The birth of Jesus Christ, the Lord, had come to the world as foretold in the Scriptures. Yet no one had come to see and worship Him from their self. The shepherds would not have come to see the new born Son of God, if not for the angels. Simon, who was devout and just, had waited for the consolation of Israel, and for the Coming of the Lord. Yet he was unaware that the Lord Jesus Christ was born on earth. Only when his eyes were opened upon seeing the young child did he know that the Lord's Salvation had come, and so he gave praise to Jehovah. Anna, the prophetess, also was unaware that the Savior had come to the world. She only thanked God after she saw the young Child. No one in Israel knew that the Lord's birth had taken place. Yet we know today from the Word of the Old Testament of His Coming, and even where He would be born. However, there some who lived them, who were not of the Israelitish Church, who also had this knowledge. In our text, we learn that the only persons who were aware that the Lord was to born on earth and that the prophecy of His Coming was fulfilled, were the wise men from the east. They came to worship the Lord 'as if' of themselves. Why were they the only ones who knew that He had been born, and therefore, searched for the Lord's human? The Israelitish Church had the Word, yet of their priests, Pharisees, and Rabbis, no one knew that the Lord had come on earth. If we, knowing what we have learned from the Word of the Divine Human, the Third Testament, were sent back in time to the period just before the Lord's birth, would we have known when He came, and would we have searched for Him like the wise men, in order to worship Him as they did? We can say yes, if we have the knowledge and the love that the wise men had. Today that knowledge is available, but few seem to know of it.

Now, the wise men lived at a time when the Church was in its representative state. The Church had deteriorated from its spiritual state to the natural and man lived only in the external, that is, sensuous and corporeal. There was little conjunction with the Lord at that time, whereas the people of today can have conjunction, although people who do have such conjunction only when the Lord's New Church has been instituted within them. The Israelitish Church person had no celestial or spiritual conjunction with either Heaven or the Lord, as did those of the Most Ancient Church. All this had been lost with mankind. That conjunction can be seen evident in the coming of the wise men to see and worship the Lord Jesus Christ. The wise men did not have the Word of the Old Testament; however the Jewish Church was given this Word from God. Neither had the New Testament at that time been written, nor had the Third Testament. Yet the wise men were searching for the Lord, who had come on earth. How did they know that He had come? What was the knowledge that they had that revealed to them the birth of Jesus Christ? When we know this, we will know whether or not we would have known of His Coming and would have searched for the young child, Jesus, as did the wise men. The knowledge that the wise men possessed was the knowledge of the science of correspondences and representatives. From this they knew Heavenly things, and were in the knowledge of good and truth. Today, do we have this knowledge? It is revealed in the Word of the Divine Human, the Third Testament. Most of the world rejects the idea that the Word has an internal sense. Some, who do believe that it does, insist that it cannot be known until man comes into the spiritual world. Nevertheless, correspondences and representatives are what the Third Testament teaches and thus, brings man back into the spiritual Church. So man can now come to an understanding of Heavenly things, of spiritual truths, and if he obeys them, he receives good or love from the Lord. The Word teaches that unless we know what correspondences are, we will not be conjoined with Heaven or the Lord. For it is only through correspondences that there is connection with the spiritual; and through correspondences the spiritual becomes conjoined with the natural. Let us pray that we may desire to know the Lord and understand spiritual truths concerning Him and His Church, and that we may be obedient to His commandments.

Now when Jesus was born, the Divine Good within Him, which is seen as the Father, began the work of glorification. The Lord began to unite His Natural with the Divine. This work proceeded from His Celestial and Spiritual Human. Truth must become conjoined with good in the natural human of the Lord. Any conjunction, in order to be effective, must flow from the Divine into the celestial, then to the spiritual, and finally into the natural of man and in the present case into the Lord's natural human. The purpose of the Divine flowing thus was to conjoin the Lord's human that He put on with the Divine within, and consequently, a man and the Lord becomes conjoined through representatives. This work began within the humanity that the Lord had put on upon coming into the world. In this way, the true Church that was to be in man was first formed in the Lord's Human. Conjunction could not occur until genuine truth that comes from good was with the natural of the young child, Jesus. This state was reached only when there was perception within the Lord's Divine Human. The Divine Love came into the Child's natural state, which was only a representative state. Such a state was the state of the Israelitish Church into which the Lord had come. Let us read the Word:

When correspondences and representatives are known, they reveal things about the Lord's work of regeneration and about His glorification. The wise men must have been aware that the Lord was born and they asked 'where was He born' because they wished to worship Him, and to be conjoined with Him as their Lord and Heaven. They questioned: "Where is He that is born King of the Jews" (Matthew 2: 2).

