The Bible

 

Matas 10

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1 Pasišaukęs dvylika savo mokinių, Jis suteikė jiems valdžią netyrosioms dvasioms, kad išvarinėtų jas ir gydytų visas ligas bei negalias.

2 Dvylikos apaštalų vardai: pirmasis Simonas, vadinamas Petru, ir jo brolis Andriejus; Zebediejaus sūnus Jokūbas ir jo brolis Jonas;

3 Pilypas ir Baltramiejus; Tomas ir muitininkas Matas; Alfiejaus sūnus Jokūbas ir Lebėjus, vadinamas Tadu;

4 Simonas Kananietis ir Judas Iskarijotas, kuris išdavė Jėzų.

5 Šiuos dvylika Jėzus išsiuntė, įsakydamas jiems: “Nepasukite keliu pas pagonis ir neužeikite į samariečių miestą,

6 bet verčiau eikite pas pražuvusias Izraelio namų avis.

7 Keliaudami skelbkite: ‘Prisiartino dangaus karalystė!’

8 Gydykite ligonius, apvalykite raupsuotuosius, prikelkite mirusius, išvarinėkite demonus. Dovanai gavote, dovanai ir duokite!

9 Neimkite nei aukso, nei sidabro, nei variokų į savo juostas;

10 nei kelionmaišio, nei dviejų tunikų, nei sandalų, nei lazdos, nes darbininkas vertas savo valgio.

11 Atėję į kokį nors miestą ar kaimą, susiieškokite vertą žmogų ir apsistokite pas jį, kol išvyksite.

12 Įeidami į namus, pasveikinkite juos.

13 Ir jeigu namai bus verti, teateinie jiems jūsų ramybė. O jeigu nebus verti­jūsų ramybė tesugrįžta jums.

14 Jei kas jūsų nepriimtų ir neklausytų jūsų žodžių, tai, išėję iš tokių namų ar tokio miesto, nusikratykite ir dulkes nuo kojų.

15 Iš tiesų sakau jums: Sodomos ir Gomoros žemei bus lengviau teismo dieną negu tokiam miestui”.

16 “Štai Aš siunčiu jus kaip avis tarp vilkų. Todėl būkite gudrūs kaip žalčiai ir neklastingi kaip balandžiai.

17 Saugokitės žmonių, nes jie įskųs jus teismams ir plaks savo sinagogose.

18 Jūs būsite dėl manęs vedžiojami pas valdytojus ir karalius liudyti jiems ir pagonims.

19 Kai jie jus įskųs, nesirūpinkite, kaip arba ką kalbėsite, nes tą valandą jums bus duota, ką jūs turite sakyti.

20 Nes ne jūs kalbėsite, o jūsų Tėvo Dvasia kalbės jumyse.

21 Brolis išduos mirti brolį ir tėvas­sūnų, o vaikai sukils prieš gimdytojus ir žudys juos.

22 Jūs būsite visų nekenčiami dėl mano vardo. Bet kas ištvers iki galo, bus išgelbėtas.

23 Kai jus persekios viename mieste, bėkite į kitą. Iš tiesų sakau jums: dar nebūsite išvaikščioję Izraelio miestų, kai ateis Žmogaus Sūnus.

24 Mokinys nėra aukštesnis už savo mokytoją nei tarnas už šeimininką.

25 Pakanka, jei mokinys prilygsta mokytojui ir tarnas šeimininkui. Jei namų šeimininką jie praminė Belzebulu, tai ką bekalbėti apie namiškius!”

26 “Taigi nebijokite jų. Nes nieko nėra uždengta, kas nebus atidengta, ir nieko paslėpta, kas nepasidarys žinoma.

27 Ką jums kalbu tamsoje, sakykite šviesoje, ir ką šnibždu į ausį, skelbkite nuo stogų.

28 Nebijokite tų, kurie žudo kūną, bet negali užmušti sielos. Verčiau bijokite to, kuris gali pražudyti ir sielą, ir kūną pragare.

