"If you are God's Son, throw yourself down, for Scripture says- -'He will give his angels commands about thee, And on their hands they will upbear thee, Lest ever thou shouldst strike thy foot against a stone.'"

Then Jesus said to him: "Begone, Satan! for Scripture says-- 'Thou shalt do homage to the Lord thy God, and worship him only.'"

Who among you, when his son asks him for a loaf, will give him a stone,

"Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For, if the miracles which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

Yet, I tell you, the doom of Tyre and Sidon will be more bearable in the 'Day of Judgment' than yours.

So, if Satan drives Satan out, he must be divided against himself; and how, then, can his kingdom last?

On going away from that place, Jesus retired to the country round Tyre and Sidon.

Jesus, however, turning to Peter, said: "Out of my way, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you look at things, not as God does, but as man does."

Then Jesus added: "Have you never read in the Scriptures?-- 'The very stone which the builders despised--Has now itself become the corner-stone; This corner-stone has come from the Lord, And is marvelous in our eyes.'

Yes, and he who falls on this stone will be dashed to pieces, while any one on whom it falls--it will scatter him as dust."

"Do you see all these things?" was his answer. "I tell you, not a single stone will be left here upon another, which will not be throne down,"

And laid it in his newly-made tomb which he had cut in the rock; and, before he left, he rolled a great stone against the entrance of the tomb.

So they went made the tomb secure, by sealing the stone, in presence of the guard.

When suddenly a great earthquake occurred. For an angel of the Lord descended from Heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and seated himself upon it.

And he was there in the Wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and among the wild beasts, while the angels ministered to him.

And a great number, hearing of all that he was doing, came to him from Judea, from Jerusalem, from Edom, from beyond the Jordan, and from the country round Tyre and Sidon.

So Jesus called them to him, and answered them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan?

So, if Satan is in revolt against himself and is divided, he cannot last--his end has come!

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.

On leaving that place, Jesus went to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And he went into a house, and did not wish anyone to know it, but could not escape notice.

On returning from the district of Tyre, Jesus went, by way of Sidon, to the Sea of Galilee, across the district of the Ten Towns.

Jesus, however, turning round and seeing his disciples, rebuked Peter. "Out of my sight, Satan!" he exclaimed. "For you look at things, not as God does, but as man does."

Have you never read this passage of Scripture?--'The very stone which the builders despised has now itself become the corner- stone;

This corner-stone has come from the Lord, and is marvelous in our eyes.'"

"Do you see these great buildings?" asked Jesus. "Not a single stone will be left here upon another, which shall not be thrown down."

Joseph, having bought a linen sheet, took Jesus down, and wound the sheet round him, and laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of the rock; and then rolled a stone up against the entrance of the tomb.

They were saying to one another: "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?"

But, on looking up, they saw that the stone had already been rolled back; it was a very large one.

So the Devil said to him: "If you are God's Son, tell this stone to become a loaf of bread."

And 'On their hands they will upbear thee, Lest ever thou shouldst strike thy foot against a stone.'"

And yet it was not to one of them that Elijah was sent, but to a widow at Zarephath in Sidonia.

Afterwards Jesus came down the hill with them and took his stand on a level place. With him were a large crowd of his disciples, and great numbers of people from the whole of Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast district of Tyre and Sidon,

Alas for you, Chorazin! Alas for you, Bethsaida! For, if the Miracles which have been done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have sat in sackcloth and ashes and repented long ago.

Yet the doom of Tyre and Sidon will be more bearable at the Judgment than yours.

And Jesus replied: "I have had visions of Satan, fallen, like lightning from the heavens.

So, too, if Satan is wholly divided against himself, how can his kingdom last? Yet you say that I drive out demons by the help of Baal-zebub.

But this woman, a daughter of Abraham, who has been kept in bondage by Satan for now eighteen years, ought not she to have been released from her bondage on the Sabbath?"

It would be good for him if he had been flung into the sea with a mill-stone round his neck, rather than that he should prove a snare to even one of these lowly ones.

They will trample you down and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know 'the time of your visitation.'"

But, if we say 'human,' the people will all stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a Prophet."

But Jesus looked at them and said: "What then is the meaning of this passage?-- 'The very stone which the builders despised has now itself become the corner-stone.'

Every one who falls on that stone will be dashed to pieces, while any one on whom it falls--it will scatter him as dust."

"As for these things that you are looking at, a time is coming when not one stone will be left upon another here, which will not be thrown down."

Now Satan took possession of Judas, who was known as Iscariot, and who belonged to the Twelve;

Simon! Simon! listen. Satan demanded leave to sift you all like wheat,

Then he withdrew about a stone's throw, and knelt down and began to pray.

And, when he had taken it down, he wrapped it in a linen sheet, and laid him in a tomb cut out of stone, in which no one had yet been buried.

They found that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb;

There were standing there six stone water-jars, in accordance with the Jewish rule of 'purification,' each holding twenty or thirty gallons.

And seeing this, Jesus said: "I have done before your eyes many good actions, inspired by the Father; for which of them would you stone me?"

"It is not for any good action that we would stone you," answered the Jews, "but for blasphemy; and because you, who are only a man, make yourself out to be God."

