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
Da Jonathan S. Rose
Spirit and Life Bible Study broadcast from 5/4/2016. The complete series is available at: www.spiritandlifebiblestudy.com
2 Peter 2
1
But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.
2
And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.
3
And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.
4
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
5
And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
6
And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;
7
And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked:
8
(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
9
The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
10
But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
11
Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord.
12
But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
13
And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you;
14
Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:
15
Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
16
But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet.
17
These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
18
For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
19
While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
20
For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.
21
For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.
22
But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
Apocalypse Explained #288
288. Verse 9. And when the animals gave glory and honor and thanksgiving, signifies Divine truth and Divine good and glorification. This is evident from the signification of "glory and honor," as being, in reference to the Lord, Divine truth and Divine good; "glory" being Divine truth, and "honor" Divine good (of which presently); and from the signification of "thanksgiving," as being glorification. Let it first be told what is here meant by glorification. Glorification, when it is from the Lord, is a perpetual influx with angels and men of Divine good with Divine truth; and glorification of the Lord among angels and men is reception and acknowledgment in heart that all good and all truth are from the Lord, and thence all intelligence, wisdom, and blessedness; this in the spiritual sense is what "giving thanks" signifies. Moreover, all glorification of the Lord by the angels of heaven and by the men of the church is not from themselves, but flows in from the Lord. Glorification that is from men and not from the Lord is not from the heart, but only from the activity of the memory, and thus from the mouth; and what goes forth from the memory and the mouth only, and not through them from the heart, is not heard in heaven, thus is not received by the Lord, but goes out into the world like any other sonorous words. This glorification is not an acknowledgment in heart that all good and all truth are from the Lord. It is said an acknowledgment in heart, which means from the life of the love; for "heart," in the Word, signifies love, and love is a life according to the Lord's precepts; when man is in this life, then there is glorification of the Lord, which is acknowledgment from the heart that all good and truth is from the Lord. This is meant by "being glorified," in John:
If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will and it shall be done unto you. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit, and that ye be My disciples (John 15:7-8).
[2] "The four animals," which were cherubim, "gave glory and honor and thanksgiving," because Divine truth and Divine good and glorification, which are signified by glory, honor, and thanksgiving, proceed and flow in from the Lord; for these cherubim signify the Lord in respect to providence and guard (See above, n. 277); and they were "in the midst of the throne, and around the throne" (as is manifest from verse 6), and the Lord was "upon the throne" (verse 2); from which it is clear that these things were from the Lord; but reception and acknowledgment in heart are meant by the words of the verse following, where it is said, that when these things had been heard, "the four and twenty elders fell down before Him that sitteth on the throne, and worshipped Him that liveth unto ages of ages, and cast their crowns before the throne."
[3] In the Word, "glory and honor" is a frequent expression, and "glory" everywhere signifies truth, and "honor" good. The two are mentioned together because in the particulars of the Word there is a heavenly marriage, which is the conjunction of truth and good. There is this marriage in the particulars of the Word, because the Divine that proceeds from the Lord is Divine truth united to Divine good; and because these together make heaven and also make the church, therefore this marriage is in the particulars of the Word; so also in the particulars of the Word is the Divine from the Lord, and the Lord Himself; this is why the Word is most holy. (That there is such a marriage in the particulars of the Word, see above, n. 238; and Arcana Coelestia, n. 2516, Arcana Coelestia 2712, 2712, 3004, 3005, 3009, 4138, 5138, 5194, 5502, 6343, 7022, 7945, 8339, 9263, 9314)
[4] That "glory" signifies Divine truth from the Lord, see above (n. 33); that "honor" signifies Divine good follows from what has been said concerning the heavenly marriage in the particulars of the Word; as can also be seen from the following passages. In David:
Jehovah made the heavens; glory and honor are before Him; strength and splendor are in His sanctuary (Psalms 96:5-6).
