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
261 - Daily and Yearly Preparation for Heaven
द्वारा Jonathan S. Rose
Spirit and Life Bible Study broadcast from 5/4/2016. The complete series is available at: www.spiritandlifebiblestudy.com
Acts 2
1
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
2
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
3
And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
4
And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5
And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
6
Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
7
And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
8
And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
9
Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10
Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11
Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12
And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
13
Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
14
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
15
For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
16
But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
17
And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God,I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
19
And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20
The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
21
And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
22
Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
23
Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:
24
Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
25
For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
26
Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
27
Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
28
Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
29
Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.
30
Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
31
He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
32
This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33
Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
34
For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
35
Until I make thy foes thy footstool.
36
Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
37
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
39
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
40
And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
42
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43
And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
44
And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
45
And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
46
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47
Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Apocalypse Explained #71
71. And His voice as the voice of many waters, signifies Divine truth in ultimates. This is evident from the signification of a "voice" when it is from the Lord, as being Divine truth (See Arcana Coelestia 219, 220, 3563, 6971, 8813, 8914, and above, n. 55); and from the signification of "waters," as being the truths of faith, and also the knowledges of truth (of which see n. 2702, 3058, 5668, 8568, 10238); and since the knowledges of truths are in ultimates, "the voice as the voice of many waters," because it is said of the Lord, signifies Divine truth in ultimates. (That knowledges and scientifics are of the external or natural man, because they are in the light of the world, thus in ultimates, see Arcana Coelestia 5212, and in general, in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, n.51.) As it is not yet known that "waters" in the Word signify the truths of faith and the knowledges of truth, I would like, since this signification may possibly appear remote, to show here briefly that this is what is meant in the Word by "waters." This, moreover, is necessary, because without a knowledge of what "waters" signify, it cannot be known what baptism signifies, nor the "washings" in the Israelitish church so frequently referred to. "Waters" signify the truths of faith, as "bread" signifies the good of love. "Waters" and "bread" have this signification because things that pertain to spiritual nourishment are expressed in the sense of the letter by such things as belong to natural nourishment; for bread and water, which include in general all food and drink, nourish the body, while the truths of faith and the good of love nourish the soul. This also is from correspondence, for when "bread" and "water" are read of in the Word, angels, because they are spiritual, understand the things by which they are nourished, which are the goods of love and the truths of faith.
[2] But I will cite some passages from which it may be known that "waters" signify the truths of faith, likewise the knowledges of truth. Thus in Isaiah:
The earth is full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9).
In the same:
Then with joy shall ye draw waters out of the fountains of salvation (Isaiah 12:3).
In the same:
He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly, bread shall be given him, and his waters shall be sure (Isaiah 33:15-16).
In the same:
The poor and the needy seek water, but there is none; their tongue faileth for thirst. I will open rivers upon the heights, and will place fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness into a pool of waters, and the dry land into a going forth of waters; that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand (Isaiah 41:17, 18, 20).
In the same:
I will pour waters upon him that is thirsty, and streams upon the dry ground; I will pour My spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring (Isaiah 44:3).
In the same:
Thy light shall arise in the darkness, and thy thick darkness be as the noonday; that thou mayest be like a watered garden, and like a going forth of waters, whose waters shall not prove false (Isaiah 58:10-11).
In Jeremiah:
My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew out for themselves pits that hold no water (Jeremiah 2:13).
In the same:
Their nobles sent their little ones for water; they came to the pits and found no waters; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded (Jeremiah 14:3).
In the same:
They have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters (Jeremiah 17:13).
In the same:
They shall come with weeping, 1 and with supplications will I lead them; I will lead them unto fountains of waters, in the way of right (Jeremiah 31:9).
In Ezekiel:
I will break the staff of bread, and they shall eat bread by weight and with carefulness; and they shall drink water by measure and with astonishment; that they may want bread and water, and be desolated, a man and a brother, and pine away for their iniquities (Ezekiel 4:16-17; 12:18-19; Isaiah 51:14).
In Amos:
Behold the days come, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but for hearing the Word of Jehovah. They shall wander from sea to sea, they shall run to and fro, to seek the Word of Jehovah, and shall not find it; in that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst (Amos 8:11-13).
In Zechariah:
In that day living waters shall go out from Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:8).
In David:
Jehovah is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He will lead me to the waters of rest (Psalms 23:1-2).
In Isaiah:
They shall not thirst, He will cause waters to flow out of the rock for them, and He will cleave the rock, that the waters may flow out (Isaiah 48:21).
In David:
O God, early will I seek Thee; my soul thirsteth, I am weary without waters (Psalms 63:1).
In the same:
Jehovah sendeth His word, He maketh the wind to blow, that the waters may flow (Psalms 147:18).
In the same:
Praise Jehovah, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens (Psalms 148:4).
In John:
When Jesus came to the fountain of Jacob, a woman of Samaria came to draw water; Jesus said to her, Give Me to drink. If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, Give Me to drink, thou wouldest ask of Him, and He would give thee living water. The woman said unto Him, From whence hast Thou living water? Jesus said to her, Everyone that drinketh of this water shall thirst again; but whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give him shall not thirst for ever; and the water that I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up unto everlasting life (John 4:7-15).
In the same:
Jesus said, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (John 7:37-38).
In Revelation:
I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely (Revelation 21:6).
And in another place:
The angel showed unto him a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb (Revelation 22:1).
And again:
The spirit and the bride say, Come. He that heareth, let him say, Come. And he that is athirst, let him come. And he that wisheth, let him take the water of life freely (Revelation 22:17).
[3] These passages have been cited that it may be known that in the Word "waters" signify the truths of faith, consequently what is meant by the water of baptism, about which the Lord thus teaches in John:
Except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5).
"Waters" here are the truths of faith, and "spirit" a life according to them (See New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine, n. 202-209 seq.). Because it had not been known that "waters" signified the truths of faith, and that all things that were instituted among the sons of Israel were representative of spiritual things, it was believed that by the washings that were prescribed for them their sins were wiped away; yet this was not at all the case; those washings only represented purification from evils and falsities by means of the truths of faith and a life according to them (See Arcana Coelestia 3147[1-10], 5954, 10237, 10240). From this it is now clear that by "the voice," which was "as the voice of many waters," is meant Divine truth; as likewise in Ezekiel:
Behold the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east, and His voice was like the voice of many waters; and the earth was enlightened by His glory (Ezekiel 43:2).
And in David:
The voice of Jehovah is upon the waters, Jehovah upon many waters (Psalms 29:3).
And in the following words in Revelation:
I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters (Revelation 14:2).
[4] I know that some will wonder why "waters" are mentioned in the Word, and not the truths of faith, since the Word is to teach man about his spiritual life; and since, if the expression the truths of faith had been used, instead of "waters," man would have known that the waters of baptism and of washings contribute nothing to the purifying of man from evils and falsities. But it is to be known, that the Word in order to be Divine, and at the same time useful to heaven and the church, must be wholly natural in the letter, for if it were not natural in the letter there could be no conjunction of heaven with the church by means of it; for it would be like a house without a foundation, and like a soul without a body, for ultimates enclose all interiors, and are a foundation for them (See above, n. 41). Man also is in ultimates, and upon the church in him heaven has its foundations. For this reason the style of the Word is such as it is; and as a consequence, when man from the natural things that are in the sense of the letter of the Word thinks spiritually, he is conjoined with heaven, and in no other way could he be conjoined with it.
फुटनोट:
1. The Latin has "weeping and with weeping," the Hebrew "weeping and with supplication," as also found in Apocalypse Explained 239, 483; Arcana Coelestia 3325.
