Welcome back, everybody.
Speaker:This is week 52 of Creative.
Speaker:Come follow me for the New Testament.
Speaker:And this week, we get to head back into that very last group of chapters.
Speaker:We're going to go from 15 all the way up through 22 in the book of Revelation.
Speaker:And I know it's a bit of a hard adjustment after our week enjoying the
Speaker:Christmas story, but I have to tell you.
Speaker:I think I'm starting to really like the Book of Revelation.
Speaker:That is not something I anticipated heading into these three weeks
Speaker:of study, but I'm kind of starting to get it, you guys.
Speaker:And especially this week, I found so much light and excitement in it.
Speaker:I had to gear myself up a little bit.
Speaker:I will tell you that one of the things that really helped me is
Speaker:I've been Studying the Book of Mormon daily, just in my mornings.
Speaker:While I eat breakfast, I study the Book of Mormon.
Speaker:And I happen to be at the very end of the Book of Mormon.
Speaker:I'm in Mormon, and I was reading Mormon 9.
Speaker:These are Moroni's words, where he's trying to talk
Speaker:about this same period of time.
Speaker:His warnings about how he knows how things are going to end, and he
Speaker:really just hopes we will grab hold.
Speaker:The same way he knew for his people how things were going to end, and
Speaker:he hoped they would grab hold.
Speaker:And he gave this counsel.
Speaker:So I can't remember what verses these are.
Speaker:I'll, I'll put it in the notes if I can, but it's in the twenties somewhere.
Speaker:And he basically said, he wants us to despise not the prophecies,
Speaker:the revelations, to wonder not to hearken to the words and to ask
Speaker:the father in his name, and then to doubt not and be believing.
Speaker:That's sort of the lens I put on when I approached revelation this week,
Speaker:because I felt like I just had to come with the assumption that these words
Speaker:are necessary and motivating for me to.
Speaker:believe.
Speaker:And as soon as I got that framework in my head, things clicked together faster
Speaker:for me because I found myself wondering, like, what is it I need to believe in?
Speaker:What is John trying to help me understand?
Speaker:And the big message of every week in the book of Revelation is
Speaker:about the victory of the Savior.
Speaker:especially this week.
Speaker:Because you actually see the victory of the Savior.
Speaker:You read about the millennium and those thousand years of peace.
Speaker:You read about the overcoming of the adversary and this, you know, forward
Speaker:movement when it comes to the celestial kingdom and the glories that are coming.
Speaker:And then you wrap up with John's plea to please come unto Christ.
Speaker:You know, after all that he's seen and all that he's written,
Speaker:John's big message is Come.
Speaker:It's the same message the Savior began with in the New Testament
Speaker:when he approached his apostles and said to them, Come, follow me.
Speaker:It's just this invitation, this constant drumbeat of an invitation to come unto
Speaker:him because he's the only way, the only way through all the things we're going to
Speaker:read this week and the only way to get to that grand hereafter that he hopes for us.
Speaker:He's the only way there.
Speaker:One of the best ways you can learn about how to get there,
Speaker:believe it or not, is the words of John in the book of Revelation.
Speaker:So I'm gonna try and guide you through it.
Speaker:I promise it's worth your time.
Speaker:So grab your scriptures.
Speaker:Grab your notes.
Speaker:It's time to get started.
Speaker:Each week of these three weeks, we've seen seven warnings come forth.
Speaker:So in that first week, we studied those seven seals and how as things rolled
Speaker:forth as those seals are opened, it was a warning and a clear indication
Speaker:that time was marching forward and there would be a phase of destruction.
Speaker:Then in that second week, we saw the seven trumpeters.
Speaker:Remember, like Jericho style, they were sent out to warn people, to urge them
Speaker:to repent, and as each trumpet came forth, there was a warning, and then
Speaker:there was destruction that followed.
Speaker:This week, we have a whole different warning, and you can tell things are
Speaker:intensifying, because what comes this time are plagues, really similar to
Speaker:what we saw in the Old Testament.
Speaker:In fact, a lot of the plagues are almost identical to what we read
Speaker:with Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and I honestly think the intent is the same.
Speaker:Where last time the intent was to get Pharaoh to change, to get him to release
Speaker:the children of Israel, to get his people to safety because, you know, even the
Speaker:Egyptian people, I don't think God hoped to harm any of those people, but because
Speaker:Pharaoh chose to reject and turn away from the prophet and also the ramifications
Speaker:of his choices, the Lord couldn't.
