The Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles

The Lord left his apostles with instructions and with great gifts. The instructions are listed in several distinct places, but the the gifts are more scattered, both in the four gospels and in the book of Acts later, being given as the apostles needed them.

First, about the apostles... just to clarify, here I'm referring to "the disciples" as including anyone who has followed along to hear the Lord, and "the apostles" to mean the twelve men that the Lord recruited specifically, as listed in Matthew 10, Mark 3, and Luke 6.

Who were the apostles? From the lists in Matthew and Mark, which are the same, we have: Simon (Peter), James and John the sons of Zebedee, Andrew (Peter’s brother), Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew (the publican), Thomas, James the son of Alpheus, (as is Matthew, so they are brothers, too), Thaddeus, (also known as Libbeus), Simon the Canaanite (also called Simon the Zealot), and Judas Iscariot. Bartholomew is almost undoubtedly another name for Nathaniel, see John 1. The list in Luke includes another Judas, "Judas the brother of James" and doesn’t have Thaddeus.

The stories of how they were individually chosen differ, especially in the gospel of John, but that these twelve were appointed by the Lord is clear. A point of interest is that - other than Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot they are all from towns around the sea of Galilee - and perhaps those two are as well. These twelve have their names inscribed on the twelve foundations of the walls of the holy city New Jerusalem, in Revelation 21:14 in which there are also the twelve gates. These men were chosen to represent all the different states of the natural human being that can be receptive of the Lord. They are from Galilee because Galilee represents that natural state of the human mind. The number twelve in the Word represents all possible states of mankind.

What is indicated here is that all people, everywhere, can be saved or regenerated if they repent and turn to the Lord in their lives. No one is "outside" of His reach. We are born natural, everyone is, but we are so formed that our minds can be raised to what is higher, called spiritual for our conceptions of Divine truth, or Celestial for our perceptions of Divine good. But we all start in a natural state and can only move upward by listening to the Lord’s teachings in His Word, and following Him as those Apostles did.

Not all of our natural states are states of good; they can be selfish, domineering, and cruel. But the Lord said that He came "not to save the just but to call sinners to repentance". Perhaps this is why Simon the Canaanite and Judas were two that He called. Simon is little known, but in some places in the Word, "Canaan signifies an external worship without a true internal worship". (See Arcana Coelestia 1060). Can the Lord work with that - with external worship that's internally barren? Yes, as a starting point. And, even Judas, who betrayed the Lord so terribly, we are told, repented of his betrayal of the Lord. (Matthew 27:3-5)

The Lord's Instructions to the Apostles

The two most comprehensive sets of instructions are in Luke 10:1-17 where seventy Disciples are sent out two by two, apparently to a specified list of cities that Jesus intends to visit, and then in Matthew 20:1-19 where the chosen twelve Apostles are sent out to all Israel. Later, as recorded in different epistles, the Apostles go out further, through a wide region.

The basic instructions were to preach that the kingdom of heaven is near, that all should be led to repent of their sins, and that all who wish should be baptized in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The Apostles should not take any money or extra clothing along, and they were to depend entirely on the Lord’s providence with no doubt that they shall be welcomed, fed, and sheltered. If they were welcomed, they should stay and preach the good news about the risen Lord and His teachings, and if they were not, they should shake from their feet the dust of that place and go on to a place where they were welcome. See Matthew 10, 28, Mark 13, 16, Luke 9, 10:24.

There are several assurances for the twelve. The Lord has told them to stay in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit is sent to strengthen them, and in John 20 where the ten are gathered it is said that He breathed on them and said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit". Also, in his long talk with them in John 14, 15, 16) He assures them that his crucifixion and death are necessary to his mission and they should even rejoice that it is coming. He shows them from scripture that it has all been prophesied from long ago, (see Mark 4:34) and that what seems to them a tragedy, is truly His glorification and the end of the work He came to do. They, His twelve, are in the same steam of providence and will be protected. "Don’t be anxious," He tells them, "I will put into your mouths what you are to say, I will bring into your memories the incidents to tell to the people".