"Rabbi," they replied, "the Jews were but just now seeking to stone you; and are you going there again?"

Again groaning inwardly, Jesus came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against the mouth of it.

"Move the stone away," said Jesus. "Master," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time the smell must be offensive, for this is the fourth day since his death."

So they moved the stone away; and Jesus, with uplifted eyes, said: "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard my prayer;

And it was then, after he had received it, that Satan took possession of him. So Jesus said to him: "Do at once what you are going to do."

On hearing what they said, Pilate brought Jesus out, and took his seat upon the Bench at a place called 'The Stone Pavement'--in Hebrew 'Gabbatha.'

On the first day of the week, early in the morning, while it was still dark, Mary of Magdala went to the tomb, and saw that the stone had been removed.

Jesus is 'the stone which, scorned by you the builders, has yet become the corner stone.'

"Ananias," Peter exclaimed, "how is it that Satan has so taken possession of your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit, and kept back a part of the money paid for the land?

And began to stone him, the witnesses laying their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

It happened that Herod was deeply offended with the people of Tyre and Sidon, but they went in a body to him, and, having succeeded in winning over Blastus, the Chamberlain, they begged Herod for a reconciliation, because their country was dependent on the King's for its food-supply.

And, when there was an attempt on the part of both Gentiles and Jews, with their leading men, to resort to violence and to stone them,

Therefore, as the offspring of God, we must not think that the Deity has any resemblance to anything made of gold, or silver, or stone--a work of human art and imagination.

To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God; so that they may receive pardon for their sins, and a place among those who have become God's People, by faith in me.'

The next day we put in to Sidon, where Julius treated Paul in a friendly manner, and allowed him to go to see his friends and receive their hospitality.

And God, the giver of peace, will before long crush Satan under your feet. May the blessing of Jesus, our Lord, be with you.

To deliver such a man as this over to Satan, that what is sensual in him may be destroyed, so that his spirit may be saved at the Day of the Lord.

Do not deprive each other of what is due-unless it is only for a time and by mutual consent, so that your minds may be free for prayer till you again live as man and wife-lest Satan should take advantage of your want of self-control and tempt you.

So as to prevent Satan from taking advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.

All can see that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, a letter written, not with ink, but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on 'tablets of stone,' but on 'tablets of human hearts.'

And no wonder; for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of Light.

It was for this reason, and to prevent my thinking too highly of myself, that a thorn was sent to pierce my flesh--an instrument of Satan to discipline me--so that I should not think too highly of myself.

You have been built up upon the foundation laid by the Apostles and Prophets, Christ Jesus himself being 'the corner- stone.'

That was why we made up our minds to go and see you--at least I, Paul, did, more than once--but Satan put difficulties in our way.

For at the Coming of the Lord there will be great activity on the part of Satan, in the form of all kinds of deceptive miracles, signs, and marvels, as well as of wicked attempts to delude--

Hymenaeus and Alexander are instances--the men whom I delivered over to Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme.

There are some who have already left us, to follow Satan.

I urge you to keep his Command free from stain or reproach, until the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Come to Him, then, as to a living stone, rejected, indeed, by men, but in God's eyes choice and precious;

For there is a passage of Scripture that runs-- 'See, I am placing in Zion a choice and precious corner-stone; And he who believes in him shall have no cause for shame.'

It is to you, then, who believe in him that he is precious, but to those who do not believe he is 'a stone which, though rejected by the builders, has now itself become the corner-stone,'

suffering themselves, as the penalty for the suffering that they have inflicted. They think that pleasure consists in the self-indulgence of the moment. They are a stain and a disgrace, indulging, as they do, in their wanton revelry, even while joining you at your feasts.

I know your persecution and your poverty--yet you are rich! I know, too, the slander that come from those who declare that they are Jews, though they are not, but are a Congregation of Satan.

I know where you dwell, where the Throne of Satan stands. And yet you hold to my Name, and you did not disown my Faith even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death among you where Satan dwells.

Let him who has ears hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. To him who conquers-- to him I will give a share of the mystic manna, and I will give him a white stone; and on the stone shall be inscribed a new name, which no one knows except him who receives it."

But I say to the rest of you at Thyatira--all who do not accept such teaching, whose who did not learn 'the secrets of Satan,' as men call them--I am not laying on you any further burden;

Listen, I give some of the Congregation of Satan, the men who declare that they are Jews, though they are not, but are lying----I will make them 'come and bow down at your feet,' and they shall learn that I loved you.

But those who were left of mankind, who had not perished through these Curses, did not repent and turn away from what their own hands had made; they would not abandon the worship of 'demons, and of idols made of gold or silver or brass or stone or wood, which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk';

Then the great Dragon, the primeval Serpent, known as the 'Devil' and 'Satan,' who deceives all the world, was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him.

Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and threw it into the sea, crying-- 'So shall Babylon, the Great City, be violently overthrown, never more to be seen.

He seized the Dragon, the primeval Serpent (who is the 'Devil' or 'Satan'), and bound him in chains for a thousand years.

When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be let loose from his prison,

Its brilliance was like that of some very precious stone, like a jasper, transparent as crystal.

The foundations of the wall of the City were ornamented with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was a jasper; the second a sapphire; the third a chalcedony; the fourth an emerald;