Latest / Scripture Central / Revelation 6-15: New Testament with Lynne Wilson (Come, Follow Me)

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Revelation 6-15: New Testament with Lynne Wilson (Come, Follow Me) · Scripture Central

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Hello Shalom. Welcome back to Scripture
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Central for our come, follow me on the Book of Revelation.
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I'm Lynn Hilton Wilson and I love this book.
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I feel like years and years and years of study, and it is one
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that I think testifies of our Savior like no other book.
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And it also lets us know what's happening in the near future and
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how we can better prepare for it today.
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Our group of scriptures are starting with Chapter 6 and
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going to Chapter 15. We are so fortunate to study the
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Book of Revelation hand in hand with section 77.
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The Lord inspired so many things that were confusing to Joseph to
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better understand and it just opens up the book.
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It was a sealed book to most people understanding it, you
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know, it's not talking about Nero, it's not talking, it's
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talking about. And then of course we we learn
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the throne of God. And I'm also convinced that by
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understanding the plan of salvation in the temple and with
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the spirit of revelation, if we lived then I think we could have
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understood it better. But we are so fortunate to live
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now and to have the ability to look at it with the blessings of
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the plan of salvation. The chapters we're looking at
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today have only 11 verses from the time period of Adam clear up
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to 1000 AD are the common era, just 11 short verses and then we
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get only 14 verses from the time of 1000 to 2000 are
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approximately give or take some time.
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So very short verses there. The majority of it from chapter
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8. And this actually goes clear
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through the end of chapter 19 is all on the calamities after
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opening the 7th seal. So that's our day and age.
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According to Joseph Smith's interpretation, 201 verses are
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all about the few years that are happening right now.
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I mentioned last week that the organization is basically
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chronological, but there's some intermissions, some some
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flashbacks. He starts talking about
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something. He says, oh, I I need to explain
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to you who the devil is. And then he goes back and gives
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some little intermission. So chapter six, we begin opening
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up the seals of this scroll that we were introduced to in Chapter
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5 that Christ is able to take. He, as the great judge, has the
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right and authority, and he is worthy to open each scroll, so
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we'll unfold that history. He has four horses from the time
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of Adam to the time of the Lord's birth.
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And those four horses are very symbolic to symbolize the
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history of that world. And then in chapter seven, we
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have this interlude where he talks about the purified exalted
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state, and he uses the number 144,000.
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In chapter 8:00 and 9:00, we'll talk about the opening of the
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7th seal. We've got 7 angels and seven
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servants, and we start with our woes.
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Our first woe comes there in Chapter 9.
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Chapter 10 is an interlude or an explanation about John's call
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and the seven thunders. Then in Chapter 11, they're
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still just opening up this 7th seal and the Lord tells him to
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measure the temple. We have some interesting symbols
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with the Old Testament. We talk about our two witnesses
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in Jerusalem that are going to stand in the Temple to testify
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for 3 1/2 years before they're destroyed.
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We're also told that before these two witnesses there's
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going to be a restoration, the Jews will return to their
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homeland and that Jerusalem will be rebuilt.
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Chapter 11 also talks about the 2nd woe and the Heavenly Temple.
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Then chapters 12 to 14 briefly talk about the Kingdom of God
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and the Kingdom of Satan, and will be introduced to a
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wonderful woman who represents the church.
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She's clothed in the sun, her feet are on the moon, and she
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represents the people of God. In opposition to the goodness,
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we also have a wicked person introduced, the dragon, the
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beast. He's a counterfeit lamb and
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power. He represents all the political,
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philosophical and economical seduction of Satan.
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And then we'll end this week at least with another interlude in
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chapter 15 where the song of Moses and the lamb is sung and
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it's just just beautiful. The next week we'll finish up,
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the opening of the 7th seal will be complete and all the way
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through the Millennium and the great celestialized Earth
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Chapter 6, verse one begins. I watched as the Lamb opened the
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first of the seven seals, and I heard, as it were, the noise of
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Thunder and one of the four beasts.
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These are these living creatures that are around the throne of
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God, so they're good. It's hard in King James because
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the beasts are the good and the bad.
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So I I really prefer other translations on this book, but
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the Angel says, come and see. Now this is so significant to
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me. Do you remember back in the
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Gospel of John before John is a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth.
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He is a disciple of John the Baptist.
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And he listens to John. He's there.
