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
By Jonathan S. Rose
Spirit and Life Bible Study broadcast from 5/4/2016. The complete series is available at: www.spiritandlifebiblestudy.com
Deuteronomy 16
1
Observe the month of Abib, and keep the passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night.
2
Thou shalt therefore sacrifice the passover unto the LORD thy God, of the flock and the herd, in the place which the LORD shall choose to place his name there.
3
Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.
4
And there shall be no leavened bread seen with thee in all thy coast seven days; neither shall there anything of the flesh, which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.
5
Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee:
6
But at the place which the LORD thy God shall choose to place his name in, there thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that thou camest forth out of Egypt.
7
And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.
8
Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread: and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly to the LORD thy God: thou shalt do no work therein.
9
Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee: begin to number the Seven weeks from such time as thou beginnest to put the sickle to the corn.
10
And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which thou shalt give unto the LORD thy God, according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
11
And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to place his name there.
12
And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in Egypt: and thou shalt observe and do these statutes.
13
Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine:
14
And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates.
15
Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose: because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.
16
Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before the LORD empty:
17
Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee.
18
Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes: and they shall judge the people with just judgment.
19
Thou shalt not wrest judgment; thou shalt not respect persons, neither take a gift: for a gift doth blind the eyes of the wise, and pervert the words of the righteous.
20
That which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live, and inherit the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
21
Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee.
22
Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth.
Arcana Coelestia #2362
2362. That 'behold now, I have two daughters, who have not known a man' means the affections for good and for truth is clear from the meaning of 'daughters' as affections, dealt with in 489-491. 'They have not known a man' means that they have not been defiled by falsity, for 'a man' means rational truth, and also in the contrary sense falsity, 265, 749, 1007. There are two types of affection, namely the affection for good and the affection for truth, see 1997. The first - the affection for good - constitutes the celestial church and in the Word is called 'the daughter of Zion' and also 'the virgin daughter of Zion'.
[2] But the second - the affection for truth - constitutes the spiritual church, and in the Word is called 'the daughter of Jerusalem'; as in Isaiah,
She has despised you, she has scorned you, the virgin daughter of Zion; she wags her head behind you, the daughter of Jerusalem. Isaiah 37:22; 2 Kings 19:21.
In Jeremiah,
What shall I liken you to, O daughter of Jerusalem? What shall I equate you with and comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? Lamentations 2:13.
In Micah,
You, O tower of the flock, hill of the daughter of Zion, to you will it come and the former dominion will come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem. Micah 4:8.
In Zephaniah,
Shout with joy, O daughter of Zion! Make a noise, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! Zephaniah 3:14.
In Zechariah,
Exult greatly, O daughter of Zion! Make a noise, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king will come to you. Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 21:5; John 12:15.
[3] That the celestial Church, which is the Lord's celestial kingdom, is called 'the daughter of Zion' from the affection for good, that is, from love to the Lord Himself, see in addition Isaiah 10:32; 16:1; 52:2; 62:11; Jeremiah 4:31; 6:2, 23; Lamentations 1:6; 2:1, 4, 8, 10; Micah 4:10, 13; Zechariah 2:10; Psalms 9:14. And that the spiritual Church, which is the Lord's spiritual kingdom, is called 'the daughter of Jerusalem' from the affection for truth and so from charity towards the neighbour, see Lamentations 2:15. Both of those Churches, and the nature of each one, have been dealt with many times in Volume One.
[4] Because the celestial Church exists from love to the Lord which is present within love towards the neighbour it is likened in particular to an unmarried daughter or a virgin. Indeed it is also called 'a virgin', as in John,
These are the ones who were not defiled with women, for they are virgins; these are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes; for they are spotless before God's throne. Revelation 14:4-5.
And so that the same might be represented in the Jewish Church, the priests were commanded not to marry widows but virgins, Leviticus 21:13-15; Ezekiel 44:22.
[5] From the contents of the present verse it becomes clear how pure the Word is in the internal sense, however else it may appear in the letter. For when these words are read, 'Behold now, I have two daughters, who have not known a man; let me now bring them out to you and you may do to them as is good in your eyes; only do nothing to those men', nothing else comes to mind than something impure, especially to those leading an evil life. Yet how chaste these words are in the internal sense is evident from the explanation already given, which is that they mean the affections for good and truth and the blessedness perceived from the enjoyment of those affections by people who do no violence to the Lord's Divinity and [proceeding] Holiness.
