In Revelation 7:1 John discusses the choosing
of the 144,000.
Let's read what it says And after these things,
and the antecedent to these is the event depicted
in chapter 6 which gives you an overview of
the judgments in the last days under the figures
of the white, the red, the black, and the
pale horse and the other openings of the seals.
They goes on to say and after these things
I saw four angels standing on the four corners
of the earth.
Now the Scripture tells us the earth is square
whether you believe that or not.
You can make an argument for that, some people
have.
...holding the four winds of the earth, that
the winds should not blow on the earth, nor
on the sea, nor on any tree.
And I saw another angel"--they saw first of
all, four angels.
Then he says, "And I saw another angel ascending
from the east, having the seal of the living
God; and I heard him cry with a loud voice
to the four angels, to whom it was given to
hurt the earth and the sea."
Now, these are four destroying angels, or
at least their ministry at this time is one
of destruction.
So he says, "And I heard him cry with a loud
voice to the four angels, to whom it was given
to hurt the earth and the sea, Saying, Hurt
not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees,
till we have sealed the servants of our God
in their foreheads."
Let me turn to the Teachings of the Prophet
Joseph Smith, page 321, where he deals with
chapter 7 of the book of Revelation, and he
says just briefly, this.
This is the report or the digest of his discourse.
"Four destroying angels holding power over
the four quarters of the earth," and that's
a better translation, "until the servants
of God are sealed in their foreheads, which
signifies sealing the blessing upon their
heads, meaning the everlasting covenant."
And in this he goes on to indicate bringing
them into the Church of the Firstborn.
Can you see the significance of that clarification?
You see four angels, they have power to destroy.
Then you see a fifth angel, and this fifth
angel ascends from the east and as the four
angels are about to do their thing, he says,
"Hey, fellas, now you hang on.
Don't get over-zealous.
We've got a job to do before we reap down
the earth even though it's as corrupt as it
is.
And the thing we've got to do is to seal the
servants of God in their foreheads," which
means
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sealing the blessings of the gospel and the
house of the Lord upon them, and thereby organizing
the Church of the Firstborn.
Now, let's go to Section 77 again and pick
up the picture here as the Prophet Joseph
Smith gives it to us.
He says, and here's as very important clarification,
verse 8: "What are we to understand by the
four angels, spoken of in the 7th chapter
and 1st verse of Revelation?"
And note his answer, "We are to understand
that they are four angels sent forth from
God, to whom is given power over the four
parts of the earth to save life and to destroy."
Their powers are to seal to eternal life and
to seal to the damnation of hell, and to raise
to life and to administer judgment unto death,
over the four parts of the earth to save life
and to destroy.
"These are they," and note this, "who have
the everlasting gospel to commit to every
nation, kindred, tongue, and people; having
power to shut up the heavens, to seal up unto
life or to cast down to the regions of darkness."
Who are the four major angels who had and
committed the everlasting gospel?
Who were they?
Keep in mind that John the Baptist in restoring
the preparatory gospel merely acted under
the direction of Peter.
Peter restored the everlasting gospel in the
sense of its basic powers.
Then you go to the Kirtland temple, and there
you had three mighty angels who came and committed
keys of authority by which the program and
plan of the everlasting gospel is established.
And those were first of all, Moses and the
gathering of Israel and the leading of the
ten tribes, one of the great gospel angels.
There is Elias or Noah who committed the dispensation
of the gospel of Abraham, reappointed the
promises of Abraham, centered them in Joseph
and Oliver, and said, "In you and in your
posterity all nations of the earth will be
blessed, and we give you these keys and these
rights."
And then Elijah came, and he restored the
fulness of the holy priesthood and the sealing
power as it relates to the house of the Lord.
So you have Peter, Moses, Elias, and Elijah,
the four great gospel angels.
And what is their power?
Their power is to seal up unto life or to
cast down unto death.
In the beginning of this dispensation we had
the seed time, the planting time, the beginning
time.
And then the design is that the gospel be
taught, and people are brought to the church,
and then in the great cleansing of Zion you
finally get a group of people raised to the
level where you've got fulness of priesthood
and the blessings that pertain to the house
of the Lord and the
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endowment of glory.
And the harvest period of the dispensation
begins.
That harvest period is carried on essentially
by the same angels who established it.
They committed the gospel, they committed
its power, its revelation.
Then those four angels, holding power not
only to seal unto life but to thrust down
to hell, are committed with the responsibility
of cleansing the earth.
And they are the four great gospel angels.
Note what is said in the next verse in Section
77: "What are we to understand by the angel
ascending from the east in Rev. 7:2?
We are to understand that the angel ascending
from the east is he to whom is given the seal
of the living God over the twelve tribes of
Israel; wherefore, he crieth unto the four
angels having the everlasting gospel, saying:
Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the
trees, till we have sealed the servants of
our God in their foreheads."
And then the Prophet adds, "And, if you will
receive it, this is Elias which was to come
to gather together the tribes of Israel and
restore all things."
This particular Elias is John the Revelator.
His ministry is depicted in the book of Revelation
in the 10th chapter with the little book which
he is instructed to eat, with the instruction
that he would yet prophesy before kings and
nations.
He, with the four great gospel angels, are
in charge of this great harvest season.
Under their authority, the 144,000 will be
called, and they will minister.
Who are the 144,000?
Let me read further in Section 77.
"What time are the things spoken of in this
chapter to be accomplished?"
This sealing of them, let's get to that first.
"They are to be accomplished in the sixth
thousand years, or the opening of the sixth
seal," during that period of time.
Some time between now and the opening of the
7th seal, there is going to be the calling
of the 144,000.
They will be prepared, they will be great
High Priests--note what the Lord says about
it.
"What are we to understand by sealing the
one hundred and forty- four thousand, out
of all the tribes of Israel--twelve thousand
out of every tribe?
We are to understand that those who are sealed
are High Priests, ordained unto the Holy Order
of God."
These aren't High Priests, say for example
like I'm a High Priest.
I'm a High Priest in the ecclesiastical order.
I have the temporary job of being a member
of the High Council of the Alpine Stake of
Zion.
That High
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Priest office is in the ecclesiastical order.
These High Priests are the kind of High Priests
that Abraham wanted to become.
Read chapter 1 of Abraham where he sought
for his appointment, and he became a High
Priest holding the rights belonging to the
fathers.
And this order of priesthood came down from
the beginning.
"It was conferred upon me by the fathers."
It came down and pertains to God's appointment
to the fathers concerning their seed.
A High Priest of the Holy Order is one, first
of all, who has received fulness of priesthood
in the house of the Lord where it is given,
and where only it is given.
It is given as a joint ordinance.
The sisters are involved and will be involved
in that great ministry.
So it's a joint ordinance and it is conferred
in the house of the Lord.
One who is a High Priest, then, is one who
has received that fulness of priesthood and
then presides in that order.
He has the right to do it.
He has the right to administer fulness of
priesthood.
And he has the right to preside in the Holy
Order of God on that plane and level of the
Zion society.
With that clarification, "What are we to understand
by the sealing of the 144,000, out of all
the tribes of Israel," and keep in mind there
are 12,000 out of every tribe.
"We are to understand that those who are sealed
are High Priests, ordained unto the Holy Order
of God, to administer the everlasting gospel;
for they are they who are ordained out of
every nation, kindred, tongue, and people,
by the angels to whom is given power over
the nations."
Those angels are the four gospel angels and
the Apostle John who ascends from the east
and says, "Hang on, brethren, we've got work
to do first.