By "the heavens" the Divine that proceeds from the Lord is meant, since the heavens are from His Divine; and as the Divine that proceeds and makes the heavens is Divine truth and Divine good, it is said, "glory and honor are before Him;" "sanctuary" means the church; Divine good and Divine truth therein are meant by "strength and splendor." (That the Divine of the Lord makes the heavens, see in the work on Heaven and Hell 7-12; and that the Divine of the Lord in the heavens is Divine truth and Divine good, n. 7, 13, 133, 137, 139-140.)
[5] In the same:
O Jehovah God, Thou art very great; Thou hast put on glory and honor (Psalms 104:1).
"To put on glory and honor" signifies, in reference to Jehovah, His girding Himself with Divine truth and Divine good, for these proceed from Him, and thus gird Him, and make the heavens; therefore in the Word they are called "His vesture" and "His covering" (See above, n. 65, 271).
[6] In the same:
The works of Jehovah are great. Glory and honor are His work (Psalms 111:2-3
"The works of Jehovah" mean all things that proceed from Him and are done by Him; and as these are referable to Divine truth and Divine good, it is said, "His work is glory and honor."
[7] In the same:
Generation to generation shall praise Thy works, and shall declare Thy mighty acts. Upon the honor of the magnificence of Thy glory and the words of Thy wonders will I meditate. And I will make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glory of the honor of His kingdom (Psalms 145:4-5, 12).
"The honor of the magnificence of glory" means Divine good united to Divine truth; and "the glory of the honor" means Divine truth united to Divine good. This is so said because the unition is reciprocal; for Divine good proceeds from the Lord united to Divine truth; but by the angels in heaven and by the men of the church Divine truth is received and is united to Divine good; it is therefore said, "the glory of the honor of His kingdom," for "His kingdom" means heaven and the church.
[8] In the same:
Glory and honor wilt thou lay upon Him; for thou settest Him blessings forever (Psalms 21:5, 6).
These things were said of the Lord, and "glory and honor upon Him" means all Divine truth and Divine good.
[9] In the same:
Gird Thy sword upon the thigh, O mighty One in Thy glory and honor. And in Thy honor mount, ride upon the word of truth (Psalms 45:3, 4).
This also is said of the Lord; "to gird the sword upon the thigh" signifies Divine truth combating from Divine good (that this is signified by "sword upon the thigh," see Arcana Coelestia 10488); and because the Lord from Divine truth subjugated the hells, and brought the heavens into order, He is said to be "mighty in glory and honor," and also "in honor mount and ride upon the word of truth;" this signifies to act from Divine good through Divine truth.
[10] In the same:
Thou hast made Him to be a little less than the angels, but thou hast crowned Him with glory and honor (Psalms 8:5). This also is said of the Lord; His state of humiliation is described by "thou hast made Him to be a little less than the angels," and His state of glorification by "thou hast crowned Him with glory and honor." "Glorifying" means uniting the Divine Itself to His Human, and also making His Human Divine.
[11] In Isaiah:
Rejoice, ye wilderness and dry place, and let the plain of the desert exult and blossom as the rose, in blossoming let it blossom and exalt; the glory of Lebanon has been given to it, the honor of Carmel and Sharon: they shall see the glory of Jehovah, and the honor of our God (Isaiah 35:1, 2).
This treats of the enlightenment of the Gentiles; that ignorance of truth and good is signified by "the wilderness and the dry place;" their joy in consequence of instruction in truths and enlightenment is signified by "rejoicing, exulting, and blossoming;" "the glory of Lebanon given to them" signifies Divine truth; and "the honor of Carmel and Sharon" signifies Divine good which they receive; this is why it is also said "they shall see the glory of Jehovah, and the honor of our God."
[12] In Revelation:
The nations that have been saved shall walk by its light, and the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor to it. And the glory and honor of the nations shall be brought into it (Revelation 21:24, 26).
This is said of the New Jerusalem, by which a new church in the heavens and on earth is signified; "nations" there signify all who are in good; and the "kings of the earth" all who are in truths from good; it is said of both that "they shall bring their glory and honor into it," which means worship from the good of love to the Lord and from the truths of faith which are from the good of charity towards the neighbor.
