One of the great things that the Book of Mormon
does is to open the meaning of the Bible in
more than one way. Tonight we want to discuss
one of the real challenging ways in which
this does, but I'm going to rely on the statement
of the Prophet Joseph Smith as we talk about
the book of Revelation. "The book of revelation
is one of the plainest books God ever caused
to be written. [Teachings, p. 290] I put my
hand on the sacred scriptures, I raise my
arm to the square, and I bear you my testimony
that that is a true statement.
Many of you may want to believe, but still
may not. But I hope in some measure that we
can open some doors. And if there is credit
for that, it comes from the Book of Mormon,
from the Prophet Joseph Smith, and from the
Lord and his help which I freely and humbly
acknowledge.
Let me, in order to approach this subject,
get back and get the foundation. Some of you
people haven't been here prior to this, so
I need to go back to 1 Nephi 14. On the basis
of 1 Nephi 14, we have found the foundation
to understand the book of Revelation, and
I want you to get that in your minds, open
your hearts and your souls, because that verily
is true.
In 1 Nephi 14, Nephi sees these two great
churches, the church of the mother of abominations,
which is the whore of all the earth, and then
he sees the church of the Lamb of God, and
that church of the Lamb constitutes those
Latter-day Saints who come up in adversity,
purify their lives and realize the blessings
that Nephi talks about when he said, "I beheld
that the Saints were armed with righteousness
and with the power of God in great glory."
That's the church of the Lamb, the spiritually
endowed church.
So he sees that these two churches exist,
and this brings it down to our time, because
there's never a period in this dispensation
when you have a situation where the church
of the Lord, the true church of Jesus Christ,
is planted in all the major nations of the
Gentiles--you don't have that. And you haven't
had that until post-World War II days, when
with the administration of President McKay
we began to
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be an international organization. This prophecy
focuses, then, on our time and on future events
from our time.
Nephi sees that the mother of abominations
gathered multitudes from among the Gentiles
primarily, to fight against God. Nephi then
said when this took place, as he saw all these
churches throughout the world built up, these
stakes and these wards, that he said, "I beheld
the power of God, that it descended upon the
Saints of the church of the Lamb and upon
the covenant people of the Lord." This has
particular reference to the converted Jews
who will one day receive it and flee to Jerusalem.
Not that all Jews will be converted, but there
will be those who will, and the major nation
of the Jews will not.
Then he sees the power of God in great glory
rest upon them, and they were all armed with
righteousness and with the power of God. Then
he sees the preparatory work that the Lord
does to establish Zion. And that preparatory
work is a cleansing work, and that cleansing
work is a work of cleansing among the Latter-day
Saints and of this land of Zion. So he sees
when the power of God rests upon the Saints,
that there will be wars and rumors of wars
among all nations, and this includes our beloved
America.
He says, verse 17: "When the day cometh that
the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother
of harlots, which is the great and abominable
church of all the earth, whose foundation
is the devil, then, at that day," and that's
a point of reference, telling us a time and
what will happen, "then at that day the work
of the Father shall commence, in preparing
the way for the fulfilling of his covenants,
which he hath made to his people who are of
the house of Israel."
Now, this is not the day of Israel's gathering,
of Israel's redemption. Note that he says,
"...then at that day the work of the Father
shall commence in preparing the way"--this
is a preparatory situation and action. It
is carried out in connection with this warfare
that's poured out upon all nations. The preparatory
program is one that is fulfilled through warfare.
That's what he is saying. And it's going to
be preparatory to the work of fulfilling his
covenants which he has made to his people
who are of the house of Israel.
Now, there are two things that are necessary,
primarily, to prepare. One is that we need
a Zion people; we need people who are truly
Zion in the sense that they become sanctified,
that they are truly a consecrated people,
that they live in tune with the Holy Spirit,
and
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that the Holy Spirit brings them to a free
and open union where they see eye to eye,
as the Prophet says they will do when he brings
again Zion. That kind of preparation will
take judgment. As Isaiah says in chapter 1
of Isaiah, "Zion shall be redeemed with judgment,
and her converts with righteousness." That's
the key, then.
The other part of the preparation is the cleansing
of this land. That preparation can take place
in either one or two ways. It can take place
by the repentance of the Gentiles and their
embracing of the gospel and freely building
up the New Jerusalem. But if this doesn't
happen, then when the Gentiles turn into iniquity
and the cup of iniquity is full, then the
lord indicates as he said in his great promise
that this is the land of Zion and that it
will be a free people as long as we serve
the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ.
If we don't, then when we are ripened in iniquity,
we will be swept off the land. That has happened
twice at least--actually three times. The
antediluvian people were swept off in the
flood and the Garden of Eden was here, the
Jaredites were swept off, and the Nephites
were swept off. And it's going to happen again,
unless we have a totally reverse situation
than what we've got going in the country today.
Now, that preparation, then, is to prepare
for the gathering and the fulfilling of the
Lord's covenants. The gathering is the gathering
of Israel to America. And the fulfilling of
his covenants is bringing his people to Christ
and to the Zion order and to the sacred endowments
of the Spirit, to the cloud by day and the
pillar of fire by night, so that Zion truly
becomes Mount Zion. That's what the gathering,
that's what the redemption of Israel is all
about. It's not getting your bodies physically
from one place to another.
In order to prepare for that great gathering,
you've got to have a cleansing of this land,
because this is the land of Zion. And then
you've got to have a refinement of the people
of the Lord, because they are they who are
fore-appointed, the doctrine of election,
to build Zion. And Zion is going to be built
with judgment, and her converts with righteousness.
Not just to cleanse out the inactive, but
to refine and purify the faithful, so that
their souls through faith, through diligence,
through challenge, through opposition, through
adversity will expand. Their reliance on the
Lord will be perfected, and when they come
out the other end of the tunnel, they will
be a righteous remnant, ready to establish
the New Jerusalem. And then to the New Jerusalem,
endowed with glory and power, the great gathering
of
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Israel will take place.