Speaker:Change course.
Speaker:He had to continue down that path and you almost see that happening here So
Speaker:this one will happen with plagues and it covers 15 and 16 What I think is
Speaker:interesting is right at the beginning you see this song so really similar to
Speaker:the song that the children of Israel sing as they They escape from the Red Sea.
Speaker:They are delivered by the hand of God through the Red Sea and they sing
Speaker:this deliverance song and it's alluded to here in these verses and for me,
Speaker:it's almost like an anthem of sorts.
Speaker:Yeah, it's almost like they're pumping themselves up for
Speaker:what is coming to the next.
Speaker:You know, seven or eight chapters, you guys are full of hard.
Speaker:There's, there's a battle that's coming.
Speaker:And I think the angels of heaven know it.
Speaker:And this is their pump up song.
Speaker:That's how I read it.
Speaker:So in my margins, I have thunderstruck written next to the verses,
Speaker:because I think this is a lot like.
Speaker:My high school football games.
Speaker:Like when I would go to my high school football game, my, you would hear
Speaker:Thunderstruck playing so loud that it almost shake the bleachers and you'd
Speaker:see the team come out on the field and everybody would be pumped up.
Speaker:And you're, when you hear that song, it was a remembrance
Speaker:of victories of the past.
Speaker:And it was a hopeful, you know, excitement to look to the
Speaker:victory that might happen today.
Speaker:That was kind of the idea was it was getting you ready for what was inevitably
Speaker:coming, this victory that was coming.
Speaker:That's how I see this song of deliverance.
Speaker:Because even though the plagues will be hard and devastating to some, there
Speaker:will be ultimate victory at the end.
Speaker:So if you look through 15, you can see that song of deliverance, and
Speaker:then this warning about the plagues.
Speaker:I just think it's really interesting who carries these plagues.
Speaker:So like I mentioned, they're carried by angels in these bowls, or vials
Speaker:as they're called, and they are going to be poured out one by one.
Speaker:But before anything is poured out There is this interesting verse.
Speaker:If you look at 5 and 6, it references the temple.
Speaker:So in 6, it says, And the seven angels came out of the temple,
Speaker:having the seven plagues, clothed in pure white linen, having their
Speaker:breasts girded with golden girdles.
Speaker:I think before any of these destruction phases happen, there is this phase
Speaker:of reverence and prayer and a temple like experience of some kind.
Speaker:I don't, I don't really know what this means, but I do really love the
Speaker:contrast to what we read in other You know, if you read in the Book of
Speaker:Mormon about the Lamanites preparing for battle, in many different books,
Speaker:there are these Lamanites who come with bloodthirstiness and their, their heads
Speaker:are shaved and they're often like bare chested and they're ready for battle.
Speaker:And there's just anger and hatred in their eyes.
Speaker:This is such a contrast to that, even though destruction is going to need
Speaker:to happen and it's going to be hard.
Speaker:These angels come.
Speaker:In pure white, coming from a temple with the work that
Speaker:needs to be done ahead of them.
Speaker:I just, I thought there was power in the contrast.
Speaker:If you go into chapter 16, you see them one by one pour out their vials or their
Speaker:bowls to allow the plagues to roll forth.
Speaker:And what's so interesting to me is that people don't Turn it's it's
Speaker:almost like if you've got your kid in trouble, you know Like oftentimes
Speaker:this happens with my boys and their technology if they're in trouble.
Speaker:Sometimes I'll start with something small You know Like I'll just take
Speaker:their air pods or beats or something if they continue down that path and
Speaker:they don't Apologize then next comes their switch or maybe their phone,
Speaker:you know like the things intensify as they choose to rebel and get angry
Speaker:or hostile and at some point in time they catch on and they turn, right?
Speaker:And they say, okay, yeah, I'm sorry, mom.
Speaker:I messed that up.
Speaker:Let me dial that down.
Speaker:And I feel like this is what the Lord is hoping every time
Speaker:one of these plagues pours out.
Speaker:They're really similar plagues to what we see with the children of Israel.
Speaker:So you see plagues like boils that come forth.
