Title: Daily and Yearly Preparation for Heaven

Topic: Salvation

Summary: The daily sacrifices, weekly sabbaths, and three annual feasts prescribed in the Old Testament are a picture of how to prepare for heaven.

Use the reference links below to follow along in the Bible as you watch.

References:
2 Peter 2:22, 10
Numbers 28:1
Exodus 23:14, 17
Leviticus 23:1, 5, 10, 33
Deuteronomy 16:1, 9, 13-14
Luke 6:1
Acts of the Apostles 2:1; 20:16
Nehemiah 8:13-14
Ezekiel 45:21, 25
Zechariah 14:16
John 7:2, 37

7056. '[And he went, and] he came to meet him in the mountain of God' means a joining together within the good of love there. This is clear from the meaning of 'coming to meet' as a joining together, dealt with just above in 7054; and from the meaning of 'the mountain of God' as the good of God's love, dealt with in 6829. The situation here is that truth which goes forth directly from the Divine cannot be joined together with truth going forth in an indirect way except within good; for good is its very soil. Forms of truth are seeds which do not grow anywhere else than in good as their soil. Good is also the actual soul of truth; good must give truth its being and its life, if it is to be truth.

[2] Truth that goes forth directly from the Divine is called truth, though essentially it is good because it goes forth from Divine Good; but it is good with which all truth from God is united. It is called truth because in heaven it is seen as light, but this light is like springtime light, which is combined with a warmth that brings all things on earth to life. From this it may also be seen that truth going forth directly from the Divine cannot be joined together with truth that goes forth in an indirect way except within good, consequently unless a person is stirred by an affection for truth for its own sake, especially for the sake of what is good, and so for the sake of the life he should lead. For then the person is governed by good.

[3] Something more may be known about the nature of that joining together from the following considerations: Truth that goes forth directly from the Divine enters a person's will; this is the path it takes. But truth which goes forth from the Divine in an indirect way enters a person's understanding, and this being so, no joining together can take place unless will and understanding act as one, that is to say, unless the will desires what is good, and the understanding uses truth to endorse what is good. When therefore the two kinds of truth are joined together it seems as though the Lord is present; His presence is also felt. But when they are not joined the Lord is so to speak absent; but His absence is not felt if there is no perception and therefore knowledge of what His presence is.