Latest / Scripture Central / Revelation 1-5: New Testament with Lynne Wilson (Come, Follow Me)

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Revelation 1-5: New Testament with Lynne Wilson (Come, Follow Me) · Scripture Central

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Shalom, Welcome back to Scripture Central, the former
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Book of Mormon Central. We're here and come follow me
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today to talk about the Book of Revelation.
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I'm Lynn Hilton Wilson and I love this book.
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It is a sign of God's covenant. We see how faithful Jesus is as
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not only our Savior and our Redeemer, but the King of Kings
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and the Lord of Lords. This book describes the history
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of the world and it is so important to our day and age.
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And one reason that I feel so strongly about it is because the
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Lord revealed the keys to how to unlock this treasure.
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It's usually referred to as the Apocalypse and it's and it's a
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part of apocalyptic literature and it's hard to understand, but
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we have so many keys to understand it.
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And the first and foremost is when Joseph Smith was going
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through the Bible, his translation.
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He comes to these chapters and he asks questions and the Lord
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gives him answers. And they're recorded in Section
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77 of the Doctrine and Covenants.
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And that is our greatest key to understand it.
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We also have the understanding, the ancient numerology and the
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symbolism, the Old Testament patterns, the plan of salvation,
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the temple initiated. Especially when we realized that
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the early Christians had been washed and anointed similar to
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the priests of the Aaronic priesthood in the Old Testament.
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We hear descriptions in some of the 40 day literature about the
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Christians who are going through the same things.
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We know the Christians are having bathrooms for the dead
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and washings and anointings and prayer circles.
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And so I feel like those who are temple initiated can understand
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this text better as well. The last thing I want to mention
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is the spirit of revelation. You have to pray.
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We have to have the Lord's help on this study.
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I think the best guide to any scripture study is praying
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first. But in this book you're praying
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for understanding as well. I feel pretty strongly that when
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we look at numbers and what is important in numbers is not what
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fits into our culture, because right now number six is a
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perfect number in math. But in the ancient world, #7
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meant whole and complete, especially in the Judaic or the
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Israelite community because that was the number chosen for the
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periods of time to divide the creation.
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And so as we look at the numbers, 7 is John's favorite
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number. Remember back in his gospel he
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had 7 sermons and seven miracles and the Book of Revelation is
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saturated with sevens. He has 12.
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In the creation we have 12 moons to every year.
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And then when the children of Israel come out of Egypt, we
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have the 12 tribes as from the time of Jacob.
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And then we have, of course, at the time of the New Testament,
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the 12 apostles. So 12 is often God's order.
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And you see that a lot here. Anytime you square a number,
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you're perfecting it. So 12, ^2, 144, the number seven
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is whole and complete and you cut it in half and you get 3
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1/2. And so 3 1/2 becomes a very
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important number as well. There's others that we'll talk
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about as we go along. The entire Book of Revelation is
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also put together as a chiastic structure.
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Remember, that's the parallel poetry of ideas, where the first
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idea is the last idea and the second idea is the second to
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last. And as you look, as a bird's eye
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view across the whole 22 chapters of the Book of
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Revelation, you find this beautiful chiastic structure,
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the warnings and the promises of Christ second coming in
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judgement, and then the inaugural vision of Christ.
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The scrolls with the seven seals.
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And there we have the beautiful center part, which is the last
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days. It's the challenging
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destructions. And then when we come out, we
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see again the scrolls with 7 seals another vision of our
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Savior. And then it ends with the
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warnings and the promises of Christ second coming in judgment
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again. I also made a chart to describe
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how John has divided up these periods of history, and it's
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fascinating to me to see the number of verses here.
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He has 201 verses, more than 10 times the number of verses on
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almost any other subject on our day and age after the opening of
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the second seal, the great calamities before the Savior's
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return. That is where the focus of this
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book is. So you can either look at this
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chart here or my handout would be applied.
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At the beginning. We've got a beautiful chapter
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one, four and five where there's about 36 verses on the throne,
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the throne of God. And then we've got 51 verses
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over the next two chapters, chapters 2 and three, that
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describes the seven churches of Asia and the council that the
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Lord gives them. As far as a historical time
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reference goes, in the scriptures we don't have this.