When Nephi sees that great scenario, then
he is also shown that there is a special apostle
of the Lord Jesus Christ who was foreordained
to write about these events. These events
in the cleansing of Zion, these events in
the cleansing not just of America but the
cleansing of the whole earth. So the book
of revelation is a book explaining the cleansing
of Zion and the cleansing of the whole earth
and the establishment of God's kingdom on
this earth for the millennial reign. How much
more important can a book be than one that
deals with those subjects?
So Nephi sees this apostle of the Lamb, and
the angel says concerning him, verse 21, "Behold,
he shall see and write the remainder of these
things." Then he clarifies that a little later
in the statement indicating that Nephi saw
the same thing that John the revelator saw
and that Nephi, while he was not permitted
to write it, nevertheless saw the full vision
which John would see, and that was a point
of future for him and his time. Nephi writes
in a measure the introduction, the preface.
If you want to study the book of Revelation,
where do you start? You start with 1 Nephi
14. Why? Because that introduces the thing
and gives the orientation. We are dealing,
then, with an inspired commentary and an inspired
introduction to a heretofore very difficult
to understand book that has been interpreted
in about every different way that is humanly
possible by people from the beginning of the
Christian era to the present time. And the
key to the correct knowledge of that book
is in this sacred volume, the Book of Mormon.
Now, with that as introduction, let me turn
to the book of Revelation and let's see if
we can meet the challenge of analysis and
get focused in on this particular volume and
see what it means. First of all, John gives--and
I'm going to skip the first 3 chapters. They
deal with the 7 churches in Asia Minor. They
are very important, particularly the promises
that are given to the faithful. But for want
of time, I think it would be best to just
say that they deal with the churches of that
day, and pass those first 3 chapters on by.
Then we come to chapter 4, where you get right
into the beginning of the prophetic picture.
The first thing John sees as expressed in
chapter 4, or one of the first, is the great
goal and objective for the creation of this
earth. He says in verse 6: "And before the
throne there was a sea of glass like unto
crystal; and in the midst of the
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throne were the four and twenty elders; and
round about the throne, were four beasts full
of eyes before and behind."
He sees the sea of glass like unto crystal.
Let me have you turn to the 15th chapter,
verse 2, where he comes back to this same
subject.
He says this: "And I saw as it were a sea
of glass mingled with fire; and them that
had gotten the victory over the beast, and
over his image, and over his mark, and over
the number of his name, stand on the sea of
glass, having the harps of God." Now, the
Prophet Joseph comes to our rescue on that
in Section 130 of the D&C. He tells us a few
things about celestial life. He says, "This
earth in its sanctified and immortal state,"
verse 9, "will be made like unto crystal and
will be a Urim and Thummim to the inhabitants
who dwell thereon, whereby all things pertaining
to an inferior kingdom, or the kingdoms of
a lower order, will be manifest to those who
dwell on it; and this earth will be Christ's."
With that in mind, let's turn to Section 77,
and maybe you can put your thumb in Section
77 for awhile, because we'll want to come
back to it for a few clarifications. Section
77 is an interesting revelation.
It's a series of questions and answers, and
they all pertain to the book of Revelation.
In this particular question and answer series,
the Prophet deals with this subject of the
sea of glass and indicates what it is. Verse
1: "What is the sea of glass spoken of by
John, 4th chapter, and 6th verse of the Revelation?
It is the earth, in its sanctified, immortal
and eternal state." What does John see first
of all? He sees the great objective for which
the Lord created this earth, the end purpose.
And that is that the design in pouring out
the judgments that John sees and in doing
the other things that John sees, the great
design finally is ultimately to produce a
celestialized earth. That's what he sees.
And that celestialized earth is an orb like
unto crystal, mingled with fire. That has
reference to its glory.
It will be so infused with intelligence or
the glory of God, and keep in mind that Section
93, verse 36, tells us that the glory of God
is intelligence, and you infuse that material
of this earth with the intelligence or glory
of God and it becomes a Urim and Thummim,
and it becomes a revelatory instrument so
that you can look into it and see things pertaining
to an equivalent or a lower order of glory.
This earth will be Christ's, and those who
are celestial will dwell on it, and they will
have that means of acquiring knowledge and
understanding. Then they will each have their
own pocket-size Urim
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and Thummims the Prophet points out in Section
130, whereby things pertaining to a higher
order of celestial orbs can be made manifest
to each of those. And on that Urim and Thummim
that they have will be a New Name that no
man knows, etc.
So according to the Prophet Joseph Smith's
clarification, starting with the book of revelation
is a great cosmic picture dealing with this
earth. And that great cosmic picture commences
opening up with the goal and the objective
that this earth is to be sanctified and is
to become a millennium. And then after the
millennium as John sees in chapter 20, you
will have the final great battle of Gog and
Magog, there being two such battles. One is
before the millennium and one is after.
Then he sees the new heaven and the new earth,
and this is the celestial state. This is Revelation
21 and 22. So the book of Revelation, then,
is a great revelatory work concerning this
earth and its ultimate destiny. That's the
main theme that we want to follow.
Another thing that we need to understand is
these 4 beasts and some details here in chapter
4 of the book of Revelation. Here in the forepart
of this chapter, and I'm just gong to abbreviate,
John sees the throne of God, and then in verse
4, he says, "And round about the throne were
four and twenty seats: and upon the seats
I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed
in white raiment; and they had on their heads
crowns of gold."
He goes on to say that he also saw four beasts.
In the latter part of verse 6, "And in the
midst of the throne, and round about the throne,
were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.
And the first beast was like a lion," and
he goes on and describes them.
Now, let's turn to Section 77 again and pick
up the Prophet's clarification on this subject.
The question is asked, verse 2, "What are
we to understand by the 4 beasts spoken of
in the same verse? They are figurative expressions,
used by the revelator, John, in describing
heaven, the paradise of God, the happiness
of man, and of beasts, and of creeping things,
and of the fowls of the air; that which is
spiritual being in the likeness of that which
is temporal; and that which is temporal in
the likeness of that which is spiritual; the
spirit of man in the likeness of his person,
as also the spirit of the beast, and every
other creature which God has created."
The question then is asked, "Are the four
beats limited to individual beasts, or do
they represent classes or orders? They are
limited to
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four individual beasts, which were shown to
John, to represent the glory of the classes
of beings in their destined order or sphere
of creation, in the enjoyment of their eternal
felicity.