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At the baptism he hears John announce that Jesus of Nazareth
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is the Savior or the Messiah who is to come.
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And so Andrew and John, the two fishing partners, are down there
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at the River Jordan, and they follow the Lord and they say,
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Master, where dwellest thou? And the Lord says, come and see.
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And now here in this vision, one of the great living creatures
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around the throne of God is talking and says come and see.
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Now in section 77 we're told that Revelation chapter 6, verse
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one, the seven seals. What do they mean?
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The Lord taught Joseph. We are to understand that the
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first seal contains the things in the first thousand years.
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Now I mentioned this last week, but the reason why I'm
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mentioning it again is this is so helpful in understanding the
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book. I can't tell you how many
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biblical scholars have grappled with this for centuries without
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coming to this simple explanation.
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That is the chronology of the history of the earth.
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And so with that understanding, I've got it another chart here
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that shows the time periods that we're talking about. 4000 BC is
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Adam, 3000 is Noah, 2000 is Abraham, 1000 is King David, And
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then of course our savior is born around the time that we
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refer to as zero. And then about 1000 AD we've got
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reformers and and during that period of time the Restoration
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comes. And then in 2000 we have our
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prophets, President Hinckley and Monson and President Russell M
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Nelson. So far with more to come, I'm
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sure. So as we look at the six seals
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in light of this very helpful information from the Lord to
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Joseph Smith, we see continuity between the entire 1st 12
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chapters of the book. And we can flow and we can
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understand who they're talking about.
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The first one says, I watched the lamb open the first of the
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seven seals and then were introduced to the four horsemen
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of the Apocalypse. Remember, in Rome, a horse is a
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war animal. You know, this is their tank.
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It's not a domesticated animal. We're not talking about
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something that would help on a farm.
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This is a symbol of war and the hosts of heaven are coming.
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So in verse one he said come and see.
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And then in verse two he says, there before me was a White
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Horse, and his rider held a bow and he was given a crown and he
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rode as a conqueror bent on conquering.
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Now this is significant in the Roman world, because a
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conquering general was allowed to ride on a White Horse or have
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a white pair of horses pull his chariot, so the crown would be
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given if he conquered. And the White Horse is
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significant. So this first thousand years
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from Adam to Noah is represented by a conquering horse.
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Can you think of anything in that period of 1000 year history
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that would have represented from God's perspective, a conqueror?
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I think this is Enoch. This is this is Enoch. 365 years
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of preaching the gospel and the people were able to create a
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Zion society. They lived with one heart and
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one mind, and there was no poor among them.
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They were unified in Christ. They had the gifts of charity
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and faith and hope, and they spent their energy on what was
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most important. So this is a exciting thing to
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look at. This first seal and the
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Conqueror being either Adam or Enoch or one of the great and
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noble ones in that period of time.
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The second seal is open. Next, from approximately 3000 to
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2000 BC, Revelation chapter 6, verse four reads that the second
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horse was red and had power to him, was given on to SAT to take
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peace from the earth, and that they would kill one another.
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And there was given unto him a great sword.
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This is a period of destruction. This is terrible.
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Well, remember the city of Enoch was all the righteous.
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So all the righteous had been left, and the only people that
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were left were the wicked. And the third seal is described
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sort of like starvation. And they talk about this Black
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Horse. And one of the examples is given
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in verse five is saying they're 2 lbs of wheat for a day's wages
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and 6 lbs of barley for a day's wages.
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So your entire day is spent on just the food for your family.
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You're barely surviving because of the famines and the
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starvation, the difficulty, time, and the history of the
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world. Everywhere we read is smitten
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with famines and starvation during this period of time.
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The 4th seal from 1000 years before the Lord's birth is
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described as a pale rider on sort of a green or a death
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colored horse. Chapter 6 verse seven reads They
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were given power over 1/4 of the earth to kill with a sword, with
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famine and with pestilence. These four horsemen then end.
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We don't have any more horse riders, they're all the 1000
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years prior to John's life. And then we have the 5th seal,
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which comes at the time of the Lord's resurrection, when John
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is living. And it says, I saw under the
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altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God
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and for the testimony that they had upheld.
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And then, skipping down a little bit, John cries out.
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How long you know these are his people, These are his Saints
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that are being martyred for their beliefs, and it's just
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killing him. And so he pleads with the Lord.
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You know, I thought this wasn't going to be this long.