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But in the historical writings that date back to the second and
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third centuries after the Lord's death, we can read that John was
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put in a prison on the Isle of Patmos.
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And we can also read that Domitian, the Caesar at the
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time, was very antagonistic and furious.
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In fact he tried to kill John numerous times and in the
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records that are left it says he even dipped him in a hot boiling
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oil and he did not die and that's why he puts him on this
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prison island. And there were other prisoners
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there too. According to the records in the
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in the Roman Empire that this was an island where they were
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left to hopefully die. But that is not what happens to
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John. He of course has this very
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significant vision and it's similar to other prophets
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visions when we read in part. But he has the responsibility,
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he has the call from God to write the whole thing out.
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If you talk to a biblical scholar or you look online or
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read some commentaries, there's a lot of debate as to who is the
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author. But in modern Revelation, we are
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told that the author is John, that it is the beloved disciple
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who wrote the Gospel of John and the Epistles of John, And
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whether or not he had assistants or scribes or people working
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with him, I don't know. But we believe that this vision
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was given to John the Revelator, who was also John the Beloved.
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But because he had promised the Lord that he would serve him not
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only the days of his life but until the Lord comes again, he
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has an extended time period on earth, and he has an extended
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vision until the timing of the end of the Celestialized Earth.
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Chapter one, verse 4. John also identifies himself as
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being on the island of Patmos. And I mentioned a little bit
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earlier that this is apocalyptic literature and they describe
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these horrific things that are going to happen at the end of
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time. But John's writing is so much
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more than that. It is filled with divine visions
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and information, and we can see God's hand through history.
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It's one thing to read a history book to see the history of the
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world, but when God tells the story, it's focused on the most
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important thing in the history, which is the coming of our
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Savior of Jesus of Nazareth's death and resurrection.
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Before we jump into the text, I'd like to go through the
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organization of our five chapters that we have for come
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Follow me this week. According to Joseph Smith's
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Answers from God, the whole book is a chronological history of
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the earth, with four little interludes and an introduction
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or a beginning message to these seven churches.
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So we open up with a vision of Christ, and then we have two
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chapters on the messages to the churches, and each of those
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messages have four parts. There's a description of Christ,
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a condemnation of the different churches, a challenge given to
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them, and a promise. And whether you're in the
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Ephesus branch or the Sardis branch, wherever you're going to
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get each one of those things, an identification of Christ, a
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condemnation, a challenge and a promise.
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And it repeats and repeats. Then beautiful chapters four and
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five are a throne Theophany, a study of the throne of God, and
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it's a temple vision with heavenly Father and Christ
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accepting his call from the Father.
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We are introduced to 24 elders and four beasts, and in the King
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James they're called beasts. I prefer other translations that
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refer to them as living beings. These are people who are serving
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God or animals who are serving God.
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In fact, the four beasts are a lion, an eagle, a man or an
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Angel, sometimes an ox. And then of course there's the
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Lamb of God on the throne. And these symbols, whether it's
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the double edged sword or a star or the sun, have got to be
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looked at in perspective of the symbols of that ancient world,
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the symbols that the Lord tells us about and the symbols that
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fall into place with the plan of salvation.
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So we'll talk more about them when we get there.
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Revelation chapter one, verse one has some significant Joseph
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Smith translation changes the Revelation of John, a servant of
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God. I love that.
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I'm so grateful we have that edition.
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As disciples of Jesus Christ we are to serve Him.
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We don't want to ever confuse who is the master and who is the
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servant. John the Beloved was serving his
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God. It was given unto him of Jesus
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Christ to show unto his servants things which must shortly come
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to pass. Now if you ask me, the
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definition of shortly there is exaggerated since it's already
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been well over 2000 years before some of these things come to
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pass. So I just have to pause and say
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the timing of the Lord is very different on COLOB than it is on
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the planet Earth. But it's also very true that
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every person here will meet their maker in the near future,
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that our life is but a passing a quick moment, and that these
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things will come to us as we go from one estate to the next as
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well. First one in the KJV said that
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he sent and signified by his Angel unto his servant John.