Speaker:That probably only affect the wicked and not the righteous just the same way we
Speaker:saw where the Egyptians suffered from the boils But not the children of Israel
Speaker:You're also gonna see things like the rivers and the seas turned to blood and
Speaker:this interesting little Intermission, that's what I call it because between
Speaker:these seven plagues there is this there's these intermission verses It starts around
Speaker:verse seven or so and it says I heard another out of the altar say even so
Speaker:Lord Almighty True and righteous are thy judgments If you look at six, for example,
Speaker:it talks about, well, five and six, it talks about how the Lord was just and
Speaker:how he judged righteously and how these people shed the blood of the prophets.
Speaker:I just found this fascinating.
Speaker:To me, it almost felt like in the middle of these waves of destruction,
Speaker:there is a sustaining vote of sorts.
Speaker:I don't think, I don't mean that literally.
Speaker:I just think.
Speaker:What John is teaching us is that the angels of heaven understand the need
Speaker:for this plague to come forth and have the same hopes that people will change.
Speaker:And when they don't change and are destroyed in the process, the angels
Speaker:of heaven say, no, that was just, you know, that was a fair consequence for
Speaker:the wickedness that they carried out.
Speaker:So I think there's that.
Speaker:It made me feel like these waves of plagues were slower
Speaker:and more deliberate and more.
Speaker:Participatory.
Speaker:I'm not sure the right phrase for it, but I just, anyway, go in
Speaker:the verses, see what you think.
Speaker:So the plagues roll out.
Speaker:You'll see a few others come forth.
Speaker:Like, for example, in verse 8 and 9, there's this plague with the sun
Speaker:where things start to be scorched in a, in a heat, and people don't repent.
Speaker:In fact, it talks about how they In nine, at the very end of nine, and
Speaker:they repented not to give him glory.
Speaker:In the end of 11, after another plague rolls forth, they
Speaker:repented not of their deeds.
Speaker:In fact, that last plague, the fifth one, I found kind of fascinating.
Speaker:Basically what happens on the fifth one is they see the Euphrates River
Speaker:dry up, where before we saw rivers turn to blood and seas turn to blood.
Speaker:This one is almost an absence of a river.
Speaker:You can go in the notes and learn more about this, but this is a river
Speaker:that ran right alongside Babylon.
Speaker:And when it dries up It opens up gateways for enemies to invade the
Speaker:city and it, it dries up truth.
Speaker:You know, like if you think about the Savior being this living water
Speaker:and this source of truth and life and nourishment, when that dries up,
Speaker:there is vulnerability and weakness.
Speaker:And because of that vulnerability, They're more susceptible to the next plague.
Speaker:So what you see come forth are these frogs.
Speaker:One of the things I learned this week as I was studying is that these
Speaker:frogs symbolize lies and apostasy and deceitfulness coming forth.
Speaker:Because when there's a lack of truth in the world, when there's a lack of that
Speaker:living water that nourishes and sustains, then you have a seed bed for falsehood.
Speaker:And that's what the frogs kind of symbolize.
Speaker:They're going to be a counterpoint to the savior who is described as having
Speaker:a sword of truth come out of his mouth.
Speaker:The frogs are kind of the opposite of that.
Speaker:And there's just this really Interesting visual for me is you see them, you
Speaker:see darkness and commotion set in.
Speaker:It reminded me a little bit, since I'm at the end of the Book of Mormon, you know
Speaker:when Mormon, and I think even Moroni, they talk about that phase where there
Speaker:can be no more miracles in the land, and the Spirit can't work on anyone.
Speaker:Remember, even Mormon hopes that his fellow soldiers will repent and see the
Speaker:hand of God and change and they don't and they just take things as their own
Speaker:victory and he he's sad because they never turn and I just Think you see
Speaker:a little bit that here You also see guidance on how to prevent yourself
Speaker:from being susceptible to that darkness.
Speaker:Because we live in a sin sick world now, and I imagine it will continue to ramp up.
Speaker:So you get guidance on how to control it.
Speaker:That's in verse 15.
Speaker:Behold, I come as a thief.
Speaker:Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk
Speaker:naked, and they see his shame.
Speaker:I think this is how we inoculate ourselves from all that deceit that
Speaker:is flying around in the world, all those frogs that are spitting out lies.
Speaker:I think the way you do it is to watch and pray always.
Speaker:And I like the visual of keeping your garments.
Speaker:I think it's really similar to what we heard Elder Bednar speak about.
Speaker:two conferences ago about the wedding feast and being worthy and choosing
Speaker:to put on that sacred garment.
Speaker:I don't think this is necessarily literal to the garments, but I do think there's
Speaker:implications there of like, choose to keep your covenants, choose to live
Speaker:how the Lord has asked you to live.
