~ Blessed Be Egypt, Assyria, Israel ~

In that day
five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan
and swear allegiance to the Lord Almighty.
One of them will be called the City of Destruction.

In that day there will be an altar to the Lord
in the heart of Egypt,
and a monument to the Lord at its border.
It will be a sign and witness to the Lord Almighty
in the land of Egypt.
When they cry out to the Lord
because of their oppressors,
He will send them a savior and defender,
and He will rescue them.
So the Lord will make Himself known to the Egyptians,
and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord.
They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings;
they will make vows to the Lord and keep them.
The Lord will strike Egypt with a plague;
He will strike them and heal them.
They will turn to the Lord,
and He will respond to their pleas and heal them.

In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria.
The Assyrians will go to Egypt
and the Egyptians to Assyria.
The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.
In that day Israel will be the third,
along with Egypt and Assyria,
a blessing on the earth.
The Lord Almighty will bless them, saying,
"Blessed be Egypt My people,
Assyria My handiwork,
and Israel My Inheritance."

(Isaiah 19:19-25)

HH 214, 217-218 - Governments in Heaven; HH 220 - Governments in Hell

AC 214 - The Celestial Kingdom

Government in the Lord's celestial kingdom
is called righteousness
because all in that kingdom are in
the good of love to the Lord from the Lord,
and whatever is from that good is called righteous.
Government there belongs to the Lord alone.
He leads them and teaches them in the affairs of life.
The truths that are called truths of judgment
are written on their hearts;
everyone knows them, perceives them, and sees them;
and in consequence matters of judgment there
never come into question,
but only matters of righteousness,
which belong to the life.
About these matters
the less wise consult the more wise,
and these consult the Lord and receive answers.
Their heaven, that is, their inmost joy,
is to live rightly from the Lord. 

HH 217-218 - The Spiritual Kingdom

In the Lord's spiritual kingdom
there are various forms of government,
differing in different societies,
the variety being in accord
with the functions performed by the societies;
and the functions of these
are in accord with the functions of all things in man
to which they correspond.
. . . But all these forms of government agree in this,
that they look to the public good as their end,
and in that good
to the good of the individual.
And this is so
because everyone in the whole heaven
is under the auspices of the Lord, who loves all,
and from Divine love ordains
that there shall be a common good,
from which each individual shall receive his own good.
Each one, moreover, receives good
according as he loves the common good;
for so far as he loves the common good
he loves all and everyone; a
nd as that love is love of the Lord
he is to that extent loved by the Lord,
and good comes to him.

From all this it can be seen
what the governors there are, namely,
that they are such as are preeminent in love and wisdom,
and therefore desire the good of all,
and from wisdom
know how to provide for the realization of that good.
Such governors do not domineer or dictate,
but they minister and serve
(to serve meaning
to do good to others from a love of the good,
and to minister meaning
to see to it that the good is done);
nor do they make themselves greater than others, but less,
for they put the good of society and of the neighbor
in the first place,
and put their own good last;
and whatever is in the first place is greater
and what is last is less.
Nevertheless, the rulers have honor and glory;
they dwell in the midst of the society,
in higher position than the rest,
and also in magnificent palaces;
and this glory and honor they accept
not for the sake of themselves
but for the sake of obedience;
for all there know
that they have this honor and glory from the Lord,
and on that account should be obeyed.

HH 220 - The Hells

Also in the hells there are governments,
without governments they could not be kept in restraint;
but the governments there
are opposite to the governments in the heavens;
they are governments of the love of self.
Everyone there wishes to dictate to others
and to be over others.
They hate those that do not favor them,
and make them objects of their vengeance and fury,
for such is the nature of the love of self.
Therefore the more malignant
are set over them as governors,
and these they obey from fear.

~ When a Banner Is Raised ~

All you people of the world,
you who live on the earth,
when a banner is raised on the mountains,
you will see it,
and when a trumpet sounds,
you will hear it.
This is what the Lord says to me:

"I will remain quiet
and will look on from My dwelling place,
like shimmering heat in the sunshine,
like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest."

(Isaiah 18:3-4)
 

HH 198 - Spiritual Spaces

HH 198

. . . although there are spaces in heaven as in the world,
still nothing there is reckoned in accordance with spaces
but in accordance with states;
and in consequence
spaces there cannot be measured as in the world,
but can be seen only from the state 
and in accordance with the state of the interiors there.

~ A Throne Will Be Established ~

The oppressor will come to an end,
and destruction will cease;
the aggressor will vanish from the land.
In love a throne will be established;
in faithfulness a man will sit on it --
one from the house of David --
one who in judging seeks justice
and speeds the cause of righteousness.

(Isaiah 16:4.5-5)

HH 144-1445 - Angels See; HH 155 - Correspondence of Times; HH 167 - Angels and Time

HH 144-145

. . . in heaven no one is ever permitted
to stand behind another and look at the back of his head,
for this would disturb the influx
of good and truth from the Lord.

The Lord is seen by the angels,
and the angels are seen by the Lord in another way.
Angels see the Lord through their eyes;
but the Lord sees the angels in the forehead,
and this for the reason
that the forehead corresponds to love,
and it is through love that the Lord flows into their will,
while it is through the understanding,
to which the eyes correspond,
that He causes Himself to be seen.

HH 155

. . . correspondence "day" and "year"
signify in the Word states of life in general;
"heat" and "light" signify love and wisdom;
"morning" the first and highest degree of love
"noon" wisdom in its light;
"evening" wisdom in its shade;
"dawn" the obscurity that precedes the morning;
and "night" the absence of love and wisdom.

HH 167

As angels have no notion of time
so they have an idea of eternity
different from that which men on the earth have.
Eternity means to the angels infinite state,
not infinite time.

~ Songs of Praise ~

In that day you will say:

"I will praise You, O Lord.
Although You were angry with me,
Your anger has turned away
and You have comforted me.
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation."

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

In that day you will say:

"Give thanks to the Lord,
call on His name;
make known among the nations what He has done,
and proclaim that His name is exalted.
Sing to the Lord,
for He has done glorious things;
let this be known to all the world.
Shout aloud and sing for joy, people of Zion,
for great is the Holy One of Israel among you."