Here is a listing of the chapters and verses in John where such things are said: John 14:1-3, 10, 16-18, 26-28, 15:11, 16, 26-27, 16:7, 13-15, 22, 26-27, 33. Or simply read the three chapters and pick out your favorites.

A marvelous gift is mentioned in Matthew 10:13, "But blessed are your eyes for they see and blessed are your ears, for they hear…".

In the book of Acts, the Lord vividly shows the apostles that when they speak in their Galileen dialect every listener will hear their words as his own language in his ears; not gibberish, but Arabic to the Arabs, Greek to the Greeks, and Latin to the Romans.

When Peter starts to preach to a gathering of sympathetic Jews he speaks clearly and unafraid, saying that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God and that people should worship Him openly and repent of how they might have felt earlier. Peter’s talk in Acts 3 and 4 is a bold and powerful one. No more hiding behind locked doors.

The early history of the Christian church shows just how well all this worked out. You know what? The Apostles preached to the peoples in the Near East 2000 years ago, and their preaching is just as relevant today as it was then: "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Being at hand has nothing to do with the date or the state of political history in the world, it has to do with the inside of your mind. The Lord is just as close to you now as He was then, and He never turns away, though we might turn away from him. Remember that He said "behold I stand at the door and knock and if anyone hears and opens the door He will come right in." This hasn’t changed nor will it ever change, but He leaves us in freedom to ignore His knocking, if that is what we want. We have to make the choice, but He is always ready if we choose to open the door.

2135. PREFACE to Genesis 18

[Each chapter belonging to Volume Two of the Latin (Genesis 16-21) was published separately, and therefore this Preface belongs to Chapter 18 only.]

At the end of the previous chapter the subject dealt with was the Last Judgement, and there it was shown what is meant by it - not the destruction of the world, but the final period of the Church. When this is imminent, says the Lord, He will come in the clouds of heaven with power and glory, Matthew 24:30; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27. Nobody until now has known what was meant by 'the clouds of heaven'. But it has been disclosed to me that nothing else is meant than the literal sense of the Word, and that by 'power and glory' is meant the internal sense of the Word; for the internal sense of the Word holds glory within itself, since everything within that sense has regard to the Lord and His kingdom; see Volume One, in 1769-1772. Something similar is meant by 'the cloud' which surrounded Peter, James, and John when the Lord appeared to them in glory, concerning which the following is said in Luke,

A voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is My beloved Son; listen to Him! When however the voice had gone Jesus was found alone. Luke 9:35-36.

Moses and Elijah there who conversed with the Lord represented the Old Testament Word, which is also called Moses and the Prophets - 'Moses' representing the books by him, together with the historical books, 'Elijah the prophet' representing all the Prophets. Peter, James, and John however represented, as they do wherever else they are mentioned in the Gospels, faith, charity, and good flowing from charity. Their presence alone on that occasion meant that no others are able to see the glory of the Lord which is present in His Word than those with whom faith, its partner charity, and good flowing from charity are present. All others do indeed have the ability to see; nevertheless they do not see because they do not believe. Such is the internal sense of these two passages. In various places in the Prophets as well, 'cloud' means the Word as to its letter, and 'glory' the Word as to its life. What the internal sense of the Word is, and the nature of it, has been stated in many places, and has been shown in the word-by-word explanation that has been given. Those expert in the Law in the Lord's time had least belief of all in the idea that anything in the Word had been written regarding the Lord. Today such experts do, it is true, recognize this, but they perhaps will have least belief of all in the idea that any glory is present in the Word other than that visible in the letter - though the letter is in fact the cloud which has the glory within it.