A king signifies genuine truth that comes from good, the Jews represent the celestial Church (cf. AC 96). The question asked is: "Where are the truths of the Celestial Church?" Here, we understand that the Lords' Human came according to Divine order, first to the celestial, farther to the spiritual, and then to the natural and thus good, truth, and Use, the qualities of the Lord is manifested in man. The Lord was born a spiritual man, but the human He put on was natural. It is only the Lord's Divine Human that has true affection for understanding, that is, that can develop a conscience with a man. This is because good and truth live in the good of faith in man when his understanding attends to the knowledge of truths and good, which proceeds from the celestial and the spiritual into man, who lives in the natural state. When this knowledge of goods and truths are known, then one comes into humiliation and worships in freedom, for this knowledge has been implanted within the mind - the will and the understanding. Thus, conjunction is by love or celestial good and is of charity and is of spiritual truths. However, before such knowledge can be known and acknowledged as true there must be a life of faith within the man, otherwise he is not in true worship nor does he have or know the true doctrine. Are we like the wise men, and have we knowledge of these truths and goods that come through the science of correspondences and of representatives? Are we in the good of faith and in love from the Lord? Do we understand and attend to the things of the internal or the spiritual sense of the Word? In other words, have "we seen his star in the East, and are we come to worship Him" in love and truth? (cf. Matthew 2:2)   

If we have asked where is the Lord and have received His goodness, and believed His truth, and lived from them, then we know that genuine truth comes from the divine good that goes forth as doctrine, teaching, and conjoins us with the rational that we receive from the Lord. Let us read about this from the Word:

This, in the supreme sense, is the Lord's Divine Human coming into the natural. (cf. AC 10252 § 6) It signifies living from the Divine Good received from truth. The truth being what forms or the existere, and the good is the essence or esse. The instructions given are that there should not remain any evil within the human that the Lord had assumed. Remember, He was conceived of God and born of Mary. This resulted in uniting the Lord's Divine Human and the Divine within Him, thus in His glorification. Explained in another way, genuine truth that comes from good formed the New Church within the Natural of the Lord, and consequently within man in whom there is spiritual good and truth.

Now, when the wise men learned where the Lord was born, they obeyed the king's command to "Go and search diligently for the young Child." We too, when we discover that the truth conjoined with good leads to a new will and understanding from the Lord, and that the New Church is established within us, should go and search for the Divine Good, that is, for Jesus. In this state, the intelligence and affection of good are not spiritual with man, although they come from spiritual good through truths into one's mind. In other words, man must receive knowledge concerning truths and goods according to Divine Order, and not from himself; he cannot come into spiritual understanding from himself; the Lord must lead him. His trust must now be in the Lord and not in himself. He not only needs to know truths, but love or charity, and thus, he needs to live from the Lord, so that he will be in the good of faith that is received from the Lord. He must live in the Lord's love and not from his own. When one lives from the Lord's love, he learns to have faith and sees the Lord's salvation revealed within the doctrine of the New Church as it is being formed within him in a new rational from the Lord. This is what is meant by the words:

You can imagine the delight and the joy the wise men felt when they 'saw the star' in the east standing over where the young Child, Jesus, was. They 'rejoiced with exceeding great joy' (cf. Matthew 2:10). We, too, must receive this same experience, when we gain this knowledge of Divine spiritual truth because it is the genuine truth; and because we have learned this truth, we want to return love the Lord gives to us. This is an inner delight from the heart and soul and it brings us to search for the Lord, for Him to work regeneration in our life. So, let us continue with our search to know the Lord, to know of His love for us, and to see His salvation. Then let us reciprocate His love to Him. We read again: