Mark 9
1
And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.
2
And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.
3
And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.
4
And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.
5
And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.
6
For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.
7
And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
8
And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.
9
And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.
10
And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.
11
And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?
12
And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought.
13
But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.
14
And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.
15
And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.
16
And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?
17
And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
18
And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
19
He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.
20
And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.
21
And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.
22
And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.
23
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.
24
And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.
25
When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.
26
And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.
27
But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.
28
And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
29
And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.
30
And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it.
31
For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.
32
But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.
33
And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?
34
But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.
35
And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
36
And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them,
37
Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.
38
And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.
39
But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
40
For he that is not against us is on our part.
41
For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
42
And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
43
And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
44
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
45
And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
46
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
47
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
48
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
49
For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.
50
Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.
Arcana Coelestia #2718
2718. 'A wife from the land of Egypt' means the affection for knowledge, which the member of the spiritual Church possesses. This is clear from the meaning of 'a wife' as affection or good, dealt with in 915, 2517, and from the meaning of 'Egypt' as knowledge, dealt with in 1164, 1165, 1186, 1462. In this verse the member of the spiritual Church is described so far as the nature of his good, that is, the essence of his life, is concerned - that the good residing with him is obscure, but that it is brightened with light from the Lord's Divine Human. From that brightening of it the affection for truth arises in the rational part of his mind, and the affection for knowledge in the natural part. The reason the affection for good such as resides within the celestial man cannot arise in the spiritual man, but instead the affection for truth, is that the good residing with him is implanted in the understanding part of his mind, and is obscure compared with the celestial man's good, as shown in 2715. From this good no other type of affection can be generated and derived within his rational than the affection for truth, and through this affection for truth the affection for knowledge within the natural. No other truth is meant in this case than that which the person believes to be the truth, even though it may not in itself be the truth. Nor is knowledge used to mean such knowledge as the learned possess but all factual knowledge with which a person can be taught from what he experiences or hears in everyday life, from doctrine, and from the Word. It is the affection for such truth and knowledge that exists within the member of the spiritual Church.
[2] So that it may be known what is meant by the affection for truth existing with someone and what by the affection for good, let a brief statement be made regarding them. Those with the affection for truth think about, question, and discuss whether a thing is true, whether it is so. And when they are convinced it is true, or is so, they think about, question, and discuss what it is. Thus they remain rooted on the doorstep and cannot be admitted into wisdom until they no longer have any doubts. Those however with whom the affection for good exists know and perceive that the thing is so from the good itself governing them. Thus they do not remain on the doorstep but are in a room inside, having been admitted into wisdom.
[3] Take as an example the consideration that it is a celestial gift to think and to act from an affection for good, or from good. Those with whom the affection for truth exists discuss whether this is so, whether such a gift can exist, and what it may be. And so long as they are turning over doubts about it they are unable to be admitted. But those with the affection for good do not discuss or turn doubts over but assert that the thing is true and are for that reason admitted. For those with whom the affection for good exists, that is, those who are celestial, start off where those with the affection for truth, that is, those who are spiritual, come to a halt, so that the furthest point reached by the latter is the starting point for the former. That being so, those who are celestial are given to know, recognize, and perceive that affections for good are countless - as numerous as the communities in heaven - and that they are all joined together by the Lord into a heavenly form so as to constitute one human being so to speak. They are also given to define by perception the genus and species to which each affection belongs.
[4] Or take this example: All delight, blessedness, and happiness belong wholly to love, but the nature of the love determines that of the delight, blessedness, and happiness. The spiritual man fixes his mind on the question whether this is true and whether delight, blessedness, and happiness may not spring from some other source, such as from mixing with others, talking to others, meditation, or learning, and also whether they reside in possessions, position, reputation, and the glory resulting from these. As long as he is asking such questions he does not confirm himself in the truth that none of these accomplishes anything, only the affection born of love which is present within them and making them what they are. The celestial man however does not remain rooted in such preliminary questionings but immediately asserts that the thing is true. Consequently he is interested in the end in view and the realization of this, that is, he is governed by the very affections born of love which are countless, and in each one of which there are things beyond description, involving variations of delight, blessedness, and happiness that have no end.
[5] Take as a further example the consideration that the neighbour is to be loved for the good that resides with him. Those with whom the affection for truth exists think, question, and discuss whether this is true, that is, whether it is so. They ask what the neighbour is, what good is; but they go no further than this, and therefore they shut the door to wisdom against themselves. Those however with the affection for good assert that the thing is so and do not consequently shut the door against themselves but enter in and so come to know, recognize, and perceive from good who is pre-eminently the neighbour, also in what degree he is the neighbour, and that everyone in differing ways is the neighbour. Thus they perceive things beyond description, over and above what is known to those with the affection solely for truth.
[6] Take as yet another example the truth that a person who loves the neighbour for the good within him loves the Lord. Those with the affection for truth question whether this is so. And if they are told that anyone who loves the neighbour for the good within him loves the good, and that - since all good comes from the Lord and the Lord is present in good - when anyone loves good he also loves the Lord from whom that good comes and in which He is present, they then question whether that too is so. They also ask what loving good is, as well as what good is, and whether the Lord is present more so in good than in truth. As long as they remain rooted in such questionings they cannot get even a distant view of wisdom. But those with the affection for good know from perception that the thing is so and immediately behold the whole field of wisdom leading right on to the Lord.
[7] From these examples it may become clear why in comparison with those who have the affection for good, that is, with those who are celestial, obscurity exists with those who have the affection for truth, that is, with those who are spiritual Nevertheless the latter are able to pass from obscurity into light, provided that they are willing to adopt the affirmative attitude that all good belongs to love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbour; also that love and charity constitute spiritual conjunction, and that these are the source of all blessedness and happiness, thus that heavenly life consists in the good belonging to love received from the Lord, but not in the truth of faith separated from it.