(Isaiah 12)

HH 139, 140 - The Holy That Goes Forth From Him

HH 139, 140

It must be understood
that the Divine good and the Divine truth
that are from the Lord as a sun in the heavens
are not in the Lord,
but are from the Lord.

Since the Lord as a sun is Divine love,
and Divine love is Divine good itself,
the Divine that goes forth from the Lord,
which is His Divine in heaven,
is called, for the sake of distinction, Divine truth,
although it is in fact Divine good united to Divine truth.
This Divine truth is what is called
the Holy that goes forth from Him.
 

~ Woe to Those ~

Woe to those who make unjust laws,
to those who issue oppressive decrees,
to deprive the poor of their rights
and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their pray
and robbing the fatherless.
What will you do on the day of reckoning,
when disaster comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?
Where will you leave your riches?
Nothing will remain but to cringe among the captives
or fall among the slain.

(Isaiah 10:1-4)

 

HH 107-108 - Divine Order and Correspondence; HH 117 - Lord Is Seen As a Sun

HH 107-108

Everything in nature that springs forth and subsists
in accordance with Divine order
is a correspondence.
Divine order is caused by the Divine good
that flows forth from the Lord.
It begins in Him,
goes forth from Him through the heavens
in succession into the world,
and is terminated there in outmosts;
and everything there
that is in accordance with order
is a correspondence.
Everything there is in accordance with order
that is good and perfect for use,
because everything good
is good in the measure of its use;
while its form has relation to truth,
truth being the form of good.
And for this reason
everything in the whole world
and of the nature thereof that is in Divine order
has reference to good and truth.

That all things in the world spring from the Divine,
and are clothed with such things in nature
as enable them to exist there and perform use,
and thus to correspond,
is clearly evident from the various things seen
in both the animal and vegetable kingdoms.

HH 117

In heaven the Lord is seen as a sun,
for the reason that He is Divine love,
from which all spiritual things,
and by means of the sun of the world all natural things,
have their existence.
That love is what shines as a sun.

~ He Is the One ~

The Lord Almighty is the on you are to regard as holy,
He is the one you are to fear,
He is the one you are to dread,
and He will be a sanctuary . . ..

(Isaiah 8:13)
 

** The Flight Into Egypt **

And when they were departed,
behold, the angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream,
saying, Arise,
and take the young Child and His mother,
and flee into Egypt,
and be thou there until I bring thee word:
for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.
When he arose,
he took the young Child and His mother by night,
and departed into Egypt:

And was there until the death of Herod:
that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet,
saying, Out of Egypt have I called My Son.
Then Herod, when he saw
that he was mocked of the wise men,
was exceeding wroth, and sent forth,
and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem,
and in all the coasts thereof,
from two years old and under,
according to the time
which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

Then was fulfilled
that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet,
saying, In Rama was there a voice heard,
lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and would not be comforted,
because they are not.

But when Herod was dead,
behold, an angel of the Lord
appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
Saying, Arise, and take the young Child and His mother,
and go into the land of Israel:
for they are dead which sought the young Child's life.

And he arose,
and took the young Child and His mother,
and came into the land of Israel.
But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judea
in the room of his father Herod,
he was afraid to go thither:
notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream,
he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:

And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth:
that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by the prophets,
He shall be called a Nazarene.

(Matthew 2:13-23)

HH 95 - The Two Kingdoms and Their Correspondences

HH 95

. . . heaven is divided into two kingdoms,
one called the celestial kingdom
and the other the spiritual kingdom . . ..
The celestial kingdom corresponds in general
to the heart and all things of the heart in the whole body,
and the spiritual kingdom
to the lungs and to all things of the lungs in the whole body.
Likewise in man heart and lungs form two kingdoms,
the heart ruling there through the arteries and veins,
and the lungs through the tendinous and motor fibers,
both together in every exertion and movement.
So in every man, in his spiritual world,
which is called his spiritual man,
there are two kingdoms,
one of the will and the other of the understanding,
the will ruling through affections for good,
and the understanding through affections for truth;
and these kingdoms correspond to
 the kingdoms of the heart and of the lungs in the body.
It is the same in the heavens;
the celestial kingdom is the voluntary part of heaven,
and in it good of love reigns;
the spiritual kingdom is the intellectual part of heaven,
and in it truth reigns.
These are what correspond to
the functions of the heart and lungs in man.
It is on account of this correspondence
that in the Word the "heart"
signifies the will and also good of love,
and the "breath" of the lungs
signifies the understanding and the truth of faith.
For the same reason affections are ascribed to the heart,
although they are neither in it nor from it.

~ Isaiah Answers the Call ~

In the year that King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted,
and the train of His robe filled the temple.
Above Him were seraphs, each with six wings:
With two wings they covered their faces,
with two they covered their feet,
and with two they were flying.
And they were calling to one another:

"Holy, holy, is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of His glory."

At the sound of their voices
the doorposts and the thresholds shook
and the temple was filled with smoke.

"Woe to me!" I cried.  "I am ruined!
For I am a man of unclean lips,
and I live among a people of unclean lips,
and my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord Almighty."

Then one of the seraphs flew to me
with a live coal in his hand,
which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
With it he touched my mouth and said,
"See, this has touched your lips;
your guilt is taken away
and your sin atoned for."

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
"Whom shall I send?
And who will go for us?"

And I said, "Here am I.  Send me!"

He said, "Go and tell this people . . ."

(Isaiah 6:1-9)

** The Adoration of the Wise Men **

And when they were come into the house,
they saw the young Child with Mary His mother,
and fell down, and worshiped Him:
and when they had opened their treasures,
they presented unto Him gifts;
gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
And being warned of God in a dream
that they should not return to Herod,
they departed into their own country another way.

And when they were departed,
behold, the angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in a dream,
saying, Arise, and take the young Child and His mother,
and flee into Egypt,
and be thou there until I bring thee word:
for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.
When he arose,
he took the young Child and His mother by night,
and departed into Egypt:

And was there until the death of Herod:
that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
Out of Egypt have I called My Son.
Then Herod,
when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men,
was exceeding wroth, and sent forth,
and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem,
and in all the coasts thereof,
from two years old and under,
according to the time
which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.

Then was fulfilled
that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet,
saying, In Rama was there a voice heard,
lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and would not be comforted,
because they are not.

