To this day, it still strikes me of one of the warmest and most comforting passages in the bible....much like Linus' blanket.
Posted on 12/11/2005 4:20:21 PM PST by clee1
7 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.
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.
Merry Christmas to all.
Admin, please move this to wherever is appropriate.
Linus: "lights please..."
Isn't that the most perfect moment in all tv? What are the odds that could even be MADE in the current climate, let alone get on the air.
Watching Linus in those moments gets my Christmas season in gear.
Merry Christmas to you, Cleel, and to all of Freeperdom!
"Peace on earth, goodwill to men"? The Latin has it, `et in terra pax hominibus, bonae voluntatis". Note the Latin genetive case in the words `bonae voltuntatis'.
The phrase properly rendered is,
"PEACE ON EARTH TO MEN OF GOOD WILL".
The angels' words are not universalist, if you get my drift.
I'm fine with that version. I pulled this from the KJV, which is less PC than most of the rest of the "Bibles" now floating around.
See # 8.
Take a look at some of the other "bibles" now available if you really want to get ticked.
Lovely post, thank you so much and Merry CHRISTMAS!!!!
I've been looking for the source of a tale. It may possibly be an old Holy Land urban legend. Story is about the shepherds on the first Christmas. Their "specialty" was in the flock they were keeping watch over, "unblemished" or something like that for Temple sacrifice. I remember something about why the Angels made the first announcement to shepherds was to tell them their jobs were going to end. {They now had The Lamb of God}
Anyone ever heard this story?
Yep, I'm 50-yrs old and it still will bring a tear.
Very nice.
Sorry, FRiend. That is a parable of Easter.
Christmas is about the "birth" of the Savior.
I have heard that before.... somewhere.
Lemme do some hunting for it.
Somehow I have great difficulty separating the two holydays. Luther said that the cradle of the Christ-child sits in the shadow of the cross.
And the fourth wise man said, "There will be NO peace on earth until there is Glory to God in the Highest"...
True. Christ was born to die for our sins. Gods greatest givet to mankind, and many are either too foolish to see it, or believe Satan when he says "You are not worthy of His sacrifice."
Even the demons of Hell believe, and tremble at the sound of His name.
Amen, FRiend.
However, there will never be peace on earth. The end of times is foreordained; there will be no peace until we see the peace that passeth all understanding.
Amen. Nice FR home page, by the way.
To this day, it still strikes me of one of the warmest and most comforting passages in the bible....much like Linus' blanket.
The Shepherds of Bethlehem and Jewish Tradition
When angels appeared to shepherds near Bethlehem by night, a popular expectation was fulfilled. An early Jewish paraphrase of the books of Moses reflects a popular belief in Bethlehem as Messiah’s birthplace and shepherds as the witnesses. This popular belief, no doubt, sprang from the ancient prophecy in Micah of a ruler “from ancient days” being born in Bethlehem14.
The Jewish paraphrase in question is Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, which translated the Hebrew text of the books of Moses into the language most Jewish people spoke at the time, Aramaic. While translating these books of the Bible, the Targum often added some commentary to the text (the first study Bible?).
In one such comment from Genesis 35:21, the Targum includes a historical note about the place called Migdal Eder (the Tower of the Flock): “The tower of the flock, the place from which it will happen that King Messiah will be revealed at the end of days.”15
What possible significance could this little reference have? The Tower of the Flock is significant for two reasons. First of all, it shows up in the very prophecy of the Messiah that led the Jewish people to expect Messiah to be born in Bethlehem, Micah 4:6 – 5:5. Second of all, the Tower of the Flock is just outside of Bethlehem, on the road to Jerusalem. The tower was used as a watchtower for the area to look for predators that might harm the flocks16. Therefore, there is a tradition from the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan that the Messiah would first be revealed to shepherds near the watchtower of the flock outside of Bethlehem—just as it actually happened!
