93. Since the angel Gabriel said to Mary, 'The holy thing that shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God,' passages will be quoted from the Word to prove that the Lord in His Human is called the Holy One of Israel.

I was seeing in visions; and behold, a watcher, a Holy One, coming down from heaven, Daniel 4:13, 23.

God shall come from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran, Habakkuk 3:3.

I am Jehovah the Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your Holy One, Isaiah 43:14-15.

Thus spoke Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, Isaiah 49:7.

I am Jehovah your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Saviour, Isaiah 43:1, 3.

As for our Redeemer, Jehovah Zebaoth is His name, the Holy One of Israel, Isaiah 47:4.

Jehovah your Redeemer said, the Holy One of Israel, Isaiah 43:14; 48:17.

Jehovah Zebaoth is His name, and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Isaiah 54:5.

They tested God and the Holy One of Israel, Psalms 78:41.

They have abandoned Jehovah, and provoked the Holy One of Israel, Isaiah 1:4.

They said, Make the Holy One of Israel depart from our faces; therefore thus spoke the Holy One of Israel, Isaiah 30:11-12.

Who say, Let Him hasten His work that we may see it, and let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel come near and be present, Isaiah 5:19.

On that day they shall lean upon Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth, Isaiah 10:20.

Cry out and triumph, inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel, Isaiah 12:6.

The word of the God of Israel, On that day his eyes shall look towards the Holy One of Israel, Isaiah 17:6-7.

The needy among men shall exult in the Holy One of Israel, Isaiah 29:19; 41:16.

The earth is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel, Jeremiah 51:5.

See also Isaiah 55:5; 60:9 and elsewhere.

[2] By 'the Holy One of Israel' is meant the Lord as to His Divine Human, for the angel said to Mary:

The holy thing that shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God, Luke 1:35.

Although Jehovah and the Holy One of Israel are mentioned separately, it is clear that they are one and the same, as is shown also by the passages quoted here, which prove that the Holy One of Israel is Jehovah. There are numerous passages to show that the Lord is called the God of Israel: for example, Isaiah 17:6; 21:10, 17; 24:15; 29:23; Jeremiah 7:3; 9:15; 11:3; 13:12; 16:9; 19:3, 15; 23:2; 24:5; 25:15, 27; 29:4, 8, 21, 25; 30:2; 31:23; 32:14-15, 36; 33:4; 34:2, 13; 35:13, 17-19; 37:7; 38:17; 39:16; 42:9, 15, 18; 43:10; 44:2, 7, 11, 25; 48:1; 50:18; 51:33; Ezekiel 8:4; 9:3; 10:19-20; 11:22; 43:2; 44:2; Zephaniah 2:9; Psalms 41:13; 59:5; 68:8.

6756. 'That he went out to his brothers' means a joining to the Church's truths. This is clear from the meaning of 'brothers' as the truths of the Church, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'going out to them' as being joined to them. As regards 'brothers', sometimes the expression means the forms of good, at other times the truths of the Church. Forms of good are meant when the celestial Church is the subject, truths when the spiritual Church is the subject. The reason for this is that the celestial Church is governed by good, but the spiritual Church by truth; and in ancient times all who belonged to the Church called one another brothers. Those who belonged to the spiritual Church did indeed call one another brothers on the basis of good, 3803; yet there were differences in the ways that members of the internal Church did so. Those differences depended on the nature of the good, and so on truths since good derives its specific nature from truths. Later on when the Church fell away from good, and consequently from truth also, people ceased any more to call one another brothers as a result of spiritual connections and relationships, which are those of charity and faith, but solely as a result of natural connections and relationships, or else as a result of friendship. They also began to consider it beneath them to call someone brother who ranked less highly than themselves. The reason for this was that they attached little or no importance to close ties that sprang from a spiritual origin, but great and supreme importance to close ties that had a natural or social origin. The Church's truths are clearly called 'brothers', because the sons of Jacob represented the truths of the Church in their entirety, 5407, 5419, 5427, 5458, 5512.

[2] The reason why in ancient times people were called 'brothers' as a result of spiritual relationships is that the new birth or regeneration established family connections and relationships on a level superior to that of those established by natural birth. A further reason is that those connections and relationships trace their origin back to the same Father, who is the Lord. This goes to explain why people who enter heaven after death no longer acknowledge any brother, or even their mother or father, if the relationship is not founded on goodness and truth. It is in accordance with these that new brotherly relationships are formed there. This then is why those who belonged to the Church in former times called one another brothers.

[3] The fact that the children of Israel referred to all who were descended from Jacob as brothers, but everyone else as companions, is evident from the following places:

In Isaiah,

I will embroil Egypt with Egypt, in order that a man may fight against brother, and a man against his companion. Isaiah 19:2.

In the same prophet,

A man helps his companion and says to his brother, Be firm. Isaiah 41:6.

In Jeremiah,

Take heed, a man of his companion, and put no trust in any brother, for every brother supplants wholly, and every companion utters slanders. Jeremiah 9:4.

[4] The fact that all who were descended from Jacob called themselves brothers may be seen in Isaiah,

Then they will bring all your brothers from all nations as an offering to Jehovah, on horses, in chariots, and in covered waggons. Isaiah 66:20.

In Moses,

You shall indeed set a king over you ¹ whom Jehovah your God will choose, from among your brothers shall you set a king over you; ¹ you may not place over you ¹ a foreigner, who is not your ¹ brother. Deuteronomy 17:15.

Even the children of Esau, because they were descended from Jacob, were called brothers by them, in Moses,

We passed through, away from our brothers the children of Esau dwelling in Seir. Deuteronomy 2:8.

[5] The reason why in ancient times those who belonged to the Church called one another brothers was, as stated above, that they acknowledged the Lord as their one and only Father and received a new soul and life from Him, on account of which the Lord says,

Refuse to be called Rabbi, for one is your Master, Christ; but all you are brothers. Matthew 23:8.

Since spiritual brotherhood has its origin in love, that is, one person is another's, and those who are governed by good abide in the Lord, and He abides in them, John 14:20, the Lord calls them brothers, in Matthew,

Jesus stretching out His hand over His disciples said, Behold My mother and My brothers; for whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven is My brother, and sister, and mother. Matthew 12:49-50.

In the same gospel,

Insofar as you did it to one of the least of My brothers you did it to Me. Matthew 25:40.

He again calls the disciples brothers in Matthew 28:10; John 20:17. 'Disciples' is used in the representative sense to mean all who are guided by the truths of faith and governed by the good of charity.

Fußnoten: