{"id":11672,"date":"2016-04-27T23:04:39","date_gmt":"2016-04-28T03:04:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordstudy.newchurch.org\/?page_id=11672"},"modified":"2016-04-27T23:04:39","modified_gmt":"2016-04-28T03:04:39","slug":"prepare","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/bible-keywords\/prepare\/","title":{"rendered":"Prepare"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/b>In general, when something is \u201cprepared\u201d in the Bible<\/a> it illustrates, according to Swedenborg<\/a>, our state<\/a> when we are in the proper spiritual<\/a> order<\/a>, which happens when our hearts<\/a> and minds<\/a> are open to the Lord\u2019s love<\/a> and wisdom<\/a>, and when our internal<\/a> beliefs<\/a> and good desires<\/a> guide our actions. <\/span><\/p>\n

In a sense, this comes on two levels. There are times when people prepare themselves or prepare things; this refers to us making an ongoing effort to bring ourselves into spiritual order. There are other times when the Lord<\/a> prepares something; this represents grace, by which the Lord can reach into us and elevate us, either to a purer state of spiritual order or ultimately to heaven<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Passages from Swedenborg<\/strong><\/p>\n

Apocalypse Explained (Tansley) n. 731<\/b><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Where she hath a place\u00a0prepared\u00a0by God.- That this signifies its state, that in the meantime provision may be made for it among many, is evident from the signification of place, as denoting state (concerning which we shall speak presently); and from the signification of being\u00a0prepared\u00a0by God, as denoting to be provided by the Lord, for what is done by man is\u00a0prepared, but what is done by the Lord is provided. Also to be provided is said of the state that is signified by place, while to be\u00a0prepared\u00a0is said of place. It signifies that the state in the meantime may be provided among many, because by the woman fleeing into the wilderness is signified that the church is as yet among few, because among those who are not in good, and consequently not in truths, as may be seen in the preceding article (n. 730). It therefore follows that these words, namely, “where the woman hath a place\u00a0prepared\u00a0by God,” signify the state of the church, that in the meantime provision may be made for it among many; and that also the words, “that they may nourish her a thousand two hundred and sixty days” signify until it grows to fulness, of which below (n. 732).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 8422<\/b><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. ‘That they are to\u00a0prepare\u00a0what they have brought in’ means setting in order forms of good that have been assimilated. This is clear from the meaning of ‘preparing’, when it refers to forms of good that have been assimilated, as setting in order; and from the meaning of ‘what they have brought in’ when this refers to ‘the manna’, by which good is meant – as forms of good that have been assimilated. The gathering of the manna every day means the reception of good, and the eating of it means assimilation; therefore ‘preparing\u00a0what they have brought in’ means setting in order all the good that has been assimilated. That setting in order is carried out by the Lord at the end of every state, which is meant by ‘the sixth day’; and it is followed by a joining together, which is meant by ‘the seventh day’.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 9305<\/b><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. ‘To bring you to the place which I have\u00a0prepared’ means being brought into heaven by Him according to goodness of life and of faith. This is clear from the meaning of ‘bringing to the place’, that is, into the land of Canaan, as bringing into heaven, for ‘the land of Canaan’ means the Church, and also heaven, 1607, 3038, 3481, 3705, 3686, 4447, 5136, 6516 (bringing the children of Israel into that land represented the bringing of faithful believers into heaven); and from the meaning of ‘preparing’, when it refers to heaven, meant by ‘the land of Canaan’, as granting it in mercy to those with whom goodness of life and of faith is present, for it is they for whom heaven is said to have been\u00a0prepared, as in Matthew,<\/span>
        \n<\/span>
        \n<\/span>Then the King will say to those at His right hand, Come, O blessed of My Father, take possession, as an inheritance, of the kingdom\u00a0prepared\u00a0for you from the foundation of the world. Matt. 25:34.<\/span>
        \n<\/span>
        \n<\/span>In Mark,<\/span>
        \n<\/span>
        \n<\/span>\u00a0To sit at My right hand and at My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been\u00a0prepared. Mark 10:40.<\/span>
        \n<\/span>
        \n<\/span>\u00a0And in John,<\/span>
        \n<\/span>
        \n<\/span>\u00a0I go away to\u00a0prepare\u00a0a place for you. And if I go away and\u00a0preparea place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am you may be also. John 14:2, 3.<\/span>
        \n<\/span>
        \n<\/span>\u00a0‘Preparing\u00a0heaven’ means\u00a0preparing\u00a0those who are to be brought into heaven; for heaven is granted according to their degree of preparation, that is, of their reception of good. Heaven exists within a person, and the place a person has in heaven is determined by the state of life and faith that is his. For people’s place there corresponds to their state of life, and therefore also a place seen in the next life is in accord with a state of life, and in itself is a state, 2625, 2837, 3356, 3387, 4321, 4882, 5605, 7381.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Arcana Coelestia (Elliott) n. 8330<\/b><\/p>\n

          \n
        1. ‘The sanctuary, O Lord, [which] Your hands have\u00a0prepared’ means the heaven where those guided by the truth of faith coming from the Lord are. This is clear from the meaning of ‘the sanctuary’ as the heaven where the truth of faith resides, dealt with below; and from the meaning of ‘Your hands have\u00a0prepared’ as that which comes from the Lord. The reason why the words ‘hands haveprepared’ are used in connection with ‘the sanctuary’ is that ‘hands’ have reference to truth and mean power.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Apocalypse Revealed (Rogers) n. 446<\/b><\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Who had been\u00a0prepared\u00a0for the hour and day and month and year, to kill a third of mankind. This symbolizes their being in a perpetual effort to take away spiritual light and life from the people of the church.<\/span>
            \n<\/span>To be\u00a0prepared\u00a0means, symbolically, to be in the effort to do something. For the hour, day, month and year means, symbolically, continually and perpetually, the same meaning as for all time. To kill means, symbolically, to take away spiritual light and life from people of the church (no. 325). And a third symbolically means all (no. 400).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

             <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            In general, when something is \u201cprepared\u201d in the Bible it illustrates, according to Swedenborg, our state when we are in the proper spiritual order, which happens when our hearts and minds are open to the Lord\u2019s love and wisdom, and when our internal beliefs and good desires guide our actions. In a sense, this comes […]<\/p>\n

            Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"parent":10645,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"template-article.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11672","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-p","blog-style1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/11672\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/10645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/societies.newchurch.org\/wordstudy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}