplications, cannot have any conjunction with heaven. From this it follows that in this faith, namely, that the Father should have mercy for the sake of the Son, there is no faith in the Lord nor any acknowledgment of His Divine in His Human. This, moreover, is what the Lord foretold to Peter, that at the end of the church He would no longer be acknowledged.

9.

[13] "That consequently the trust and confidence of that faith, which is at this day accepted as the only saving faith, is an empty word." For the trust of that faith is a natural trust, in which there is nothing spiritual, since there is nothing in it of truth and good, which belong to faith and life; when, therefore, that faith is confirmed by the learned, the truth of heaven may be destroyed and man shut out of heaven by such confirmation. In such emptiness the faith alone that is accepted in the churches, or faith separated from goods of life, terminates; and yet this faith, although it is empty, fills the entire theology of the Christian world. For this reason the learned of the church, when they come after death into the spiritual world, are in so many falsities as scarcely to know a single genuine truth. But it is otherwise with those who have not confirmed these falsities with themselves, and have lived at the same time in some measure the life of faith, which is charity. These can be instructed in the truths of faith, and when they have been instructed can be received among the angels in heaven. For it is one thing to believe these falsities with a confirmed faith, thus with the heart, and a wholly different thing to believe them with a faith not confirmed.

10. "That saving faith is wholly different" shall be treated of in what next follows.

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