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When are you coming back? But the Lord promises Him in
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chapter 6, verse 11, that those white robes were given to every
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one of them, and it was said unto them that they should rest
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yet for a little season. Now the word rest is interesting
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when we take it in the scriptural context.
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We're told in the Doctrine Covenants that the rest of the
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Lord is entering into His presence.
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So these Saints have entered into the Lord's presence and He
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will give them rest. We don't warn that they're taken
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from this earth. They are arriving in the arms of
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their savior. The 6th seal is representative
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approximately 1000 AD to 2000. And it says that there was a
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great earthquake and the sun turned black with sackcloth.
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This is chapter 6 verses 12 to 17.
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And the moon was like blood and the stars fell to the earth.
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You know, we have had so much pollution and disasters and
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natural calamities that have caused the the sun to be
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darkened and the moon to be red with blood.
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This is a this is an image that we can all relate to, can't we?
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Chapter 6, verse 14 says that the heavens departed as a scroll
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when it was rolled together and every mountain and island were
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moved out of its place. Now this is sort of an
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interesting image because there has been a little bit of
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volcanic changing and islands are moving an inch or two, but
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it doesn't quite fit. If the heavens are like a scroll
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and it's opened. When the scroll is opened, you
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can read it, you can learn what's happening.
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So that might be a symbolic way of interpreting this, I am not
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sure. But the idea that every mountain
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and hill is moved also relates back to what their savior taught
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us when He was on the earth, that even the rocks would cry
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out if they could not testify of the Lord, and that the great
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darkness at the Savior's death. Now the earth mourns with the
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Lord and lives with him too. Chapter 6, verse 15 and 16
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continue on. Then the kings of the earth, the
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rich, the mighty, it goes on. The slave, the free.
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They're all hiding in caves. They're among the rocks of the
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mountains and they call out, fall on us, hide us from the
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face of him who sits on the throne.
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You know, the destruction. The calamities of these last
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days are so horrific that everyone is just begging to be
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hidden from God. Chapter 7 continues on.
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I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth
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restraining the winds. And remember the word wind in
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Greek is the same as the spirit. And we saw that in Nicodemus
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John chapter 4 where he uses the word play on wind and spirit.
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And now John is using the same word play here, that these
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angels are holding back the wind and the spirit.
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And we continue on to read what Joseph asked about this.
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What are we to understand about these four angels spoken of in
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Chapter 7, verse one? And the Lord answered that
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they're the angels sent forth from God, to whom is given power
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over the four parts of the earth.
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So the whole earth is often described as #4.
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I don't think too many people really thought it was flat at
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this time. Maybe later in the Dark Ages,
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but not not not now, but the four parts of the earth to save
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life and to destroy. These are they who have the
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everlasting gospel to commit to every nation kindred tongue, and
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people having power to shut up the heavens and to seal it up
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unto life, or to cast down in the regions of darkness.
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So the sealing power is returning.
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God's power is coming down to earth.
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Just to remind you, we have all this angelic intervention on the
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earth. I remember back in the Doctrine
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Covenants in section 130, the Lord taught Joseph that all the
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angels who ministered to this earth have a lifetime on this
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earth. They've either already been born
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or they will be born. But if we read about an Angel,
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they belong here. They're they're us.
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They're part of us. Revelation Chapter 7 through 9,
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just to review, talks about these four points that the
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angels are coming to destroy life.
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They're coming to preside over the missionary work.
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They are coming to shut up the heavens, and they are coming to
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seal the Saints to eternal life or to seal some to damnation.
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So that is a brief overview at these two chapters in from 7:00
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to 9:00, but now slowly going through it.
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In Chapter 7, verse two, it says I saw another Angel ascending
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from the east holding the seal of the living God, and he
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shouted with a loud voice to the four angels.
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So Joseph says, well who's the Angel from the east?
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This is section 77, verse 9. The Lord tells him he is whom is
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given the seal of the living God over the 12 tribes of Israel,
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Wherefore he crieth to the four angels having the everlasting
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gospel. This is Elias, which was to come
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to gather together the tribes of Israel and restore all things.
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Now, the name Elias is almost as common as the name Mary.
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You know, it's it's tricky. We've got Elias as a title of
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one who's coming to prepare the way.
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So in that context, John the Baptist was an Elias.
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But in the Greek language, Elias is also the name for Elijah.