I have a special mission which Christ gave
me for which I was a translated being and
am a translated being," and this is depicted
in the little book.
And his ministry is to bring Israel to God.
So he says these High Priests are ordained
by the angels "to whom is given power over
the nations of the earth, to bring as many
as will come to the church of the Firstborn."
This is not a missionary crew!
They will preach the gospel, they will do
that, yes.
But their primary objective is to take those
who have received the gospel and have been
sanctified and bring them into the church
of the Firstborn by and through the sealing
powers of the holy priesthood and the fulness
of the priesthood given in the house of the
Lord.
And that's the way you build the church of
the Firstborn.
And it's that church that's going to
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be caught up to meet Christ in his coming
in glory.
So as part of this great harvest season, the
book of Revelation now deals with the harvest.
The restoration of the gospel--that's history.
The coming of Peter, James and John, that's
history.
The coming of Moses, Elias and Elijah, that's
history.
And we have administered and taught the gospel
and we go on through and then the time comes
when John sees these major events.
So with that, let's go back to Revelation
7.
In this particular revelation, let's read
what he says starting with verse 1.
He saw four angels standing on the four corners
or parts or quarters, rather, of the earth,
holding the four winds "that the wind should
not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor
any tree.
And I saw another angel," and that other angel
is John, the 5th angel, "ascending from the
east having the seal of the living God; and
he cried with a loud voice to the four angels,
to whom it was given to hurt the earth and
the sea, Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither
the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed
the servants of our God in their foreheads,"
and this is the sealing powers of the priesthood.
"And I heard the number of them who were sealed:
and there were an hundred and forty and four
thousand of all the tribes of the children
of Israel."
(verse 7) Now, a clarification or two.
You've got to gather enough of the tribes
to have a basis to do that.
The return of the ten tribes will come before
the selection of the 144,000, that's simple.
The return of the ten tribes will come before
the opening of the 7th seal, that's simple.
There will also be those from Judah who will
be thus sealed.
Everyone in Judah wasn't participating in
the crucifixion of Christ.
For example, on the day of Pentecost which
was a holiday, a celebration, a glorious day.
People gathered to Jerusalem, Jewish people
from all nations, and on that sacred day,
the power and gifts of the gospel were poured
out.
Cloven tongues of fire rested upon the elders
in a sacred endowment, and those who heard
it said, "Men and brethren, what shall we
do?"
Peter gave them the standard program of the
gospel.
He said, "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.
And this promise is unto you and your children,
to those who are afar off, even as many as
the Lord our God shall call."
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So they gave them that program.
They weren't under condemnation.
If you read the 3rd chapter of the book of
Acts, where he's talking about the people
who were responsible, he says, I wish that
ye hadn't done this.
Then he administers a different program of
redemption for them.
He says, "Repent ye therefore and be converted,"
he didn't say anything about baptism.
They weren't worthy of it, they were in a
situation where they had sinned grievously
against great light and truth, crucifying
the Messiah himself.
So he gave them the only formula of redemption
he could give them, and that was to go to
hell and pay the debt in a repentant state,
and then come forth and reach some kind of
redemption.
So he said, "Repent ye, therefore, and be
converted, that your sins may be blotted out
when the times of refreshing shall come."
(see verse 19.)
The times of refreshing are when the earth
is renewed to its paradisiacal state.
If they would repent and be converted, their
sins would be blotted out, not in baptism
but when the times of refreshing shall come,
"and he shall send Jesus Christ which was
before preached unto you, whom the heavens
must receive until the times of restitution
of all things."
There were Jews, then, who were responsible
for the crucifixion of Christ and who were
under condemnation.
There were others who were not.
And I suspect in these mighty events while
the Jewish nation as a nation is not redeemed
until the final end of things, that there
will be those of the sons of Judah who will
participate in many of these things.
There will be those of the sons of Judah who
do.
Before the opening of the 7th seal, you will
have the calling out and the giving of the
sacred rites and the appointments of High
Priests within the Holy Order and over the
Holy Order, to a body of men of 144,000, from
every tribe of Israel.
We are from Ephraim, and Ephraim will be called
out and elected first, I presume, because
he is the birthright tribe.
And you will get some from Joseph, from the
Indian people.
And when the ten tribes come--and they will
return in a body.
The Prophet Joseph said that so clear, there
should be no issue on the matter.
He gave us that knowledge with such certainty
that there should be absolutely no issue on
that matter.
They will return as a body, and they'll have
prophets in their midst.
And like we said this afternoon, they will
come to Zion and be crowned with glory.
And from among that body, that body of Israel,
many of the 144,000 will be called, because
they will be on that plane and that level
of things.
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Let me just make this clarification: The Prophet
Joseph Smith makes it clear that the 144,000
began to be called out as early as Kirtland.
There were some of the faithful brethren in
Kirtland who were given that promise, that
they would be part of that number.
The 144,000 will include not just mortal people,
but translated people and even some resurrected
people.
And John the Revelator, who is a translated
being, with Peter and with Moses and with
Elias and with Elijah, will preside over that
great work.
And this is the harvest!
This is the gathering of the wheat, this is
the parable of the wheat and the tares.
And you gather the wheat into the church of
the Firstborn.
When that is done and it's done through this
sacred ministry, then you have the time for
the cleansing of the earth.
Then these four angels who restored the gospel
and who have power to seal unto life and to
exaltation and also power to seal to damnation
and to hell, then they will preside over this
great cleansing period of time in the earth.
That's what the book of Revelation is about.
It's about the great harvest season of this
earth and about the ushering in of the millennial
period and the cleansing of Zion and the cleansing
of the earth.
And eventually the celestialization of the
earth as an abode for the righteous.
And it's just that simple!
He talks, then, about the 144,000, and then
he goes on and says, verse 9: "After this,
I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which
no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds,
and people, and tongues"- -it's one thing
to be the work crew, the 144,000 who do this,
and these are High Priests, and there will
be others and it's another thing to receive
the benefits and blessings and to receive
fulness of priesthood and prepared and made
members of the church of the Firstborn.
This will be a great multitude as he says
here, "clothed with white robes, and palms
in their hands."
So much for chapter 7.
It's this spotlight on this great and important
function of preparing a people for the second
coming of the Lord, this great harvest season
presided over by the great angels of the gospel,
with the Apostle John, who came up to that
sacred level of authority within the holy
priesthood of this earth because of his love
for the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is John the Beloved, and by his love he
received that appointment.
And by his choice to remain and be a translated
being, he is given the promise that he will
prophesy before nations and before kingdoms.
That will be fulfilled, that promise, in this
period of time when he goes forth with the
144,000, performing
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this sacred sealing work.
In chapter 8, it begins by saying, "And when
he had opened the seventh seal, there was
silence in heaven about the space of half
an hour."
That's the Lord's time.
One day of the Lord is a thousand years for
us.
You compute that out and a half hour is about
21 years of time.
And when he says, "about a half hour," he's
not talking exactly half an hour, but about.
I suspect it may be a few months over that,
say 21 years and 10 months or something like
that.
There is silence there, and it's during that
period of silence in heaven that this great
task force goes forth.
These are those who fulfill the prophecy of
Jeremiah in chapter 16--"I will send for fishers,
and then I will send for hunters, and they'll
hunt them out of every hole and every crevice
in the rock," the great 144,000.
They are really the ones who teach the gospel
and administer its power and who seal up those
who are rejected to the damnation of hell.