(Matthew 2:11-15)

HH 68 - Hypocrites; HH 71 - Variety; HH 79 - Acknowledge the Lord

HH 68

Hypocrites are such as talk well and also do well,
but have regard to themselves in everything.
They talk as angels do about the Lord,
 heaven, love, and heavenly life,
and also act rightly,
so that they may appear to be what they profess to be.
But their thinking is different;
they believe nothing;
and they wish good to none but themselves.
Their doing good is for the sake of self,
or if for the sake of others it is only for the appearance,
and thus still for the sake of self.

HH 71

. . . variety arranged in a heavenly form
is what constitutes perfection . . ..

HH 79

. . . all in heaven acknowledge the Lord,
because only in Him does the Divine Human exist.

~ The Branch of the Lord ~

In that day
the Branch of the Lord
will be beautiful and glorious,
and the fruit of the land
will be the pride and glory
of the survivors in Israel.
Those who are left in Zion,
who remain in Jerusalem,
will be called holy,
all who are recorded among the living in Jerusalem.
The Lord will wash away the filth of the women of Zion;
He will cleanse the bloodstains from Jerusalem
by a spirit of judgment and a spirit of fire.
then the Lord will create over all of Mount Zion
and over those who assemble there
a cloud of smoke by day
and a glow of flaming fire by night;
over all the glory will be a canopy.
It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day,
and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.

(Isaiah 4:2-6)
 

** Where is He that is Born King of the Jews? **

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea
in the days of Herod the king,
behold, there came wise men
from the east to Jerusalem, saying,
Where is He that is born King of the Jews?
for we have seen His star in the east,
and are come to worship Him.

When Herod the king had heard these things,
he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered
all the chief priests and scribes of the people together,
he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

And they said unto him,
In Bethlehem of Judea:
for thus it is written by the prophet,
And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
art not the least among the princes of Judah:
for out of thee shall come a Governor,
that shall rule My people Israel.

Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men,
inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said,
Go and search diligently for the young Child;
and when you have found Him, bring me word again,
that I may come and worship Him also.

When they had heard the king, they departed;
and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east,
went before them,
till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
When they saw the star,
they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

(Matthew 2:1-10)

HH 64 - To Perform Use

HH 64 [2]

To perform use is to will well to others
for the sake of the common good;
but to will well to others
not for the sake of the common good
but for the sake of self
is not to perform use.
These latter are such as love themselves supremely,
while the former are such as love the Lord supremely. 

 

~ "Come, Let Us Go Up to the Mountain of the Lord" ~

This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw
concerning Judah and Jerusalem:

In the last days
the mountain of the Lord's temple will be established
as chief among the mountains;
it will be raised above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.

Many peoples will come and say,

"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us His ways,
so that we may walk in His paths."
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
they will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nations will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.

Come, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord."

(Isaiah 2:1-5)
 

** The Circumcision and Presentation in the Temple **

And when eight days were accomplished
for the circumcising of the child,
His name was called Jesus,
which was so named of the angel
before He was conceived in the womb.
And when the days of her purification
according to the law of Moses were accomplished,
they brought Him to Jerusalem,
to present Him to the Lord;
(as it is written in the law of the Lord,
every male that opens the womb
shall be called holy to the Lord;)
and to offer a sacrifice
according to that which is said in the law of the Lord,
a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem,
whose name was Simeon;
and the same man was just and devout,
waiting for the consolation of Israel:
and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Spirit,
that he should not see death,
before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

And he came by the Spirit into the temple:
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus,
to do for Him after the custom of the law,
then took he Him up in his arms,
and blessed God, and said,

Lord, now let thou Thy servant depart in peace,
according to Thy word:
For my eyes have seen Thy salvation,
which Thou hast prepared
before the face of all people;
a light to lighten the Gentiles,
and the glory of Thy people Israel.

And Joseph and His mother marvelled at those things
which were spoken of Him.
And Simeon blessed them,
and said unto Mary His mother,
Behold, this Child is set
for the fall and rising again of many in Israel;
and for a sign which shall be spoken against.
(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,)
that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

And there was one Anna, a prophetess,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher:
she was of a great age,
and had lived with an husband
seven years from her virginity;
and she was a widow
of about fourscore and four years,
which departed not from the temple,
but served God
with fastings and prayers night and day.
And she, coming in that instant,
gave thanks likewise unto the Lord,
and spoke of Him to all them
that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

And when they had performed all things
according to the law of the Lord,
they returned into Galilee,
to their own city Nazareth.
And the Child grew,
and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom:
and the grace of God was upon Him.

(Luke 2:21-40)

HH 24 - Celestial and Spiritual; HH 33 - Heaven Is Within Everyone

HH 24

The celestial kingdom is also called
the Lord's priestly kingdom,
and in the Word "His dwelling-place;"
while the spiritual kingdom is called
His royal kingdom,
and in the Word "His throne."
And from the celestial Divine
the Lord in the world was called "Jesus,"
while from the spiritual Divine
He was called "Christ."

HH 33

. . . heaven is within everyone,
and not outside of him;
as the Lord teaches when He says:

The kingdom of God comes not with observation,
neither shall they say, Lo here, or Lo there;
for behold the kingdom of God you have within you.
(Luke 17:20, 21)

~ Isaiah ~

The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem
that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of
Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

"Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord.
"Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.
If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land;
but if you resist and rebel,
you will be devoured by the sword."

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

(Isaiah 1:1, 18-20)

** Egypt **

AC 4964 [2, 3]

Egypt was one of those countries and kingdoms
where the Ancient Church was;
but as in Egypt it was chiefly memory-knowledges
that were handed down to posterity,
therefore such knowledge in general
is signified by "Egypt;"
and it is for this reason also that Egypt
is so often treated of in the prophetic Word . . ..

As the Lord is represented by Joseph,
its being here said
that Joseph was "brought down to Egypt,"
signifies that when the Lord glorified His internal man,
that is made it Divine,
He was first imbued
with the memory-knowledges of the church,
and from and by them
advanced to things more and more interior,
and at last even to those which are Divine.
For it pleased Him to glorify Himself,
that is, to make Himself Divine,
according to the same order
as that in which He regenerates man,
that is, makes him spiritual,
namely, from external things,
which are memory-knowledges and the truths of faith,
successively to internal things,
which are of charity toward the neighbor
and of love to Him.
From this it is plain what is signified
by the following words in Hosea:

When Israel was a child,
then I loved Him,
and called My son out of Egypt.
(Hosea 11:1);

that these words were spoken of the Lord
can be seen in Matthew 2:14-15:

So he got up,
took the child and His mother during the night
and left for Egypt,
where He stayed until the death of Herod.
And so was fulfilled
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
"Out of Egypt I called My Son."

