383. "For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them." (7:17) This symbolically means that the Lord alone will teach them.

The Lamb in the midst of the throne symbolizes the Lord in respect to His Divine humanity in the inmost of heaven and thus in everything connected with it (no. 44). The throne is heaven (no. 14), and the Lamb is the Lord in respect to His Divine humanity (nos. 269, 291). And He who is in the inmost of heaven and thus in everything connected with it is the only one who shepherds all people, that is, who teaches them.

If a question is raised as to how He alone can shepherd all, be it known that it is because He is God, and because He is present in the whole of heaven like the soul in its body; for heaven, arising from Him, is like a single person.

To shepherd means to teach because in the Word the church is called a flock, and the people in the church are called sheep and lambs. Therefore to shepherd means, symbolically, to teach, and the shepherd one who teaches, and this in many places, as for example:

On that day your flocks will graze in a broad meadow. (Isaiah 33:23)

He will feed His flock like a shepherd. (Isaiah 40:11)

They shall graze along the roads, and have their pasture on all the hillsides. (Isaiah 49:9)

(Israel) shall graze on Carmel and Bashan. (Jeremiah 50:19)

...I will seek out My sheep... I will feed them in good pasture, and... in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. (Ezekiel 34:12-14)

You, Bethlehem Ephrathah, it is a small thing that you are among the thousands of Judah. Out of you shall come forth to Me One who will be Ruler in Israel... He shall stand and graze in the strength of Jehovah... (Micah 5:2, 4)

Feed Your people... Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead... (Micah 7:14)

The remnant of Israel... shall graze and lie down... (Zephaniah 3:13)

Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in pastures of tender grass. (Psalms 23:1-2)

(The Lord) chose David... to shepherd Jacob... and Israel... and he shepherded them... (Psalms 78:70-72)

Jesus said to Peter, "Feed My lambs." And a second and third time He said, "Feed my sheep." (John 21:15-17)

The relationship between men and women is deep and nuanced, and one entire book of the Writings -- Conjugial Love -- is devoted to the subject. So we can hardly offer a full explanation here. In a very general sense, though, the Writings say that men are creatures of intellect, driven by the love of growing wise; women, meanwhile are creations of affection, driven by the love of wisdom and the good that wisdom can do. They are formed this way to reflect the Lord's Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, and so that they can form marriages that reflect the unity of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom. Marking differences between men and women can be a touchy thing, but realistically it's easy to see that men tend to love acquiring knowledge whether it has any practical application or not. Many of them can spout out sports statistics or hold court on the workings of the internal combustion engine, even though it is knowledge they are not likely to ever use. They find such knowledge interesting for its own sake. It follows, then, that when the Bible speaks of men, the men represent facts, ideas, knowledge, truth, intellect and wisdom -- or in the negative sense falsity, twisted logic, and reasoning that is devoid of concern for others.