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Now this is interesting because the Angel is the one who's
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acting like a guide through much of the vision, but towards the
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end the Saviour comes and talks to him and is his guide.
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So we get both in the vision. First three says blessed are
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they who read and they who hear and understand and keep these
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things which are written. I love the fact that our Savior
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is sharing this information with us so that we can understand it.
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We can learn it in before the Joseph Smith translation, before
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section 77, before the temple. I think this would have been
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excruciatingly difficult to understand.
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And that's why the commentaries come up with ideas like it's
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talking about Nero. It's talking about this.
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It's talking about that rather than what we're taught by the
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Lord. So we are very blessed, but we
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need to hear it and understand it.
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It's written for our day. Joseph says if the Lord has
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given you the keys to understand something, he will hold you
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responsible to know it. And that's the way I feel about
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the Book of Revelation, John, to the seven churches in the
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province of Asia. Now that's modern day Turkey.
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So it's we're on the western border of modern day Turkey.
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And he begins with the standard phrase grace and peace to you
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from him who is who was who is to come from the seven spirits
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before his throne. So he's already had one vision
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before he started writing this letter and he knows that he is
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to write it from the spirits that are sitting before the God.
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But I'm fascinated with the fact that Paul also served in Ephesus
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for three years. Do you remember?
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Back in the book of Acts, they describe his three Apostolic
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missions to the Gentiles and he was there for three years in
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Ephesus. But it doesn't appear that the
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two overlapped. But according to the history of
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this area, John came and lived in Ephesus, and he brought with
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him the Lord's mother, Mary. And John was able to build up
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the church in this area after Paul had started.
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And these seven churches are part of his charge and he is now
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going to include them in his congregation for this first five
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reads. And from Jesus Christ, who is
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the faithful witness and the first begotten of the dead and
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the Prince of kings of the earth?
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You know, it's one of my favorite things to do when I'm
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studying the Book of Revelation is to keep a record of the names
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of our Savior. I think John really knew him.
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If he is the one who's writing is the beloved apostle like we
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believe, then he had a very close relationship and his
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vocabulary helps us understand who the Savior is.
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This is from the BLB translation to finish up verse 5.
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It's a very good literal translation to the one loving us
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and releasing us from our sins through His blood.
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So he addresses it also to our Savior, to the one who is our
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mediator, our Redeemer, the one who has suffered for our sins.
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I'm also writing. And then in verse six it reads
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He had to made us kings and priests unto God His Father.
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Now the Joseph Smith translation editions are significant and
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I've got them all written out in my hand out.
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If you'd like to follow along, that should be attached to this
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video or they're on scripture central in the archives.
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Chapter one, verse seven in the NIV reads, Look, he's coming
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with the clouds and every eye shall see him, even those who
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pierced him, and all the peoples on earth will mourn because of
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him. So shall it be.
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Amen. There's a series of visions in
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this letter, but I'm fascinated to remember that John the
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Beloved was the only member of the 12 that was mentioned at the
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cross. He saw him pierced.
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And he says, look, all of you. Look, those of you that killed
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him, those of you that called to have him crucified, those of you
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that took part in that awful scene, can you see him now?
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Can you realize who he is? Are your blinders from your
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cultural damage taken off so that you can see this is the
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Messiah that you were looking for?
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You just didn't know that he was first coming as a suffering
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servant, the Lord continues on to introduce himself.
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I am Alpha and Omega the Mighty in the midst of the seven
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candlesticks. That's Revelation chapter one,
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verse 8 and also verse 13. Remember the seven candlesticks?
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Sometimes it's translated as A7 branched Candlestick.
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And that would be significant because it looks like the
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menorah in the temple. It looks like the tree of life.
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You know, it's the the branched Candlestick that was in the holy
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place that represented the tree of life back in the Garden of
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Eden. But he's describing himself as
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if he were next to this Candlestick, or if he were next
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to these seven candlesticks. IF7 represents complete and
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whole, and a Candlestick is a light.
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Or if it's the menorah, it's the Tree of Life.
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Our Saviour is the way back to the Tree of Life.