From this chapter especially do the nature of the internal sense of the Word and the manner in which angels perceive the Word when it is read by man become clear. From the historical sense that belongs to the letter nothing else is understood than that Jehovah appeared to Abraham in the guise of three men, and that Sarah, Abraham, and his servant prepared food for them, namely cakes of fine flour, a young bull, and also butter and milk. Although these are historically true descriptions of things which actually took place, they are nevertheless not perceived by angels in any such historical manner. Instead the angels perceive abstractedly, quite apart from the letter, the things which are represented and are meant spiritually by such descriptions; that is to say, they perceive them according to the explanation set out in the Contents. In place of the historical details stated in this chapter they perceive the state of the Lord's perception within the Human, and also the communication at that time with the Divine, before the perfect union existed of His Divine Essence with His Human Essence and of His Human Essence with His Divine Essence, which state is also what the Lord is referring to when He says,

Nobody has even seen God; the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. John 1:18.

[2] Also, by the different kinds of food mentioned in this chapter angels perceive nothing else than celestial and spiritual goods, details of which goods are given in the explanation of the chapter. And by what is said further on in it about a son whom Sarah would bear at the appointed time in the following year, angels perceive nothing else than this, that the Lord's human rational would be made Divine. By what is stated at the end of the chapter about Abraham speaking to Jehovah concerning the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah they perceive nothing else than the Lord's interceding on behalf of the human race. By the numbers fifty, forty-five, forty; thirty, twenty, and ten mentioned there they perceive His interceding on behalf of those with whom truths were to be allied to goods, and to whom goods were to come through temptations and conflicts, or through other states. And their perception is the same with everything else in the Word, as may become clearer still from the word-by-word explanation that is given, where it is shown that similar things are embodied within each individual expression in the Word, both in the historical part and in the prophetical part.

[3] That such an internal sense is present everywhere in the Word, which deals solely with the Lord, with His kingdom in heaven, with His Church on earth, and in particular with every individual, and so deals with the goods of love and the truths of faith, may also become clear to anyone from Old Testament texts quoted in the Gospels, as in Matthew,

The Lord said to My Lord, Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool. Matthew 22:44; Psalms 110:1.

That these words refer to the Lord cannot be seen from the literal sense of them as they stand in David; yet that no one other than the Lord is meant, He himself teaches at this point in Matthew.

[4] In the same gospel,

You, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the leaders of Judah, for from you will come a leader who will shepherd my people Israel. Matthew 2:6; Micah 5:2.

Those who confine themselves to the literal sense, as Jews do, do indeed know from this that the Lord was to be born there; but because they are waiting for a leader and king who will lead them back into the land of Canaan they therefore explain the words here literally. That is to say, they take 'the land of Judah' to mean the land of Canaan and '[My people] Israel' to mean [the tribes of] Israel, even though they do not know where the latter are now; and 'a leader' they still take to mean their Messiah. But in fact 'Judah' and 'Israel' are used to mean things other than Judah and Israel; that is to say, 'Judah' means those who are celestial and 'Israel' those who are spiritual, in heaven and on earth. And 'a leader' is used to mean the Lord.

[5] In the same gospel,

A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, crying out, and much wailing; Rachel weeping for her children, and she refused to be consoled because they are not. Matthew 2:18; Jeremiah 31:15.

Those who confine themselves to the literal sense cannot possibly gain from it that sense which is the internal meaning of these words. Yet the existence of this internal sense is evident from the gospel itself. In the same gospel,

Out of Egypt have I called My son. Matthew 2:15; Hosea 11:1.

In Hosea the wording is,

When Israel was a boy I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. [As] they called them, so they went away from their presence. And I taught Ephraim to walk. Hosea 11:1-3.

Those who have no knowledge of the existence of the internal sense cannot know otherwise than that here Jacob is meant when he entered Egypt, and his descendants when they left, and that 'Ephraim' is used to mean the tribe of Ephraim - thus the same things as occur in historical sections of the Word. Nevertheless it is clear from the Word of the Evangelists that they mean the Lord, though what each detail means could not possibly be known unless it were disclosed by means of the internal sense.