Read Section 1 of the Doctrine and Covenants
where power is given to those who bear the
message of the gospel to seal up to the damnation
of hell those who reject this message.
The missionaries may go forth with some measure
of that power, but its fulness is exercised
by the 144,000.
And when they get through, note what John
says: "And I saw the seven angels which stood
before God; and to them were given seven trumpets."
Now here you are preparing for the great cleansing
of the earth.
"And another angel came and stood at the altar,
having a golden censer; and there was given
unto him much incense, that he should offer
it with the prayers of all saints upon the
golden altar which was before the throne.
And the smoke of the incense...came up.
And the angel took the censer, and filled
it with fire of the altar, and cast it into
the earth; and there were voices, and thunderings,
and lightnings, and an earthquake.
And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets
prepared themselves to sound.
"The first angel sounded, and there followed
hail and fire mingled with blood, and they
were cast upon the earth; and the third part
of the trees was burnt up, and all green grass
was burnt up."
So you go through those great plagues of the
last times.
Let me just clarify, those plagues are spoken
of in two places in the book of Revelation,
chapters 8 and 9.
And then John comes around and gives a different
slant to them in chapters 15 and 16.
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For the sake of time, let me rush on.
Chapter 10 is a special spotlight on John
the Revelator.
He says, "And I saw another mighty angel stand
upon the earth--to lift up his hand to heaven."
This mighty angel is Michael the Archangel.
"And swear by him that liveth forever and
ever, who created heaven, and the things that
are thereon," etc., "that there should be
time no more.
"But in the days of the voice of the seventh
angel," and this is a period of time that
we're dealing with, "when he shall begin to
sound, the mystery of God," and there is an
extended period.
That horn continues on--"when he shall begin
to sound, the mystery of God should be finished,
as he hath declared to his servants the prophets."
Then he says this:
"And I went unto the angel, and said unto
him, Give me the little book.
And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up,
and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it
shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey."
Let me turn again to Section 77.
The question is asked, verse 14: "What are
we to understand by 
the 
little book which was eaten by John, as mentioned
in the 10th chapter of Revelation?
We are to understand that it was a mission,
and an ordinance, for him to gather the tribes
of Israel; behold, this is Elias who, as it
is written, must come and restore all things."
Now, Elias is one who presides over the Holy
Order, see.
And he has the mission of restoring all Israel.
We've left out a point here that is vital
and important and we need to come back, so
let me do that at this time.
In verse 12, let's get another clarification.
"What are we to understand by the sounding
of the trumpets, mentioned in the 8th chapter
of Revelation?"
These seven trumpets of cleansing, etc.
"We are to understand," and note how he puts
this, "that as God made the world in six days,
and on the seventh day he finished his work,
and sanctified it," the world, "and also formed
man out of the dust of the earth."
Now, what is he saying?
The first six days of creation he organized
the physical orb.
What did he do on the seventh day?
He finished it and he sanctified it, he brought
it into full paradisiacal glory.
And what else did he do?
In addition to that he says he also formed
man out of the dust of the earth.
Man is ordained under the sixth day, fulfilled
under the seventh.
He uses that as an illustration.
Note how he words it:
"We are to understand that as God made the
world"--we're going to
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use this to illustrate something else.
"As God made the world in six days, and on
the seventh day he finished his work, and
sanctified it, and also formed man out of
the dust of the earth, even so, in the beginning
of the seventh thousand years will the Lord
God sanctify the earth."
There is a likeness between creation and cleansing.
He will sanctify the earth, "and complete
the salvation of man."
What does it mean to complete the salvation
of man?
It means to give the righteous the fulness
and bring them into the house of the Lord
and crown them with glory and all of that.
"And judge all things and shall redeem all
things, except that which he hath not put
into his power, when he shall have sealed
all things, unto the end of all things."
And the word "End" ought to be capitalized.
Why?
Who is the End of all things?
Who is the beginning and the End?
It's Christ.
So you seal all things to the End of all things.
"And the sounding of the trumpets of the seven
angels are the preparing and finishing of
his work, in the beginning of the seventh
thousand years."
After the opening of the seventh seal, the
beginning of it, "the preparing of the way
before the time of his coming."
So Christ does not come at the opening of
the seventh seal.
You have the half hour of silence and then
you have the judgments, and all this designed
to do what?
To sanctify the earth, to complete the salvation
of man.
This is the harvest season, this is the parable
of the wheat and the tares, to bring them
into the church of the Firstborn, give them
full blessings of exaltation.
And all this in the seventh thousand years.
We should have put that one in.
Going from there to Revelation 10, John has
a special ministry on that.
And that ministry is depicted in a little
book that is given to him.
He is told to eat it, and it has some interesting
tastes in relation to it, which are referred
to there.
But it symbolizes the mission that he is given,
and for this he was translated--one reason
for it, to bring the house of Israel to the
Lord.
That's chapter 10.
What's chapter 11 about?
Chapter 11 deals with these two prophets.
Coming back to this afternoon's discussion
where we indicated the second coming of Christ
is actually a series of events, that he comes
first of all to Zion.
That appearance to Zion-- actually there will
be multiple appearances.
The book of Mormon twice--once in 3 Nephi
20, and the other in 3 Nephi 21 talks about
Christ coming to Zion.
He indicates that when the New Jerusalem is
built and the power of God descends upon them,
then he makes this
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statement--verse 25 of 3 Nephi 21, "Then shall
the power of heaven come down among them,
and I also will be in the midst."
He said that before, in 3 Nephi 20.
So it's in this period of time when Zion is
cleansed and after the opening of the seventh
seal that Christ comes and dwells with his
saints.
Technically, this is the beginning of the
millennium.
He lives among them.
They will have the blessings of Christ's appearance.
They will have him coming to them in this
period of time.
So in a way, Christ does come somewhere around
the opening of the 7th seal.
He doesn't come to the world, he will come
to the faithful Latter-day Saints who have
been cleansed, and keep in mind that somewhere
between now and then the righteous remnant
has to be cleansed and prepared.
The New Jerusalem has to be established, and
then Christ will come, just like Isaiah says
in Isaiah 59.
You need to read verse 19 as well as 20.
Nineteen refers to the warfare against Zion.
And then verse 20 refers to Christ coming
to Zion in the last days.
Let me read it, verse 19: "When the enemy
shall come in like a flood," and that's the
great and abominable church gathering multitudes
to make war against Zion, "the Spirit of the
Lord shall lift up a standard against him."
What does Nephi see happen when the enemy
comes against the Saints?
The power of God in great glory rests upon
them.
Then in the next verse he says, "And the Redeemer
shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn
from transgression in Jacob."
You remember also we read that statement from
Moroni, Moroni's visit to Joseph on the hill
Cumorah, where he says that the Saints will
be persecuted until they finally receive an
inheritance where the glory of the Lord rests
upon them.
And when this takes place, he says, then the
ten tribes will be revealed in the north country.
Then he says, "And when this takes place,
then will be fulfilled the words of Isaiah,
the Redeemer shall come to Zion and to those
that turn from ungodliness in Jacob."
So Christ will come to faithful Latter-day
Saints very near to the time of the opening
of the seventh seal.
How far is that in the future?
I leave that for you to work out.
So he comes in that respect to them.
Then as the 144,000 do their work and bring
people into the church of the Firstborn and
they are sanctified and given those higher
priesthood blessings in the house of the Lord,
when this is done and when their work is done,
then Christ will come suddenly to his temple.
In other words, "suddenly" didn't mean suddenly
after Malachi's day.