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It is through him that we can partake again of the Tree of
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Life without our sins. And it is the Tree of Life that
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has that fruit that is the love of God that is more delightful
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and delicious than anything else.
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So we have all sorts of beautiful symbols as we connect
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this vision. Now remember, I'm using a book
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of warming vision then because the Lord says to Nephi, you have
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had the same vision that my apostle John is going to have.
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But you don't need to write all of it because I'm going to allow
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John to record it. So that's the reason why
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sometimes I tie the tree of life from Nephi and Lehi's vision to
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the Book of Revelation. Verse 12 to 16 continues on.
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I turned and I saw 7 golden lampstands, and among them was
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someone like the Son of Man dressed in a robe, a golden
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sash. The hair on his head was white
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like wool, His eyes were like blazing fire, His feet were like
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bronze. You know, every time we hear of
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someone's description of the throne, we hear the voices like
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running waters, and the brightness and the light is just
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significant. You can read about visions of
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the throne in Isaiah chapter 6 or Ezekiel or you know many
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prophets recorded their vision of the Lord and there's a lot of
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parallels between them. I also think it's significant as
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we talk about John's vision of the throne of God in heaven to
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realize that God has a temple in heaven and that the meeting
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place of the heavenly temple and the earthly temple we are just
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patterned after the heavenly temple.
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And so when we see these things in the heavenly temple, we can.
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You can probably spot some of them in the Mosaic Law in the
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temple that John knew about 1st 19.
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He's immediately commanded to write, even while he's still in
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the vision. Go find your quill.
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Go get some parchment. I want you to record this.
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And he does, fortunately. So these seven stars are
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described. We've already talked about the
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#7, how it's many, many times, and what it meant.
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But what is the star? And we're told about that one in
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verse 20. The seven stars are the angels
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of the seven churches. And the seven candlesticks,
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which thou sawest are the seven churches.
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OK, this is a little different. Now the church members are being
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represented before the throne of God, and angels are ministering
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to the church members who are also communing with God.
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This is a powerful message if we liken it to ourselves.
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The seven stars are also described as angels.
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Remember, the word Angel is a messenger, usually an Angel of
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God. Or is Malak Yahweh a messenger
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of Jehovah? And they're not only messengers,
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but they're servants of God. So we have the stars and the
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angels and the servants and the churches all being represented
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up here in heaven. As we opened out of chapter two
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and three, we've got a message to each of these seven churches.
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I've got a map and a message here that is consistent with
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each one. As I mentioned earlier, they
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give a beautiful title and definition of Christ in each of
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these and a condemnation, a challenge and a promise.
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And in John W Welch's book Charting the New Testament, he
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has this all organized very nicely.
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You can access it online through our archives by just typing in
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charting the New Testament and you'll be able to see the same
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chart that I've got here on my slide.
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The first message is to the Church of Ephesus.
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But I just have to testify that the Lord really knew his
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churches. I spent a long time studying
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culture of these different churches and what they were
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famous for and what their communities and their towns and
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their geography was like, and I was blown away.
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How consistent what we know about them, their political
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background and physical allocation is with what the Lord
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describes. And so even though we're just
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going to touch on them briefly, I've got a lot more information
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on my handout if you'd like to read it.
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Chapter 2 reads, I know thy works and thy labours and thy
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patience and how thou canst not bear them which are evil.
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Nevertheless, now he's talking to the church in Ephesus.
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So they had had the gospel for several years by now I have
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somewhat against thee because thou has left thy first love,
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and their first love would have been their relationship with the
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Lord. We're not talking about a
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girlfriend or a boyfriend or a spouse.
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We that that it happened in Christianity, but it wasn't part
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of much of the other Greco Roman Judaic culture at the time.
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This is the love of God and that you wanting to serve him and
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that you're willing to enter into the waters of baptism so
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that you can be loyal to him, he continues on in verse five.
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I will remove thy Candlestick out of its place, except thou
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repent. So that's the challenge.
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And he says, you know, you guys are almost like the Nicolasians.
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This is chapter 2, verse 6, and he mentions him again in 15.
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You know, the wealth of the world, the physical problems
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with materialism, that you're not focusing on the things that
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matter the most. This letter, the Book of
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Revelation, fits into our day and age so well.