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So it's a little bit confusing, but in this situation, this
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Angel from the east is a messenger of the Lord who's
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going to come and gather together the 12 tribes of
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Israel. Revelation chapter 3 continues
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on. Do not harm the land until we
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seal the servants of our God on their foreheads.
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This is a sacred message, and he talks about sealing later on,
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sealing up sealed 2 This is a powerful word that's not as much
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of our vocabulary as it was in the ancient world, but with the
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ceilings on the scrolls. And now the idea of making
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something permanent, of making sure something can be only be
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read by a judge, you know it all ties in with the same things
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that we read about earlier. Verse 4 continues on.
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I heard the number of those were sealed was 144,000 from all the
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tribes of Israel. As we talked about the
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numerology earlier, 144,000 is 12 ^2 and thousand is the
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largest number. And so anytime you add it to
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something it, it makes it more complete and whole or perfected
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and anytime you square a number, it's perfected.
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So you have God's order, the 12 parts of the creation, the 12
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moons in the year, and then the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12
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apostles of the Lamb. God's order is now perfected.
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So those who are sealed are part of God's order.
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Do I believe it specifically means an exact number?
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I don't know. I'll put that on the back
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burner. I doubt it.
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I think it is symbolic of those who come unto Christ.
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But when Joseph asked the Lord about this in section 77, verse
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11, he said those who are sealed are high priests ordained unto
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the Holy order of God. That's another name for the
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Melchizedek priesthood to administer the everlasting
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gospel. For they are they who are
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ordained out of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people by
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the angels, to whom is given power over the nations of the
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earth to bring as many as will come to the Church of the first
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born. So these are people who are
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working to gather Israel, They have been endowed in the Temple,
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They are high priests. They have the holy order of God.
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I don't think though, that it necessarily means that they are
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only men because we are taught that there are priestesses who
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serve in the temple. That we'll find out in the next
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life, I'm sure. Another reason why I think that
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perhaps it's also priestesses included in that is because of
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thinking that Paul taught. Do you remember in First
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Corinthians Chapter 11, verse 11?
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He said, nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman,
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neither the woman without the man in the Lord, in the Lord's
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Kingdom, in our heavenly temples you have to have companionship,
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and the two are integral and and one is not without the other,
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and if they have to be together to be joint heirs, I I assume
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that that refers to both. The Prophet Joseph also spoke on
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this in a sermon in Nauvoo. He said it is not only necessary
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that you should be baptized for your dead, but you will have to
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go through all the ordinances for them the same as you have
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gone through to save yourselves. And there will be 144,000
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saviours on Mount Zion and with them an innumerable host.
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That's why I said, I don't think it's a limiting number.
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There's going to be an innumerable host that no man can
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number. Oh, I beseech you to go forward
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and make your calling an election.
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Sure. You know, Joseph taught this.
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Peter taught it in his epistles. This is our highest ordinances
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that are given to those who have qualified and lived worthy of
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their temple covenants. Most of us will receive this
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ordinance in the next life, but some do receive it in this life.
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Chapter 7, verse nine. A great multitude that no one
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could count from every nation, tribe, people, language,
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standing before the throne and then continuing on, he describes
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in verse 13 one of the elders asked me these in the white
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robes, who are they and where did they come from?
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And you know, John says, I don't know, you tell me, And he
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answers in verse 14. These are they who have come out
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of great tribulation. They have washed their robes and
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made them white in the blood of the lamb.
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That's the NIV translation. And I am so grateful that during
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our times of struggle, our times of trial, our times of great
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tribulation, we can fall on our knees and be strengthened by the
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Lord. And that.
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Falling on our knees is part of the process of purification, of
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sanctification, of becoming holy.
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You know I we are not people who believe you should seek trials,
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that you should go out and seek tribulations.
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And and we don't go around flogging ourselves and cutting
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ourselves, but we believe strongly that when we are
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physically and emotionally weak, God can strengthen us.
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Our weaknesses can become strengths through the miraculous
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healing and intervention of our Saviour.
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And I can testify that I believe in a God of miracles.
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And I have seen this happen in my life.
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Chapter 17 has some beautiful imagery.
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I just love the symbols here and I'll read it from the NIV.
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The Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd
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and he will lead them to the springs of living water and God
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will wipe away every tear from their eye.
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This is going to be a happy day, but until then, chapter 8 says
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the seal is still being opened. The 7th seal.
