For the mind of this nation has grown dense, And their ears are dull of hearing, Their eyes also have they closed; Lest some day they should perceive with their eyes, And with their ears they should hear, And in their mind they should understand, and should turn--And I should heal them.'

When any one hears the Message of the Kingdom without understanding it, the Evil One comes and snatches away what has been sown in his mind. This is the man meant by the seed which was sown along the path.

By the seed which was sown on rocky places is meant the man who hears the Message, and at once accepts it joyfully;

By the seed which was sown among the brambles is meant the man who hears the Message, but the cares of life and the glamour of wealth completely choke the Message, so that it gives no return.

But by the seed which was sown on the good ground is meant the man who hears the Message and understands it, and really yields a return, sometimes one hundred, sometimes sixty, sometimes thirty fold."

The field is the world. By the good seed is meant the People of the Kingdom. The tares are the wicked,

When they had almost reached Jerusalem, having come as far as Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent on two disciples.

His answer was: "'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.'

Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You pay tithes on mint, fennel, and caraway seed, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law--justice, mercy, and good faith. These last you ought to have put into practice, without neglecting the first.

So, while Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came up to him privately and said: "Tell us when this will be, and what will be the sign of your Coming, and of the close of the age."

They then sang a hymn, and went out to the Mount of Olives.

Taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebediah, he began to show signs of sadness and deep distress of mind.

When his relations heard of it, they went to take charge of him, for they said that he was out of his mind.

The People meant by the seed that falls along the path are these--where the Message is sown, but, as soon as they have heard it, Satan immediately comes and carries away the Message that has been sown in them.

So, too, those meant by the seed sown on the rocky places are the people who, when they have heard the Message, at once accept it joyfully;

Those meant by the seed sown among the brambles are different; they are the people who hear the Message,

But the people meant by the seed sown on the good ground are those who hear the Message, and welcome it, and yield a return, thirty, sixty, and even a hundred fold."

When they came to Jesus, they found the possessed man sitting there, clothed and in his right mind--the very man who had had the 'Legion' in him--and they were awe-struck.

They had noticed that some of his disciples ate their food with their hands 'defiled,' by which they meant unwashed.

They seized upon these words and discussed with one another what this 'rising from the dead' meant.

When they had almost reached Jerusalem, as far as Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent on two of his disciples.

"I tell you that if any one should say to this hill 'Be lifted up and hurled into the sea!', without ever a doubt in his mind, but in the faith that what he says will be done, he would find that it would be.

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.'

When Jesus had sat down on the Mount of Olives, facing the Temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew questioned him privately:

They then sang a hymn, and went out up the Mount of Olives,

He took with him Peter, James, and John; and began to show signs of great dismay and deep distress of mind.

And all who heard it kept it in mind, asking one another-- "What can this child be destined to become?" For the Power of the Lord was with him.

His parents did not understand what he meant.

By the seed which fell along the path are meant those who hear the Message; but then comes the Devil and carries away the Message from their minds, to prevent their believing it and being saved.

By the seed which fell upon the rock are meant those who, as soon as they hear the Message, welcome it joyfully; but they have no root, and believe it only for a time, and, when the time of temptation comes, they draw back.

By that which fell among the brambles are meant those who hear the Message, but who, as they go on their way, are completely choked by this world's cares and wealth and pleasures, and bring nothing to perfection.

But by that in the good ground are meant those who, having heard the Message, keep it in the good, rich soil of their hearts, and patiently yield a return.

The people went out to see what had happened, and, when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting, clothed and in his right mind, at Jesus' feet; and they were awe-struck.

But the disciples did not understand the meaning of this; it had been concealed from them so that they did not see it, and they were afraid to question him as to what he meant.

His reply was--"'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thou dost thyself.'"

But alas for you Pharisees! You pay tithes on mint, rue, and herbs of all kinds, and pass over justice and love to God. These last you ought to have put into practice without neglecting the first.

And he called one of the servants and asked what it all meant.

It was when Jesus had almost reached Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, that he sent on two of the disciples.

When he had almost reached the place where the road led down the Mount of Olives, every one of the many disciples began in their joy to praise God loudly for all the miracles that they had seen:

During the days, Jesus continued to teach in the Temple Courts, but he went out and spent the nights on the hill called the 'Mount of Olives.'

Jesus then went out, and made his way as usual to the Mount of Olives, followed by his disciples.

He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he meant to do.

He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who was about to betray him, though he was one of the Twelve.

(By this he meant the Spirit, which those who had believed in him were to receive; for the Spirit had not yet come, because Jesus had not yet been exalted.)

They did not understand that he meant the Father.

But Jesus meant that he was dead; they, however, supposed that he was speaking of natural sleep.

'He has blinded their eyes, and blunted their mind, so that they should not see with their eyes, and perceive with their mind, and turn--And I should heal them.'

The Devil had already put the thought of betraying Jesus into the mind of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon;

The disciples looked at one another, wondering whom he meant.

Some thought that, as Judas kept the purse, Jesus meant that he was to buy some things needed for the Festival, or to give something to the poor.

