The Bible

 

Matthew 11

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1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,

3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?

4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:

5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.

6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.

7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.

9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.

10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

11 Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.

13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.

15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

16 But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,

17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.

19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:

21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.

23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.

26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.

27 All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Apocalypse Explained #1114

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1114. Verse 6. Render unto her even as she hath rendered unto you, signifies infernal punishment corresponding to their evil deeds. This is evident from their signification of "rendering to one even as he hath rendered (or done)," as being to make retribution according to the law of retaliation, thus to render punishment corresponding to evil deeds. But as this was said to those who according to the exhortation have gone forth out of Babylon, that is, have left that religious persuasion, and are on their guard against it, and as such are in charity, and consequently are not revengeful and therefore do not punish others, so these words signify infernal punishment corresponding to evil deeds. These expressions, that such "would render unto her," also "would double unto her double according to her works," and "would mingle to her double in the cup that she hath mingled," are in accord with the style of the Word in the sense of its letter, which is according to appearances, that is, that they would avenge the injustices done to themselves; as also in the same sense it is attributed to the Lord Himself that He is angry, that He punishes, and thus that He acts from revenge; and yet anger and revenge are not possible in the Lord, and consequently not in those who are led by the Lord and live from Him.

(Continuation respecting the Athanasian Faith and respecting the Lord)

[2] Some in the Christian world have formed to themselves an idea of God resembling their idea of the universe, others like the idea of nature in her inmosts, others like the idea of a cloud in some ethereal space, others like the idea of a beam of light, and others no idea at all, and few an idea of God as Man; and yet God is Man. There are several reasons why Christians have formed such ideas of God. The first is that they believe from their doctrine in three Divine Persons distinct from each other; in the Father as the invisible God, and in the Lord, but not God as to His Human. The second reason is that they believe God to be a Spirit, and they conceive of a spirit as wind or as air or ether, and yet every spirit is a man. The third reason is that Christians, in consequence of their faith alone without life, have become worldly, and from the love of self have become corporeal, and the worldly and corporeal man does not see God except from space, thus as the whole inmost in the universe or in nature, consequently as extended. But God must not be regarded from space, for in the spiritual world there is no space; space there is an appearance from something like it.

[3] In this way does every sensual man see God, because he has little thought above his speech; and the thought that pertains to speech says to itself, "What the eye sees and the hand touches, that I know to be," and everything else it sets aside as mere words. These are the reasons why there is no idea of God as Man in the Christian world. That there is no such idea, yea that there is a repugnance to it, will be seen if you will examine yourself, and think of the Divine Human; and yet the Lord's Human is Divine. But these ideas of God are not so much the ideas of the simple as of the intelligent, for many of the intelligent are blinded by the pride of self intelligence, and are in consequence infatuated by what they know, according to the Lord's words in Matthew (Matthew 11:25; 13:13-15). But let it be known that all who see God as Man see Him from the Lord, and all others see Him from self; and those who see from self do not see.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Foundation for their permission to use this translation.