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| The Old Testament |
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Isaiah 9:2
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The people who walked in darkness
Have seen a great light;
Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death,
Upon them a light has shined. |
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Isaiah 9:6
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For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. |
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Isaiah 40:10-11
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Behold, the Lord will come with a strong hand...
He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm.
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Micah 5:2
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But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be ruler in Israel.
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| Psalm 18:9 |
He bowed the heavens also, and came down with darkness under His feet. |
| Isaiah 60:1,19 |
Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you....
The Lord will be to you an everlasting light. |
| Isaiah 2:5 |
Come and let us walk in the light of the Lord. |
| Psalm 18:28 |
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness. |
| Psalm 27:1 |
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? |
| Psalm 24:10 |
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah. |
| Psalm 105:3 |
Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord! |
| The New Testament |
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John 1:14
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And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory. |
| Luke 2:8-20 |
Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 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, goodwill toward men!" So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us." And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. |
| Luke 1:68,79 |
"Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people....
To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace." |
| John 8:12 |
Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world.
He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life." |
| Luke 2:30-32 |
"For my eyes have seen Your salvation
Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples,
A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles,
And the glory of Your people Israel." |
| Matthew 4:16 |
"The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light,
And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death, Light has dawned." |
| John 12:46 |
"I have come as a light into the world,
that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness." |
| John 1:4-6 |
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. |
| Matthew 2:6 |
"But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah;
For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel." |
| The Heavenly Doctrine |
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The Glory of the Lord
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Apocalypse Explained 427:3
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To come and see the glory of the Lord, symbolizes to be enlightened in Divine Truth, and thus to experience heavenly joy. For the glory of the Lord symbolizes the Divine Truth, and the illustration and joy which it affords. |
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Arcana Coelestia 10574:10-11
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The Lord in respect of Divine Truth is "light" and also "glory" which is a product of the light.... "The Word" means Divine Truth.... "Light" means Divine Truth that comes from the Lord, thus the Lord Himself in respect of Divine Truth, and "glory" means everything that is a product of the light, consequently everything that springs from the Divine Truth composing the intelligence and wisdom which angels possess, and which people in the world who receive the Lord in faith and love possess. |
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True Christian Religion 86
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Jehovah God came down into the world as Divine truth, in order that He might work redemption. And redemption consisted in subjugating the hells, restoring the heavens to order, and after this establishing a church. The Divine good is inadequate to bring this about. It can be done only by the Divine truth from the Divine good. |
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Arcana Coelestia 3195:4
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The Lord is light, that is, good itself and truth itself, and thus from Him stems all intelligence and wisdom, consequently all salvation.
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| Apocalypse Explained 678:2,3 |
"[T]he glory of the Lord" means to enlighten angels and people, and to bestow intelligence and wisdom, and to bless with felicities and delights.... Nevertheless, the Lord cannot give His glory to anyone and fill him with wisdom and blessedness unless he acknowledges and worships the Lord, for it is by this that a person conjoins himself to the Lord by love and faith. |
Shepherds
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see Arcana Coelestia 6044
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The meaning of "shepherds of the flock" is those who lead to good, for a shepherd or pastor is one who teaches and leads, and the flock one who is taught or led. But in the internal sense truths that lead to good are meant. |
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Apocalypse Explained 388:17
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By sheep, in the Word, are meant those who are in the good of charity. But because the genuine spiritual sense is apart from persons, by sheep are meant the goods of charity; by shepherds are meant those who by truths lead to good.
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Arcana Coelestia 2921:5,6
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That the Lord was Jehovah is meant by the words of the angel to the shepherds: "To you is born this day a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11). "Christ" is used instead of "Messiah", "Anointed One", and "King"; and "the Lord" instead of "Jehovah"—"Christ" having regard to truth and "the Lord" to good.
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| see Apocalypse Explained 314:2 |
In Isaiah [we read]: "Behold, the Lord Jehovah cometh in strength. He shall feed His flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs into His arm..." (Isaiah 40:10-11). This treats of the Lord's coming. The "flock that He shall feed as a shepherd" symbolizes those who are in the good of charity. The "lambs that He shall gather into His arm" symbolize those who are in love to Him. |
By Night
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see Arcana Coelestia 2353
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"Night" symbolizes a time of darkness when the things of light are seen no longer.
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Arcana Coelestia 6000:2
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Night means obscurity and also falsity.... "Walking in the day" stands for living in the truth, and "walking in the night" for living in falsity.
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Good Tidings
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Apocalypse Explained 612:7-8
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That the Lord's coming is meant by "proclaiming good tidings" and by "good tidings" can be seen also from passages in Luke:
The angel said to Zacharias, "I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and I was sent to speak unto thee, and to proclaim to thee these good things" (1:19).
The angel said to the shepherds, "Be not afraid, behold I proclaim to you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For there is born to you this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (2:10,11).
Because "to proclaim good tidings" means to announce the Lord's coming, "the good tidings" in the highest sense mean the Lord Himself in relation to His coming, in relation to judgment, and to the salvation of the faithful.
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This Will Be the Sign to You
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| see Apocalypse Explained 706:12 |
In Luke: The angels said to the shepherds, "There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord; and this is a sign unto you, ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger" (2:11,12,16). If it had pleased the Lord He might have been born in a most splendid palace, and have been laid in a bed adorned with precious stones; but He would thus have been with such as were in no doctrine of truth, and there would have been no heavenly representation. He is also said to have been "wrapped in swaddling clothes," because "swaddling clothes" symbolize first truths, which are truths of innocence, and which are also truths of the Divine love. From this it is clear why it was said by the angels, "This is a sign unto you, ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger." |
| De Verbo 7:5 |
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.... Therefore it is said that this would be a sign to them that it was the Lord. |
Glory to God
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| see Apocalypse Revealed 517 |
Giving glory to God is acknowledging the Lord as the God of heaven and earth. |
| Apocalypse Explained 874 |
To give glory to God is to live according to Divine truth; as the Lord also taught in these words:
"In this is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. Abide ye in my love: if ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 15:8,10,14).
It is therefore evident that to glorify God, or to give glory to God, is to bring forth fruit.
Glory symbolizes the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord, and its reception by angels and people. The Lord's glory consists in enlightening people and angels, and in blessing them with wisdom and happiness; which can take place only by the reception of Divine truth in doctrine and in life. |
On Earth Peace...
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| Arcana Coelestia 1726 |
The Lord is Peace itself. |
| see Arcana Coelestia 5662:3 |
[T]he ancients used as a common form of speech the words, "Peace be unto you," when they meant that it be well; and asked whether people "had peace" when they meant "Is it well?" |
| Apocalypse Explained 365:14 |
"Peace" stands for heavenly blessedness, happiness, and delight. |
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