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As we look at these seven churches, we can see the
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worldliness around us creeping in.
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And it's changing our focus. It's changing what we wear and
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how we behave and how we spend our time.
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And he's begging them to go back to your first love, be
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passionate about your love of God and your service of God, and
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and stop all this flirtatious with things of the world.
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He also gives them a promise. In verse seven, I give to eat of
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the tree of life. The tree of life is a
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fascinating topic. It's all over the scripture and
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ancient writings. It's almost every country.
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Even people that aren't from the biblical tradition, like the
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Egyptians, used the Lotus flower as their example of the tree of
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life. This idea that we can have
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immortality, that we can live again, is promised here by the
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Lord to those people who repent. If we repent, we will be able to
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receive this sweet fruit. This fruit, which is the love of
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God. The next church he addresses in
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chapters 2 verses 8 to 11 is Smyrna and he says in verse
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nine, I know your afflictions and your poverty, yet you are
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rich. And he's so good about saying
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just because economically you don't feel like you've got the
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resources you'd like, your spirits are strong, your spirits
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are rich, and that is far more important than any pennies in
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your pocket. He also warns them and gives
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them a prophecy that they will have 10 days of tribulation and
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then life. Now I mentioned that Domitian
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had persecuted John ever since the time of Nero, so 20 years
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earlier we have had Caesar's who are doing a lot of persecution.
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It used to just be local little bits in the early book of Acts,
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but by this point in Christian history is when the poor
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Christian martyrs were taken into the lion's to be in the
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arenas and things like that. In coliseums, you know this was
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a very trying time and only the most devout were able to endure
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the physical persecution. I feel like our persecution now
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is more emotional and spiritual and theirs was so physical.
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He also talks to the church in Pergamos.
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Now this is fascinating. The archaeologists who have dug
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up this area have found 200,000 volumes of parchment in their
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ancient libraries, and the Lord talks to them in such
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appropriate words. In chapter 2, verse 12 to 17 he
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talks about the empirical cult of the Jews, and he denounces
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them. He says in verse 17 to him that
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overcometh will I give to eat the hidden manna, and will him
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have a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which
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no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it.
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Do you remember that a bowl of manna, it was saved from the
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wilderness of Sinai for those 40 years of walking and it was
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placed inside the ark of the covenant and it never went bad.
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You know, the the God we worship was the God who would feed you
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and take care of you and nourish you.
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It's a beautiful image. And it's also an example that we
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believe in a God of miracles that is usually referred to as
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the hidden manna. But I think there are other
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implications to it because he's talking about a new name that's
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written on the Whitestone. And as I mentioned earlier,
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Joseph Smith as well as many other records have given
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examples that the early Christians had their initiatory
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endowment ceremonies. They knew the higher law and
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they were willing to covenant with God.
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Chapter 2 verses 18 to 29 talk about Thyra and then Jezebel.
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And Chapter 2 verse 26 To the one who is victorious and does
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my will to the end, I will give that one the morning star and he
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mentions the morning star here and he mentions it in chapter
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22. So this beautiful image of our
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Saviour, another title for our Lord and God, the morning star.
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Chapter 3 continues on with the same parallel 4 messages to each
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church and to Sardis. He says in verse one of chapter
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three, you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
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Wake up, strengthen what remains and is about you are about to
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die. I don't think he's talking
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physically. I think he's talking
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spiritually. You know you are losing your
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faith because you care more about the worldly thoughts than
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the Lord's thoughts. But then he promises that he's
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encouraging them. He says in verse five, he that
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overcometh the same shall be clothed in white raiment.
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You know, this becomes a very important image throughout the
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rest of this book. The White Raiment is the purity
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of the Saints. Next Church of Philadelphia,
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chapter 3 verses 7 to 13, the words of him who is holy and
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true, who holds the key of David.
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What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can
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open. Now remember in the ancient
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world there are not very many things that are under lock and
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key. And the key was hand carved.
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It was usually quite large and bulky and wooden.
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The locks were also wooden. They were also hand carved.
