Could there be reasons for the humble, vulnerable beginnings of Jesus’s life?

In this video from his Swedenborg and Life web series, host Curtis Childs and featured guests explore how the Divine design may have been at play from the very beginning of Christ's life.

(References: Apocalypse Explained 706 [12]; Luke 2:8-12; The Word 7; True Christian Religion 89, 90, 96, 766)

708. And the moon under her feet.- That this signifies faith with those who are natural and in charity, is plain from the signification of the moon, as denoting faith in which there is charity, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of feet as meaning things natural, of which see above (n. 69, 600:1, 632), - here, therefore, those who are natural, because it is said of the woman, who signifies the church, and the sun with which she was encompassed signifies love to the Lord from the Lord and love towards the neighbour, as shown in the preceding article. The woman encompassed with the sun therefore signifies the church with those who are celestial and thence spiritual, and the moon under her feet signifies the church with those who are natural and sensual, and at the same time in the faith of charity; for the goods and thus the truths of heaven and the church have an orderly succession, like the head, the body, and the feet in man. In the head of the Grand Man (Maximus Homo), which is heaven, are those who are in love to the Lord from the Lord, and these are called celestial; but in the body, from the breast even to the loins of that Grand Man, which is heaven, are those who are in love towards the neighbour, and they are called spiritual. But in the feet of the Grand Man, which is heaven, are those who are in the faith of charity obscurely, and these are called natural.

[2] But in order that this may be clearly apprehended, it must be understood that there are two kingdoms into which the heavens are divided, one called the celestial, and the other the spiritual; also that there are three heavens, the highest called the celestial, the middle called the spiritual, and the lowest the celestial-spiritual-natural.

But besides these divisions of the heavens, there is also the further distinction that there are those who receive light, that is, intelligence, from the Lord as a sun, and those who receive light and intelligence from the Lord as a moon. Those who receive the light of intelligence from the Lord as a sun, are those in whom the Intellectual and its Rational have been opened, and who have thence thought rationally concerning things that should be believed from a spiritual affection for truth. But those who receive light from the Lord as a moon, are those in whom the Intellectual and Rational have not been interiorly opened, but only the natural, and who in consequence have thought from the memory about what should be believed; and to think of those things from the memory is to think only about such things as have been heard from a master or preacher, which are called truths, and are also believed to be truths, although they may be falsities, for they are not seen from any further ground. If such had been in the faith of charity during their abode in the world, they, in the heavens, are under the Lord as a moon, for the light (lumen), which is the source of their intelligence, is like the light (lumen) of the moon at night, while the light (lux), which is the source of the intelligence of those who are in the heavens under the Lord as a sun, is like the light (lux) of day. What the difference is can be seen from the difference between the light of the sun in the day and that of the moon at night. The difference also is such that those who are under the Lord as a moon can see nothing in the light of those who are under the Lord as a sun, because their light (lux) is not genuine, but reflected light, which is capable of receiving falsities as well as truths, provided good appears in the falsities. Since all those who are in the heavens under the Lord as a moon are natural and sensual, and have nothing in common with those in the heavens who are under the Lord as a sun, and since they also are in falsities, in which, however, there is good, therefore the moon was seen under the feet of the woman, which means the faith of those who are natural.

[3] So far concerning the faith of those in heaven who are under the Lord as a moon; we will also speak briefly of their affection, from which faith derives its life. Their desire to know truth and do good, is, like themselves, natural, deriving more or less from the glory of learning, and from reputation, which looks to honours and gain as rewards, differing in this from the spiritual desire to know truth and do good, which those have who in heaven are under the Lord as a sun; with these this affection is so separated from natural affection, that the latter is under the feet. This also is the reason why the moon, which signifies not only faith, but also its affection, was here seen under the feet. But a more complete idea of these things may be obtained from what is said and shown in Heaven and Hell under the following heads: "Heaven is divided into two kingdoms" (n. 20-28); "The Sun and Moon in Heaven," "Light and Heat in the Heavens" (n. 116-140); "The Correspondence of Heaven with all things of Man" (n. 87-102); also in the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, concerning those who are in falsities from good (n. 21). That the sun signifies the Lord as to Divine Love, and thence love to the Lord from the Lord, and that the moon signifies the truth of faith, may be seen above (n. 401); moreover, concerning the heavens which are under the Lord as a sun, and those under the Lord as a moon, see also above (n. 411e, 422:3, 527). To this it may be added, that those heavens which are under the Lord as a moon are also three, a higher, a middle, and a lower, or, what is the same, an interior, a middle, and an exterior; still all in these heavens are natural. The reason why they are interior, middle, and exterior, is because the Natural is divided into three degrees in the same manner as the Spiritual; the exterior Natural communicates with the world, the interior with heaven, while the middle is conjunctive. Nevertheless, those who are in the heavens under the Lord as a moon cannot enter into the heavens that are under the Lord as a sun, because their interior sight or understanding is formed to receive the lunar light there, and not to receive the solar light. They are, comparatively, not unlike those birds that see in the night and not in the day time, consequently when they come into the solar light, which those have who are under the Lord as a sun, their sight is darkened. Those who are in these heavens are such as were in charity according to their religion, or according to their faith; but those who are natural, and not in the faith of charity, are in the hells under those heavens. From these things it is evident that the moon here means faith with those who are natural and in charity; and that the moon was seen under the feet, because those who are in the heavens under the Lord as a moon have nothing in common with those who are in the heavens under the Lord as a sun, even to the extent of not being able to ascend up to them.

21. 1. People who live lives based on falsity with evil intent and people who live lives based on falsity without evil intent; and also the nature of false beliefs that accompany evil intent and of false beliefs that do not. There are many kinds of falsity-as many as there are kinds of evil-and there are many sources of things that are evil and of the falsities that they engender: 1188, 1212, 4729, 4822, 7574. Falsity that comes from evil, or evil-based falsity, is one thing; evil that comes from falsity, or falsity-based evil, which leads in turn to further or secondary falsity, is another: 1679, 2243. From just one false idea, especially if it is taken as a first principle, further false ideas flow in an unbroken series: 1510, 1511, 4717, 4721. There are falsities that are the result of cravings arising from our love for ourselves and for the world, ¹ and there are falsities that are the result of misleading sensory impressions: 1295, 4729. There are falsities that arise from what our religion has taught us and there are falsities that arise from our ignorance: 4729, 8318, 9258. There is falsity that contains some good and there is falsity that contains no good: 2863, 9304, 10109, 10302. There are also things that have been falsified: 7318, 7319, 10648. Everything evil has something false accompanying it: 7577, 8094. The falsity accompanying the cravings that arise from love for ourselves is truly evil; it is the worst kind of falsity: 4729.

[2] Evil is heavy and falls into hell of its own accord, but this is not true of falsity unless it comes from evil: 8279, 8298. Good turns into evil and truth into falsity as they fall from heaven into hell because this is like coming into a dense and polluted atmosphere: 3607. The hells are surrounded by evil-based falsities, which look like storm clouds and unclean waters: 8137, 8146, 8210. The things that are said by the people who are in the hells are falsities that come from evil: 1695, 7351, 7352, 7357, 7392, 7699. Left to their own devices, people intent on evil cannot think anything but falsity: 7437. More on evil that comes from falsity (2408, 4818, 7272, 8265, 8279) and falsity that comes from evil (6359, 9304, 10302).

[3] Every falsity is something we can convince ourselves of, and when we have done so it seems to us to be the truth: 5033, 6865, 8521, 8780. We should therefore make sure something is true before convincing ourselves of it: 4741, 7012, 7680, 7950, 8521. We should be particularly careful not to convince ourselves of falsity in matters of religion because this leads to false convictions that remain with us after death: 845, 8780. How damaging false convictions are: 794, 806, 5096, 7686.

[4] What is good cannot flow into truth as long as we are intent on evil: 2434. To the extent that we devote our lives to what is evil and the falsity that goes with it, to that extent what is good and what is true are moved away from us: 3402. The Lord takes the greatest care to prevent truth from being joined to what is evil and prevent the falsity that comes from evil from being joined to what is good: 3110, 3116, 4416, 5217. If these pairs are mixed, the result is profanation ² :6348. Truths put an end to falsities and falsities put an end to truths: 5207. Truths cannot be accepted on any deep level as long as skepticism reigns: 3399.

[5] Examples showing how truths can be falsified: 7318. Why evil people are allowed to falsify truths: 7332. Evil people falsify truths by bending and applying them to an evil purpose: 8094, 8149. Truth is said to have been falsified if it has been used to support evil, which happens mainly through deception and superficial appearances: 7344, 8602. The evil are allowed to attack truth but not to attack what is good; they are allowed to distort truth by various interpretations and applications: 6677. Truth that has been falsified for an evil purpose is in opposition to what is true and good: 8062. Falsified truth used for evil purposes smells terrible in the other life: 7319. More on the falsification of truth: 7318, 7319, 10648.

[6] Some false religious beliefs harmonize with what is good and some do not: 9258. False religious beliefs that do not clash with what is good do not lead to evil except in people who are intent on evil: 8318. False religious beliefs are not held against people who are intent on doing good, but they are held against people who are intent on doing evil: 8051, 8149. Truths that are not genuine and even falsities can be associated with genuine truths for people who are intent on doing good, but not for people who are intent on doing evil: 3470, 3471, 4551, 4552, 7344, 8149, 9298. The way things appear in the literal meaning of the Word sets elements that are true beside elements that are false: 7344. False beliefs are rendered true and softened by what is good because they are used for and deflected toward what is good, and the evil is put aside: 8149. The false religious beliefs of people who are intent on doing good are accepted by the Lord as if they were truths: 4736, 8149. Any act of goodness whose character has been shaped by false religious belief is accepted by the Lord if it was done in ignorance and innocence, and if the aim behind it was good: 7887. The truths we possess are outward guises of what is true and good, guises deeply stained with misleading appearances, but if our lives are focused on doing what is good the Lord adjusts them toward genuine truths: 2053. Falsities containing something good can be found in people who are outside the church and therefore ignorant of the truth and also in people in a church where there are false teachings: 2589-2604, 2861, 2863, 3263, 3778, 4189, 4190, 4197, 6700, 9256. Falsities in which there is nothing good are more harmful for people within the church than they are for people outside the church: 7688. What is true and good is taken away from evil people in the other life and given to the good, in keeping with the Lord's words "To those who have, more will be given, and they will have abundance; but from those who do not have, even what they have will be taken away" [Matthew 25:29]: 7770.

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