Jesus saw that they were wanting to ask him a question, and said: "Are you trying to find out from one another what I meant by saying 'In a little while you will not see me; and then in a little while you will see me indeed'?

The whole body of those who had become believers in Christ were of one heart and mind. Not one of them claimed any of his goods as his own, but everything was held for the common use.

Forty years had passed when there appeared to him, in the Desert of Mount Sinai, an angel in a flame of fire in a bush.

He, too, it was who was present at the assembly in the Desert, with the angel who talked to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors, and who received living truths to impart to you.

For the mind of this nation has grown dense, and their ears are dull of hearing, their eyes also have they closed; lest some day they should see with their eyes, and with their ears they should hear, and in their mind they should understand, and should turn--and I should heal them.'

Or do you think lightly of his abundant kindness, patience, and forbearance, not realizing that his kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

The very Commandment that should have meant Life I found to result in Death!

Because to be earthly-minded is to be an enemy to God, for such a mind does not submit to the Law of God, nor indeed can it do so.

The rest grew callous; as Scripture says--'God has given them a deadness of mind--eyes that are not to see and ears that are not to hear--and it is so to this very day.'

For, if their being cast aside has meant the reconciliation of the world, what will their reception mean, but Life from the dead?

'Who has ever comprehended the mind of the Lord? Who has ever become his counselor?

Again, one man considers some days to be more sacred than others, while another considers all days to be alike. Every one ought to be fully convinced in his own mind.

But I appeal to you, Brothers, by the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to agree in what you profess, and not to allow divisions to exist among you, but to be united-of one mind and of one opinion.

It is what Scripture speaks of as-'What eye never saw, nor ear ever heard, what never entered the mind of man-even all that God has prepared for those who love him.'

For 'who has so comprehended the mind of the Lord as to be able to instruct him?' We, however, have the very mind of Christ.

On the other hand, a father, who has definitely made up his mind, and is under no compulsion, but is free to carry out his own wishes, and who has come to the decision, in his own mind, to keep his unmarried daughter at home will be doing right.

I want you to bear in mind, Brothers, that all our ancestors were beneath the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

I praise you, indeed, because you never forget me, and are keeping my injunctions in mind, exactly as I laid them upon you.

If, when praying, I use the gift of 'tongues,' my spirit indeed prays, but my mind is a blank.

What, then, is my conclusion? Simply this-I will pray with my spirit, but with my mind as well; I will sing with my spirit, but with my mind as well.

But at a meeting of the Church I would rather speak five words with my mind, and so teach others, than ten thousand words when using the gift of 'tongues.'

That is what is meant by the words-'Adam, the first man, became a human being'; the last Adam became a Life-giving spirit.

With this conviction in my mind, I planned to come to see you first, so that your pleasure might be doubled--

I could get no peace of mind because I failed to find Titus, my Brother; so I took leave of the people there, and went on to Macedonia.

What agreement can thee be between a temple of God and idols? And we are a temple of the Living God. That is what God meant when he said--'I will dwell among them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Ever since we reached Macedonia, we have had no rest in body or mind; on every side there have been troubles--conflicts without, anxieties within.

Now it was to Abraham that the promises were made, 'and to his offspring.' It was not said 'to his offsprings,' as if many persons were meant, but the words were 'to thy offspring,' showing that one person was meant--and that was Christ.

This story may be taken as an allegory. The women stand for two Covenants. One Covenant, given from Mount Sinai, produces a race of slaves and is represented by Hagar

(The word Hagar meaning in Arabia Mount Sinai) and it ranks with the Jerusalem of to-day, for she and her children are in slavery.

And to make clear what is God's way of working out that hidden purpose which from the first has been concealed in the mind of the Creator of all things;

Devote yourselves to prayer. Give your whole mind to it, and also offer thanksgiving;

Keep before your mind Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David, as told in the Good News entrusted to me;

and they may yet come to a sober mind, and escape from the snares of the Devil, when captured by the Lord's Servant to do the will of God.

God's Message is a living and active power, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing its way till it penetrates soul and spirit--not the joints only but the very marrow--and detecting the inmost thoughts and purposes of the mind.

But, on the contrary, these sacrifices recall their sins to mind year after year.

Call to mind those early days in which, after you had received the Light, you patiently underwent a long and painful conflict.

No, but it is to Mount Zion that you have drawn near, the City of the Living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to countless hosts of angels,

So I will do my best to enable you, at any time after my departure, to call these truths to mind.

In writing thus to you, I have in mind those who are trying to mislead you.

I know your life (see, I have set a door open before you which no one is able to shut), I know that, though you have but little strength, you kept my teaching in mind, and did not disown my Name.

Because you kept in mind the story of my endurance, I will keep you in the hour of trial that is about to come upon the whole world, the hour that will test all who are living upon earth.

Then, in my vision, I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion. With him were a hundred and forty-four thousand men, with his name and the name of his Father written on their foreheads.

(Here there is need for the discerning mind.) The seven heads are seven mountains upon which the woman is seated.

These kings are of one mind in surrendering their power and authority to the Beast.