The Prophet Joseph Smith once took up this
subject of the book of Revelation in comparison
with the book of Daniel. Daniel talks about
"figures of beasts," and there are the 4 great
figures of beasts. The Prophet made it very
clear that there's a great difference between
Daniel's use of beasts and John's use of beasts.
Daniel uses the term "figure of a beast,"
which is actually a representative thing and
it applies to beastly kingdoms here on the
earth, which are degenerate and which, then,
are vicious in their basic spirit. In that
sense, then, those 4 beasts represent the
Babylonian kingdom, the Medeo- Persian, Greco-Macedonian,
Roman, etc. Those are the 4 beasts.
When it comes to the book of Revelation, John
sees actual animals in the paradise of God.
He sees actual animals there. These animals
are made figurative in the sense that there
are things portrayed about them which depict
some of the nature that they have. The Revelation
says that the four beasts "were full of eyes
before and behind." Now, the eyes are symbolic
of light, intelligence, and that kind of thing.
The wings are symbolic of the power to move
and to act. So while they are individual animals,
they are figuratively portrayed to symbolize
their nature. But we're talking about different
creatures.
For example, here's the Prophet Joseph Smith's
statement. He says, "I suppose John saw beings
there of a thousand forms that had been saved
from ten thousand times ten thousand earths."
Now, John sees the whole vision of the creations
of Christ. He sees the animal kingdom. And
that's just simple. And in that animal kingdom
on the world's which Christ has created and
redeems, John apparently saw 
beasts from ten thousand times ten thousand
earths. He says, "...strange beasts of which
we have no conception. All might be seen in
Heaven. The grand secret," and keep this as
the central point, "The grand secret was to
show John what there was in Heaven." I've
always said that if there's not a cow there,
I don't want to go there! I love milk that
much! And I've got a good old mutt friend
or two that I've had in life that were just
as near and dear to my heart as a member of
the family. I hope I have that continued relationship
in the resurrection.
That's what Joseph is saying: "The grand secret
was to show John what there was in Heaven.
John learned that God glorified himself by
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saving ALL that his hands had made, whether
beasts, fowl, fishes or men, he will glorify
himself in them."
Now, realizing this, that there is a resurrection
of animals, realizing that God is going to
save everything that he creates and glorify
it, he's going to do that and that's his committed
program, then John sees 4 great animals, and
the Prophet talks about those 4 great animals,
and they represent "the order of the animal
kingdom in the enjoyment of their eternal
felicity."
The Prophet says this as he speaks of them:
"God who made the beasts could understand
every language spoken by them. The four beasts
were four of the most noble animals that had
filled the measure of their creation and had
been saved from other worlds," other worlds
than this one. And that raises some interesting
things that I don't have time to get to.
He says, "Because they were perfect; they
were like angels in their sphere. We are not
told where they came from," that is, which
world, "and I do not know. But they were seen
and heard by John, praising and glorifying
God.
John, then, begins by seeing the throne of
God. And around the throne of God he sees
four and twenty elders. The Prophet clarifies
that those four and twenty elders were actual
persons. They had been saved from the seven
churches that are spoken of in the first 3
chapters of Revelation. And they are made
representative of all saved beings in the
human family. Then he sees these four beasts,
and they are made representative. And he sees
the celestial earth, the glorified earth like
unto a sea of glass and fire. This typifies
the celestial order of the future.
Can we begin to see what the meaning is of
John's Revelation? As he sees these, he sees,
verse 9: "And when those beasts give glory
and honor and thanks to him that sat on the
throne, who liveth forever and ever." See,
these aren't beastly systems like Daniel sees,
that are beastly and make war against the
Kingdom of God. These are actual animals in
the paradise of God that represent the creative
processes as they pertain to the animal kingdom,
and the twenty and four elders represent the
faithful saints who will be redeemed and the
blessings given to them.
As John sees these things then, in chapter
5 he sees a book written within and on the
backside, sealed with seven seals. Verse 2:
"And I
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saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud
voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and
to loose the seals thereof? And no man in
heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth,
was able to open the book, neither to look
thereon. And I wept much, because no man was
found worthy to open and to read the book,
neither to look thereon. And one of the elders
saith unto me," one of these four and twenty
elders, "Weep not: behold, the Lion of the
tribe of Judah," and that's just another name
for the Messiah or for Christ, "the Root of
David," that's just another name of Christ
in relation to his lineage in the flesh, "hath
prevailed to open the book, and to loose the
seven seals thereof."
The book is sealed with seven seals and Christ
prevails and is worthy to open it.
Let's turn again back to Section 77 and get
the Prophet's clarification on the subject
before we move on. As he speaks on this subject,
he says this, verse 6: "What are we to understand
by the book which John saw, which was sealed
on the back with seven seals? We are to understand
that it contains the revealed will, mysteries,
and the works of God; the hidden things of
his economy concerning this earth during the
seven thousand years of its continuance, or
its temporal existence." Now, the temporal
existence began with the fall. The word "temporal"
comes from the word "temporary," and the temporal
existence of the earth begins with the fall
of Adam and Eve.
Verse 7: "What are we to understand by the
seven seals with which it was sealed? We are
to understand that the first seal contains
the things of the first thousand years, and
the second also for the second thousand years,
and so on until the seventh."
The book, then, is sealed on the back with
seven seals. Its content is a revelatory record
of all that has gone on, on this earth, from
the fall of Adam down through time. The contents
under each seal, or within the book sealed
by a given seal, deal with that particular
1,000 year period of time. Is that clear?
Let's just say a word or two of clarification
that is very important at this point in relation
to that book and its seals. Sometimes people
get the idea that those seals are opened at
the beginning of each thousand years. That's
not true. They are all sealed, and they are
all opened, not in the thousand years where
the events transpire, but they are opened
in the latter-days. They are opened in the
latter-
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days in such a way that when you finally get
to the seventh seal and it is opened, that
begins the 7th thousand year from the time
Adam fell down through to the opening of that
seal. And the first 6 seals are opened preliminary
to that, and they are all within the 6th seal,
leading up to the opening of the 7th. The
7th seal is on target. It's right there at
the opening of the 7th thousand year period.