Not only do we learn from Jewish sources that the Messiah should be first revealed to shepherds, but we also learn that these were no ordinary sheep-herders. A Jewish book called the Mishnah tells us that all sheep raised between Jerusalem and the Tower of Eder were for use in the Temple sacrifices, especially the Passover lambs17. These shepherds were involved in a sacred duty, raising sheep destined for use in the Temple.
While it is true that Jesus was first revealed as Messiah to a lowly bunch of shepherds, these were shepherds with a special significance. They were raising lambs for the slaughter. And to them was given the first glimpse of the lamb of God, who would be slain for the sins of Israel and the world!
Jesus’ whole life placed him prophetically in the role of a sacrificial lamb. More than seven hundred years before he was born, Isaiah said about the Messiah, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”18 At the very beginning of his ministry, before he ever said a word to anyone about his upcoming death on a Roman cross, John the Baptist said of him, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”19 And at his birth, he was first shown to those who raised lambs for the slaughter.
Me too, FRiend. Yet, for all it's comfort, it still makes me weep - which is out of character for me.
I cannot listen to sacred Christmas carols unless I am alone... too embarassing.
To think of the depths of Gods love for us and the Miracle of Christ's birth, ministry, death, and resurrection affects me profoundly.
Then, I get nearly violent at what the secularists are trying to do to Christmas.
Merry Christmas
Thanks, FRiend.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.
Warmest tidings of Merry Christmas to you, FRiend.
And never, ever, let the secularists steal your blanket!
Like the head of the class.
Neal Boortz
I went to a Catholic school, and I never forgot the lessons I learned in my catechism class. Thanks much for the sweet reminder.
Beautiful post, clee1! Merry Christmas to you and yours, and to all FReepers everywhere! chena
I felt shivers running up and down my spine.... it's like you're inside my head!
Yep, I can hear the Choir of Angels singing.
Don't worry FRiend; the secularists and leftists (or am I being redundant?) will NEVER steal my salvation, or my Savior.
I prefer to think of it as "an Angel loses his/her halo", but that I just not possible from earthly influences.
ROFL!
Anytime FRiend. The internet was just a tool of academic eggheads when I was still doing homework. :)
I knew I had heard that story before. As I was thinking about it, it was several years ago when a former minister of my Church was telling us of this. He was a biblical historian/archeologist in his younger days, and was always providing historical tidbits to back up his sermons.
Thank you. My hope is the Administrator
doesn't move this. It is the most important
message of eternity.
Thank you again, for posting this.
My priviledge, FRiend, and thank you.
While I agree that this IS and important message, the MOST important message of eternity can be found in John Chapter 3 Verse 16.
Merry Christmas to you.
There is a little bit missing, but it is important.
the traslation above is WEB. Other translations have just a little more reference to whom is blessed.
Luke 2:14
"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased." (ASV)
Peace to whomever God is pleased with.
Thank you for reminding us.
The only problem with that translation, FRiend, is that there is only one person in the Bible with whom God was "well pleased". That would be Jesus Himself.
I think that God is "pleased" with all people of good will. "Well pleased" is an altogether higher standard.
All is calm, all is bright.
Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child.
Holy Infant so tender and mild.
Sleep in Heavenly peace. Sleep in Heavenly peace.
I think that God is "pleased" with all people of good will. "Well pleased" is an altogether higher standard.
It's the only place where he expressed it to others. Do you think he has been well pleased with Mother Teresa? I would think he was well pleased with Paul's post conversion life.
He has been well pleased with many a man who has lived since then whenever one is saved.
My Father has been well pleased with me at times. And dissappointed as well. I am his child. A parent is well pleased with their children when they do something excellent, not just pleased. Pleased as punch!
Your reply most interesting. Then how did the koine Greek version of the angels’ salutation become “et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis” as Latin replaced Greek as the lingua franca of Europe, and the Vulgate Bible made Scripture readable to a much larger population?
My view is that the nonuniversalistic greeting in Latin may have been a response to the violent spread of Islam 700-1100 A.D. by large numbers of men clearly not of good will toward their fellow human beings. Wasn’t the Vulgate approved by Rome at about the same point in history?
As for me: love me, love my Savior.
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