29 Argi ne du žvirbliai parduodami už skatiką? Ir nė vienas iš jų nekrinta žemėn be jūsų Tėvo valios.

30 O jūsų net visi galvos plaukai suskaičiuoti.

31 Tad nebijokite! Jūs vertesni už daugybę žvirblių.

32 Kas išpažins mane žmonių akivaizdoje, ir Aš jį išpažinsiu savo dangiškojo Tėvo akivaizdoje.

33 O kas išsižadės manęs žmonių akivaizdoje, ir Aš jo išsižadėsiu savo dangiškojo Tėvo akivaizdoje”.

34 “Nemanykite, jog Aš atėjau atnešti žemėn ramybės. Atėjau atnešti ne ramybės, o kalavijo.

35 Atėjau sukiršinti ‘sūnaus prieš tėvą, dukters prieš motiną ir marčios prieš anytą.

36 Žmogaus namiškiai taps jam priešais’.

37 Kas myli tėvą ar motiną labiau negu mane­nevertas manęs. Kas myli sūnų ar dukterį labiau negu mane­nevertas manęs.

38 Kas neima savo kryžiaus ir neseka paskui mane, tas nevertas manęs.

39 Kas išsaugo savo gyvybę, praras ją, o kas praranda savo gyvybę dėl manęs­atras ją.

40 Kas jus priima, tas mane priima. O kas priima mane, priima Tą, kuris mane siuntė.

41 Kas priima pranašą dėl to, kad jis pranašas, gaus pranašo atlygį. Kas priima teisųjį dėl to, kad jis teisusis, gaus teisiojo atlygį.

42 Ir kas paduos bent taurę šalto vandens vienam iš šitų mažųjų dėl to, kad jis yra mokinys,­iš tiesų sakau jums,­tas nepraras savo atlygio”.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #7418

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7418. 'And strike the dust of the land' means that he should remove those things in the natural which are damned. This is clear from the meaning of 'striking' as removing; from the meaning of 'the dust' as that which is damned, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'the land', at this point the land of Egypt, as the natural mind, dealt with above in 7409. The reason why 'the dust' means that which is damned is that the places on the fringes below the soles of the feet, where evil spirits are, look like a land. They look like an uncultivated and dry land, to be exact, below which there are certain kinds of hells. That land is what is called the damned land, and the dust there serves to mean that which is damned. I have been allowed on several occasions to see evil spirits shaking off the dust there from their feet when they wished to consign someone to damnation. I saw them doing this in a position on the right slightly in front of me, on the borders of the hell of magicians, where spirits who during their life in the world have possessed a knowledge of matters of belief, but have nevertheless led a life of evil, are cast down into the hell that is theirs. This then is why 'the dust' means that which is damned, and 'shaking off the dust' damnation.

[2] Since it had that meaning the Lord commanded the disciples to shake off the dust on their feet if they were not well received. What He said about this appears in Matthew as follows,

If anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, shake off the dust on your feet. Truly I say to you, It will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgement than for that city. Matthew 10:14-15; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5; 10:10-12.

Here the disciples are not meant by the disciples but all aspects of the Church, thus all aspects of faith and charity, 2089, 2129 (end), 2130 (end), 3354, 3858, 3913, 6397. 'Not receiving' and 'not listening to' mean rejecting the truths of faith and forms of the good of charity, while 'shaking off the dust on their feet' means damnation. And the reason why 'it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than that city' is that 'Sodom and Gomorrah' is used to mean those who lead a life of evil but have known nothing about the Lord and the Word, and so could not be receptive. From this it may become clear that a house or a city unreceptive of the disciples is not meant, but those who though they are within the Church do not lead the life of faith. Anyone may see that an entire city could not be damned for not receiving the disciples and instantly accepting the new teaching proclaimed by them.

[3] That which is damned is also meant by 'the dust' which people in former times placed on their heads in grief or when penitent, as in Jeremiah,

The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, they are silent; they have caused dust to come up over their heads, they have girded themselves with sackcloth; the virgins of Jerusalem have caused their heads to come down to the ground. Lamentations 2:10.