There is another feature to this that we need
to see. This other feature relates to the
opening of these seals. In Revelation 6, we
see the opening of those seals, or the opening,
at least, of the first 6 of those seals. With
the opening of the first 6 of those seals,
we see things portrayed in this chapter. When
the first seal is opened, he sees a white
horse, and "he that sat on him had a bow (Rev.
6:2); and a crown was given unto him: and
he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
When the second seal was opened, he writes,
and keep in mind now that these animals, and
they are from other worlds, are involved in
this great process. So the second beast is
heard to say, "Come and see. And there went
out another horse that was red: and power
was given to him that sat thereon to take
peace from the earth, and that they should
kill one another: and there was given unto
him a great sword." Now, this beast is a tremendous
military system, and power is given to take
peace from the earth.
When the third seal was opened, he says, "I
heard the third beast say, Come and see. And
I beheld, and lo a black horse: and he that
sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand."
These balances that deal with the desire for
justice and equity, social justice, liberty,
etc. "And I heard a voice in the midst of
the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for
a penny, and three measures of barley for
a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and
the wine." Now, those who are represented
by the black horse are interested in justice,
social justice, equity and in survival and
the necessities or the substances of life.
He says, "And when he had opened the fourth
seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast
say, Come and see. And I looked, and behold
a pale horse: and his name that sat on him
was Death, and Hell followed with him. And
power was given unto them over the fourth
part of the earth, to kill with sword, and
with hunger, and with death, and with the
beasts of the earth."
Then he sees the fifth seal reading in verse
9, "I saw under the altar
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the souls of them that were slain for the
word of God, and for the testimony which they
held: And they cried with a loud voice, saying,
How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou
not judge and avenge our blood on them that
dwell on the earth? And white robes were given
unto every one of them," which symbolizes
blessings, endowments, elevation in their
status. White robes were given to them, "and
it was said unto them that they should rest
yet for a little season, until their fellow
servants also and their brethren, that should
be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."
In other words, let's let all the martyrs
get taken care of and then the Lord will come
out in his judgment. In the meantime, he pacified
them, if you want to use that term--it's a
little more than that. They were given white
robes, symbolizing the glory and the power
and the things that came to them.
Then he says, when he opened the sixth seal,
and I'm going to turn here to the Inspired
Revision of the Prophet Joseph Smith who dealt
with this, in order to get you the more complete
and accurate picture from the standpoint of
latter-day revelation. In relation to the
sixth seal, I.V. Rev. 6:12: "And lo, there
was a great earthquake; and the sun became
black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became
as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto
the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her
untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty
wind. And the heavens opened as a scroll is
opened when it is rolled together; and every
mountain and island was moved out of its place.
And the kings of the earth, and the great
men, and the rich men, and the chief captains,
and the mighty men, and every bondman and
every free man, hid themselves in the dens
and in the rocks of the mountains. And said
to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and
hide us from the face of him that sitteth
on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb;
For the great day of wrath is come, and who
shall be able to stand?
All right, the sixth day is the ordination--and
I use that word meaning- fully--not the fulfillment,
the ordination of the second coming.
Now let's go back and see if we can pick up
the picture on this. Some people maintain
that these various figures associated with
the opening of the seals represent actions
and activities in the respective thousand
year period, so that the white horse and he
that sat upon the white horse with the bow
represents something that took place between
the fall of Adam and 1,000 years of the year
of the world. And the red horse represents
something that took place between 1,000 of
the year of the world and the year 2,000,
which would
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include the flood which took place somewhere
around the year 1635 or so after Adam's fall.
And so on down.
Let me give you, and this is a rather popular
clarification--This, however, disregards the
clarification given by the Prophet Joseph
Smith. Let me turn to his statement, and let's
see what he says about it. He's the person
who called it the plainest book God ever caused
to be written; he's the person who, like John
the Revelator, saw what John saw. And, like
the brother of Jared, saw what the brother
of Jared saw. Hence, he just may be qualified
to make a clarification that is meaningful.
Here in the Teachings, page 290, he says this:
"John saw beasts that had to do with things
on the earth, but not in past ages. The beasts
which John saw had to devour the inhabitants
of the earth in days to come." Future from
John. And then he quotes the book of Revelation:
"And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the
seals; and I heard, as it were the noise of
thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come
and see. And I saw and beheld a white horse:
and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown
was given unto him; and he went forth conquering,
and to conquer."
Now, is this in the first millennial period
of this earth's temporal state? Or is it after
John the Revelator's time, according to Joseph
Smith? He makes it very clear, does he not?
Then he goes on. "And there went out another
horse that was red: and power was given to
him that sat thereon to take peace from the
earth, and that they should kill one another;
and there was given unto him a great sword."
Then he says, "The book of Revelation is one
of the plainest books God ever caused to be
written." And that's where the statement comes
in.
So these things that happened when the seals
were opened, when the first seal was opened
and the white horse went forth, it has nothing
directly to do with 1,000 years from Adam's
fall to the first millennial period. It is
that which is depicted when that seal is opened.
The opening of the seals are made to reveal
the sequence of events in the last days. I
don't know whether you've picked that one
up, but that's one of the best statements
I've made all day long The opening of the
seals are made to reveal the sequence of events
in the last days.
These seals are to be opened in the last days,
and at the opening of
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each seal, there are certain prophetic events
to take place. Are the contents of the seals
revealed immediately upon their opening? The
answer is no. How do we know that? We turn
to Section 88 of the D&C. Here the Lord talks
about the immediate events ushering in the
millennial reign. And just for a point of
clarification for those of you who are students
in these things and have delved into this,
let me just say that the seven angels in the
book of D&C 88 are not the same thing as in
the book of John's revelation. The seven angels
in D&C 88 are not the same as in the book
of Revelation. If we have some time, I'd like
to get into that. I don't know, but we'd better
rush on.
But John sees, then, these seven angels that
immediately sound as the second coming is
ushered in. Then after they sound once, they
turn around and they sound again. They are
correlated with Revelation, they're correlated.
But it's not the same thing.
