Come Follow Me LDS- Christmas Part 4- The Shepherds

Christmas Part 4-  'The Shepherds'

-  Were these ordinary shepherds, or priestly shepherds

-  The Tower of the Flock is the likely place of the angel's visit.

-  Was Jesus born in The Tower of the Flock?

-  The covenant language of 'this day' in Luke 2:11

-  The language of Luke 2:11 with Saviour (Jesus), Christ (Messiah), and Lord (Jehovah)

-  The Host of Heaven as a revelation of the restoration of Heavenly Hierarchy

okay in this episode we're going to

cover the two visits to the baby Jesus

maybe toddler Jesus of the shepherds and

of the Magi now there's not a lot

written in the scriptures about either

one of these groups or about their

visits but there are some things that we

can glean from additional writings some

historical facts and especially if again

we look back through the model of trying

to find the fulfillment of prophecy

where Matthew and Luke are trying to

show that this is the promised Messiah

the son of God because we can find those

themes throughout the Old Testament so

first we go to Luke 2 and continue where

we left off in the last episode so if we

start with verse 8 we get and there were

in the same country shepherds abiding in

the field keeping watch over their flock

by night so the first thing that we

would think about here is what kind of

symbolism would be represented by this

again oftentimes we look at the

scripture and we just look at it as okay

this is just kind of a sequential record

of what had happened but that's not how

the authors write the scriptures

especially in the Old and New Testaments

they are writing about symbolism and the

fulfillment of prophecy so just kind of

a cursory look at verse 8 what do we see

here and there were in the same country

okay that tells us at least it's close

and that is a fulfillment of prophecy

more than likely shepherds now who are

the shepherds who is the shepherd well

the shepherd is Jesus Christ right he is

the shepherd over his flock abiding in

the field keeping watch over their flock

by night so this is imagery right of the

priesthood and of the Savior but it's

it's about the priests and others who

would be watching

/ members of the church or of the

members of Israel that's probably the

way that we ought to look at that that

would be the duality of the scripture

here and we find that exact duality

in the Old Testament tied to prophecy of

birth and of the Messiah now we know

it's in the same country but Luke does

not say exactly where this is so how do

we deduce where this is well a likely

place that the Shepherd's would be

around at least the fields that they are

abiding in would be near McDowell and

Darrow or ed error this is the tower of

the flock and this would be a tower

probably out of stone to make sure that

the sheep are all safe and not wandering

off so this is already biblical imagery

for us because this is a common thing in

ancient Jerusalem and Palestine but this

is likely the place where these are not

ordinary Shepherds and these are not

ordinary sheep these are the Lambs based

on additional writings Jewish writings

of the Mishnah and the targum we get a

little bit of a picture that this is

where the Lambs were watched over and

where they would be prepared for the

slaughter at Passover

so these Shepherds would be more like

priests and maybe they were or Levites

or something to do with the priesthood

that would make sense or they're

commissioned under the priesthood to

watch over these sacrificial lambs so

we've heard a lot this story about these

shepherds being in a place where the

sacrificial lambs are offered in Christ

is the baby Jesus is the sacrificial

lamb but here we can tie it to prophecy

so if we go to Micah for 8 and 10 here's

what it says

and thou O tower of the flock

McDowell Adair the stronghold of the

daughter of Zion this could be speaking

more about the mother of the Messiah

unto thee shall it come even the first

Dominion the kingdom shall come to the

daughter of Jerusalem so what's the

kingdom right again this is messianic

and restorative type of language of the

Melchizedek Priesthood and of possibly

Jesus Christ in 10 be in pain and labor

to bring forth o daughter of Zion like a

woman in travail so again we get more of

a fulfillment of prophecy as we have

seen in the nativity scene as well and

that's kind of what Luke and Matthew

were doing here they are looking to

point out the fulfillment of prophecy in

testifying that Jesus is the Son of God

and the Messiah and then we also get a

view of our little window into this

scripture into Luke 8 about the

shepherds watching over their flock this

was the exact language of the Book of

Enoch which was a primary book more than

likely of the early Christians and

probably those that were looking after a

different tradition prior to the birth

of Christ and so the idea of calling out

here of sighting the Shepherd's looking

after their flock this is language more

than likely from the Book of Enoch and

then we get this quote from the targum

the Jewish targum that says this about

the tower of the flock it says the tower

of the flock the place from which the

King Messiah right so again they're

looking at a political figure as a

Messiah but they have the King and the

Messiah here which the king

Messiah will reveal himself at the end

of days so here in the targum they have

got a reference to the tower of the

flock as where the Messiah will reveal

him we will reveal himself

everybody knows well except the Magi I

guess or King Herod but it seems to be

known that Bethlehem which is in the

land of where the tower of the flock is

is where the Messiah is going to come

and we could even maybe get a little bit

more specific here about the Tower of

the flock there are some biblical

scholars and others who have suggested

that Jesus was actually born in the

tower of the flock here's how that

thought process would go it's like okay

at on the floor more than likely here of

the tower would have been like a stable

it would have been a place to bring in

the Lambs that were maybe needed some

medical attention and where they could

possibly eat if necessary

there would be majors in there the word

for manger in Greek can also mean a crib

which is interesting or even a stall for

an animal but it would also be the place

where the sheep would give birth to the

baby lambs so it would be a place of

birth for the Lambs who are sacrificed

which would give even more meaning in

even more umph

to the title of the Lamb of God

that John the Baptist gives us at

Jesus's baptism in verse 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

so here we start off with a single angel

and again it's here in the fields of

McDowell adair the tower of the flock

area right outside about Bethlehem where

this prophecy would be fulfilled and

Luke wants to point that out he's got to

tie it to previous prophecy

and verse 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 again when we talk about