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When he opened the 7th seal there was silence in the heaven
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for about 1/2 an hour. Now I've heard lots of people's
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speculations both in the church and out of the church, and I
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would encourage you not to speculate.
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Spend your time on building the Kingdom instead of worthless
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speculations on what this half hour of silence is.
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And I have heard a whole bunch of them and none of them make
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any sense to me. I think God has a much broader
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view on this and I'm waiting to get light knowledge from Him.
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We do not know what that half hour meant, no matter how many
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clever people think they figured it out.
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I think we can patiently wait and and move ahead, but there is
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some period of silence after the opening of the 7th seal.
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We are introduced to 7 angels now, and these seven angels are
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bringing the seven horrific plagues.
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Many of those plagues line up with the plagues that Moses used
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against the Egyptians. So much of the Old Testament is
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paralleled at the end of times, just as we see in the Book of
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Mormon as well. In chapter 8, verse 7, the first
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plague is hail and blood and fire.
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The next plague, chapter 8, verse 9 to 10, the sea becomes
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filled with fire and parts of the sea life are all killed.
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And then chapter 8, verse 10 to 11 and verse 3, there's this
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fiery star in the bitter water. The next plague, #4, is still in
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chapter 8, verses 12 and 13. That's when the sun and the moon
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are and the stars are darkened. The 5th plague is now in Chapter
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9, verses one and two, and they talk about the bottomless pit is
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opened in Satan's temptations. You know, they go into great
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detail on some of these. They're just horrific.
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Chapter 9 verses 12 to 19 is the 6th plague.
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And it's talking about the smoke that's going to kill and the
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brimstone and the fire that's going to come.
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And then the last plague, this lightning and Thunder and the
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greatest earthquake that we know.
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It starts in Chapter 11, but then it continues on in Chapter
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16. Because remember, we have some
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flashbacks. So we'll talk about the rest of
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this 7th plague next week in our come.
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Follow me. I'm fascinated that Moses.
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Plagues included the hail fire, the water turning to blood, the
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bitter water, the Wormwood, the sunbeam darkened, and the
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bottomless pit of death. You know, all of these were
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familiar images to the Israelites, and they should have
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recognized them as this is happening to the wicked.
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But you remember when Moses sends these plagues out that
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they do not all affect the children of Israel.
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Those that were living in Goshen and living close to their God
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were removed from those, especially on the 10th plague.
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Do you remember when the blood of the lamb for the Passover was
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to be painted on the doorpost and the lentil so that the
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destroying Angel would pass by? That is what the Book of
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Revelation describes. This is how John describes it's
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going to happen to the Saints in the last days, that they can be
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removed from some of these disasters, but not all of them.
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It says in Chapter 9, verse one. And the fifth Angel sounded and
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I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth and to him was
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given a key to the bottomless pit.
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Well, it's a good thing we've got section 77 there and in
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verse 12 we're described this is Satan continuing on in
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Revelation Chapter 9, verse four.
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It says do not hurt those men. And I assume that this means
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those brethren, those men and women who are Saints of God,
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which have the seal of God on their forehead.
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But remember, the Holy Spirit of promise is given to us in our
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ordinances to confirm that they're done with proper
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authority and that our heart is in the right place.
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But just because we've been baptized, we've checked that box
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does not mean that we have our ordinances and our confirmation
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from God intact. The Holy Spirit of promise will
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not allow hypocrisy. There's no guile that will be
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allowed into heaven. So if we want to be reserved
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from some of these tragedies of the last day, we have to honor
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our covenants. And remember, our prophet said
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the time is running out, We need to do it now.
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Moving ahead now to Chapter 10, John now leaves the history of
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the world and says, I've got to talk to you about my mission
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call. So we get one of these
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intermissions, one of these flashbacks, verse 10 of Chapter
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10. I took the little book out of
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the angel's hand and ate it up, and it was in my mouth, sweet as
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honey, and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
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So John is commanded to partake of this scroll.
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But it has a very interesting effect and I just think
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sometimes that's how it is for us.
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We're eager to go and serve, but it gets hard and we do not want
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to stay there and it feels miserable.
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Well, the message of John the Beloved is you keep serving.
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If you agreed to take that mission, you continue to serve.
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The Lord gives us an explanation on that in section 77, verse 14.
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What are we to understand by the little book which was eaten by
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John? And the Lord tells him it was a
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mission, an ordinance. Isn't that interesting?