Then here in Section 88, verse 108, he says,
"And then shall the first angel again sound
his trump." This is another group of angels;
it relates to the events of the second coming,
to what takes place. They sound, they get
the events of the second coming in gear, and
the second coming takes place, and then immediately
after the second coming, they blow their horns
again. And note what it says:
"And then shall the first angel again sound
his trump in the ears of all living, and reveal
the secret acts of men, and the mighty works
of God in the first thousand years." Now,
here's when the contents of the sealed book
are revealed. It is after Christ comes in
his glory and as a preparatory thing for that
great task that the Saints will perform when
they judge the nations of the earth. And in
order to exercise a righteous judgment at
the beginning of the millennium. Zion will
have been established, the millennial order,
and the first item of business is to bring
about a judgment of all men from Adam on down.
And in order for that judgment to be made
in righteousness, then that sealed book, the
seals of which have been previously opened
in the last days, that sealed book has its
contents revealed as this order of angels
sound their trumps.
Why so? So that the Saints who have the challenge
of judging the world will have a basis, an
intelligent basis to fulfill that challenge
and that responsibility.
He goes on and says, verse 109: "And then
shall the second angel sound his trump, and
reveal the secret acts of men, and the thoughts
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and intents of their hearts, and the mighty
works of God in the second thousand years--And
so on, until the seventh angel shall sound
his trump...." (End tape side one)
...The contents under each of these seals
is a revelatory record of the human family,
including the secret thoughts of their hearts,
for the various successive thousand year periods
from the fall of Adam down to the opening
of the seventh seal. That's what it contains.
Now, as those seals are opened, then John
sees prophetic events. The white horse represents
something that's going to take place on earth
when the first seal is opened. The red horse
represents something that's going to take
place on earth in the way of judgments, in
the way of the cleansing of Zion, in the way
of the cleansing of the earth, when the second
seal is opened. And so on down through. Actually,
there are four horses. These are the four
horsemen of the apocalypse. They represent
four major eras of judgment leading up to
the final cleansing of the earth. Before we
get into the identity of each of these animals,
let me turn to another statement by the Prophet
Joseph Smith for some clarification. I have
reference to Section 87 of the D&C, which
is called the "Prophecy on War." So let's
just say a few words about this, and then
we'll come back to the book of Revelation
and see if we can pick up the theme with the
Prophet Joseph's clarification as a basis.
Section 87 of the D&C was given Christmas
day, December 25, 1832. Many people as they
read this say that this is a prophecy of the
Civil War. Let me back up and say that's not
quite so. This is too narrow a view. This
is not merely a prophecy of the Civil War.
Note, for example, the opening verse. "Verily,
thus saith the Lord concerning the wars,"
and that's plural, not "a" war, "concerning
the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning
at the rebellion of South Carolina, which
will eventually terminate in the death and
misery of many souls; And the time will come
that war will be poured out upon all nations,
beginning at this place."
Now, what's the prophecy on war about? Let
me give you the Prophet Joseph Smith's own
words on it; this is Section 130 of the D&C,
where a few years later he comes back to this
same subject and draws information and makes
clarification on the prophecy on war. In verse
12, he says, "I prophesy, in the name of the
Lord God, that the commencement of the difficulties
which will cause much bloodshed previous to
the coming of the Son of Man will be in South
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Carolina." Now, do you get the scope of things?
It's not a prophecy about the Civil War, it's
a prophecy about this era of judgment that
we call "the last days" that will exist, transpire,
take place previous to the coming of the Son
of Man.
He says, "This a voice declared to me, while
I was praying earnestly on the subject, December
25, 1832." What's the date of the prophecy
on war? December 25, 1832. He clarifies that
the prophecy on war is a statement of an overview
of the judgments that will come, that will
finally lead up, as the prophecy says, to
that time when the "consumption decreed hath
made a full end of all nations" (87:6). Now,
that's what it's talking about.
Within that scope of prophetic vision, let's
take the prophecy on war for just a minute
and we'll carefully or quickly, at least,
dissect it a little bit. We could talk all
evening on it, but we don't have the time.
We only have 27 hours in this program, and
we're running out. So we'll just briefly dissect
this statement.
The prophecy begins with a statement about
the American Civil War, and it makes it clear
that the American Civil War is the beginning
of an era of warfare. If you've studied Arnold
J. Toynbee's work on history, etc., and if
you've studied other military works in regard
to the military program of the latter-day,
you'll find that they're all united in saying
that the American Civil War is the beginning
of that kind of war that we call "total war,"
and it's also the beginning of mechanized
war, where you have the first iron-clad ships.
It's also the beginning of other kinds of
things. Eli Whitney not only invented the
cotton gin, he invented mass production, and
the North put that principle into operation
and out-produced the South in economic goods
and gained strength and power to overcome
the South. So the American Civil War is literally
the beginning of a whole new ballgame of conflict.
That's what the Lord says here:
"For behold, the Southern States shall be
divided against the Northern States, and the
Southern States will call on other nations,
even the nation of Great Britain, as it is
called...." This the Southern States did,
and Great Britain became involved in our internal
affairs, and it cost them 15 million 500 thousand
dollars in the Geneva arbitration of 1870,
when the thing was finally cleared up. If
I were doing this revelation, I'd put a new
paragraph right there, because
Lecture 20 John's Revelation of the Last Days
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there is the beginning of a new idea.
It begins this new idea and says, "And they,"
and the antecedent to "they" is Great Britain,
"And they shall also call upon other nations,
in order to defend themselves against other
nations; and then," not till then, not in
the Civil War, but "then" when Great Britain
calls on other nations to form a coalition
against other nations, and this was the Allied
and associated powers, with Great Britain
in 1909 calling upon other nations against
the central powers of Austria, Hungary, Bulgaria,
etc., "then war shall be poured out upon all
nations."
See, after the Civil War in America, then
the next major conflict was the Franco-Prussian
War of 1870, and that was an interesting war.
Prior to that, Germany had existed as just
a whole multitude of independent states, weak
by lack of organization. But this guy Bismarck
came along with the idea of uniting the German
states and establishing them on the Prussian
militaristic program of saber- rattling, which
he was successful in doing. The catalyst that
brought the German states together was the
Franco-Prussian War, and he had prepared them
beforehand by training them militarily and
got some new, modern weapons called the "needle
gun" that was more efficient than anything
that France had. Meanwhile, France was enjoying
herself in all her dissipation, with great
national pride. And when Bismarck provoked
France to declare war on Germany, and he did
this with calculated intent, France accommodated
him, and the new German nation trounced the
socks off of them.