HH 7 - Heaven; HH 16 - Willing Is Loving to Do

HH 7

The angels taken collectively are called heaven,
for they constitute heaven;
and yet that which makes heaven
in general and in particular
is the Divine that goes forth from the Lord
and flows into the angels and is received by them.
And as the Divine that goes forth from the Lord
is the good of love and the truth of faith,
the angels are angels and are heaven
in the measure in which
they receive good and truth from the Lord.

HH 16

. . . to love the Lord and to love the neighbor
is to love what is good and true,
and to do this from the will,
. . . that one shows his love by willing and doing
what another wishes,
and it is this that brings reciprocal love and conjunction,
and not loving another
without doing what he wishes,
which in itself is not loving;
also that men should know
that the good that goes forth from the Lord
is a likeness of Him, since He is in it;
and that those who make good and truth
to belong to their life by willing them and doing them
become likenesses of the Lord
and are conjoined to Him.
Willing is loving to do.
That this is so the Lord teaches in the Word, saying,

He that has My commandments and does them,
he it is that loves Me;
and I will love him
and will make My abode with him.
(John 14:21, 23)

And again:
 
If you do My commandments
you shall abide in My love.
(John 15:10)

~ Praise the Lord! ~

Praise the Lord.

How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise Him!

The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
He gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.

He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
Great is Our Lord and mighty in power;
His understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble
but casts the wicked to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
make music to our God on the harp.
He covers the sky with clouds;
He supplies the earth with rain
and makes grass grow on the hills.
He provides food for the cattle
and for the young ravens when they call.

His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor His delight in the legs of a man;
the Lord delights in those who fear Him,
who put their hope in His unfailing love.

(Psalm 147:1-11)

** Symbolism in the Christmas Story **

De Verbo 7 [2]

It can be seen from the wise men from the east
who came to see the Lord when He was born
that a knowledge of correspondences
remained with many eastern people
even down to the time of the Lord's advent.

That is why a star went before them,
and they brought with them
gold, frankincense and myrrh.
And that is why the shepherds were told,
in order that they might know He was the Lord,
that this would be a sign to them:
that they would see Him in a manger,
wrapped in swaddling cloths,
because there was no room in the inn.

For the star which went before
symbolized knowledge from heaven,
inasmuch as stars in the Word symbolize concepts.
The gold symbolized celestial good,
the frankincense spiritual good,
and the myrrh natural good -
the three kinds of good
from which everything of worship originates.
The manger where the shepherds found
the infant Lord
symbolized spiritual nourishment,
because horses,
which get their nourishment from mangers,
symbolize things having to do with the understanding.
The inn where there was no room
symbolized the Jewish Church,
in which there was no spiritual nourishment at that time,
because everything of the Word,
and so everything of worship with them,
had by then been adulterated and perverted.
Therefore it is said that this would be a sign to them
that it was the Lord:

This will be a sign to you:
You will find a baby wrapped in cloths
and lying in a manger.
(Luke 2:12).

AC 10820 - All Those In the Church

AC 10820

All those who are of the church,
and are in light from heaven,
see the Divine in the Lord,
and this in His Human.
But those who are not in light from heaven
see nothing but the Human in the Lord,
when yet the Human and the Divine in Him
are so united that they are one,
as the Lord taught in another passage in John:

Father, all things that are Mine are Thine,
and all things that are Thine are Mine.
(John 17:10). 

~ The Lord is Gracious and Compassionate ~

The Lord Is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
The Lord is good to all;
He has compassion on all He has made.
All You have made will praise You, O Lord;
Your saints will extol You.
They will tell of the glory of Your kingdom
and speak of Your might,
so that all men may know of Your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and Your dominion endures through all generations.

(Psalm 145:8-13)

** The Lord, Our Savior **

BE 57

...without the coming of the Lord into the world,
no mortal could have been saved,
and they are saved who believe in Him,
and live well.

AC 14

In the following work,
by the name Lord
is meant the Savior of the world,
Jesus Christ, and Him only;
and He is called "the Lord"
without the addition of other names.
Throughout the universal heaven
He it is who is acknowledged and adored as Lord,
because He has all sovereign power
in the heavens and on earth.
He also commanded His disciples
to so call Him, saying,

"You call Me Lord, and you say well, for I am."
(John 13:13)

And after His resurrection
His disciples called Him "the Lord."

AC 10795, 10796, 10798 - Priests Must

AC 10795

Priests must not claim for themselves
any power over the souls of men,
because they do not know in what state
are a person's interiors;
and still less must they claim for themselves
the power of opening and closing heaven,
because this power belongs to the Lord alone.

AC 10796

Priests must have dignity and honor
on account of the holy things which they engage in;
but those of them who are wise
give the honor to the Lord,
from whom come all holy things;
and not to themselves.
But those of them who are not wise
attribute the honor to themselves.
These take it away from the Lord.
Those who attribute honor to themselves
on account of the holy things which they engage in,
set honor and profit above the salvation of souls,
which they ought to have regard for.
But those who give the honor to the Lord
and not to themselves,
set the salvation of souls above honor and profit.

AC 10798

Priests must teach the people,
and lead them to the good of life by means of truths.
But they must not compel anyone,
because no one can be compelled to believe
contrary to what he thinks in his heart to be true.
He who believes differently from the priest,
and makes no disturbance,
must be left in peace;
but he who makes a disturbance
must be separated;
for this also belongs to the order
for the sake of which is the priesthood.

** In Bethlehem **

AC 4594 [2-3]

The reason why the Lord was born there
and not elsewhere,
is that He alone was born a spiritual celestial man,
but all others natural,
with the capacity or ability to become
either celestial or spiritual
by regeneration from the Lord.

