The Bible

 

Matthew 3:1-12 : John the Baptist (Gospel of Matthew)

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1 In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,

2 And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

3 For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

4 And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan,

6 And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

The Bible

 

Matthew 6

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1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;

18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #6335

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6335. 'And Jacob called his sons' means organizing the truths of faith and the forms of the good of love in the natural. This is clear from the meaning of 'calling' as arranging into order, for the reason why they were called together was so that the truths of faith and the forms of the good of charity might be set forth in that organized arrangement; and from the representation of 'Jacob' and 'his sons' as the truths of faith and the forms of the good of love in the natural, 'Jacob' being those truths and forms of good in general, see 3509, 3525, 3546, 3659, 3669, 3677, 3775, 3829, 4234, 4273, 4777, 5506, 5533, 5535, 6001, 6236, and 'his sons', or the tribes named after them, those truths and forms of good in particular, 3858, 3926, 3939, 4060. With regard to this organization of the truths of faith and the forms of the good of love that is meant here and is set forth in the internal sense of this chapter, it should be recognized that the twelve tribes of Israel represented in general all truths and forms of good in their entirety, thus all the truths and forms of good which come forth from the Lord, therefore those which exist in heaven and from which heaven exists. And since all in general are represented, so is each one specifically; for classes in general include all members specifically, just as general wholes do their individual parts.

[2] Forms of good and the truths deriving from them are what determine the varying intensity of light in heaven; and that varying intensity of light is what determines the varying states of intelligence and wisdom. This was how it came about that light glittered and flashed through the Urim and Thummim, doing so in varying ways in keeping with the state of the matter about which questions were being asked. This took place because the twelve tribes, by whom all truths and forms of good in general were meant, were designated in the breastplate or Urim and Thummim; for each precious stone stood for one particular tribe. The reason why they were precious stones was that spiritual and celestial truths are meant by them, 114, 3720, and good is meant by the 'gold' into which they had been set, 1 113, 1551, 1552, 5658. This arcanum is what was meant by the Urim and Thummim.

[3] The fact that the twelve tribes meant such things is evident from places in the Word where they are mentioned by name, in particular from the inheritances of the tribes in the land of Canaan, which are dealt with in Joshua, and from their inheritances in the Lord's kingdom, which are dealt with in Ezekiel - in the final chapters, in which a new land, a new Jerusalem, and a new temple are described - and also in Revelation 7:4-8. That the twelve tribes meant such things is also evident from the order in which they were arranged when they pitched camp in the wilderness, an order which was such that it represented truths and forms of good in their right and proper order. This was the origin of the prophetic utterance made by Balaam,

When Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes, the Spirit of God came upon him and he delivered an utterance, and said, How good are your tabernacles, O Jacob; your dwelling-places, O Israel! Like valleys they are planted, like gardens beside a river, like aloes Jehovah has planted, like cedars beside the waters. Numbers 24:2-3, 5-6.

See also what has been shown regarding the tribes and organized arrangements of them in 2129, 3858, 3862, 3926, 3979, 4060, 4603.

Footnotes:

1. Reading cui inclusi (into which they had been set) for cui insculpti (for which they had been engraved).

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