In Europe, then, Germany emerged as the dominant
nation of the earth, built on the system of
military might and power of saber- rattling.
As a result of that, there began to develop
a network of secret combinations in which
one nation would say to another, "If you are
attacked by that nation, we commit ourselves
to come into the conflict." And that system
of secret alliances was built up gradually.
Then in about the 1894 period of time, you
see a tremendous thrust in Europe in the arms
race. Finally, in 1909, Great Britain called
upon other nations to defend herself against
these other nations, and by then this secret
network had divided the nations of Europe
into two opposing camps. When they were thus
divided into two opposing camps, all it took
was a little incident for one nation to go
to war against the other. And as a result,
then one nation after another was dragged
into that.
For America, Wilson ran on the ticket of keeping
us out of the war.
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But B. H. Roberts, an L.D.S. scholar in the
summer of 1914, wrote a little article on
the prophecy on war, which was published,
in which he quotes this statement--"When Great
Britain calls on other nations to defend herself
against other nations, then war will be poured
out upon all nations." Brother Roberts then
said, "Hey, they have called upon other nations,
and this incident that is underway there is
not going to be the end of it. One nation
will be dragged into this after another, until
it has become global in its impact." So war
was poured out upon all nations. That's the
second thing.
You first of all had the American scene. Then
you have the scene shift to Great Britain.
Then you have the scene shift from there,
and it doesn't say much about World War I
versus World War II, or even include World
War II. The reason for that is it was really
a little bit like the Jaredites--they didn't
declare any peace; Shiz and Coriantumr just
leaned on their swords and looked at each
other until they got enough energy to swat
each other again. The same kind of thing happened
nationally. We were involved in another arms
race before they ever got the ink dried on
the Armistice. We used to call it "Armistice
Day." But then we saw the hypocrisy of it,
and we changed it to what? To "Veteran's Day."
Why? Because there was no armistice. You are
introducing an era of world conflict.
Then the prophecy on war goes on down, and
this is all related to the 6th chapter of
the book of Revelation. Let me just put it
this way: Revelation 6, 1 Nephi 14 and the
D&C Section 87 all deal with the same subject
and the same prophetic picture. That's an
important point. They all deal--Nephi sees
it and writes it in his manner, saying, "I've
seen it," talking about wars being poured
out, etc. The book of Revelation sees it,
and now here the prophecy on war. Let's get
the picture, then, from here and then we'll
go back.
In verse 4, following in sequence, "And it
shall come to pass, after many days"--many
days after what? Well, you can take two possibilities.
Many days after the rebellion in South Carolina.
Or you can take the other alternative or choice,
many days after war has been poured out upon
all nations. If you'll study this out carefully,
you'll find that the general tenor of thought
is that this is in sequence. So we're talking
about many days after the World War has plagued
the world with the outbreak of war when Great
Britain calls upon other nations to defend
herself.
"Many days," after that, "slaves shall rise
up against their masters,
Lecture 20 John's Revelation of the Last Days
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who shall be marshaled and disciplined for
war." Many days. That gets us clear on down
through a ways, and slaves rise against their
masters. I've seen articles written on the
prophecy on war that try to bring the American
slaves who joined the Civil War into the picture,
and have them fulfill this. You can't do that;
that's wrenching the scriptures. That's taking
them out of context. You've got to say, "O.K.,
we first have American Civil War and then
we have Great Britain calling upon other nations,
an era of world war, and then many days after
that you have slaves rising against their
masters. Their masters are marshaled and disciplined
for war. They are a militaristic program,
and slaves revolt against them.
Then note in verse 5, "And it shall come to
pass also...." The word "also" extends the
statement in verse 4, saying that the kind
of thing you are talking about in verse 4
is going to take place in another setting,
with another group. "And it shall come to
pass also that the remnants who are left of
the land will marshal themselves, and shall
become exceedingly angry, and shall vex the
Gentiles with a sore vexation."
Now, we know from the Book of Mormon what
verse 5 is all about. We know what it is when
the remnants who are left in the land, and
they are the remnants of Jacob on this land,
etc., and how they play Indians and cowboys
instead of cowboys and Indians, and they do
so with the Gentiles. They go through among
the Gentiles like a lion and the beasts of
the forest, and like a young lion in the midst
of a flock of sheep. And they are exceedingly
angry, and they vex the Gentiles with a sore
vexation.
Now, let's come down to our day. What is the
great military power of the earth that dominates
in the sense of arbitrary power, many, many
people, which military power actually is marshaled
and disciplined for war? Which one is it?
It's the communist bloc, etc. And who are
the slaves? Those people who are under the
dominance of that mighty military power. Isn't
that clear? The slaves are going to rise against
their masters. When do they do that? The whole
beginning scenario is that the Gentile order
in America here becomes violently turbulent,
and we're trying to save the Constitution
as a batch of Latter-day Saints, and you have
the rise of a strong man to stabilize things
in America, and he doesn't think very much
of Mormons. And you have a beginning era of
warfare against Zion.
This is followed by the coming of the Assyrian
to this land. When the
Lecture 20 John's Revelation of the Last Days
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military power of the Assyrian, who is that
great northern army spoken of in Joel 2, of
which Moroni gives some clarifications, when
that happens, then the military might of that
system is over here. If you were a freedom-lover
in Poland or in Hungary, what would you do?
You will have mass uprisings; slaves will
rise against their masters. What will that
cause? What kind of effect will that have?
Those soldiers here will say, "Hey, we've
got something closer to home that we've got
to take care of," and they will withdraw.
We, then, with the power we can muster and
with the power of the Lord-- keep in mind
as we discussed here the other evening, Isaiah
says that the Assyrian will be driven back
by the "power of the anointing." So it will
be a combined situation.