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It means suddenly after that work is done.
Christ will then come to his temple.
As we pointed out this afternoon, I think
it was, I'm getting into a maze on what I've
talked about, we will find that his coming
to put the capstone on is to make them Kings
and Priests in actual fact.
They've got to be brought in to the church
of the Firstborn, they've got to be given
fulness of priesthood and the promises and
guarantees relating to that.
They've got to be given those things.
Then Christ comes to his temple and puts the
capstone on, and that will take place after
the ministry of the 144,000.
Then after that you have the great council
at Adam-ondi-Ahman.
Why is it after he has come to his temple?
This is easily understood when you understand
the council at Adam-ondi-Ahman.
There is a great judgment held.
People who have held keys of priesthood in
past ages stand in judgment for what they
have done.
Not only is that the case, but having been
judged for their stewardships in past ages,
then they scratch their heads a little bit
and say, "You know, we had a glorious time"--Moses
will say, "We had a glorious time at Mount
Sinai, but I never did get those people to
believe very much, and they never really built
the Holy Order in their midst.
We never built that up and put the capstone
on.
So our dispensation is incomplete.
There were many people who really didn't even
get the gospel, so our dispensation is incomplete."
Then Peter will come along in that council
and say, "Joseph, we had a great time.
I had marvelous powers given to me, I healed
the sick and all that kind of thing.
And we had great things given to us.
But you know, we never built the Holy Order
and put the capstone on, we didn't do that.
We didn't get our dispensation completed."
And the same will be true of all the other
prophets.
Even Enoch will say that!
Because as good as he was in his day, he did
not get Zion built to the point that they
put the capstone on before the great council
of Adam- ondi-Ahman, which Adam held 3 years
previous to his death.
There were many of them who had come up to
that, but not all.
So they will have to wait till the second
great Adam-ondi-Ahman council, and when this
is held, Joseph will say, "Well, you know
we have the capstone put on ours.
It's completed.
I'll tell you what I think we can do.
If you brethren will be sealed to me so that
you come into and become part of the dispensation
of the fulness of times," and this is when
we really make the dispensation of the
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fulness of times.
Some people think that just because we have
a restoration of all keys from past dispensations
that we've got the dispensation of the fulness
of times, that's not true.
That's only foundation.
The next thing that's necessary is to build
Zion and put the capstone on, and then you
have to go to Adam-ondi-Ahman, and then you've
got to seal the other dispensations into and
under the canopy of this dispensation, and
that makes the dispensation of the fulness
of dispensations.
And it's just like the Prophet said here on
page 168 of the Teachings--"Again God has
purposed in himself that there should not
be an eternal fulness until every dispensation
should be fulfilled and gathered together
in one."
So you've got to gather all past dispensations
into this dispensation.
And when you do, it makes the dispensation
of the fulness of dispensations.
Or another way of saying it is the dispensation
of the fulness of times.
The words "dispensation" and "times" being
synonymous.
Where is that done?
That's done at Adam-ondi-Ahman.
And can you fulfill all things and gather
them to a fulness if the capstone hasn't been
put on, if Zion hasn't indeed been made an
order of Kings and Priest and Queens and Priestesses?
The capstone hasn't been put on.
This has to be done before the great council
at Adam-ondi- Ahman, and it has to take place
after the ministry of the 144,000.
When the ministry of the 144,000 is over,
then the great prophecy of Malachi will be
filled where the Lord will come suddenly to
his temple.
Then after that, the great Daniel vision of
Daniel 7 where he sees the ancient of days
come and the Adam-ondi-Ahman council.
And there's the judgment that's set, and then
you begin to look around and say, "Now how
are we going to prepare people for the second
coming?"
The Prophet here in the Teachings, page 157,
deals with that.
He expresses it this way.
He says, "Daniel in his 7th chapter speaks
of the Ancient of Days.
He means the oldest man, our Father Adam,
Michael.
He will call his children together and hold
a council with them," and note this now, "to
prepare them for the coming of the Son of
God."
Now, how does he prepare them?
He prepares them as the Prophet Joseph says
in relation to the book of Revelation, where
you "seal all things to the End of all things."
You seal all things to Christ.
How do you seal all things to Christ?
You start out and you seal all
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things to Joseph first, just like the scriptures
indicate.
Then this whole order of things, you have
a program where the first is last and the
last is first.
Note where the Lord says here in Section 29:30,
"And remember that all my judgments are not
given unto men...that the first shall be last,
and that the last shall be first in all things
whatsoever I have created by the word of my
power, which is the power of my Spirit."
Then turn over to Matthew 19 verse 27 where
the Savior is talking to his disciples, and
the Apostle Peter, a little impetuous, looks
at his life of persecution and his following
the Savior and wonders what he's going to
get out of it.
I guess that's a legitimate wonder, and he
expresses that.
He says, "Behold, we have forsaken all, and
followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto
you, that ye who have followed me, shall,
in the resurrection, when the Son of man shall
come sitting on the throne of his glory, ye
shall also sit upon twelve thrones, judging
the twelve tribes of Israel."
The judgment isn't that you are rewarded to
be a Bishop in the celestial kingdom or a
Stake President in the celestial kingdom,
or one of the Brethren like lots of people
want to be in the celestial kingdom.
Instead, he says, "And everyone that has forsaken
houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father,
or mother, or wife, or children, or lands,
for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold
and shall inherit everlasting life."
In other words, you perfect the Holy Order,
the family order, and a man may have a family
relationship over his physical posterity and
he may be a father spiritually like Abraham
over others, and those who have forsaken the
world and followed the Lord will be given
a hundredfold of fathers and mothers, etc.,
because they have a presidency within the
Holy Order.
And then note what he says in verse 30.
"But many of the first shall be last," in
this judgment of things, "and the last first."
Now, who is the last dispensation?
Who presides over it?
Who is going to put the capstone on finally?
And when he gets the capstone on and the Holy
Order is completed, and you go to Adam-ondi-Ahman
and you visit around with Peter.
And Peter says, "Hey, we didn't do it."
Joseph says, "Hey, I've got a way.
I know a way to do that.
You be sealed to me and come in to my dispensation
and become part of it, and we've still got
people working around on earth doing temple
work.
We'll have your people's work done for them."
So Peter's dispensation is
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brought to completion in the fulness, in Joseph.
And Moses says the same thing.
And the Jaredites say the same thing.
And the Nephites say the same thing.
And Enoch comes up a little bit shy, great
and glorious as he is, and says, "You know,
we did pretty good, but we didn't quite cut
it, Brother Joseph."
Joseph says, "That's fine, you come on in,
too."
And the last becomes first.
And all dispensations are gathered into the
dispensation of the fulness of times--to make
the dispensation of the fulness of times.
This is done at Adam-ondi-Ahman.
When this takes place, then you are ready
to go to Jerusalem.
The Jewish people haven't yet as a nation
been brought in.
So you are ready to go in the great prophetic
timetable to Jerusalem.
So John sees in the 11th chapter of the book
of Revelation, these two prophets who are
sent to Jerusalem during the period of the
Abomination of Desolation in the last days.
He sees that.
And he sees their ministry.
He sees the power of the Spirit that they
have, and this is a day of power.
They have that spiritual power with them (End
tape side one.)
...ministry, and he sees the power of the
Spirit that they have.
And this is a day of power.
And they have that spiritual power with them.
In the meantime there has been gathered to
Jerusalem many Jewish converts.
