Doctrine of the Lord # 34
34. The complete union of the Divine and the human in Him was achieved by His suffering of the cross, which was the last of those temptations or trials. This we established in its own section above, in which we showed that the Lord came into the world to conquer the hells and glorify His humanity, and that the suffering of the cross was the last battle by which He completely overcame the hells and completely glorified His humanity.
Now because the Lord by His suffering of the cross completely glorified His humanity, that is, united it to His Divinity and so made His humanity Divine, it follows that He is Jehovah
[2] and God in respect to both. In many places in the Word, therefore, He is called Jehovah, God, and the Holy One of Israel, the Redeemer, Savior and Former, as in the following passages here:
Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:46-47)
The angel said to (the shepherds), “...behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people, (that) there is born...this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)
They said..., “...this is truly the Christ, the Savior of the world.” (John 4:42)
I (Jehovah God) will help you, ...and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 41:14)
...said Jehovah, your Creator, O Jacob, your Former, O Israel: “...for I have redeemed you.... ...I am Jehovah your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” (Isaiah 43:1, 3)
...said Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.... “I am Jehovah, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.” (Isaiah 43:14-15)
Thus said Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker.... (Isaiah 45:11, cf. 45:15)
Thus said Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.... (Isaiah 48:17)
...that all flesh may know that I, Jehovah, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. (Isaiah 49:26)
...Then he will come to Zion as the Redeemer. (Isaiah 59:20)
...that you shall know that I, Jehovah, am your Savior and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. (Isaiah 60:16)
...Jehovah..., your Former from the womb.... (Isaiah 49:5)
...O Jehovah, my rock and my Redeemer. (Psalms 19:14)
They remembered that God was their rock, and the Most High God their Redeemer. (Psalms 78:35)
...said Jehovah your Redeemer, and your Former from the womb.... (Isaiah 44:24)
As for our Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts is His name, the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 47:4)
“With everlasting mercy I will have pity on you.” (Thus) said Jehovah, your Redeemer. (Isaiah 54:8)
Their Redeemer is strong; Jehovah...is His name. (Jeremiah 50:34)
O Israel, hope in Jehovah; for with Jehovah there is mercy; with Him is abundant redemption. He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities. (Psalms 130:7-8)
Jehovah (God) is my rock, my fortress..., the horn of my salvation..., my Savior.... (2 Samuel 22:2-3)
Thus said Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, its Holy One...: “Kings shall see and endure..., because of Jehovah, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” (Isaiah 49:7)
Surely God is within you, and there is...no other God (besides). Certainly You are a hidden God, O God of Israel, the Savior ! (Isaiah 45:14-15)
...said Jehovah, the King of Israel, and its Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts: “...Besides Me there is no God.” (Isaiah 44:6)
I...am Jehovah, and besides Me there is no Savior. (Isaiah 43:11)
Am I not Jehovah? And no other...besides Me, (and) no Savior besides Me? (Isaiah 45:21)
I am Jehovah your God..., and you shall not acknowledge any God but Me; and there is no Savior besides Me. (Hosea 13:4)
Am I not Jehovah? And there is no other God besides Me, a just God, and there is no Savior besides Me. Look to Me to be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is none besides. (Isaiah 45:21-22)
...Jehovah of Hosts is His name; and your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; He shall be called the God of the whole earth. (Isaiah 54:5)
[3] It can be seen from this that the Lord’s Divinity called the Father, and called here Jehovah and God, and His Divine humanity called the Son, and called here the Redeemer and Savior, or Former and Maker, meaning the Reformer and Regenerator, are not two entities but one. For we are told not only that Jehovah God and the Holy One of Israel is the Redeemer and Savior, but also that Jehovah is the Redeemer and Savior. Indeed, we are also told that Jehovah is the Savior and none besides Him.
It is clearly apparent from this that the Divine and the human in the Lord are one person, and that the human is also Divine, inasmuch as there is no Redeemer and Savior of the world other than the Lord in respect to His Divine humanity, called the Son.
