WHERE IS HE THAT IS BORN KING OF THE JEWS?

WHERE IS HE THAT IS BORN KING OF THE JEWS?
MATTHEW 2:1-10

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea
in the days of Herod the king,
behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
Saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews?
for we have seen His star in the east,
and are come to worship Him.

When Herod the king had heard these things,
he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
And when he had gathered
all the chief priests and scribes of the people together,
he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea:
for thus it is written by the prophet,
And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda,
art not the least among the princes of Juda:
for out of thee shall come a Governor,
that shall rule my people Israel.

Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men,
inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said,
Go and search diligently for the young Child;
and when ye have found Him, bring me word again,
that I may come and worship Him also.

When they had heard the king, they departed;
and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, 
went before them,
till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
When they saw the star, 
they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

THE CIRCUMCISION AND THE PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE

THE CIRCUMCISION AND
PRESENTATION IN THE TEMPLE
LUKE 2:21-40

And when eight days were accomplished
for the circumcising of the child,
His name was called JESUS,
which was so named of the angel
before He was conceived in the womb.
And when the days of her purification
according to the law of Moses were accomplished,
they brought Him to Jerusalem,
to present Him to the Lord;

(As it is written in the law of the LORD,
Every male that opens the womb 
shall be called holy to the Lord;)
And to offer a sacrifice
according to that which is said in the law of the Lord,
A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem,
whose name was Simeon;
and the same man was just and devout,
waiting for the consolation of Israel:
and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost,
that he should not see death, 
before he had seen the Lord's Christ.

And he came by the Spirit into the temple:
and when the parents brought in the child Jesus,
to do for him after the custom of the law,
then took he him up in his arms,
and blessed God, and said,

Lord, now let thou Thy servant depart in peace,
according to Thy word:
For my eyes have seen Thy salvation,

Which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles,
and the glory of thy people Israel.

And Joseph and His mother marvelled at those things
which were spoken of him.
And Simeon blessed them, 
and said unto Mary His mother,
Behold, this Child is set 
for the fall and rising again of many in Israel;
and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,)
that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.

And there was one Anna, a prophetess,
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser:
she was of a great age,
and had lived with an husband 
seven years from her virginity;

And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years,
which departed not from the temple,
but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
And she coming in that instant 
gave thanks likewise unto the Lord,
and spake of Him to all them
that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

And when they had performed all things
according to the law of the Lord,
they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.
And the child grew,
and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom:
and the grace of God was upon him.

More Symbolism

WAS BROUGHT DOWN TO EGYPT
ARCANA CEOLESTIA 4964

Was brought down to Egypt.
That this signifies to the memory-knowledges [scientifica]
of the church is evident from the signification of "Egypt"
as being memory-knowledge ….
In the Ancient Church there were doctrinal things
and there were memory-knowledges.
The doctrinal things treated of love to God
and of charity toward the neighbor;
but the memory-knowledges treated of the correspondences
of the natural world with the spiritual world,
and of the representatives of spiritual and celestial things
in things natural and earthly.
Such were the memory-knowledges of those
who were in the Ancient Church.

[2] Egypt was one of those countries and kingdoms
where the Ancient Church was;
but as in Egypt it was chiefly memory-knowledges
that were handed down to posterity,
therefore such knowledge in general is signified by "Egypt;"
and it is for this reason also
that Egypt is so often treated of in the prophetic Word,
and by it such knowledge is specifically meant.
The very magic of the Egyptians also had its origin thence;
for they were acquainted
with the correspondences of the natural world with the spiritual,
and afterward, when the church among them was at an end,
these correspondences were abused
by being turned to magical things.
Now because they had such knowledges
(that taught correspondences,
and also representatives and significatives)
and as these knowledges were of service
to the doctrinal things of the church,
especially to the understanding of those things
which were said in their Word . . .
by "being brought down to Egypt"
is signified to the memory-knowledges of the church.

SYMBOLISM IN THE CHRISTMAS STORY

SYMBOLISM IN THE CHRISTMAS STORY
DEVERBO 7 [2] - ROGER’S TRANSLATION

It can be seen from the wise men from the east
who came to see the Lord when He was born
that a knowledge of correspondences
remained with many eastern people
even down to the time of the Lord's advent.

That is why a star went before them,
and they brought with them gold, frankincense and myrrh.
And that is why the shepherds were told,
in order that they might know He was the Lord,
that this would be a sign to them:
that they would see Him in a manger,
wrapped in swaddling cloths,
because there was no room in the inn.

For the star which went before
symbolized knowledge from heaven,
inasmuch as stars in the Word symbolize concepts.
The gold symbolized celestial good,
the frankincense spiritual good,
and the myrrh natural good -
the three kinds of good from which everything of worship originates.
The manger where the shepherds found the infant Lord
symbolized spiritual nourishment,
because horses, which get their nourishment from mangers,
symbolize things having to do with the understanding.
The inn where there was no room symbolized the Jewish Church,
in which there was no spiritual nourishment at that time,
because everything of the Word,
and so everything of worship with them,
had by then been adulterated and perverted.
Therefore it is said that this would be a sign to them
that it was the Lord (Luke 2:12).

OUR SAVIOUR

OUR SAVIOUR
SELECTED PASSAGES

BRIEF EXPOSITION 57
...without the coming of the Lord into the world,
no mortal could have been saved,
and they are saved who believe in Him,
and live well.

ARCANA COELESTIA 14.
In the following work,
by the name Lord
is meant the Savior of the world,
Jesus Christ, and Him only;
and He is called "the Lord"
without the addition of other names.
Throughout the universal heaven
He it is who is acknowledged and adored as Lord,
because He has all sovereign power
in the heavens and on earth.
He also commanded His disciples so to call Him, saying,

"You call Me Lord, and you say well, for I am."
(John 13:13) 

And after His resurrection
His disciples called Him "the Lord."

MORE ON BETHLEHEM

MORE ON BETHLEHEM
ARCANA COELESTIA 4594 [2-3]

The reason why the Lord was born there and not elsewhere,
is that He alone was born a spiritual celestial man,
but all others natural,
with the capacity or ability to become either celestial or spiritual
by regeneration from the Lord.

The reason why the Lord was born a spiritual celestial man
was that He might make His Human Divine,
and this according to order from the lowest degree to the highest,
and might thus dispose into order
all things in the heavens and in the hells.
For the spiritual celestial is intermediate between
the natural or external man and the rational or internal man.

For from the most ancient time
"Ephrath" signified the spiritual of the celestial,
and therefore afterwards "Bethlehem" had the same signification.

THE LORD’S SOUL WAS JEHOVAH

THE LORD’S SOUL WAS JEHOVAH
ARCANA COELESTIA 2025 [4 & 5]

[4] The reason why the Lord so often attributes to the Father
that which is His own
(is because) Jehovah was in Him,
and consequently in everything that was His.

[5] From good, which is Jehovah's,
He united the Divine Essence to the Human Essence;
and from truth He united the Human Essence to the Divine Essence;
thus He did all things both in general and in particular from Himself;
in fact His Human was left to itself,
in order that He might fight of Himself against all the hells,
and overcome them;
and as He had life in Himself that was His own - as already said -
He overcame them by His own power and by His own forces,
as is also clearly stated in the Prophets,
in the passages that have been cited.
Consequently, as He acquired all things for Himself
by His own forces,
He became righteousness,
emancipated the world of spirits from infernal genii and spirits,
and thereby delivered the human race from destruction -
for the human race is ruled by means of spirits - and so redeemed it.
For this reason He is so often called
in the Word of the Old Testament
the Deliverer and the Redeemer, and the Saviour,
which is the meaning of His name Jesus.