Speaker:If you do that, you'll have the promise that you'll never be susceptible to the
Speaker:lies and deceit that are all around you.
Speaker:You'll have, you'll have your own source of truth available to you.
Speaker:I think that's his promise.
Speaker:Then a little bit later in the chapter, you see forces
Speaker:combining against the adversary.
Speaker:This is not Armageddon yet.
Speaker:This is not the final battle, but you can see forces building up.
Speaker:And as a result of all this destruction and all these plagues,
Speaker:you see this last plague roll out.
Speaker:So this is that seventh plague and it begins around verse 18.
Speaker:And there were voices and thunders and lightnings and there was a
Speaker:great earthquake such as was not since men were upon the earth so
Speaker:mighty an earthquake and so great.
Speaker:And the city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the
Speaker:nations fell, and the great Babylon came in remembrance before God.
Speaker:This is massive level destruction, where the face of the planet
Speaker:changes, like, big things happen.
Speaker:In fact, you see in 20 that every island fled away, the
Speaker:mountains aren't found anymore.
Speaker:In 21, there's this massive hailstorm, like, huge hailstones
Speaker:that damage everything in their path.
Speaker:And there's this.
Speaker:warning in it, right?
Speaker:Like, this has been, we've had seven seals, we've had seven trumpets, we've
Speaker:had seven plagues roll out, and there are still some who choose not to heed,
Speaker:and because of that, destruction happens.
Speaker:What's fascinating to me is what comes in the next chapter, because I feel like when
Speaker:you get into 17, it's where you understand why they still choose, why they, why
Speaker:they go through all these plagues and still choose to fight against the Lamb.
Speaker:You're gonna get a feel for that when we get into 17.
Speaker:The reason so many choose to still turn against the light, I think,
Speaker:is Really evident in 17 and 18.
Speaker:This is where you learn about the great whore of all the earth, the Abomination.
Speaker:Like there's so many different words.
Speaker:You can go on the Institute manual and I think it's Bruce R.
Speaker:McConkie that talks about things like the great and abominable church and they
Speaker:talk about Babylon and there's a lot of different metaphors that we use for this
Speaker:force of evil that continues to call after people and promises glory and power and
Speaker:beauty and wealth and Cannot deliver.
Speaker:That's what you see represented by this great whore.
Speaker:That's what it's, how it's phrased in verse one.
Speaker:I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters.
Speaker:Meaning people.
Speaker:So this is someone who has control or tries to maintain control over
Speaker:the chaos and this reign of people.
Speaker:If you go into the verses, you can see how that happens.
Speaker:So, like in Thor, and the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color,
Speaker:and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden
Speaker:cup in her hand, full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication.
Speaker:This visual is so vivid, right?
Speaker:As opposed to the The angels that we saw coming forth out of the temple
Speaker:with pure white linen and just a, you know, golden sash, basically she
Speaker:is in these rich, saturated colors.
Speaker:She has this cup in her hand that she's trying to entice people to
Speaker:drink and it's intoxicating, right?
Speaker:There is something, this just represents the adversary to me.
Speaker:It is something that looks.
Speaker:Lovely on the surface that looks rich and valuable and exciting on the
Speaker:surface, but up close can't offer the, the visual that helped me is I grew
Speaker:up, like I told you guys, helping in that theater that my parents restored.
Speaker:And I got to learn how to do stage makeup really well.
Speaker:And stage makeup is kind of like this to me.
Speaker:It is something that looks so great from a distance.
Speaker:You know, like it is designed to look really good from very far away.
Speaker:So the, you know, cheeks are a lot pinker than you would do in normal life.
Speaker:The eye shadow is a lot brighter and more saturated than it would normally be.
Speaker:The foundation layer is just caked on and it's like three shades
Speaker:darker than your normal skin tone.
Speaker:You wouldn't know that unless you come up close.
Speaker:From the audience, that stage makeup looks beautiful.
Speaker:When you go and you see actors in person backstage, you're
Speaker:like, Whoa, there's something.
Speaker:Jarring about it.
Speaker:And I think that's the adversary's way.
Speaker:He's, he entices people from a distance and then by the time you're close and
Speaker:you've consumed of that cup, he's already starting to intoxicate you a little bit.
Speaker:I think that's his strategy.
Speaker:He finds ways to get you to drink, which then starts to dull your senses.