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The ordinance for him to gather the tribes of Israel.
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Behold, this is Elias who is written must come and restore
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all things. This is fascinating to me
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because many times we call Elias other people.
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But right here we are told John the Baptist is one of those
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Eliases and his role in the latter days, since he is staying
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on the earth from the time of the Lord's death all the way
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through until the Lord's second coming is to gather Israel.
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This is just fascinating to me. He is the one who is
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orchestrating all this. So when the prophets recently
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said our most important work is to gather Israel, I feel like we
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are serving with John, We are doing God's work, and we are
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part of this great closing up of the seven seals before the
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Millennium. We go back now to the history
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chronologically. After the flashback to Chapter
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11 and Chapter 11 describes these two witnesses, I'd like to
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read from this Section 77 of the doctrine commence in verse 15.
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They are two prophets that are to be raised up to the Jewish
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nation in the last days and at the time of the Restoration, and
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to prophecy to the Jews after they are gathered and have built
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their city of Jerusalem in the land of their forefathers.
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We have some fascinating information on these two
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witnesses. You know they're going to seal
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the heavens. You know, in the Book of
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Revelation, they're described as two trees, these two strong
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people. But in the Book of Revelation,
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John himself gives a definition of what a prophet is.
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This is in chapter 19, verse 10. I think he said a prophet is one
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who has a testimony of Jesus Christ.
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Now other people have assumed, oh, these are going to be
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members of the 12. Well, maybe, but that is not
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John's definition of the word. So if they are wonderful, we'll
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recognize them. We'll know when those 3 1/2
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years start. But if they are not, if they are
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people who have a testimony that Jesus of Nazareth was the
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promised Messiah and the Savior of the world, it'll be a little
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bit harder to identify them. But sooner or later, the whole
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world knows about them because they're so obnoxious in what
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they're doing, and they are, and they are directing horrific
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warfare. And they are are very powerful
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people. And we read about them not only
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here in the Book of Revelation, but elsewhere in the scriptures
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as well. Chapter 12 now describes this
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beautiful woman who represents the church.
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There appeared a great sign in heaven, in the likeness of
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things on the earth, a woman clothed with the sun and the
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moon under her feet. So he says, I'm going to try to
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describe it to things you know. And on her head was a crown of
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12 stars. Being with child, she cried
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travailing in birth. So she is going through the
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labour pain. She's the church and she's
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trying to deliver something and she's crying out in pain.
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And then we're introduced in chapter 12, verse four to her
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adversary and it's a dragon. The Dragon's tail drew the third
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part of the stars of Heaven. Now I'm not exactly sure what
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that means, but I assume that it might refer to the third of the
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hosts of Heaven that were followed Lucifer and and did not
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choose to come to Earth and receive their bodies.
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And it a third in the ancient world does not mean 33%.
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You know, .33333 it's a it's a portion.
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But continuing on in verse four, it says that the dragon stood
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before the woman which was ready to be delivered for to devour
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her child as soon as it was born.
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So the church is trying to gather Israel trying to build
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the king of God and Satan is right there working on it.
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Verse 7 continues on in chapter 12.
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So here's one of his flashbacks. He says, oh I've got to
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introduce who the devil is. OK, so let's go back to the pre
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mortal life. Before all this happened there
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was a war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought
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against the dragon and his angels.
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Now we're taught in the Restoration that Michael was
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Adam, and premortally, Adam fought against Lucifer and
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gathered the righteous to follow our Savior.
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This is added on in restored scripture.
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But this is a powerful message here, but no one else
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understands it like we do because they don't have the keys
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that we've been given in the Restoration.
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In these next few chapters, 12/13, we are introduced to
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three satanic beasts. I want to make sure that you
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know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are.
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It's referred to sometimes in scholarship as a Satanic
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Trinity. They're in opposition to the
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Godhead. They're counterfeits.
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There's the red dragon, who's the devil?
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There's the sea beast who represents the great and
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abominable church in chapter 13, verse one.
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And then there's a land beast. And he's got all these horns.
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He's the Antichrist, so don't get him mixed up because horns
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can be power or horns can be wickedness.
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But all of these three wicked beasts have power.
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That's part of the problem. Chapter 13 describes those who
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follow these three beasts also, and I'll read a little bit here,
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in chapter 13, verse 12, it says that there are people who
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receive power from the devil. And then in chapter 13, verses
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13 to 14, they are deceived by the wonders.
