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Luke第2章:8-20 : The Shepherds Visit Jesus in Bethlehem

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8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

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Shepherds in the Fields

原作者: Junchol Lee

The Annunciation to the Shepherds, By Henry Ossawa Tanner - http://www.artnet.de/artist/16406/henry-ossawa-tanner.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4864375


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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.

(参考: Isaiah 46:3)

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Apocalypse Explained#1210

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1210. Saying, Praise God, all ye his servants.- That this signifies the worship of the Lord by those who are in truths, is evident from the signification of praising God, as denoting to confess and worship Him, of which we shall speak presently; and from the signification of the servants of God, as denoting those who are in truths from the Lord, concerning which see above (n. 6, 409). In many passages in the Word, mention is made of praising God, which signifies to confess Him with the heart and mouth, thus also to worship Him. By praising God is signified the same as by Halleluja, for Halleluja signifies Praise ye God; that this is the voice of joy and gladness in confessions and in the worship of God, has been stated before.

The reason why praising God signifies to confess and worship, is, that the Lord does not desire to be praised or glorified from any love for Himself, but from His love for man. For a man cannot do otherwise than praise and glorify the Lord, or give praise and glory to Him, when he acknowledges in heart that there is nothing good in himself, and that he can do nothing from himself, and on the other hand that all good is from the Lord, and that the Lord can do all things. When man is in this acknowledgment he then puts away his proprium, whose origin is the love of self, opens the whole of his mind, and thus enables the Divine to enter by influx with good and with power. It is therefore necessary that a man be in humiliation before the Lord, and that such humiliation be from no other source than the acknowledgment of his own [nature] and the acknowledgment of the Lord; according to these things reception takes place. That to give praise to God, and to praise God, is to confess Him, and from confession of heart to worship Him, is evident from many passages in the Word, as Matthew 21:16; Luke 2:13, 14, 20; 5:25, 26; 7:16; 13:13; 18:43; 19:28-40; 24:52, 53; also Psalm 148:1-5, 7, 13; and elsewhere.

[2] Continuation [concerning the Life of Plants].- 5. Plants and animals also - both those which appear in heaven, and those which are in the world - exist from the Spiritual, by means of these forces.

The reason why these also exist in heaven is, that these forces are inherent in the Spiritual, in the greatest and least things, in primaries and in ultimates; thus in that which is spiritual both in heaven and in the world, its first beginnings being in the former, its ultimate developments in the latter. For there are degrees of spiritual things, and every degree is distinct from another, a prior or higher degree being more perfect than that which is posterior or lower. This may be shown from the light and heat in the heavens, and from the wisdom of the angels derived from these. The light in the highest or third heaven, through being of a flaming quality, is so bright that it surpasses a thousand times the mid-day light of the world. In the middle or second heaven there is a light less clear, but still it surpasses a hundred times the mid-day light of the world. In the ultimate or first heaven there is a light similar to the mid-day light of the world. There are also degrees of heat, which in heaven is love, and according to them the angels possess their wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge. All that is spiritual belongs to the light and heat which proceed from the Lord as the Sun, and from these are wisdom and intelligence.

[3] There are also as many degrees of spiritual things existing beneath the heavens, or in nature, these being lower degrees. This is evident from man's natural mind, also from his rationality, and his sensuality. Rational men are in the first, sensual men in the last, while some are in the intermediate degree; all the thought and affection, moreover, of the natural mind are spiritual. These three forces, the active, the creative, and the formative, are inherent in the Spiritual, in every degree of it, but with a difference of perfection. Since however there is nothing but has its own ultimate, in which it terminates and stops, so also has the Spiritual; its ultimate being in the lands and waters of the earth. From this ultimate again the Spiritual produces plants of every kind, from the tree to the blade of grass, and in these it remains, manifesting itself merely in that kind of resemblance to living beings, of which we have treated above.

  
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Translation by Isaiah Tansley. Many thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.