Speaker:The same way alcohol does in today's world.
Speaker:I feel like that's kind of what she's offering.
Speaker:Once they're up close, he tries to dull our sensitivities to the spirit,
Speaker:to dull our relationships with others.
Speaker:We stop loving people and serving others and caring about people.
Speaker:We, we become cold.
Speaker:We become distant.
Speaker:We, we are numb.
Speaker:And that's what I think she's offering.
Speaker:In fact, you see on her forehead, it says in verse five, upon her
Speaker:forehead was a name written mystery, Babylon, the great, the mother of
Speaker:harlots and abominations of the earth.
Speaker:There's almost a.
Speaker:mocking feel to this, you know, like it's the great high priest
Speaker:who had that beautiful gold plate that said holiness to the Lord.
Speaker:And what we read about in previous weeks in the book of revelation, where we all
Speaker:have this mark on our foreheads to take his name upon us is there's almost this.
Speaker:mocking and cheapening of those things.
Speaker:In fact, I thought it was really interesting, if you go in the footnotes,
Speaker:it links that word mystery here, not to the mysteries of God, but to like
Speaker:secret combinations, like that's what she's promoting, that's what the
Speaker:Satan is trying to entice people into.
Speaker:And then he talks about what she's drinking.
Speaker:So if you look in 6, And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and
Speaker:with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.
Speaker:And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
Speaker:I think there is a, a weakness in men that craves this.
Speaker:You know, I think you see it all throughout the Book of Mormon
Speaker:where people get bloodthirsty and this idea of like, I can destroy.
Speaker:I think we saw it in the Old Testament, in the Pearl of Great Price.
Speaker:I mean, we saw it right at the beginning of Man's story with Cain and Abel.
Speaker:There is this desire for power or property or something.
Speaker:And so we get a thirst for blood and you almost see that exemplified in this woman.
Speaker:And then there's this interesting stop point.
Speaker:So in seven, And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel?
Speaker:I will tell thee the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carrieth
Speaker:her, which has seven heads and ten horns.
Speaker:The beast that thou sawest was and is not, and shall ascend out of the
Speaker:bottomless pit and go into perdition.
Speaker:To me, this is like the angel saying like, Don't be dazzled
Speaker:by her even in a negative way.
Speaker:I don't think John admires her by any stretch I don't think that's what that
Speaker:word means if you go in the notes, you can learn more about that but he's he's
Speaker:kind of mystified by her and just kind of alarmed I think by her and the angel
Speaker:says Don't even give her attention.
Speaker:That's how I read it.
Speaker:He's like basically saying let me tell you where she came from Like
Speaker:she comes from the bottomless pit.
Speaker:I know exactly where she came from and I know exactly where
Speaker:she's going She ends in perdition.
Speaker:There is no kingdom of glory here, you know again, this isn't a literal person
Speaker:But this is a representation of all the works of the adversary and in the same
Speaker:place So you don't need to pay them much heed The same way if you read in
Speaker:the Institute Manual and things like that, you'll see things like, we're
Speaker:not supposed to pay a lot of attention to sorceries or to worry about cults
Speaker:or all those kind of other things.
Speaker:We don't pay them a lot of heed because we know where all that stuff goes.
Speaker:And so that's kind of his warning.
Speaker:When you go a little bit further, you see his Guidance about these things.
Speaker:So when the angel is trying to help John understand, he says basically
Speaker:kings have worshipped at her feet.
Speaker:Kings have tried to, you know, have relations with her, meaning like the
Speaker:nations of the world oftentimes will sell themselves in order to gain
Speaker:power, to gain property, other things.
Speaker:So he warns that that's happening, but I love what it, how it's phrased in 12.
Speaker:Basically what he says is each of those kings gets one hour.
Speaker:I don't think this is literal.
Speaker:I think this is figurative, but this is what he's trying to say.
Speaker:It's like all those people who claim power and claim.
Speaker:prominence, they get one spot in, in glory and in the sun, and then they topple, you
Speaker:know, like we've seen so many nations.
Speaker:In just the Old Testament and the New Testament, nations rise up,
Speaker:and they have this moment in the sun, and then they topple, and a
Speaker:new nation builds on the rubble.
Speaker:That's what he's trying to teach us about.
Speaker:And he says, where that culminates is in 14.
Speaker:These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for He is
Speaker:the Lord of lords, and the King of kings.