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And then in verse 16 the beast will mark his followers.
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These wicked followers are going to have a marking on them.
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And in verse 17 he commences to govern by him.
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The wicked are being governed by this beast who have the mark.
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Now Joseph spoke a little bit on this too.
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He says there are those who are marked with the beast and there
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are those who are marked with the seal of God.
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The Father's name is written on their foreheads.
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They spoke on this again on August 13th, 1843, where it says
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that they shall seal the servants of God in their
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foreheads, etcetera. It means to seal the blessings
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on their heads, meaning the everlasting covenant, thereby
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making their calling an election.
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Sure. Now Joseph is often referred to
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as the permanent sealing of the Holy Spirit of promise that we
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read about in sections 132 and 76 and 124.
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But there is also a period of time where we are sealed.
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If we live, the law and the conditional time of the Spirit
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can teach us and help us become more Christ.
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Like in chapter 14 we see a change of scene and I think
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you'll recognize verse six and seven.
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I saw another Angel fly in the midst of heaven having the
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everlasting gospel. This we believe as a
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representation of Angel Moroni, of Peter, James and John, of
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John the Baptist. You know of all the angels, the
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many, many angels that have come back to the earth to minister.
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And we believe there are now many, many ministering of angels
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in our temples, in our homes, in our churches as we go through
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our life, as we're striving to live connected to the Lord.
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I believe there are ministration of angels around us.
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I have felt them in my life. But he says that the harvest of
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the earth is ripe, and that phrase is also used many times
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in the early sections of Doctrine Covenants.
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The field is white, all ready for harvest.
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The gathering of Israel has commenced.
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We're in that half hour of silence.
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And when the 7th seal is opened and the Lord is telling John
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that there is going to be a great gathering of Israel, in
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chapter 15 we are introduced to seven more angels who now bring
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the seven plagues. These are the worst destruction
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that have been discussed yet in the history of the world.
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They are horrific, and from chapters 15, verse 1 to 8, they
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talk about them. It's sort of interesting to see
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in the midst of these seven plagues coming down to the earth
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that the earth is described as a sea of glass.
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This is in chapter 15, verse 2. As you recall back in the vision
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of the throne of God in chapter four it was described the same
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way. And it will be described that
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way again when we get to the end when the earth is in its para
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disciple glory. But this is interesting that
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even at this time there is a clarity.
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You can see God in heaven, the angels can see the earth
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differently. Perhaps is one way of
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interpreting it. First five and six reads in the
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NIVI looked and I saw the heavens, the temple that is the
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Tabernacle of the covenant law, and it was opened and out of the
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temple came seven angels with 7 plagues and they were dressed in
34:49
clean shining linen and they wore golden sashes around their
34:54
chest. These beautiful angels have a
34:57
role to play and even though it is a horrific role, I want you
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to remember that everything God does, his entire plan is all for
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our good. It's all for our growth.
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His glory is our immortality and eternal life, and sometimes I
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think it's necessary to remove us from the wickedness and the
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blindness and the poison that we're living in, in our society
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to another place where we can repent and learn in a different
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environment. So even though they're horrific
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times of death and destruction, it is still a merciful God who
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is removing his children from a place of danger where the
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adversary is so powerful and allowing them to learn again in
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heaven. Verse 7 says that one of the
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four beasts, or these living creatures around the throne of
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God gave unto the seven angels 7 golden vials full of the wrath
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of God. And then it says that he sees
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the heavenly temple again. This is chapter 15, verse eight.
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And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and
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from His power. Well, I hope that rings a bell
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for you for the incense alters, because the smoke coming from
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the incense was to go day and night as the prayers of our
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Lord. The book of Hebrews also talks
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about this. And next week we'll get together
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to talk about 16. And chapter 16 is going to start
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the seven plagues and the action call from heaven that will lead
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up to the second coming. And then we'll get the second
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coming of the Lord and the Millennium and the celestialized
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earth and the glorified state. What a blessing it is to live in
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a day and age where we have a prophet in the land where we can
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follow the prophet and be saved from some of these calamities.
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But the best thing we can do to prepare for the last days is to
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gather Israel, to learn the language of the Lord, to come
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unto Christ, to build his Kingdom, and to prepare a Zion
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society so that he might come. We can cut the calamity short,
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which we'll talk about next week.
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In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.