And there is a Jewish church made up of Jewish
converts, the covenant people of the Lord
that Nephi saw, on whom the power of God in
great glory rested as well as upon the Latter-day
Saints.
They flee to Jerusalem, and by their faith--I'm
getting a little ahead of the story, because
all don't stay there.
But those who stay support by their faith
these two prophets.
It takes power of faith to perform the works
of righteousness that they perform.
And they hold in abeyance these great forces
that gather against Jerusalem, the heathen
forces, the Assyrian and Babylon, the two
combining together as they go against Jerusalem.
As they do, finally these forces overrun the
city.
These two prophets are then killed and lie
in the street.
As they are killed and lie in the street for
a period of time, the revelation says 
that their dead bodies lie in the street for
3 1/2 days, "and shall not suffer their dead
bodies to be put in graves.
And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice
over them" (see Rev. 11:9-10.) --you'll get
the media going there, and everyone will be
happy that those two guys have finally been
taken care of.
So they send gifts back and forth to each
other, and they get all ready
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and celebrate before they go in to mop up
the Jewish people.
But just about that point, Christ stands on
the Mount of Olives.
"And after three days and a half, the Spirit
of life from God entered into them."
When Christ stands upon the Mount of Olives,
that signals the resurrection of the righteous.
With that great cataclysmic upheaval taking
place, the graves of the righteous will be
opened.
What happens to those two prophets who are
lying in the street?
They get resurrected too.
It says in verse 12, "And they heard a great
voice from heaven, saying unto them, Come
up hither.
And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud;
and their enemies beheld them.
And the same hour was there a great earthquake,
and the tenth part of the city fell, and in
the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand;
and the remnant were affrighted and gave glory
to the God of heaven."
These events, then, center in Jerusalem.
Now how about Revelation, chapter 12?
It's another special spotlight which is vital
to us to understand.
Let me, though, in order to get to it, turn
to Revelation 12 in the Prophet Joseph Smith's
Inspired Revision of the Bible.
You can't get this from the King James version,
you have to get it from the Prophet's Inspired
Revision.
Let me make a clarification to begin with,
and then we'll get to it.
Whenever the Lord ordains an earth be created
and inhabited or populated, along with that
ordination is the ordination that there will
be two great centers of power.
One will be called Jerusalem and the other
will be called Mount Zion.
And the Jerusalem and the Mount Zion that
are to be built on this earth are patterns
of an eternal plan.
The Prophet Joseph Smith makes this comment
in the Teachings, page 12: "A man may be saved
after the judgment in the terrestrial kingdom
or in the telestial kingdom.
But he can never see the celestial kingdom
of God without being born of the water and
the Spirit."
Now, note his added comment: "He may receive
a glory like the moon or like the stars, but
he can never come to Mount Zion."
He's talking about getting your head above
the veil and back there.
Mount Zion is up there, really.
The Mount Zion here is merely the funneling
down of knowledge and truth and building an
order of things that approximate that one
up there.
He's talking about the blessings of the Second
Comforter.
"He can never come to Mount Zion and to the
city of the living God, the Heavenly Jerusalem."
There are two--Mount Zion and the Heavenly
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Jerusalem.
Let me give you a reference here from 3 Nephi
20, and this is another reason why when you
study the Book of Mormon, read every word
and then read those words backwards if you
have to, and upside down and over and crosswise,
because every word becomes important at points.
In 3 Nephi 20, he's talking about the great
judgments that are associated with and finally
consummated in the building of the New Jerusalem
on this earth and the sanctification of Jerusalem
in Palestine, and the establishment of the
great world order of millennial righteousness
where the law goes forth from Zion and the
word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
He says this in verse 36: "And then shall
be brought to pass that which is written:"
and he quotes Isaiah here.
But he adds something to him.
"Awake, awake again"--the word "again" is
not in Isaiah.
Jesus put it in.
"Awake, awake again, and put on thy strength,
O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem,
the holy city, for henceforth there shall
no more come into thee the uncircumcised and
the unclean.
Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down,
O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands
of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion."
Now, you ask yourself this question: Whenever
before in this mortal period of time, from
the days of Adam down, have we had Zion and
Jerusalem rise to become universal powers
in the earth?
When did that happen the first time?
In the latter-day when it happens, it's going
to be the second time it happens.
"Awake, awake again"--do it over again!
Do it over again the second time.
"Awake, awake again and put on strength.
When did it happen the first time that Zion
arose in power and Jerusalem to become a universal
order, a millennial system?
When did it happen?
Well, it didn't.
Its not talking about the first time being
in mortality, and that's the thing I want
you to see now.
That's what Revelation 12 is all about.
The war in Heaven is a prototype of the warfare
against Zion on earth.
We've said before earlier, that the general
pattern of warfare against Zion has two main
divisions or two main thrusts or attacks.
One is the warfare against Zion in America
and the elements of Zion throughout the world
by the multitudes of the abominable church
that gather against them.
They don't overrun us, they cleanse us, they
do us good and kick us into the dust and bat
us over the head with a 4 x 4, and they do
a lot of other things.
But they merely cleanse the
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righteous and sanctify them.
And out of that whole difficulty you establish
the New Jerusalem.
Then after we've established the New Jerusalem
and Satan has failed in that purpose, then
he knows there can't be an eternal fulness
unless the two cities are established in righteousness
and power.
And he knows that if he can thwart the work
of the Lord at Jerusalem, he can in some measure
gain a tactical advantage and prevent the
Lord from reigning in full glory and power.
So he then shifts his gears, and all nations
are gathered against Jerusalem.
There are 3 great gatherings spoken of.
Here in the Teachings, page 231, the Prophet
puts it this way: "The three great gatherings,
the Saints of God will be gathered in one
from every nation.
The Jews will be gathered together in one,
and the wicked will also be gathered together
to be destroyed, as spoken of by the prophets."
Now, what prophet speaks of it?
Well, John the Revelator does.
Joel does.
Isaiah does.
They speak of the gathering to Jerusalem to
be destroyed.
So when Lucifer can't achieve his purposes
in relation to Zion, he gathers all nations
against Jerusalem in a great zealous attack
against the Jewish people.
And he would succeed, too, except Christ stands
upon the Mount of Olives.
Now, that great scenario had a pre-earth,
original design.
The war in Heaven in the first estate was
a warfare against Zion.
That's what Revelation 12 is all about, it's
a warfare against Zion.
And the warfare there followed the same pattern.
It was made against Zion, the Holy City, which
held under the bombardment.
Then he shifted to Jerusalem.
With that introduction, let me read chapter
12.
(see Joseph Smith Translation.)
John puts it this way in verse 1: "And there
appeared a great sign in heaven," and this
is the Inspired Revision.
It doesn't say all of this in the King James.
"And there appeared a great sign in heaven
in the likeness of things on the earth."
So what he sees in pre-earth life is a likeness
of what he has seen in the book of Revelation
and the warfare against Zion there on earth.
"A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon
under her feet, and upon her head a crown
of twelve stars.
And the woman being with child, cried, travailing
in birth, and pained to be delivered.
And she brought forth a man child, who was
to rule all nations with a rod of
Lecture 21 John's Revelation of the Last Days
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iron."
Now, that's political power.
"And her child," and we're talking about pre-earth
life, we're not doing anything here on this
earth yet, "her child was caught up unto God
and his throne."
Now, that's a scene that took place in the
spirit world in the first estate.
What do those symbols mean?
Let me read on.
"And there appeared another sign in heaven;
and behold, a great red dragon," Satan is
symbolized under that sign.
