THE GOVERNMENT SHALL BE UPON HIS SHOULDER

THE GOVERNMENT SHALL BE UPON HIS SHOULDER
SELECTED PASSAGES

HEAVEN & HELL 216.
As government from good,
which is the kind of government
that exists in the Lord's celestial kingdom, is called righteousness;
and government from truth,
which is the kind of government
that exists in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, is called judgment,
so the terms "righteousness and judgment" are used in the Word
when heaven and the church are treated of,
"righteousness" signifying celestial good,
and "judgment" spiritual good,
which good, as has been said above, is in its essence truth,
as in the following passages:

Of peace there shall be no end
upon the throne of David and upon His kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it in judgment
and in righteousness
from henceforth and even to eternity.
(Isaiah 9:7)

ARCANA COELESTIA 4934
... the arms signify strength, and the hands power.

ARCANA COELESTIA 4937
By the "shoulder,"
in the Word is also signified all power...

Unto us a Child is born,
and the Government shall be upon His shoulder.
(Isaiah 9:6)

BORN IN BETHLEHEM

BORN IN BETHLEHEM
MICAH 5:1-5

Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops:
he hath laid siege against us:
they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah,
though thou be little among the thousands of Judah,
yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me
that is to be ruler in Israel;
whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

Therefore will he give them up,
until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth:
then the remnant of his brethren
shall return unto the children of Israel.
And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD,
in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God;
and they shall abide:
for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.

And this man shall be the peace,
when the Assyrian shall come into our land:
and when he shall tread in our palaces,
then shall we raise against him seven shepherds,
and eight principal men.

Arcana Coelestia 4592. [3]
All people are born natural,
with the power of becoming either celestial or spiritual;
but the Lord alone was born spiritual celestial,
and for this reason He was born at Bethlehem,
where is the boundary of the land of Benjamin,
for by "Bethlehem" is signified the spiritual of the celestial,
and by Benjamin is represented the spiritual of the celestial.
The reason why the Lord alone was born spiritual celestial
is that the Divine was in Him.

THE BIRTH OF THE LORD - THE ANGELS APPEAR TO THE SHEPHERDS

THE BIRTH OF THE LORD
THE ANGELS APPEAR TO THE SHEPHERDS
LUKE 2:1-20

And it came to pass in those days,
that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus
that all the world should be taxed.
(And this taxing was first made
when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, 
out of the city of Nazareth,
into Judaea, unto the city of David, 
which is called Bethlehem;
(because he was of the house and lineage of David.)

To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, 
being great with child.
And so it was, that, while they were there,
the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

And she brought forth her firstborn son,
and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, 
and laid Him in a manger;
because there was no room for them in the inn.

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

And the angel said unto them,
"Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you;
Ye shall find the Babe
wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

And suddenly there was with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace, 
good will toward men."

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

And when they had seen it,
they made known abroad the saying
which was told them concerning this child.
And all they that heard it wondered at those things
which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God for all the things
that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

THE WORD BECAME FLESH

THE WORD BECAME FLESH
JOHN 1:1-14

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by Him;
and without Him 
was not any thing made that was made.
In Him was life;
and the life was the Light of men.

And the light shineth in darkness;
and the darkness comprehended it not.
There was a man sent from God,
whose name was John.

The same came for a witness, 
to bear witness of the Light,
that all men through him might believe.
He was not that Light,
but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

That was the true Light,
which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world was made by Him,
and the world knew Him not.

He came unto His own,
and His own received Him not.
But as many as received Him,
to them gave He power to become the sons of God,
even to them that believe on His name:

Which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God.
And the Word was made flesh,
and dwelt among us,
(and we beheld His glory,
the glory as of the one only of the Father,)
full of grace and truth.

AN ANGEL APPEARS TO JOSEPH

AN ANGEL APPEARS TO JOSEPH
MATTHEW 1:18-25

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about:
His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph,
but before they came together,
she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit.
Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man
and did not want to expose her to public disgrace,
he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this,
an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
"Joseph son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife,
because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
She will give birth to a son,
and you are to give him the name Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."

All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:
"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel" - which means, "God with us."

When Joseph woke up,
he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took Mary home as his wife.
But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son.
And he gave him the name Jesus.

TO US A CHILD IS BORN

TO US A CHILD IS BORN
ISAIAH 9

Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom
for those who were in distress.
In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles,
by the way of the sea, along the Jordan—
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned.

You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest,
as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
you have shattered the yoke that burdens them,
the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.

Every warrior’s boot used in battle
and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.

SIGN OF IMMANUEL

SIGN OF IMMANUEL
ISAIAH 7:10-16

Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying,
ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God;
ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD.
And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David;
Is it a small thing for you to weary men,
but will ye weary my God also?

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign;
Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son,
and shall call his name Immanuel.
Butter and honey shall he eat,
that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

For before the child shall know to refuse the evil,
and choose the good,
the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

Arcana Coelestia 2184.
That "butter" is the celestial of the rational….
As regards butter, it signifies in the Word what is celestial,
and this from its fatness.

Arcana Coelestia 5620.
That "honey" denotes delight is because it is sweet,
and everything sweet in the natural world
corresponds to what is delightful and pleasant in the spiritual world.