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One of the most significant events, if not THE most significant event, in human history is the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah and Savior of humanity. Christ's birth had been prophesied by many, but it was Isaiah who gave us the fullest and most detailed description of the Messiah's coming. It is notable that besides Mary and Joseph, shepherds were the only individuals allowed to visit Jesus on the night of his birth. Why only shepherds? What is the spiritual significance of the shepherds? We will explore this question.

(References: Isaiah 46:3)

465. I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. (10:1) This symbolizes the Lord in His Divine majesty and power.

That the angel here is the Lord is apparent from his description, that he was clothed with a cloud, with a rainbow over his head; that his face was like the sun and his feet like pillars of fire; and that he kept his feet on the sea and on the land; moreover that he cried out as when a lion roars, and that his voice was like thunder.

He appeared as an angel because that is how He appears when He manifests Himself in the heavens and below the heavens. For He fills some angel with His Divinity in accommodation to the reception of those whom He gives to see Him. No angel, and still less any mortal, can endure His presence as He is in Himself or in His essence. Therefore He appears above the heavens as the sun, which is as distant from angels as the world's sun is from people. He is present there in His Divinity from eternity and at the same time in His Divine humanity, which are united like soul and body.

He is called here a mighty angel because of His Divine power. And He is called another angel owing to the fact that described here is another aspect of His Divinity than was described before.