Speaker:And they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
Speaker:What I like about this, guys, is I just feel like this is the
Speaker:constant message of the angels.
Speaker:They're kind of saying, like, Don't be intimidated or even
Speaker:pay attention to the adversary.
Speaker:Like, granted, he's there, and you have to be aware.
Speaker:What you have to constantly remember is We are a part of the
Speaker:King of Kings, we are a part of his army, and all of us are called.
Speaker:Remember the Doctrine and Covenants teaches us that, that many
Speaker:are called and few are chosen.
Speaker:And then he tells you why you're not chosen.
Speaker:If you get too wrapped up in the things of the world, or the
Speaker:things that she exemplifies, you know, or the Babylon exemplifies,
Speaker:this wealth and glory and power.
Speaker:If you get caught up in those things, then you can't be chosen anymore.
Speaker:So he says, be all of them, be called, be chosen and be faithful.
Speaker:And if you do that, then you'll know you'll be on the right team.
Speaker:You see the end of Babylon begin in 18.
Speaker:So in 18, basically it's kind of talking about the fall of Babylon.
Speaker:I won't go into all the details, but it's, again, I think this
Speaker:is the angel trying to say.
Speaker:Don't get distracted.
Speaker:Don't even pay too much attention.
Speaker:This isn't going to last very long.
Speaker:Where she represents the adversary, Babylon represents the adversary as well.
Speaker:And so he talks about what happens.
Speaker:Basically, he's saying that Babylon got caught up in their own delicacies.
Speaker:They got caught up in their own high living.
Speaker:To me, Babylon, in my brain, I always picture Hunger Games and The Capital.
Speaker:You know, like, I don't know if you guys saw those movies or read those books,
Speaker:but the group of people that are so Bedazzled and they eat a ton and then
Speaker:throw up because they can't eat more.
Speaker:And so then they can eat again.
Speaker:Like there's just this waste and excess and abundance and a
Speaker:little bit of bloodthirstiness in the people of the Capitol.
Speaker:And I get that feeling with Babylon.
Speaker:And what John is trying to say here is in the vision, I saw Babylon fall.
Speaker:So in one day, Babylon falls.
Speaker:I don't know that this is literal, but I think it means.
Speaker:Very quickly.
Speaker:It could also mean literally.
Speaker:So if you look in 8, Therefore shall her plagues come in one day death and
Speaker:mourning and famine and she shall be utterly burned with fire For strong is the
Speaker:Lord God who judged her this is speaking about Babylon and the king of the earth
Speaker:and nine hath committed fornication And lived deliciously with her shall bewail
Speaker:her and lament for her when they shall see the smoke of her burning There will
Speaker:be those who have worshipped at the feet of Babylon, you know, who have done
Speaker:everything they can to make friends with those who offer power and prominence and
Speaker:property and wealth and all those things.
Speaker:They will mourn when Babylon falls, because what do you do next?
Speaker:In fact, if you turn the page, that's sort of what you see.
Speaker:You see that they, the merchants, mourn for the loss of Babylon.
Speaker:They mourn that there's no one to buy their gold and buy their
Speaker:little Items and their idols and all the things they start to mourn.
Speaker:I just thought it was so fascinating that none of these merchants
Speaker:are mourning the people that are destroyed when Babylon falls.
Speaker:They're mourning the economy that's lost.
Speaker:Their heart is still tucked away and held on tight to the riches.
Speaker:They've missed it.
Speaker:You know, it's almost, well, you see again the phrase at one hour.
Speaker:So in 17, for in one hour, so great riches is come to naught.
Speaker:And they mourn and weep that they've lost this I just think it's, it tells you
Speaker:something about the adversary's plans.
Speaker:You know, it talks about how he is somebody who will lure you down
Speaker:to hell and he just doesn't care.
Speaker:He doesn't lift, he doesn't have loyalty.
Speaker:He just lures you down.
Speaker:And that's the feel I get here.
Speaker:This idea of this great city full of wealth and prominence falling in one day.
Speaker:Reminds me a lot of Ammonihah.
Speaker:So remember in the Book of Mormon when we melted those styrofoam cups and
Speaker:we talked about that city that got destroyed in one day because they were
Speaker:so cruel and they burned women and children and the new converts and, you
Speaker:know, the day in one day, this wealthy city that never thought they could be
Speaker:destroyed ended up being thrown down.
Speaker:That's what you see in 21.