This land, which will have been disciplined
and will have been cleansed by that Assyrian,
where the Lord says, "I will send the Assyrian
against a hypocritical nation, and he will
cleanse," etc. This land, having been cleansed,
will be left relatively free. Then what will
happen? The Indian people will be called by
the Lord. They will band together, they will
be exceedingly angry. They will vex the Gentiles
with a sore vexation. In the meantime, what
do the Latter- day Saints do? They get on
the stick. The Church has been humbled and
it has been cleansed. Zion has been refined,
and the remnant that Isaiah talks about over
and over again, that the Book of Mormon talks
about--we discussed here earlier in the Isaiah
prophecies--then that remnant that has been
cleansed and sanctified, this will be the
group of people who will redeem Jackson County.
And they'll build up that order and they'll
save the Constitution--not in Washington,
D.C., perpetuating the Gentile order. The
times of the Gentiles are fulfilled! They
were fulfilled in 1967. Jesus gives us a clue
in Luke 21. He says there that Jerusalem shall
be trodden down by the Gentiles until the
times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
When did Jerusalem cease to be trodden down
by the Gentiles? It began in 1948 with the
war there, and then there was this 6-day war
in 1967. At the time of that war, I was in
Las Vegas--not for reasons that many Latter-day
Saints go there, but I was there on an education
week, and I was discussing the last days.
The building didn't hold all that wanted to
come, because, "Hey, something's going on
in Jerusalem," and we had people filled in
here and sticking their heads in the door
and listening outside and carrying messages
on through to get what I was saying to everybody
who was congregating around
Lecture 20 John's Revelation of the Last Days
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there. They thought Armageddon was on its
way, and they were ready to repent! And they
said, "Brother Andrus, is this Armageddon?"
And I said, "No, this is not Armageddon, but
I'll tell you what will happen. The Jews are
going to come out on top on this. I'll tell
you what else will happen. They are going
to get possession of Mount Moriah. You go
home and write that down." So the Jews, after
fighting for 6 days--they don't believe in
doing a 7-day job--mopped the thing up, and
they gained possession not only of Mount Moriah,
which is the core thing, and Jerusalem ceased
to be trodden down of the Gentiles. And the
times of the Gentiles were officially fulfilled.
If I had time I'd like to discuss that with
you, how much the rationale--because we're
still around, you can see that. There is reason
for still being around, and I don't have time
to get into that. You'll just have to take
that one on faith.
So he sees in the book of Revelation, he sees
the American Civil War, he sees the coming
of world war, he sees slaves rise against
their masters, and he sees the latter-day
remnant. Then he doesn't say anything more
specifically, he just says this: "And thus
with the sword and by bloodshed the inhabitants
of the earth shall mourn; (D&C 87:6) and with
famine, and plague, and earthquake, and the
thunder of heaven, and the fierce and vivid
lightning also, shall the inhabitants of the
earth be made to feel the wrath, and indignation,
and chastening hand of an Almighty God, until
the consumption decreed hath made a full end
of all nations." He doesn't give any specific
details more than that.
But those are enough. John's Revelation 6
does the same thing. In John's chapter 6 overview
of the last days, he mentions four things--
the white horse, the red horse, the black
horse, the pale horse. And these four events
are correlated with the prophecy on war. The
white horse is America. The one who sits on
the white horse has a bow and goes forth conquering
and to conquer The white horse represents
the beginning of the era of warfare against
Zion. The figure of the bow is important,
at least I feel so. Let me suggest it to you,
and you can think what you want to on it.
We've had some interesting skirmishes in America
recently. We've had the thing called Granada
where they went in, we've had the Libya thing,
we've had the Persian Gulf thing. And in each
instance it is as if it were--we just sent
a bow, a bomb, in and pulled back. The white
horse pulled back and unleashed military action
against a particular thing in this
Lecture 20 John's Revelation of the Last Days
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part of the area. And they did that in Granada,
they did that in Libya, they did that in the
Persian Gulf and we just might have to do
it some more. The white horse is doing his
thing. The first seal has been opened. That's
essentially what that would say, if that's
right.
The red horse. What is the red horse? What
does John say? John says in relation to the
red horse, and let me read it: "Power was
given him that sat thereon to take peace from
the earth...and there was given unto him a
great sword." This is a military power. When
the white horse gets through doing its thing
and the American economy, if we don't get
some sanity in our head, goes under, and the
Latter-day Assyrian comes to this hypocritical
nation, peace will be taken from the earth.
Power was given him to take peace from the
earth. And there was given unto him a "great
sword."
In the prophecy on war, after you deal with
the masters you have to deal with the slaves.
The slaves who rise against their masters.
So John says, "I heard a third beast say,
`Come and see.' And I beheld, and lo a black
horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of
balances in his hand." The slaves are interested
in what? Justice. And they are also interested
in sustenance--"And I heard a voice in the
midst of the four beasts say, A measure of
wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley
for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil
and the wine."
Then he sees the fourth beast. "And when he
had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice
of the fourth beast say, `Come and see.' And
I looked, and beheld a pale horse: and his
name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed
with him. And power was given unto them over
the fourth part of the earth." Now, North
and South America constitute a fourth part
of the earth. The pale horse has to do with
the remnant, and he's going to do something
with pale faces, if I can put it that way.
And he that rode the pale horse is Death;
the remnant is going to become exceedingly
angry, they are going to vex the Gentiles
with a sore vexation. And those whom they
kill, being corrupt, instead of going to the
Paradise of God, will be thrust down to hell.
So he who sat on the pale horse is Death,
and Hell followed after him.
Let me just suggest that. You go home and
pray about it and see what the Lord says to
you.
Then on that basis, the next seal is a focus
on the martyrs. And
Lecture 20 John's Revelation of the Last Days
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these martyrs go clear back to Jesus and to
the early Saints and to those that Bloody
Mary took care of in the 1500s, from 1553
to 1558, while she reigned in England, and
others, and the L.D.S. who have given their
lives. They cry from under the altar, and
they say, "Hey, what's this business about
not having any justice? You're a God of justice
and why don't you avenge us of what's happened?"
The Lord will pacify them. They will be given
robes of righteousness and blessed and consoled
and told, "Look, before this is done, there
are some other martyrs that have to join you,
and we'll just wait until all of you get together,
and then we'll take care of you." So that's
the fifth seal.