"A great red dragon, having seven heads and
ten horns," which represent Babylon.
You read the book of Revelation chapters 13
and 17 and others, and these are the symbols
that represent Babylon.
And what he is saying here is that there was
Babylon in the first estate.
It wasn't just a quarrel over free agency.
You don't become Perdition by that, and you
don't follow Lucifer with his appeal because
you're just a righteous person who doesn't
really think that you want to risk it and
aren't ready to get a little agency.
You follow Satan because you have become corrupted
and you have become Babylon.
And you know darn well, intrinsically, the
character of your being is such that if you
go to mortality under the power of the fall,
you're not going to make it.
So you are ready to bargain away your free
agency and buy the plan of the guy who says,
"Hey, you give me your agency and I'll get
you all back!"
So there was a Babylon in pre-earth life.
"And there appeared another sign in heaven,"
this is in heaven and it's also in likeness
of things on the earth, "a great red dragon,
having seven heads and ten horns, and seven
crowns upon his heads.
And his tail drew the third part of the stars
of heaven."
Don't hassle on that point, it was a part,
not a fraction.
"And did cast them to the earth.
And the dragon stood before the woman," and
this is still talking about scenes in pre-earth
life, "which was delivered, ready to devour
her child after it was born."
This is kind of a gruesome thing.
"And the woman fled into the wilderness, where
she had a place prepared of God, that they
should feed her there a thousand two hundred
and threescore years."
The King James version says "days."
A thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Joseph changed it to "years."
Just note that, and we'll come back to it.
"And there was war in heaven."
Now, this is war in heaven, this is the pre-earth
scene.
"And there was war in heaven.
Michael and his angels fought against the
dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought
against Michael; And the dragon prevailed
not against
Lecture 21 John's Revelation of the Last Days
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Michael, neither the child nor the woman which
was the church of God."
Now we've got the meaning of one of those
symbols.
The woman is representative of what?
The church of God.
Where?
In the first estate.
And she brought forth a man child, and that
man child was to rule all nations with a rod
of iron.
Let's read on in verse 7. "...which was the
church of God, who had been delivered of her
pains, and brought forth the kingdom of our
God and his Christ."
Now, the day will come when the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will have
to give birth to the government of God.
It won't be given birth to by the Gentiles
or by the heathens, it'll be faithful Latter-day
Saints who have built a foundation of free
and open union and who sustain the Constitution
and who give birth to the government of God.
And this will be after the pattern of pre-earth
life.
What John is saying is this: He sees a sign
in heaven in the likeness of things on earth.
What he sees there is the war in Heaven.
And in the war in Heaven, he sees a woman,
and this woman is the church, it's the pre-earth
church in the first estate.
And she had on her head a crown of twelve
stars.
And the woman was with child, and she cried
to be delivered, and she brought forth a man
child who was to rule all nations with a rod
of iron.
She brought forth the government of God in
the first estate.
But Lucifer was there ready to devour it.
So the woman fled into the wilderness.
The term "fleeing into the wilderness" has
more than one expression.
D&C 5 talks about the church coming forth
out of the wilderness in modern times, 1830.
So people try to apply that to this.
But note, Joseph Smith said that she fled
into the wilderness for a period of one thousand
two hundred and sixty years.
If the restoration of the gospel, if that's
talking about that there, what is 1830, minus
1,260, which would be when the church went
into the wilderness?
If you call that the apostasy.
Well, it would come out the year 570, A.D.,
which would mean that there was no apostasy
from Christendom until 570 A.D., or better
than 250 years after the Nicene Council.
Does that apply, then?
Is that what it's talking about?
Is that talking about the Christian apostasy?
The Answer is no.
It's talking about the warfare in Heaven.
In the warfare in Heaven, Lucifer unleashed
his power against Zion, and she stood.
The church gave birth to a child.
But as it was born, it was caught up into
Heaven.
He turned his power against this woman, and
she was
Lecture 21 John's Revelation of the Last Days
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driven into the wilderness for a period of
1,260 years.
In other words, the woman, the church at Jerusalem
fled, she fled to Zion, there strengthened
her power, and there was war in Heaven.
Michael and his angels fought, and they finally
mustered enough power in Zion to go back to
Jerusalem.
When they did, note what happens.
He says in verse 7, "The dragon prevailed
not against Michael, neither the child nor
the woman, which was the church of God, who
had been delivered of her pains, and brought
forth the kingdom of our God and his Christ.
Neither was there place found in heaven for
the great dragon, who was cast out; that old
serpent called the devil, and also called
Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he
was cast out into the earth, and his angels
were cast out with him.
"And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven,
Now is come salvation, and strength, and the
kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ;
For the accuser of our brethren is cast down,
which accused them before our God day and
night.
For they have overcome him by the blood of
the Lamb," by the powers of Christ and his
infinite atonement.
"For they have overcome him by the blood of
the Lamb...and they loved not their own lives,
but kept the testimony even unto death," etc.
So the woman was driven into the wilderness
for 1,260 years, and the war in Heaven took
place, they mustered the power necessary and
they threw the rascal out!
And that's how Satan got cast out of Heaven.
They established God's kingdom, this man child
that was born to rule all nations in the spirit
world with a rod of iron.
And under that righteous rule with Zion established
and purified, then they threw the devil out.
Then he heard a voice saying, "Now is come
salvation, and the strength, and the power
of our God and the kingdom of Christ."
(see verse 9)
That was the episode of the war in Heaven.
John sees it as a sign in Heaven in the likeness
of things that are to take place on earth.
On earth, you're going to do the same scene.
And in the latter-days, as this scenario begins,
when the Lord selects those to come to earth,
when he really wants to establish his Zion,
he takes those who stood the test of fire
against them in the warfare in Heaven in the
warfare against Zion, and he appoints many
of them to come to earth in the last days
who have backbone enough to stand up and be
men and women, and who have integrity enough
to receive the gospel and apply it and to
meet the onslaught of persecution and of insinuating
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accusations, and to finally move on under
the warfare against Zion and establish Zion.
Then when that happens, in the latter-days
the scene will shift to Jerusalem.
And that's what the rest of chapter 12 is
all about.
He sees the scene shift to Jerusalem.
As it does, there is a church there in Jerusalem.
Let me read what he says.
Verse 12 of Rev. 12: "And after these things
I heard another voice saying, Woe to the inhabitants
of the earth, yea, and they who dwell upon
the islands of the sea! for the devil is come
down unto you, having great wrath, because
he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
For when the dragon saw that he was cast unto
the earth," after this warfare in Heaven and
they threw the rascal out, then he persecuted
the woman who had brought forth the man child.
So he comes around and persecutes the church
here on earth, who is going to bring forth
the government of God and establish the millennial
kingdom.
He says, "Therefore, to the woman were given
two wings," and here he's talking about the
church in Jerusalem, if you'll permit a clarification,
"of a great eagle, that she might flee into
the wilderness, into her place, where she
was nourished for a time and times, and half
a time."
Now, what does that mean?
A time, times and dividing of times?
Well, it's just another way of saying 1,260
days.
And these 1,260 days are patterned after the
1,260 years of the warfare against Zion when
the concentration was against Jerusalem, before
they finally amassed power and threw him out.
Now, note what John says.
"Therefore, to the woman were given two wings
of a great eagle, that she might flee into
the wilderness, into her place...for a time
and times and half a time," etc.
And the serpent casteth out of his mouth waters
as a flood after the woman."
He is the great prince of the power of the
air, and he controls the elements.
Many of the remnants of the Jewish church
fled when the Abomination of Desolation got
underway.
Then the adversary endeavors to destroy them
through the natural forces that he has control
over.
"He sent forth a flood after the woman, that
he might cause her to be carried away of the
flood.
And the earth helpeth the woman, and the earth
openeth her mouth, and swallowed up the flood
which the dragon casteth out of his mouth.
Therefore, the dragon was wroth
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Lecture 21 John's Revelation of the Last Days
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with the woman, and went to make war with
the remnant of her seed," there in Jerusalem,
"which kept the commandments of God, and have
the testimony of Jesus Christ."
Then the finishing of the story is that as
those people flee to Mount Zion, others stay.
And that's an interesting choice that you
have to make.
Here is the Abomination of Desolation getting
underway.
You understand the prophetic picture.
You know that this is going to be the cleansing
and the redemption of Jerusalem, and you are
one of those Jewish saints who is gathered
to Jerusalem, and you see the armies come,
and you know also that it's necessary to gear
up your soul and generate spiritual power
in order to get victory.
It isn't just enough to stay there and hang
in, but you've got to do something for your
native land on the basis of faith and the
sealing powers and the powers of Zion.
So there are those who flee from Jerusalem
and go to Mount Zion.
They will go there for 1,260 days, which is
patterned after the original scene.
And there will be others who remain there
and by their faith they'll sustain the two
prophets.
And their alternative is this: If we get killed
the resurrection comes on us right quick!
In the meantime, we love our Jerusalem.
We love Jerusalem.
These are the events when the Jewish nation
is going to be converted as in a day.
"We want to be here.
We want by our faith to sustain this."
So they do that, and they stay there.
Lucifer makes war against them.
In the meantime, what's going on in Zion?
We are endeavoring to gear ourselves with
power to do that final thing--take the rascal
and throw him out!
The second time!
We want to do that.
So we are gearing up in spiritual power.
And those Jewish Saints come, and we do that.
Then in the great events of Zion, the council
of Adam-ondi- Ahman, etc., the judgment is
set and things are ready for the second coming.
The Savior takes a group of people from Mount
Zion.
He says, "Come on, boys, it's time now to
go to Jerusalem.
We have now got the faith to develop among
these people necessary to do the job."
So he takes a group of people of the Saints.
Heber C. Kimball said he was going to be there,
anyway, and others.
And he takes them and they go and stand on
the Mount of Olives just in the nick of time.
And they overthrow the forces of darkness.
And they sanctify the Jews, they cleanse Jerusalem.
They rebuild the temple, and they sanctify
it.
They administer the ordinances of the temple
and they give
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fulness of priesthood to the Jewish people.
And they prepare them by bringing them into
the church of the Firstborn.
All of this is preparatory work.
They've stopped the forces and the powers
there by Christ coming to the Mount of Olives.
They then do this, and when they have done
that and the Jewish people are brought into
the church of the Firstborn, then Christ comes
in his glory.
Then those who are righteous on earth are
caught up to meet him, the resurrection of
the righteous having previously taken place,
just as Paul says--We which are alive shall
not prevent those who are dead, for the dead
in Christ shall rise first.
(see 1 Thes.
4:15-16)
You have that great scenario.
And what John sees is the war in Heaven in
pre-earth life as a type and shadow of the
warfare against Zion, of which the book of
Revelation is all about, what it's dealing
with.
That great cleansing program that comes against
Zion and finally consummates in Jerusalem
and ends up with establishing the Millennial
reign and throwing the rascal out and having
an era of peace and righteousness, just like
they did in the war in Heaven.
Now, that is what it is all about.
That's why Isaiah says, as quoted by the Savior,
"Awake, awake, again!"
Let's do it again now, boys!
Awake, awake again, put on righteousness!
And bring these two great poles of power back
on this earth, into being, to usher in a millennial
era on this earth, of righteousness and peace,
just like the glory and power of God was made
manifest in the spirit world when they finally
threw the devil out.
I've got to hurry.
I have about two minutes and I want to get
to chapter 14.
We talked about chapter 13 the other day.
It merely talks about the two powers, Babylon
and the little horn.
As I worked this thing through and studied
it out and pondered and prayed on it, I had
a great big question.
Why did the Lord wait till the 14th chapter
of the book of Revelation to talk about the
restoration of the gospel?
Why did he?
Why did he do that?
After all, in the sequence of things, he's
talked about this Revelation 7, 144,000, and
that's way after the restoration of the gospel.
He's talked about the chapters 8 and 9, the
great judgments, that's still farther after
it.
He's talked about the Jerusalem scene, he's
talked about the warfare in Heaven being a
likeness of the warfare on earth.
He's talked about that.
He has also talked about the two powers that
are to gather.
And then we say that he saw another angel
flying through the midst of Heaven, having
the everlasting gospel.
Why wait till then?
��
Lecture 21 John's Revelation of the Last Days
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Well, again, the Book of Mormon gives you
the key.
In Nephi's great vision he sees this warfare
against Zion.
He sees the cleansing of Zion.
He uses the Isaiah prophecies to tell us plainly
about us.
God is going to cleanse this people, and God
is going to cleanse this land, and he tells
us that very, very plainly.
Then he tells us about this great work that
is going to go forth to such an extent that
people will either be polarized on one side
of the issue or on the other.
And there will be a great division that takes
place.
Nephi sees that and talks about it in 2 Nephi
30, which, among everything else we've talked
about so far, we haven't yet gotten to.
He says this, "For the time speedily cometh,"
verse 10, "that the Lord God shall cause a
great division among the people, and the wicked
will he destroy; and he will spare his people,
yea, even if it so be that he must destroy
the wicked by fire."
He's just given you a generalized statement
out of having seen the same thing that John
the Revelator saw.
On that basis, what is Revelation 14 about?
Well, it's about the great division.
And he is taught and shown that that great
division is produced by the restoration of
the gospel.
But he begins as Revelation 14 opens up, and
I'll get to the King James version on that
just as well, he begins with his description
of the righteous in that great division.
He has this to say about it, here in chapter
14:
"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the
mount Zion," and this is Zion established
finally upon her Mount in glory and power,
"and with him a hundred forty and four thousand,
having his Father's name written in their
foreheads.
And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice
of many waters, and as the voice of a great
thunder; and I heard the voice of harpers
harping with their harps; And they sung as
it were a new song before the throne, and
before the four beasts, and the elders; and
no man could learn that song but the hundred
and forty and four thousand."
They have a unique and distinct position with
the Lord.
They are they in the Holy Order who are sealed
immediately and directly to him, just like
the Lord promised the twelve in Luke 20.
"Ye are they who will eat at my same table."
They are sealed directly in the Holy Order.
And they have a role that is unique and distinct.
So he sees Christ stand upon Mount Zion, and
he sees the 144,000, and he is taught that
they are a distinct body, and he says, "These
Lecture 21 John's Revelation of the Last Days
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are they which are not defiled with women;
for they are virgins."
(see Rev. 14:4.)
And some people think they are all a bunch
of bachelors, and they've never heard the
story of the ten virgins, and that includes
men and women.
The word "virgin" here merely means "sanctified
one."
And they are they who have fulness of priesthood,
and you don't give fulness of priesthood except
to a man and a woman combined together jointly.
So they are all good, married guys, believe
that, brethren, these are all good married
folk.
But they are called virgins because of their
purity.
He says, "And they are they which follow the
Lamb whithersoever he goeth."