Speaker:A mighty angel comes and throws a giant millstone in that sinks to the bottom
Speaker:of the water and it's basically this object lesson to say, That's Babylon.
Speaker:All these things have their moment and then they will be gone.
Speaker:And what I love is it doesn't even seem to take effort.
Speaker:You know, he, he throws this millstone, a gigantic millstone into the water
Speaker:and it almost seems casual, like a, this doesn't take effort for somebody
Speaker:who's empowered by the strength of God.
Speaker:Babylon will fall and we need to change our course if Babylon is our aim.
Speaker:That's John's message.
Speaker:So he talks about how no one will hear it at all.
Speaker:To me, if you look in the verses, like 22, 23, and 24.
Speaker:This is when they start to talk about there's nothing left.
Speaker:There's no sound at all.
Speaker:There's no, no more music is heard there.
Speaker:No more light is shown there.
Speaker:There's, there's this hollowness that's left behind, almost
Speaker:like a ghost town kind of feel.
Speaker:And the visual that came to my mind is I've ever watched like a documentary of
Speaker:the Titanic and how they always show the opulence and the grandeur and the amazing
Speaker:everything, you know, it was so amazing.
Speaker:And in one day it sinks and it becomes this hollow, empty.
Speaker:There's no more people there.
Speaker:There's no more luxury there.
Speaker:There's, it is sunk down at the bottom of the sea and there's this hollowness to it.
Speaker:That's how I feel when I read the end of 18 because I think that's when he's
Speaker:trying to help us understand about all the worldliness that creeps into our heart.
Speaker:Everything that we seek that is not from God will eventually feel like
Speaker:that titanic at the bottom of the ocean, something that cannot last.
Speaker:And so he's trying to get us to keep our eyes fixed on what can.
Speaker:I really liked chapter 19.
Speaker:One, it's a nice breath of fresh air compared to all the
Speaker:destruction chapters we just read, but I love the visuals in 19.
Speaker:This is where you see Two suppers held.
Speaker:There's the Marriage Supper of the Lamb and what is it called?
Speaker:The Supper of the Great God, which is basically there's a celebration
Speaker:for the righteous and there is a destruction phase for the wicked.
Speaker:And he's basically saying, you're invited to this one.
Speaker:You're invited to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Speaker:If you live worthy, you get to come.
Speaker:It's got that feel of the 10 virgins.
Speaker:Remember those who are prepared.
Speaker:are able to come and they enter and they add their light to the feast
Speaker:and then there's rejoicing and those who aren't ready and haven't lived up
Speaker:to their promises are left without.
Speaker:And that's kind of what's described in 19.
Speaker:I just think the visuals are so powerful because it talks
Speaker:about the celebration itself.
Speaker:So if you look in 16 it says, and a great there was a voice of a great
Speaker:multitude and as the voice of many waters and as the voice of mighty
Speaker:thunderings saying alleluia for the lord god omnipotent reigneth.
Speaker:Everyone rejoices when this day comes, because this day is when
Speaker:that those symbols are united.
Speaker:So remember when we studied the parable of the ten virgins, both in
Speaker:the Doctrine and Covenants and in the New Testament, you see the Church of
Speaker:God represented by that bride and the Savior himself representing the groom.
Speaker:And this is this.
Speaker:uniting of them.
Speaker:I actually love that.
Speaker:I can't remember who I learned this from.
Speaker:It wasn't me.
Speaker:I learned this.
Speaker:It's in the notes somewhere, but this idea of at one ment, you know, the
Speaker:Savior's atonement being an at one ment, that's kind of what marriage is, right?
Speaker:It's taking two people and making them at one.
Speaker:And that's what you see played out in these verses.
Speaker:So look at 7, it said, Let us be glad and rejoice.
Speaker:Give honor to him, for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his
Speaker:wife hath made herself ready.
Speaker:And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen,
Speaker:clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.
Speaker:Remember, these are all symbols.
Speaker:I don't think we have to take anything too literally, but that visual of
Speaker:a bride making herself ready and being arrayed in beautiful garments.
Speaker:It's beautiful clothes, fine white linen.
Speaker:It's not opulent.
Speaker:It's not excess.
Speaker:It's just fine, meaning it's simple and pure and beautiful on the surface.
Speaker:I just love that visual.
Speaker:I think maybe the fact that I got to help Hannah get ready for her
Speaker:wedding and I got to see that joy on her face, what I learned that day is.
