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Matthew 17

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1 Six day later, Jesus took with Him Peter and the brothers James and John, and brought them up a high mountain to a solitary place.

2 There in their presence His form underwent a change; His face shone like the sun, and His raiment became as white as the light.

3 And suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared to them conversing with Him.

4 Then Peter said to Jesus, "Master, we are thankful to you that we are here. If you approve, I will put up three tents here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."

5 He was still speaking when a luminous cloud spread over them; and a voice was heard from within the cloud, which said, "This is My Son dearly beloved, in whom is My delight. Listen to Him."

6 On hearing this voice, the disciples fell on their faces and were filled with terror.

7 But Jesus came and touched them, and said, "Rouse yourselves and have no fear."

8 So they looked up, and saw no one but Jesus.

9 As they were descending the mountain, Jesus laid a command upon them. "Tell no one," He said, "of the sight you have seen till the Son of Man has risen from among the dead."

10 "Why then," asked the disciples, "do the Scribes say that Elijah must first come?"

11 "Elijah was indeed to come," He replied, "and would reform everything.

12 But I tell you that he has already come, and they did not recognize him, but dealt with him as they chose. And before long the Son of Man will be treated by them in a similar way."

13 Then it dawned upon the disciples that it was John the Baptist about whom He had spoken to them.

14 When they had returned to the people, there came to Him a man who fell on his knees before Him and besought Him.

15 "Sir," he said, "have pity on my son, for he is an epileptic and is very ill. Often he falls into the fire and often into the water.

16 I have brought him to your disciples, and they have not been able to cure him."

17 "O unbelieving and perverse generation!" replied Jesus; "how long shall I be with you? how long shall I endure you? Bring him to me."

18 Then Jesus reprimanded the demon, and it came out and left him; and the boy was cured from that moment.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked Him, "Why could not we expel the demon?"

20 "Because your faith is so small," He replied; "for I solemnly declare to you that if you have faith like a mustard-seed, you shall say to this mountain, `Remove from this place to that,' and it will Remove; and nothing shall be impossible to you.

21 But an evil spirit of this kind is only driven out by prayer and fasting."

22 As they were travelling about in Galilee, Jesus said to them, "The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men;

23 they will put Him to death, but on the third day He will be raised to life again." And they were exceedingly distressed.

24 After their arrival at Capernaum the collectors of the half-shekel came and asked Peter, "Does not your Teacher pay the half-shekel?"

25 "Yes," he replied, and then went into the house. But before he spoke a word Jesus said, "What think you, Simon? From whom do this world's kings receive customs or capitation tax? from their own children, or from others?"

26 "From others," he replied. "Then the children go free," said Jesus.

27 "However, lest we cause them to sin, go and throw a hook into the Lake, and take the first fish that comes up. When you open its mouth, you will find a shekel in it: bring that coin and give it to them for yourself and me."

   

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Doctrine of Life #79

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79. That to commit adultery in the spiritual sense means to adulterate the Word’s goods and falsify its truths is clear from the following:

Babylon...has made all nations drink of the wine...of her licentiousness. (Revelation 14:8)

(The angel said, ) “...I will show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed whoredom....” (Revelation 17:1-2)

(Babylon made) all nations (drink) of the wine of the wrath of her licentiousness, and the kings of the earth have committed whoredom with her.... (Revelation 18:3)

(God) has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her licentiousness.... (Revelation 19:2) Licentiousness is attributed to Babylon because Babylon means people who arrogate the Lord’s Divine power to themselves and profane the Word by adulterating and falsifying it. Consequently Babylon is also called “the mother of the whoredoms and abominations of the earth” (Revelation 17:5).

[2] Licentiousness also has the same symbolic meaning in the Prophets, as in Jeremiah:

In the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a shocking obstinacy in committing adultery and walking in lies. (Jeremiah 23:14) In Ezekiel:

...two women, the daughters of one mother, ...committed harlotry in Egypt; they committed harlotry in their youth.... (One) played the harlot under Me, and she lusted for her lovers, the neighboring Assyrians.... She committed her harlotries with them.... (Yet) she has never given up her harlotries in Egypt....

(The other) corrupted her love more than she, and her harlotries more than her sister’s harlotries.... She increased her harlotries..., she loved (Chaldeans).... Then the Babylonians came to her, into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their licentiousness. (Ezekiel 23:2-17) The reference here is to the Israelite and Jewish churches, which in this passage are the daughters of one mother. Their harlotries mean adulterations and falsifications of the Word. And because Egypt in the Word symbolizes knowledge, Assyria reasoning, Chaldea the profanation of truth, and Babylon the profanation of good, therefore we are told that they committed harlotry with them.

[3] The same is said in Ezekiel of Jerusalem, which symbolizes the church in respect to doctrine:

(O Jerusalem, ) you trusted in your beauty, and played the harlot because of your fame, so that you poured out your harlotries on everyone passing by.... You committed harlotry with the Egyptians, your neighbors, enormously fat, and increased your harlotry.... You played the harlot with the Assyrians.... When you were not satisfied by those with whom you played the harlot, you increased your harlotry as far as the land of the Chaldean trader.... Adulterous woman, who takes strangers instead of her husband! All men make payment to their harlots, but you made your payments to all your lovers, ...to come to you from all around for your harlotries.... Therefore, O harlot, hear the word of Jehovah! (Ezekiel 16:15, 26, 28-29, 32-33, 35ff.) That Jerusalem means the church may be seen in The Doctrine Regarding the Lord 62-63.

References to licentiousness have the same symbolic meaning in Isaiah 23:17-18, 57:3; in Jeremiah 3:2, 6, 8-9, 5:1, 7, 13:27, 29:23; in Micah 1:7; in Nahum 3:3-4; in Hosea 4:2, 10-11; also in Leviticus 20:5; Numbers 14:33, 15:39; and elsewhere.

For this reason, too, the Lord called the Jewish nation “an adulterous generation” (Matthew 12:39, 16:4, Mark 8:38).

  
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Many thanks to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and to Rev. N.B. Rogers, translator, for the permission to use this translation.