The reason why the Lord
was born a spiritual celestial man
was that He might make His Human Divine,
and this according to order
from the lowest degree to the highest,
and might thus dispose into order
all things in the heavens and in the hells.
For the spiritual celestial is intermediate between
the natural or external man
and the rational or internal man.

For from the most ancient time
"Ephrath" signified the spiritual of the celestial,
and therefore afterwards
"Bethlehem" had the same signification.

~ A Prayer ~

Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
Let not my heart be drawn to what is evil,
to take part in wicked deeds
with men who are evil doers;
let me not eat of their delicacies.

Show me the way I should go,
for to You I lift up my soul.
Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord,
for I hide myself in You.
Teach me to do Your will,
for You are my God;
may Your good spirit lead me on level ground.

(Psalm 141:3-4; 143:8.5-10)

AC 10765 - Living and Acknowledging One God

AC 10765

Those who are outside the Church,
and yet acknowledge one God,
and live according to their religion
in a kind of charity toward the neighbor,
are in communion with those who are of the Church,
because no one is condemned
who believes in God, and lives well.
From this it is evident
that the Lord's Church is everywhere in the whole world,
although specifically
it is where the Lord is acknowledged,
and where the Word is.
 

~ Praise the Lord ~

Praise the Lord,
all you servants of the Lord
who minister by night
in the house of the Lord.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and praise the Lord.

May the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.

(Psalm 134)
 

** The Lord's Soul Was Jehovah **

AC 2025 [4, 5]

The reason why the Lord so often
attributes to the Father that which is His own
(is because) Jehovah was in Him,
and consequently in everything that was His.

From good, which is Jehovah's,
He united the Divine Essence
to the Human Essence;
and from truth
He united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence;
thus He did all things
both in general and in particular from Himself;
in fact His Human was left to itself,
in order that He might fight of Himself
against all the hells, and overcome them;
and as He had life in Himself that was His own
- as already said -
He overcame them by His own power
and by His own forces,
as is also clearly stated in the Prophets,
in the passages that have been cited.
Consequently, as He acquired all things for Himself
by His own forces,
He became righteousness,
emancipated the world of spirits
from infernal genii and spirits,
and thereby delivered
the human race from destruction -
for the human race is ruled by means of spirits
- and so redeemed it.
For this reason He is so often called
in the Word of the Old Testament
the Deliverer and the Redeemer, and the Savior,
which is the meaning of His name Jesus.

AC 10730, 10731 - A Sabbath of Sabbath, and the Keeping of the Sabbath

AC 10730 [1-2]

And on the seventh day there shall be to you holiness,
a Sabbath of Sabbath to Jehovah.
(Exodus 35:2)

. . . when the Lord was in the world,
He first made His Human Divine truth;
but when He went out from the world,
He made His Human Divine good
through a union with the Divine Itself that was in Him.
In the supreme sense this is represented by the Sabbath,
and therefore it is called
"a Sabbath of Sabbath to Jehovah."
The Lord does the like
with the man whom He is regenerating.
He first imbues him with truths,
and afterward by means of the truths
He conjoins him with good, thus with Himself.
This is represented by the Sabbath
in the relative sense;
for the regeneration of man is an image
of the glorification of the Lord;
that is, as the Lord glorified His Human,
so He regenerates man. 

By the "Sabbath" in its proper sense
is signified rest and peace,
because when the Lord
united His Human to the Divine Itself
He had peace,
for the combats then ceased,
and all things in the heavens and in the hells
had been reduced into order.
And accordingly there was peace not for Him only;
but also for the angels in the heavens,
and for men on earth,
there were peace and salvation. 

AC 10731
Everyone doing work therein shall die.
(Exodus 35:2)

That this signifies spiritual death
for those who are led by themselves and their own loves,
and not by the Lord,
is evident from the signification of
"doing works on the Sabbath day,"
as being to be led by self and one's own loves,
and not by the Lord.

~ Trust in the Lord ~

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord;
O Lord, hear my voice.
Let Your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.

If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins,
O Lord, who could stand?
But with You there is forgiveness;
therefore You are feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in His word I put my hope.

(Psalm 130:1-5)

** The Good the Lord Acquired in the World **

AC 4065

. . . the Lord . . . never took anything
of good and truth from another,
but only from Himself.
Other good that was related to His maternal human
had indeed served Him as a means . . .
but by that mediate good He procured for Himself
those things whereby He made
His natural Divine by His own power.
It is one thing to acquire something from a means,
and another to acquire it by a means.
The Lord acquired good by a means,
because He was born a man,
and derived from the mother an hereditary
which was to be expelled;
but He did not acquire good from a means,
because He was conceived of Jehovah,
from whom He had the Divine;
and He therefore gave Himself
all the goods and truths which He made Divine.
For the Divine Itself has need of none,
not even of that mediate good;
except that He willed
that all things should be done according to order.

AC 10687-10691 - What Makes the Word Holy and Shining

AC 10687

. . . the Word has been written wholly by correspondences,
and consequently is of such a nature
as to conjoin heaven with a person.
For heaven is in the internal sense of the Word;
and the external sense corresponds to the internal sense;
and therefore when the Word is being read by a person,
the angels who are with him perceive it
in the spiritual sense, which is the internal sense;
and the result is an influx of what is holy from the angels,
which effects the conjunction.
It was for this end that a Word of this nature was given.

AC 10691

Be it known that by the shining forth
of the interiors of the Word in the external
is meant the internal sense in the external;
for the internal sense continually shows itself
and shines in the external,
but is noticed by those only who are in internal things;
and it is not perceived by those
who are in that external in which is an internal,
as are those who are called men of the external church;
nevertheless, unknown to them,
it is present, and affects them.
. . . The reason why the internal sense shines,
is that Divine truth is there,
such as there is in the heavens,
and the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord
appears to the angels as light,
and moreover, is the light of heaven.

~ My Help Comes From the Lord ~

I lift up my eyes to the hills --
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip --
He who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, He who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you --
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm --
He will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

(Psalm 121)
 

** Why the Lord Come Into the World **

DL 3
It will also be stated here, in a few words,
what is treated of in general and in particular
concerning the Lord
in all the Prophets of the Old Testament,
from Isaiah even to Malachi: 


1. The Lord would come into the world
in the fullness of time;
that is, when He was no longer known by the Jews,
and consequently when nothing of the Church remained;
and unless He should then
come into the world and reveal Himself,
mankind would perish in eternal death;
as He Himself says in John, 


If you believe not that I am,
you shall die in your sins.
(John 8:24)


2. The Lord would come into the world
to accomplish a last judgment,
and thereby subjugate the then dominant hells.
This was effected by combats,
that is, by temptations
admitted into His Human from the mother,
and by continual victories then;
and unless the hells should be so subjugated,
no person could possibly be saved. 