They have that relationship.
"These were redeemed from among men, being
the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb."
They stand as the first fruits, eat at the
same table, are sealed in the Holy Order immediately
to Christ.
"And in their mouth was found no guile; for
they are without fault before the throne of
God."
Now, in order to bring this about, this great
division where he sees Mount Zion and the
144,000, then he sees that the means of bringing
this about would be the restoration of the
gospel in the last days.
So he says in verse 6: "And I saw another
angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the
everlasting gospel to preach unto them that
dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and
kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with
a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to
him; for the hour of his judgment is come...."
Then there follows another angel after this.
The great division is underway and taking
place and it is brought about by the restoration
of the gospel and the proclaiming of this
gospel by the angel to all the earth.
Then there follows another angel, saying,
"Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great
city, because she made all nations drink of
the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
And the third angel followed them, saying
with a loud voice, if any man worship the
beast and his image, and receive his mark
in his forehead or in his hand, The same shall
drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which
is poured out without mixture into the cup
of his indignation; and he shall be tormented
with fire and brimstone in the presence of
the holy angels, and in the presence of the
Lamb; And the smoke of their torment ascendeth
up forever and ever; and they have no rest
day nor night."
It goes on to talk about it.
Then, having seen this great division and
the predicted fall and judgment of Babylon,
then he sees the harvest season.
Now note
Lecture 21 John's Revelation of the Last Days
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what he says, verse 13: "I heard a voice from
heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are
the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth;
Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest
from their labors; and their works do follow
them.
And I looked and beheld a white cloud, and
upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of
man," and here's Christ.
"...having on his head a golden crown, and
in his hand a sharp sickle.
"And another angel came out of the temple,
crying with a loud voice to him that sat on
the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap."
This is the time of the harvest.
"For the time is come for thee to reap; for
the harvest of the earth is ripe.
And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his
sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped."
This is the gathering of the wheat.
You see the great division, you see that division
that is produced by the restoration of the
gospel, by the angel flying through the midst
of heaven.
Then you see the proclamation that Babylon
is fallen.
Then in this whole scenario you see first
of all that Christ thrusts in his sickle and
he reaps the righteous and gathers them in.
Then in verse 17: "And another angel came
out of the temple which is in heaven, he also
having a sharp sickle," and John is now seeing
beyond the veil.
"And another angel came out from the altar,
which had power over fire; and cried with
a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle,
saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather
the clusters of the vine of the earth; for
her grapes are fully ripe."
This gathering here is the gathering of the
wicked to Jerusalem to be destroyed.
He says in verse 19, "And the angel thrust
in his sickle into the earth, and gathered
the vine of the earth, and cast it into the
great winepress of the wrath of God."
And that's Jerusalem.
he says, "And the winepress was trodden without
the city, and blood came out of the winepress,
even unto the horses' bridles, by the space
of a thousand and six hundred furlongs."
There will be that much blood shed in the
valley of Jehoshaphat, which is just between
Jerusalem, Mount Moriah and the Mount of Olives.
It'll run bridle deep because of the slaughter
that takes place there.
This, then, is the great division, the great
division produced by the restoration of the
gospel, the great division seen by John when
he sees the 144,000 stand on Mount Zion.
And he sees that they are a select group,
and he sees that they sing a new song.
He sees that
Lecture 21 John's Revelation of the Last Days
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they are sealed directly and are directly
related to the Christ.
Then he shifts and sees how this is all brought
about--the angel, flying through the midst
of Heaven.
And after that, Babylon is said to fall.
Then he finally sees specifically the gathering
of the righteous and the gathering of the
wicked.
And in the gathering of the wicked, they are
gathered to Jerusalem to be destroyed, and
in that destruction, the destruction is so
devastating and so gruesome that blood runs
to the bridle of a horse's bit.
That's how it is.
Then he sees in chapters 15 and 16, which
is a review of the plagues.
Chapter 17 is the depicting of the woman,
Babylon, under the symbol of a great woman,
scarlet, with the words "Mystery, Babylon
the great, The mother of harlots and abominations
of the earth" written on her.
Chapter 18 and 19 gets you into the second
coming of Christ.
Chapter 20 is John the Revelator's great vision
of the millennial period, where Satan is taken
and bound for a thousand years.
After the thousand years is over, then he
is loosed, and the great judgment takes place,
the resurrection of all men, both small and
great.
They stand before God in the final great judgment.
And when that is portrayed, he sees, chapter
21, a new heaven and a new earth.
And this is the new celestial heaven and the
new earth, and he talks about it.
So the book of Revelation deals with what?
It deals with fulfilling this great objective
of making this earth a celestial orb.
I deals with the great gathering of the righteous
in the latter-days, the harvest season where
you gather the righteous into the church of
the Firstborn, and where the wicked are gathered
together finally at Jerusalem to be destroyed.
He sees that marvelous thing.
It's one of the plainest books God ever caused
to be written.
[Teachings, p. 290] It's as easy to understand
as the Ally Oop comic strip--if you read it
in the right context.
May the Lord bless you, my brothers and sisters.
It's been a thrill to be with you.
I feel that he has given me strength--when
I got here the other day I felt like I was
just about half sick and ready with a real
throat problem, and I asked the Lord to help
me on this one.
And I believe he has.
I believe he has.
I just want you to know that I know the gospel
is true.
I know that Jesus is the Christ with an absolute
knowledge.
I know that this is his
Lecture 21 John's Revelation of the Last Days
#2 29
work.
I know that the greatest responsibility of
the Latter-day Saints is to yield obedience
to the living prophet and join with him hand
in hand in the program that he has inaugurated,
and that goes, too, with the Stake President
and the Bishop.
You can't build Zion on your own, you can
only build Zion under the mantle of authority
that is given your Bishop and your Stake President.
So please, brothers and sisters, unite, get
away from the clicks, get away from the special
hobby situation, get the vision of Zion, get
on fire, get your home teaching done with
the Spirit of the Lord in your life.
Get your welfare programs, be generous in
your consecrations, live the temple covenants,
join together with a oneness that comes from
the Spirit of the Lord and the love that's
born of the love of Christ and the power of
his Spirit in your life, and let's build Zion.
I bear you my testimony that God does live,
and this is his work and that Ezra Taft Benson
is his prophet, and that your respective Stake
Presidents are called of God and have the
mantle of God.
I've never seen one that didn't when I've
talked with them.
And let's take that and then act on it.
And then let's get this great vision of things.
You know, the Book of Mormon is a miracle.
When you think of all this stuff put in there
in clarification in one working period of
75 days or less, producing a document that
does all this--and I haven't even gotten started
yet!
I haven't!
I've run out of time and I have hardly gotten
started yet.
All of this comes in the Book of Mormon, and
there's a lot more.
How Joseph Smith got that all packed in there
and put in proper perspective in so fine a
way and with so precise a language as it opens
up the vision of things, how did he do that
except by infinite intelligence and knowledge--how
did he do that?
He was a Prophet of God.
If there has ever been a prophet of God, it
was he.
He was a greater Prophet than Moses, and greater
Seer than Samuel.
He had a more dramatic rise out of humble
circumstances than Abraham Lincoln, and he,
and not Emerson, is our wisest American.
And he is our Prophet, and 
I love him.
I love to hear his voice--the Spirit bearing
witness of him.
I have studied him all my life.
I know that he was 
a Prophet of God, and I know this work 
is true.
I bear that testimony in the sacred name of
Jesus Christ, amen.