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And anyone who's holding a key on their neck or around their
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their on a chain was someone of great importance and you needed
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to give due respect to them because this was a very rare
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thing to see. And so he who holds the key of
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David is our God. He is the greatest key holder
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that we know. Verse 11 of chapter 3 says I am
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coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that
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no one will take your crown. You know those of us who have
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entered into covenants need to follow these same good counsels
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that were given by the Lord through John the Beloved,
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Chapter 3, verse 20 in the NIV reads.
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I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and
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opens the door, I will come in. This reminds me back to Liberty
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Jail when the Lord taught Joseph many are called I'm standing at
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the door and knocking, but only those who open the door will I
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be allowed to come in. But I will come in and I can
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have the indwelling. Remember, that's the image from
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the ancient text of the Shekinah, this pillar of fire.
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The and that's why I think we're called the baptism of fire.
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The Spirit is representing an indwelling of our God.
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Verse 31 talks more about God with these open doors.
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It says to the one who is victorious, I will give the
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right to sit with me on my throne just as I was victorious
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and sat down with my father on his throne we see a beautiful
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example of God opening doors. In chapter 4, verse one, it says
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that John looked and behold a door was opened in heaven.
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Now some people place this with the message to the churches.
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Some people is it the chapter change on to the next subject.
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But I just want to remind you that in the early Christian
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Church we have beautiful mosaics of God opening doors, of opening
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the heavens. And here's one from Ravenna,
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Italy 4th 5th century, a 6th century as well.
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I don't know the the churches that are built there cover
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several 100 years, but God's hand is coming through the
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clouds in a beautiful manner to touch those down below and it's
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behind a curtain as he's coming through the clouds as if it were
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just in another room. It's really a beautiful image
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here of God opening doors for us and opening veils.
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And anytime you see hands, God's hand near the veil, I always
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think of Christ's death where the veil of the temple was rent
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and the temple separated out the holy Place and the Holy of
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Holies so that we could all return to God.
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Chapter 4 then moves on to the throne of God.
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And this is just a beautiful description.
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I mentioned earlier that a lot of people had this throne
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Theophany. And I'll just name a few Enoch,
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Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Stephen.
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And those are all in the Bible. And there are more.
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And if you look at a restored scripture, there's even more.
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Lehi, Nephi, Jacob, Alma, brother of Jared, Moroni,
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Joseph, Sidney, Oliver, and just keep going.
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There are so many, and in verse two he said that John was in the
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Spirit and behold, a throne was set in heaven.
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Now, in the Mosaic Tabernacle and in the early temples of
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Solomon and Zerubbabel, the Holy of Holies was the throne room.
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They saw the Ark of the Covenant in both the Tabernacle and in
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Solomon's temple as the throne of God and the Mercy seat.
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The top cover was God's place to sit and so as he is looking into
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heaven and he sees a throne room, it's often depicted as
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part of that temple. The Holy of Holies.
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Verse three says he that sat was to look upon like Jasper and
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sardine stone and there was a rainbow around about the throne
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in the sight of emerald and round about the throne.
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This is verse 4. Now there were four and 20
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seats, and upon the seats were four and 20 elders sitting.
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Now this is one of those verses that is so helpful to have some
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understanding and texture who they were.
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They're dressed in white, verse four says.
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And they had crowns of gold on their head.
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But we are so blessed to know that these represent the seven
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churches. They're elders from those
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churches, and they have been able to maintain their
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testimonies before they passed away and in heaven.
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Now they are before the throne of God, so these are probably
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people that John knew and served with.
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First five says the seven lampstands of fire were burning
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before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God.
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So we've got lampstands, we've got people, and we've got these
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elders. And Section 77, Joseph says, now
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what are these things surrounding the altar?
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Who are they? They all fit in.
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And he was told in verse five, these are the elders whom John
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saw, and the elders were faithful.
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Before we leave this section about the seven branch lamp
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stand, I also want to remind you that in the early Christian
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artwork, sometimes they have Christ hanging on the tree of
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life, that it was He who made it possible for us to return to the
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presence of the Lord, go back to the Paradise cycle glory, and
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enter into the Lord's presence without our sins.