3. The Lord would come into the world
to glorify His Human, that is,
to unite it to the Divine
which was in Him from conception. 


4. The Lord would come into the world
to establish a new Church,
which should acknowledge Him
as Redeemer and Savior
and by love and faith towards Him
be redeemed and saved. 


5. He would then also arrange heaven in order,
so that it might make one with the Church. 

6. The passion of the cross
would be the last combat or temptation,
by which He would fully conquer the hells
and fully glorify His Human. 

AC 10675 - The Formation of the Understanding

AC 10675 [1, 2, 3-4]

. . . insofar as evils and the falsities of evil are removed,
so far the truths which are from good are multiplied,
because nothing else than evils and the falsities of evil
obstructs the influx of truths from the Lord
and their multiplication with man;
and therefore insofar as evils and falsities are removed,
so far truths succeed in their place.

This is the case with man's understanding,
whether it consists of the truths which are from good,
or of the falsities which are from evil.
It cannot consist of both together,
for they are opposites.
And it is the understanding of man which receives truths,
and is formed by means of truths;
for whatever is in his understanding bears relation to truth.
From this it is evident
that insofar as the falsities from evil are removed,
so far truths from good may be multiplied.

It is said that it is man's understanding
which receives truths and is formed by means of truths,
because in the proper sense
nothing can be called understanding
but that which is from the truths which are from good.
That which is from the falsities which are from evil
is not understanding;
because intelligence and wisdom
cannot possibly be predicated of falsities from evil,
seeing that falsities from evil
completely destroy intelligence and wisdom,
and bring in insanity and foolishness in their stead;
and therefore man's understanding is never opened
except when the man perceives and loves truths;
and the perception and love of truth are from good.
Consequently it is truths from good
that are the source of the understanding.

He who believes
that any person is possessed of an understanding
who is able to reason in a skillful manner
against the truths of the church,
is very much mistaken;
for such a person sees nothing within himself,
but only outside of himself.
To see within one's self is from heaven;
to see outside of one's self is from the world.
And he who sees only from the world
sees from a deceptive light,
which light becomes mere thick darkness
when light from heaven flows in upon it.

~ Teach Me ~

Teach me, O Lord, to follow Your decrees;
then I will keep them to the end.
Give me understanding,
and I will keep Your law
and obey it with all my heart.
Direct me in the path of Your commands,
for there I find delight.
Turn my heart toward Your statutes
and not toward selfish gain.
Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
preserve my life according to Your Word.
Fulfill Your promise to Your servant,
so that You may be feared.
Take away the disgrace I dread,
for Your laws are good.
How I long for Your precepts!
Preserve my life in Your righteousness.

(Psalm 119:33-40)

** The Government Shall Be Upon His Shoulder **

HH 216

As government from good,
which is the kind of government
that exists in the Lord's celestial kingdom,
is called righteousness;
and government from truth,
which is the kind of government
that exists in the Lord's spiritual kingdom,
is called judgment,
so the terms "righteousness and judgment"
are used in the Word
when heaven and the church are treated of,
"righteousness" signifying celestial good,
and "judgment" spiritual good,
which good, as has been said above,
is in its essence truth,
as in the following passages:

Of peace there shall be no end
upon the throne of David and upon His kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it in judgment
and in righteousness
from henceforth and even to eternity.
(Isaiah 9:7)

AC 4934
... the arms signify strength, and the hands power.

AC 4937
By the "shoulder,"
in the Word is also signified all power...

Unto us a Child is born,
and the Government shall be upon His shoulder.
(Isaiah 9:6)

AC 10659 - The Lord Came Into the World

AC 10659 [3]

. . . to those who are in enlightenment
the Lord grants that they shall understand what they believe;
and when they are reading the Word,
those are enlightened and understand it,
who acknowledge the Lord
and love to live according to His commandments;
but not those who say that they believe,
and do not live;
for the Lord flows into the life of man
and from this into his faith,
but not into faith separate from life.
Consequently, those who are enlightened
by the Lord through the Word
understand that the Lord came into the world
in order to subjugate the hells,
and reduce into order
all things there and in the heavens;
and that this could not possibly be done
except by means of the Human;
for from this He could fight against the hells;
but not from the Divine without the Human;
and also that He might glorify His Human
in order that He might thereby forever keep
all things in the order 
into which He had reduced them.
From this comes the salvation of man,
for the hells are round every man,
because everyone is born into evils of every kind,
and where evils are, there are the hells;
and unless these were cast back
by the Divine power of the Lord,
no one could ever have been saved.

~ The Lord Is ~

The Lord is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
the Lord protects the simplehearted;
when I was in great need,
He saved me.

Be at rest once more, O my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you.

How can I repay the Lord
for all His goodness to me?
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord.
I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all His people.

(Psalm 116:5-7, 12-14)

** The Birth of the Lord **

And it came to pass in those days,
that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus
that all the world should be taxed.
(And this taxing was first made
when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

And all went to be taxed,
every one into his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee,
out of the city of Nazareth,
into Judea, unto the city of David,
which is called Bethlehem;
(because he was of the house and lineage of David.)
To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife,
being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there,
the days were accomplished
that she should be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes,
and laid Him in a manger;
because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country
shepherds abiding in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,
and the glory of the Lord shone round about them:
and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, "Fear not:
for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David
a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you;
You shall find the Babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God, and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace,
good will toward men."

And it came to pass,
as the angels were gone away from them into heaven,
the shepherds said one to another,
Let us now go even unto Bethlehem,
and see this thing which is come to pass,
which the Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found
Mary, and Joseph,
and the Babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen it,
they made known abroad the saying
which was told them concerning this child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things
which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things,
and pondered them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God for all the things
that they had heard and seen,
as it was told unto them.