When the sixth seal is opened, it is the ordination
of the second coming. Christ does not come
in the 6th seal, or at the end of the 6th
seal. We've got a bunch of literature out,
but they've never really done their homework
in relation to the prophetic events. Let me
turn to Section 77 again, and let's go back
and pick up the picture from the Prophet Joseph
Smith. He's talking here about the events
to take place as depicted in Revelation 8
and 9. Let me just fill you in beforehand.
Revelation 6 is an overview of the prophetic
events of the last days, beginning with the
warfare against Zion, centering on the white
horse, running it on through, and the 6th
seal is the ordination of the second coming.
And I emphasize the word "ordination."
Chapter 7 is a special spotlight scene, and
we'll get to that after the break, that deals
with the calling of the 144,000 great High
Priests of the Holy Order, whose mission it
will be to gather people in to the Church
of the Firstborn, the sanctified Church, the
Church prepared for the second coming of the
Christ. It's this Church that's going to be
caught up to meet Christ. The 144,000 will
have that ministry. And then they do their
work in a period of 21 years, plus. After
the opening of the 7th seal, there is silence
in Heaven, not on earth, in Heaven, for the
space of 1/2 hour, or "about" one-half hour
it says. One-half hour would put it, in the
Lord's time, 21 years. "About" indicates that
it can be a little more than that. And it's
during that period of time, when the heavens
look on with awe, in silence, that the 144,000
go forth in the earth. There are plagues,
there are judgments, and their ministry is
to bring people into the Church of the Firstborn.
Then immediately after that, the great cleansing
plagues begin to
Lecture 20 John's Revelation of the Last Days
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take place. There are seven of them, and they
are spoken of in the 8th and 9th chapters
of the book of Revelation. let's read what
the Prophet Joseph has to say about that.
He says, "When are the things to be accomplished
which are written in the 9th chapter of the
Revelation?" His answer is, "They are to be
accomplished after the opening of the 7th
seal, before the coming of Christ." Now, is
Christ going to come at the opening of the
7th seal in his great world appearance? No.
Why? Because these last great plagues and
judgments that cleanse the wicked from the
earth--and this is merely the parable of the
wheat and the tares, the 144,000 gather the
wheat. They gather them into the Church of
the Firstborn; that's the bin. And they organize
them according to the Holy Order as the Lord
revealed to Joseph Smith in Section 86.
Then when they are gathered in, the Lord comes
to his temple and the great Adam-ondi-Ahman
council is held in connection with that great
gathering and its accomplishment. Then the
great plagues are poured out and the wicked
are cleansed from the earth. And this is spoken
of in Revelation 8 and 9.
The Prophet says, "They are to be accomplished
AFTER the opening of the seventh seal, BEFORE
the coming of Christ." So Christ doesn't come
until after the opening of the 7th seal. There's
a half- hour of silence, and then there's
plagues, and it's under the 6th plague that
the wicked are gathered to Jerusalem for the
great Abomination of Desolation. The last
stage of that period of things is 3 1/2 years.
There's a longer period that leads into it,
but the last stage of it will be a 3 1/2 year
period of time. Then you'll have, after that,
the opening of the great 7th seal as Christ
stands on the Mount of Olives and the wicked
are cleansed. But Christ doesn't come until
some time way after the opening of the 7th
seal.
When people put Adam-ondi-Ahman before the
year 2,000 they don't know the prophetic picture.
When they put Christ coming to his temple
before the year 2,000, they don't know what
they're doing. We've got some literature out,
and somehow someone got one to me somewhere
that's all geared up with those great events
and those 3 1/2 years somewhere in the '90s,
and it's just a bunch of garbage. Leave it
alone. Well, read it. If you can't separate
the wheat and the chaff, go ahead and eat
the chaff!
O.K., let's just conclude here, and then we'll
take a little break. The book of revelation,
instead of one great chronological event,
one after
Lecture 20 John's Revelation of the Last Days
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another, is actually a series of spotlights
on the last days. John sees the four beasts
and the elders, he sees the book and that
gives you orientation. He sees the new heaven
and the new earth, and then in Revelation
6 he sees an overview. He sees the four beasts.
He sees the wailings of the martyrs, and then
he sees the second coming ORDAINED under the
6th seal, but FULFILLED in the 7th. It's like
the creation--man was ORDAINED to be placed
on earth on the 6th day. He was placed on
earth in actual fact on the 7th day. Go read
the book of Abraham and Moses. The book of
Abraham in particular makes it very, very
clear that they came down TO place man on
earth. Then the 6th day terminates, and the
7th day--but man is ORDAINED to be put on
earth in the 6th day, and it's fulfilled in
the 7th. Similarly, you have the same kind
of situation. The second coming is ORDAINED
under the 6th seal, but it is fulfilled under
the 7th.
Then after that, John sees this special spotlight
of the 144,000. Then he sees chapters 8 and
9, which is the plagues. Then he sees chapter
10 which is a spotlight on himself, John the
Revelator, with the little book that he is
given. This is his ministry to gather the
tribes of Israel. Then he sees another spotlight,
and this is on the Jerusalem scene, the two
prophets who are raised up in the period when
the nations of the earth gather against Jerusalem
and the great Abomination of Desolation.
Then he sees chapter 12, and this is one of
the most meaningful chapters. He sees the
war in Heaven, and it's a type and shadow
of the warfare against Zion on earth. We want
to get to that, particularly from the Inspired
Revision of the book of Revelation.
Then he sees chapter 13, which is a portrayal
of the two great beasts that make war--Babylon
and the Assyrian, the little horn or the northern
army. Then he sees chapter 14, which gives
us the account of the angel flying through
the midst of heaven restoring the gospel.
It seems like it's all out of kilter. After
all, you've talked about the two prophets
in chapter 11, you've talked about the two
great powers in chapter 13, and then in 14
it opens up and says it has to do with the
restoration of the gospel clear back here
before the book of Revelation even gets into
gear to be fulfilled! Now, why? You hold onto
that one. There's a real reason why and it's
a very beautiful one, and we'll get to it.
But right now, let's take a breather. The
Lord bless us to take advantage of this, if
you can. (Continued next tape.)