the gospel we're talking about good

tidings that's the same thing good

tidings is good news and the good news

in Anglo-Saxon Old English is God spell

right G OD SPL that's good news that's

the gospel the gospel so we say good

tidings here that's where we get the

term gospel from we think of the gospel

as being all of the doctrine and

what not all of the scriptures and in a

sense it is but it's the good tidings of

what of the birth of Jesus Christ and

his sacrifice it's the good tidings that

God is going to be born into the world

and take on our sins that he that is the

condescension of God that is

specifically what the good tidings is of

great joy another thing to look at here

is the Book of Mormon where we get

Lehigh's words that where Adam fell that

men might be and men are that they may

have joy so this is the good tidings of

great joy and the joy and the love of

God is represented in Lehigh's dream and

his vision of the tree of life and the

fruit that is born from that tree that

is that is the love of God and the joy

that we can have it's all about the

condescension of God and then in 11 we

get some language that is very

interesting it says for unto you Is Born

This Day in the City of David a savior

which is Christ the Lord

so first of all this day if you read

throughout the scriptures especially in

the Old Testament you'll see that often

times where there is a covenant being

made it could be with all of it

real it could be with a profit but where

there is covenants going on typically

with a ritual you might see the term

this day you can even think about that

with a creation story and the seven days

of the creation story I would look at

that as if those are kind of covenant

language or Joshua has the same thing as

he divides Israel on both sides of the

banks of the valley he talks about this

day when he talks about choose ye this

day who you will serve it is covenant

and so this is fulfillment of the

Covenant is what the angel is saying the

Covenant right the high covenant the

higher law covenant of God coming down

to earth and fulfilling what he had

promised on his end of the Covenant it

says on this day in the City of David to

Bethlehem a savior which is Christ the

Lord so here's our three pieces of the

title puzzle here again Savior is

basically that the word Jesus the name

Jesus is basically savior which is

Christ

that's Messiah the Lord that is as we've

talked about before kurios which could

very easily be read at this time as

Jehovah or it's substitute word which is

a don't I so we would get Jesus which is

the Messiah Jehovah and that could very

well be the type of language that

they're talking about here with this

entire fulfillment again as you go

through the New Testament not in all

cases in some cases they're just talking

about the Lord in a term that is of

great reverence and praise perhaps

respect and the Lord being a certain

position but in many cases it's likely

that what we're talking about here is

specifically Jehovah and you can see in

the Old Testament they use the word Lord

oftentimes for Jehovah

or the substitute word add own I and so

then the angel says you're going to see

as a sign a babe wrapped in swaddling

clothes lying in a manger

now of course if this was actually in

the tower of the flock which is not a a

popular view but a view now if the birth

was actually in the tower of the flock

and they talked about Jesus being born

in a manger laying in a manger and in

swaddling clothes these shepherds which

are used to helping birth the lambs in

this tower would know exactly what the

angel was talking about that's the

thinking on that that theory but then

the one become many and this is

important in this language it says here

in verse 13 and suddenly there was with

the angel a multitude of the heavenly

host praising God okay so again going

back to the Book of Mormon look at

Lehi first vision how what does he see

he sees one coming down brighter than

the rest he sees twelve others there

that are with that one

right who is the son of God who is Jesus

Christ who was to hold vitally high and

then there are a host of angels that are

there the con courses of angels that are

there as well this is important language

because it is moving back toward a and

opening up and a structuring of the

proper hierarchy of heaven where there

is a father and there is a son a

separate being and there are angels and

there is hierarchy and priesthood here

and in Jerusalem the theology had

changed for centuries before and the

hosts of angels had been the hosts of

heaven had been removed from newer

language at the time of Lehi and maybe

before and of course the

strict push toward a purist theology of

monotheism where there is Jehovah and

that's all had eliminated anything else

in heaven for example having a father

and a son and angels so this is a new

revelation right in terms of restoring

truth it's like with Joseph Smith's

first vision right when Joseph Smith

goes in the first vision he sees maybe

more but he sees a father and a son and

that changes everything

so this would be similar to that idea as

this is also a period of restoration and

they're saying glory to God in the

highest and on earth peace

who's the Prince of Peace and on earth

peace goodwill toward men and so the

Angels leave and the Shepherd's say hey

let's go to Bethlehem and see what's

been told of us here and then the

Shepherd's who may have a good Network

here they're not isolated shepherds if

they're actually connected to the temple

and the priesthood they go abroad

telling everybody what has happened so

again there is news that goes out beyond

just these little groups perhaps these

networks throughout the cities and towns

of those that are looking at older

traditions people hear about these

things Herod is going to hear about this