(Luke 2:1-20)

AC 10643, 10644 - Where the Ancients Held Their Worship

AC 10643, 10644

The ancients held their worship chiefly
upon mountains, upon hills, and in groves,
and there they set up pillars.
That they held worship upon mountains
was because mountains signified
the heaven where celestial love reigns,
which is love to the Lord;
that they held it upon hills
was because hills signified
the heaven where spiritual love reigns,
which is love toward the neighbor;
and that they held it in groves
was because groves signified
heavenly wisdom and intelligence.
All these things are from correspondences.
The pillars that were set up there signified Divine truth;
for the pillars were stones,
and a stone signifies truth.
Therefore in respect to Divine truth
the Lord is called in the Word "the Stone of Israel."
From this then it is that "pillars"
signified the worship of the Lord from truths.

That "groves" signify teachings
is because "trees" signify
the perceptions and knowledges of good and truth;
perceptions, with those
who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom;
and knowledges with those
who are in His spiritual kingdom;
and each species of tree signifies
a species of perception and knowledge.
From this it is that "paradises" and "gardens"
signify heavenly intelligence and wisdom;
and "forests," the memory-knowledge of the natural man.
From all this it can be seen
how it is that "groves" signify doctrine,
and how it is that the ancients held holy worship in groves. 

 

~ Not to Us ~

Not to us, O Lord, not to us
but to Your name be the glory
because of Your love and faithfulness.

(Psalm 115:1)

** The Word Became Flesh **

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.

Through Him all things were made;
without Him nothing was made that has been made.
In Him was life,
and that life was the light of men.
The light shines in the darkness,
but the darkness has not understood it.

There came a man who was sent from God;
his name was John.
He came as a witness to testify concerning that Light,
so that through him all men might believe.
He himself was not the Light;
he came only as a witness to the Light.
The True Light that gives light to every man
was coming into the world.

He was in the world,
and though the world was made through Him,
the world did not recognize Him.
He came to that which was His own,
but His own did not receive Him.
Yet to all who received Him,
to those who believed in His name,
He gave the right to become children of God --
children born not of natural descent,
nor of human decision or a husband's will,
but born of God.

The Word became flesh
and made His dwelling among us.
We have seen His glory,
the glory of the One and Only,
who came from the Father,
full of grace and truth.

(John 1:1-14)

AC 10634 - Divine Order Creates; AC 10638, 10640 - Reading the Word & Enlightenment; AC 10639 - "Molten Gods"

AC 10634 [2]

. . . everything which is from the Divine begins from Himself,
and advances according to order down to the ultimate end,
thus through the heavens down to the world,
and there rests as in its ultimate,
because the ultimate of Divine order
is in the nature of the world.
That which is such is said to be "created."

AC 10638 [2]

It is said that if Moses' people observe
that which Jehovah commands,
He will drive out these nations from their faces,
by which is signified
that if they do the primary precepts
which are of the eternal truth,
evils and falsities will be removed.
These precepts are the things which follow
in the internal sense,
the chief of which are
that they should not acknowledge
any other god than the Lord;
and that from Him is all good and truth;
and also that salvation and eternal life are from Him.
With those who believe these things,
and love it to be so,
all evil and falsity are removed
while they are reading the Word,
because the Lord then enlightens them and leads them.
And then they do not think from themselves,
nor are they affected by the Word from themselves,
but from the Lord;
consequently no evil and falsity of evil enter,
because the Lord removes these.
These are they who understand the Word,
and are affected by the truths from it,
and also love to live according to them.

AC 10640 [2]

The man who wishes to be enlightened by the Lord
must take especial care not to appropriate to himself
any teaching that supports what is evil.
A man appropriates it to himself
when he confirms it with himself,
for he thereby makes it of his faith,
and still more so if he lives according to it.
When this is done,
the evil remains inscribed on his soul and on his heart.
And when this has been done,
he cannot possibly be afterward
enlightened by the Word from the Lord,
for his whole mind is in the faith
and in the love of his principle,
and whatever is contrary to it,
he either does not see,
or else rejects, or falsifies.

AC 10639

"Thou shalt not make for thee molten gods,"
(Exodus 39:17)

signifies the worship of self and not of the Lord.

~ Your Doing, O Lord ~

Help me, O Lord my God;
save me in accordance with Your love.
Let them know that it is Your hand,
that You, O Lord, have done it.
They may curse,
but You will bless;
when they attack
they will be put to shame,
but Your servant will rejoice.

With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord;
in the great throng I will praise Him.
For He stands at the right hand of the needy one,
to save his live from those who condemn him.

(Psalm 109:26-28, 30-31)

** An Angel Appears to Joseph **

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:
His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph,
but before they came together,
she was found to be with Child through the Holy Spirit.
Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man
and did not want to expose her to public disgrace,
he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this,
an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream
and said, "Joseph son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,
because what is conceived in her
is from the Holy Spirit.
She will give birth to a son,
and you are to give Him the name Jesus,
because He will save His people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
"The virgin will be with Child
and will give birth to a Son,
and they will call him "Immanuel" - 
which means, "God with us."

When Joseph woke up,
he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took Mary home as his wife.
But he had no union with her
until she gave birth to a son.
And he gave Him the name Jesus.

(Matthew 1:18-25)

AC 10614 - The Thoughts of Angels and Men When Reading the Word; AC 10618 - Anger

AC 10614 [2, 3]

In the Word there is an external sense,
there is an internal sense,
and there is an inmost sense.
The Word in the external sense
is such as it appears in the letter;
this sense is natural,
because it has been accommodated to
the apprehension of men, for men think naturally.
But the Word in the internal sense is spiritual,
because it has been accommodated to
the understanding of the angels
in the Lord's spiritual kingdom,
for these angels think spiritually.
And the Word in the inmost sense is celestial,
because it has been accommodated to
the perception of the angels
in the Lord's celestial kingdom,
for the angels in this kingdom think super-spiritually.
The Word being of this nature,
it follows that one thing is in another
in the like order;
the inmost in the internal,
and the internal in the external.
From this there is a connection of all things,
and an influx according to the connection,
and a consequent subsistence
of one thing from another.

When therefore a man is of such a character
that he perceives within himself
a holiness in the externals
of the Word, of the church, and of worship,
he has an external in which is an internal,
for this holiness is from the internal,
because it is from heaven.
This is the external which Moses here represents.
But when a man is of such a character
that he does not perceive
any internal holiness in the external
of the Word, of the church, and of worship,
he then has an external separate from the internal.
In this external was the Israelitish nation.

AC 10618 [2]

As regards anger,
be it known further that evil becomes angry,
and good never,
for the reason that to be angry is to will evil to another,
which good cannot do,
for good consists in willing the good of another.
All evil has within it
enmity, hatred, revenge, and cruelty;
in these and from these evil has its delight.
Moreover, evil hates good,
because good is opposed to its delights.
Consequently when evil cannot injure good,
which it is always in the endeavor to do,
it is first indignant,
and afterward is angry.
Whether you say evil, or an evil man, it is the same,
for evil is in man as in its subject.
And as such is the nature of evil against good,
such it is against the Divine,
for all good is the Divine with man,
because it is from the Divine.
From this it is that an evil man
is always angry against the Divine,
although outwardly he speaks differently before men.

~ Blessed Are They ~

Blessed are they who maintain justice,
who constantly do what is right.

(Psalm 106:3)

** For to Us a Child Is Born **

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom
for those who were in distress.
In the past He humbled the land of Zebulun
and the land of Naphtali,
but in the future He will honor Galilee of the Gentiles,
by the way of the sea, along the Jordan --

The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.

You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before You
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor.

Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
For to us a Child is born,
to us a Son is given,
and the government will be on His shoulders.
And He will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

(Isaiah 9:1-7)

AC 10603 - Must Be From the Word; AC 10608 - Mount Horeb, Mount Sinai

AC 10603

. . . all the truth that is of faith
and the good that is of love,
which make the church and also worship,
must be from the Word . . ..

AC 10608

. . .  the signification of "the mountain,"
here Mount Horeb,
as being heaven in the whole complex,
thus also Divine truth;
for whether you say heaven, or Divine truth,
it is the same,
because the angels, of whom heaven consists,
are receptions of Divine truth.
The whole extension of that mountain was called "Horeb,"
and the more elevated mountain in the midst of it
was called "Mount Sinai."
Consequently by "Horeb" is signified heaven,
or what is the same, Divine truth, in the whole complex;
its internal by "Mount Sinai,"
and its external by the mountainous part round about. 

 

~ The Lord Works Righteousness and Justice ~

The Lord works righteousness and justice
for all the oppressed.

He made known His ways to Moses,
His deeds to the people of Israel:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger,
abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will He harbor His anger forever;
He does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is His love for those who fear Him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him;
for He knows how we are formed,
He remembers that we are dust.

As for man,
his days are like grass,
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord's love is with those who fear Him,
and His righteousness with their children's children --
with those who keep His covenant
and remember to obey His precepts.

(Psalm 103: 6-18)
 

** The Sign of Immanuel **

Moreover the Lord spoke again unto Ahaz, saying,
ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God;
ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

But Ahaz said, I will not ask,
neither will I tempt the Lord.
And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David;
Is it a small thing for you to weary men,
but will ye weary my God also?

Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall call His name Immanuel.
Butter and honey shall He eat,
that he may know to refuse the evil,
and choose the good.

For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil,
and choose the good,
the land that thou abhorrest
shall be forsaken of both her kings.
(Isaiah 7:10-16)

AC 2184

That "butter" is the celestial of the rational . . ..
As regards butter,
it signifies in the Word what is celestial,
and this from its fatness.

AC 5620

That "honey" denotes delight is because it is sweet,
and everything sweet in the natural world
corresponds to what is delightful and pleasant
in the spiritual world. 

 

AC 10591, 10593 - Man Has Been So Created

AC 10591, 10593

Man has been so created
that he cannot die in respect to his Internal,
because he is able to believe in God
and also to love God,
and thus to be conjoined with God in faith and love;
and to be conjoined with God is to live forever.

The external which man carries about in the world
has been accommodated to uses in the world.
This external is what is laid aside when the man dies;
but the external which has been accommodated
to uses in the other life does not die.
This latter external together with the internal
is called a "spirit;"
a good spirit and an angel
if the man had been good in the world;
and an evil spirit if he had been evil.

~ Shout For Joy Before the Lord, the King ~

Shout for joy to the Lord,
all the earth,
burst into jubilant song with music;
make music to the Lord with the harp,
with the harp and the sound of singing,
with trumpets and the blast of the ram's horn --
shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

Let the sea resound,
and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it.
Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing together for joy;
let them sing before the Lord,
for He comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples with equity.

(Psalm 98:4-9)
 

** The Birth of John the Baptist **

Now Elisabeth's full time came
that she should be delivered;
and she brought forth a son.
And her neighbors and her cousins heard
how the Lord had showed great mercy upon her;
and they rejoiced with her.

And it came to pass,
that on the eighth day
they came to circumcise the child;
and they called him Zacharias,
after the name of his father.
And his mother answered and said,
Not so; but he shall be called John.

And they said unto her,
There is none of thy kindred
that is called by this name.
And they made signs to his father,
how he would have him called.

And he asked for a writing table,
and wrote, saying,
His name is John.
And they marvelled all.
And his mouth was opened immediately,
and his tongue loosed, and he spake,
and praised God.

And fear came on all that dwelt round about them:
and all these sayings were noised abroad
throughout all the hill country of Judea.
And all they that heard them
laid them up in their hearts, saying,
What manner of child shall this be!
And the hand of the Lord was with him.

And his father Zacharias
was filled with the Holy Ghost,
and prophesied, saying,
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel;
for He hath visited and redeemed His people,

And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David;
As He spake by the mouth of His holy prophets,
which have been since the world began:

That we should be saved from our enemies,
and from the hand of all that hate us;
To perform the mercy promised to our fathers,
and to remember His holy covenant.

The oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
That He would grant unto us,
that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies
might serve Him without fear.

In holiness and righteousness before Him,
all the days of our life.
And thou, child, shalt be called
the prophet of the Highest:
for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord
to prepare His ways.

To give knowledge of salvation unto His people
by the remission of their sins,
Through the tender mercy of our God;
whereby the dayspring from on high has visited us,
To give light to them
that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.

And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit,
and was in the deserts
till the day of his showing unto Israel.

(Luke 1:57-80)