Redemption and salvation, indeed, are the unique attributes of His humanity called merit and righteousness. For it was His humanity that underwent temptations or trials and the suffering of the cross, so that it is by His humanity that He redeemed and saved.
[4] Now after the union of His humanity with the Divinity in Him, which was like the union of soul and body in anyone else, because they were then no more two but one person, in accordance with the Christian world’s doctrine, therefore the Lord was Jehovah and God in respect to both. That is why we are sometimes told that Jehovah and the Holy One of Israel are the Redeemer and Savior, and sometimes that Jehovah is the Redeemer and Savior, as may be seen from the passages cited above. Namely, that the Christ is called the Savior (Luke 2:10-11, John 4:42); that God, and the God of Israel, is called the Savior and Redeemer (Luke 1:47, Isaiah 45:11, 15, 54:5, Psalms 78:35); that Jehovah is called the Holy One of Israel, the Savior and Redeemer (Isaiah 41:14, 43:3, 11, 14-15, 48:17, 49:7, 54:5); that Jehovah is called the Savior, Redeemer, and Former or Maker (Isaiah 44:6, 47:4, 49:26, 54:8, 63:16, Jeremiah 50:34, Psalms 19:14, 130:7-8, 2 Samuel 22:2-3); and that Jehovah God is called the Redeemer and Savior, and there is no other besides Him (Isaiah 43:11, 44:6, 45:14-15, 21-22, Hosea 13:4).
Published by the General Church of the New Jerusalem, 1100 Cathedral Road, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania 19009, U.S.A. A translation of Doctrina Novae Hierosolymae de Domino, by Emanuel Swedenborg, 1688-1772. Translated from the Original Latin by N. Bruce Rogers. ISBN 9780945003687, Library of Congress Control Number: 2013954074.
Luke 1
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Since many have undertaken to set in order a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us,
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even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word delivered them to us,
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it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus;
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that you might know the certainty concerning the things in which you were instructed.
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There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
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They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord.
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But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years.
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Now it happened, while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his division,
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according to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense.
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The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense.
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An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
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Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
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But the angel said to him, "Don't be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
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You will have joy and gladness; and many will rejoice at his birth.
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For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.
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He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord, their God.
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He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord."
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Zacharias said to the angel, "How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years."
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The angel answered him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you, and to bring you this good news.
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Behold, you will be silent and not able to speak, until the day that these things will happen, because you didn't believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time."
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The people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marveled that he delayed in the temple.
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When he came out, he could not speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute.
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It happened, when the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house.
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After these days Elizabeth, his wife, conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying,
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"Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men."
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Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
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to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
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Having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!"
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But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be.
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The angel said to her, "Don't be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
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Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and will call his name 'Jesus.'
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He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David,
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and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom."
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Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?"
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The angel answered her, "The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.
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Behold, Elizabeth, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
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For everything spoken by God is possible."
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Mary said, "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your word." The angel departed from her.
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Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah,
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and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
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It happened, when Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, that the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
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She called out with a loud voice, and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
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Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
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For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy!
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Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!"
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Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord.
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My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
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for he has looked at the humble state of his handmaid. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
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For he who is mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name.
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His mercy is for generations of generations on those who fear him.
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He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
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He has put down princes from their thrones. And has exalted the lowly.
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He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty.
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He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
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As he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his seed forever."
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Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house.
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Now the time that Elizabeth should give birth was fulfilled, and she brought forth a son.
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Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her, and they rejoiced with her.
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It happened on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of the father.
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His mother answered, "Not so; but he will be called John."
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They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name."
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They made signs to his father, what he would have him called.
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He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." They all marveled.
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His mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue freed, and he spoke, blessing God.
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Fear came on all who lived around them, and all these sayings were talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea.
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All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, "What then will this child be?" The hand of the Lord was with him.
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His father, Zacharias, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying,
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"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and worked redemption for his people;
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and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
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(as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),
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salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us;
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to show mercy towards our fathers, to remember his holy covenant,
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the oath which he spoke to Abraham, our father,
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to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, should serve him without fear,
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In holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
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And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
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to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
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because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the dawn from on high will visit us,
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to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace."
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The child was growing, and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