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It is He who allowed that. So this, this tree of life image
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with the candles are are really important.
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Chapter 4, verse five, reads From the throne came lightnings
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and rumblings and thunders. That's the new rendition.
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I want to tell you a little about this.
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Years and years ago, probably 30 years ago now, a group of
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wonderful biblical scholars at Brigham University decided that
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they wanted to write their own translation of the New
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Testament, and over time we received permission from the
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church leaders. And right now coming out over
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the last decade have been these wonderful volumes.
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Each book of the New Testament has its own volume of commentary
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with its own translation, and we refer to this translation as the
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New Rendition. And I love it especially in the
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Book of Revelation. The throne of God is described
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with a lot of light. Do you remember back to Moses
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Tabernacle, when the Shekinah was a pillar of light by night
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over the Tabernacle? And it's also there at Moses
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dedicatory prayer of the temple that the Lord received it unto
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him. And we also saw it in Kirtland
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where it came down like a fire, and the neighbors thought it was
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on fire and they brought their buckets of water.
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And of course it was just the spirit of God.
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There was no smoke, nothing was burned.
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Chapter 4, verse six, as in front of the throne, there was
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what looked like a sea of glass or clear as crystal.
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That's the MIV. But Joseph, when he asked about
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this, was told it is the earth and it's sanctified, immortal
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and eternal state. So we'll be reintroduced to this
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at the end of the Book of Revelation when they talk about
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it again. Continuing on, we learn more
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about these four living creatures, or beasts.
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Round about the throne were four living creatures like a lion, an
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ox, a face like a man or a flying eagle.
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And when Joseph asked about them, he was told in section 77,
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verse two and three. They are figurative expressions
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to represent the glory of the classes or beings in their
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destined order, in the enjoyment of their eternal Felicity.
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So we've got animals in heaven, we have the classes of of flying
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animals, we have the classes of domesticated animals, we have
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the classes of humans. And each of them has a
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representative at the throne of God who's carrying out these
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work. This work, it's it's really
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quite powerful. Also these four images come from
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a little bit of consistency throughout.
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The rest of the New Testament came to identify the four
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gospels, and each one represented another evangelist
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who wrote the four gospels. So they use these symbols in
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other places. Joseph also wrote on this as a
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sermon in Nauvoo. It was April 8th, 1843, and he
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said John heard the words of the beast giving glory to God and
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understood them. God who made the beast, could
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understand every language spoken by them, so there will be an
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ability for animals to speak in heaven.
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This is really exciting. He says, though, that the
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animals are full of eyes before and behind.
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That's chapter 4, verse six. So when Joseph asked about that,
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he's told that the eyes are representative of light and full
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of knowledge. That's section 77, verse 4.
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So this omniscience, this ability to see without the veil,
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harnessing our second estate, these people in heaven can see
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before and after, and even the animals that are there, these
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four living creatures that are there, has this ability to see.
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Interestingly, each of the living creatures also have 6
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wings. They're set in three pairs.
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And when Joseph asked about it, he was told that the wings
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represent the power to act in section 77, verse 4.
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Remember back in Isaiah chapter 6, there were two wings covering
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the eyes and two wings covering the feet.
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You know, as if it were powered to see power to move.
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You know, it's really fun to put together some of these symbols
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and just explore in your in your heart and mind what they could
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represent. Chapter 4, verse 10 says the
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elders cast their crowns before the throne.
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You are worthy. Oh Lord our God is verse 11.
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And all of us need to do that every night as we kneel down and
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take off our worldly signs and bow before our Lord.
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It's a beautiful image for all of us.
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Chapter 5 now begins by saying that then I, meaning John, saw a
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scroll in the right hand of the one seated on the throne.
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It had writing on both sides and it was sealed with 7 seals.
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And I saw a mighty Angel proclaiming with a loud voice
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who is worthy to break the seals open to the scroll.
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Now all this you have to know a little bit of historical
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background. For you know the seal is a
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affidated, that this was written accurately, that it was it was
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witnessed, and that no one else is to open it except for the
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person that it's addressed to or or except for a judge.