In Ezekiel,

They will cry out bitterly, and will cause dust to come up over their heads; they roll themselves in ashes. Ezekiel 27:30.

In Micah,

Do not weep at all in the house of Aphrah; roll yourself in the dust. Micah 1:10.

In John,

They threw dust onto their heads, and cried out, weeping and wailing. Revelation 18:19.

The same actions are referred to throughout the historical narratives of the Word. Casting dust over the head, prostrating body and head on the ground, and rolling over in the dust on it, represented self-abasement, which - when it is genuine - is such that the person acknowledges and perceives that he is damned, yet is rescued from damnation by the Lord, see 1327, 3994, 4347, 5420, 5957.

[4] The dust' into which the golden calf which they made in the wilderness was crushed and ground down likewise means that which is damned. This is spoken of in Moses as follows,

I took your sin which you had made, the calf, and I burnt it in the fire, and crushed it by grinding it right down until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook descending out of the mountain. Deuteronomy 9:11.

'Dust' again means that which is damned in the following places: In Genesis,

Jehovah God said to the serpent, On your belly you will go, and dust will you eat all the days of your life. Genesis 3:14.

In Micah,

Shepherd Your people as in the days of eternity. The nations will see and be ashamed at all their power; they will lick the dust like a serpent. Micah 7:14, 16-17.

In Isaiah,

For the serpent, dust will be his bread. Isaiah 65:25.

In the same prophet,

Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babel. Isaiah 47:1.

In David,

Our soul was bowed down to the dust, our belly clung to the earth. Psalms 44:25.

In the same author,

My soul clings to the dust; vivify me. Psalms 119:25.

In the Word 'dust' in addition means the grave, as well as that which is lowly, and that which is numerous too.

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

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #2130

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2130. As regards the second representation, that is to say, the idea of a Last Judgement which takes place before the eyes of the good when they are being admitted into heaven, let that too be described. In the Word it is said that the door was shut, so that they could no longer be admitted; and that they had no oil, arrived too late, and therefore were not admitted, statements which also mean a Last-Judgement state. The situation with these matters and how they are to be understood has been shown to me.

[2] I heard communities of spirits declaring in a clear voice, one community after another, that a wolf had wished to carry them off but that the Lord rescued them, and so they were restored to Him, and on that account rejoiced from the depths of their heart. Indeed they had been without hope, and so were afraid that the door had been shut, and that they had arrived too late to be admitted. Such thought had been instilled into them by those called wolves, but it vanished on their being admitted, that is, being received, by angelic communities. Being admitted into heaven is nothing else. The admission which I witnessed seemed to proceed continuously community by community, up to twelve of them, the admission, that is, the reception, of the twelfth being more difficult than that of the previous eleven. After that about eight more communities were also admitted, which, it was pointed out to me, were composed of females. Having witnessed all this I was told that this is how the process of admission, that is, of being received into heavenly communities is seen. They proceed in an orderly continuation from one place to another. I was also told that heaven can never be filled up, still less the door be shut, but that the more who enter, the more blessing and happiness there is for those in heaven, because their unanimity is made that much stronger.

[3] After these had been admitted it did at that point seem as though heaven was shut; for there were still more who wished after that to be admitted, that is, to be received. But they were told in reply that they could not yet be let in. This is meant by those arriving too late, by the door being shut, by their knocking, and by the statement about their having no oil in their lamps. The reason they were not admitted was that they were not yet ready to move among angelic communities where mutual love exists, for, as stated above towards the end of 2119, people who in the world have lived charitably disposed towards the neighbour are raised up by the Lord into heaven gradually.

[4] There were also other spirits who did not know what heaven is, namely mutual love, and who also at that time wished to be admitted. They imagined it was just a matter of being admitted. They received the reply however that it was not yet time for them, but that they would be admitted at another time when they were ready for it. The reason why twelve communities were seen was that 'twelve' means everything comprising faith, as stated above towards the end of 2129.

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