The New Church (Swedenborgian) among the books of the New Testament includes only the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) and the Book of Revelation. Only these books contain an internal symbolism in a series, and are thus divinely inspired. Although this leaves out the Book of Acts and the letters of the apostles, the New Church holds them in esteem similar to that of the Jews for the Writings of the Old Testament. Swedenborg stated that these books were included as an act of divine providence, as books explaining Christian doctrine were needed for the general public. Paul's letters, although not containing a
Matthew 3:1 Matthew 3:1 Matthew 3:1 is the first verse of the third chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This verse takes up the narrative some thirty years after beginning the description of Jesus' ministry. This verse introduces the figure of John the Baptist. In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads: The World English Bible translates the passage as: For a collection of other versions see here: Unlike the infancy narrative this verse begins a section that is closely paralleled in Mark 1 and Luke 3. According to the theory of Markan Priority both