Now there was a man in the synagogue who was dominated by the spirit of an evil demon [Note: These "evil spirits" or "demons" were powerful beings sent by Satan to inhabit people, causing physical, mental and spiritual harm to them]. He was shouting with a loud voice,

Listen carefully: I have given you authority [that you now possess] to tread on serpents and scorpions, and [the ability to exercise authority] over all the power of the enemy (Satan); and nothing will [in any way] harm you.

For I wrote to you out of great distress and with an anguished heart, and with many tears, not to cause you sorrow but to make you realize the [overflowing] love which I have especially for you.

and be continually renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh, untarnished mental and spiritual attitude],

For the love of money [that is, the greedy desire for it and the willingness to gain it unethically] is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves [through and through] with many sorrows.

But solid food is for the [spiritually] mature, whose senses are trained by practice to distinguish between what is morally good and what is evil.

as newborn babes desire earnestly the pure mental milk of the word, that by it ye may grow up to salvation,

There is no [reason for] fear if one [really] loves, but a complete love removes fear [from us] because fear produces punishment [i.e., mental anxiety], and the person who is [always] afraid does not have a complete love.

Here is scope for wisdom! Let anyone who has the mental keenness calculate the number of the wild beast, for it is the number of a certain man; his number is six hundred and sixty-six.