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And they may open it and they may read it, but no one else can
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read it. So we see a lot about these
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seals in history, but there's even more significance as we
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look at them spiritually. Of course there's seven, so it's
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whole, it's complete, and it is God who is finishing them.
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He will be our judge, He will be the one to open it.
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But John doesn't know that yet, and so he's crying.
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And in verse two of chapter 5 it says who is worthy to open the
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scroll by breaking its seals because no one is found to be
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the judge of doing it. So we continue to read and in
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verse five it says do not weep the angels talking to John.
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Behold the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has
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triumphed to open the scroll and its seven seals.
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So we assume that it is God Elohim who is now handing the
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scroll to the lion of Judah. And isn't this interesting that
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some of the symbols of our Savior are a lion Coming from
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the patriarchal blessing that Jacob gave to his son Judah?
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He uses this image of a lion of Judah, but he's also the lamb.
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And the lion of Judah will lie down with the Lamb of God when
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he comes again. But at this time we have this
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image of a very strong, powerful man, a lion of the Lord, and he
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will completely open up these seals.
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And when Joseph prayed about it, he was told in section 77, verse
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six that this book that John saw contains the revealed will,
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mysteries and the works of God, the hidden things of this earth
37:08
during the 7000 years of its temporal existence.
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So it's about 1000 years to each of these period, starting with
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Adam, 1000 years from Adam to Noah and Enochs in that time
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period. And then we have 1000 years from
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Noah to Abraham, and then 1000 years from Abraham to King David
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and then to the Savior. So there's the 4000 years before
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and then the 4000 years after would be 1000AD2000AD and then
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the Millennium, and then the celestialized Earth.
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So that is the history that we were told by Joseph that this
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meant. But they wouldn't have been
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books like we know them. A book is a scroll, You know,
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they they kept their writings in different ways since they're
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not. The printing brush hasn't been
37:51
developed yet. Verse 7 in section 77 explains a
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little more about the seven seals.
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It says the first seal contains the things of the first thousand
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years, the second also the 2nd 1000 years.
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So with every seal being opened we're getting a new part of the
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story. And in Revelation chapter 5,
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verse six it says having 7 horns and seven eyes which were the
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spirits of God who came forth to the earth.
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And Joseph Smith changes this. We see this Lamb of God on the
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throne, but instead of having complete a number of whole and
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complete Joseph, who may not understand that symbolism adds
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12 horns and 12 eyes, because he knows of the 12 tribes of Israel
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and the 12 apostles of the Lamb, and he sees that as more
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consistent. I don't know what John
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originally said, but I can appreciate that Joseph is trying
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to say no. The Lamb of God is is is filled
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with the order of God and we can see him from the creation all
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the way down, Verse 8 reads, each one having a harp and a
38:50
golden bowl is filled with incense, which are the prayers
38:54
of the Saints. Now we also read that twice in
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the book of Psalms that the incense represents the prayer
39:00
of. That's why in the Holy Place you
39:03
have the incense altar. It's a small table.
39:06
The smoke was to constantly rise, but I'm thrilled to hear
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there's musical instruments in heaven as well, and it sounds
39:12
like the harp is going to be one of them.
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Verse 9 reads in the MIV you are worthy to take the scroll and to
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open it's seals because you were slain and with your blood you
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purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and
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people and nation. You have made them to be a
39:32
Kingdom of priests who serve our God and they will reign on
39:37
earth. It's a beautiful description of
39:40
how those in heaven can praise the Lord, and I hope we as
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messengers of God and disciples of Christ can do the same here
39:48
on earth. Chapter 5, verse 13, reads,
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Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto him that sitteth
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upon the throne and unto the Lamb.
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For those of you that are familiar with Handel's Messiah,
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I hope that rung a bell, as you can almost hear the beautiful
40:03
praise that was put to music in these verses here.
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May we in all that we do. Fall before our Lord and praise
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and worship Him. I hope that the Book of
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Revelation can continue to open up and have more meaning as we
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use the keys that are given us in the Restoration.
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I also want to testify that I believe that Jesus is not only
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the Lamb of God, but he is also the lion of Judah, and He is the
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great and last sacrifice for which we are all eternally
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grateful. In the name of Jesus Christ,
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Amen.