Speaker:And I guess I knew this deep down for myself, but as I was studying Revelation
Speaker:this week, I realized that the joy that a bride feels that day is not necessarily
Speaker:just for what's going to happen that day.
Speaker:I mean, yes, you look radiant and everybody praises you and you get
Speaker:photos taken of you and it's this exuberant day because you get
Speaker:to be with the person you love.
Speaker:and start something new.
Speaker:It's the starting something new that I think actually
Speaker:brings the glow to your face.
Speaker:I just think there's something, when I saw Hannah that day, she rejoiced because
Speaker:of the joy of that day and really because of what it opened for every day after.
Speaker:That she would have Jake next to her always.
Speaker:You know, they would have each other, they could be with each other, they
Speaker:could have each other's back, always.
Speaker:That's what I think about the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Speaker:It's not that we're rejoicing in this day when there is that Joining together.
Speaker:It's the fact that every day after it we get to be near him.
Speaker:We get to live among You know people like God and the Savior we get to be
Speaker:in their presence That's the joy that comes you have that, you know that same
Speaker:feeling that a bride has of Looking forward, that's what happens on this day.
Speaker:So, and I just love the simpleness of it.
Speaker:I love the imitation of it.
Speaker:When you look a little further, you see the groom described.
Speaker:So now we've described the bride as this adorned, beautiful, prepared person.
Speaker:And then you see the groom.
Speaker:I saw heaven open.
Speaker:This is verse 11.
Speaker:Behold a white horse, and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in
Speaker:righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Speaker:His eyes were a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns.
Speaker:And he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Speaker:And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name
Speaker:is called the Word of God.
Speaker:This is the millennial Messiah, right?
Speaker:Coming in red robes, just like that Minerva Teicher painting.
Speaker:Coming on a horse, not a donkey this time.
Speaker:This is the conquering Messiah that has been prophesied about.
Speaker:He is coming to finish what he started and to create this at one minute.
Speaker:I just think there's Such power in this visual.
Speaker:I actually like that in the description of him It says that he is called
Speaker:faithful and true in righteousness.
Speaker:He doth judge and make war I think we always have to teach both sides
Speaker:of the Savior's character, right?
Speaker:That he is Both of those things.
Speaker:Yes, he will destroy the wicked Those have been warned and invited
Speaker:to change and offer prophets and all those invitations to repent There will
Speaker:be a destruction, but he is also a faithful and true and merciful God.
Speaker:He is a Both.
Speaker:And in this perfect harmony.
Speaker:And that's kind of what you see described here.
Speaker:And then he talks about how things will roll forward, that he will speak with
Speaker:this sharpness of the sword of truth.
Speaker:I really liked, so this next block of verses, you're going to
Speaker:see that other supper described.
Speaker:It's hard to read.
Speaker:You're going to read about fowls eating the carcasses of people who were killed
Speaker:in this massive battle where basically the wicked fought against themselves.
Speaker:This is not the Savior even destroying them or the angels of God destroying them.
Speaker:This is like the wicked turning on each other.
Speaker:You'll see more of that in coming chapters, but because of that
Speaker:great destruction happens and there's lots of bodies left over.
Speaker:And so he calls in the birds to basically take those bodies away so that that's
Speaker:not a burden on the earth anymore.
Speaker:And then you see.
Speaker:This interesting phrase.
Speaker:So if you look, you can look at the page in 21 and the remnant were
Speaker:slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword
Speaker:proceeded out of his mouth and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
Speaker:What's interesting to me is if you look on the JST throughout these verses, he
Speaker:focuses on this sword, not being a sort of destruction, but a sort of truth, I think.
Speaker:This is another way that the wicked are destroyed.
Speaker:It's not so much always a physical destruction as it is, he is able to
Speaker:slice through falsehood and slice through the lies of the adversary
Speaker:and there is exposure that happens when he's able to take that.
Speaker:Remember, that's why we did the Discipleship Dojo and talked
Speaker:about those samurai type moments.
Speaker:That's what happens here.
Speaker:He cuts through the lies and the deceit that Babylon embodied and that great
Speaker:whore that we described and the adversary, like all of those lies and falsehoods.
Speaker:He slices through them and exposes what is real and what is true and what lasts.
Speaker:I really loved 22 because this is another evidence of Satan is
Speaker:no match for the power of God.
Speaker:Basically what we see play out is he is bound.
Speaker:So remember how we, this is the only chapter in this week's study
Speaker:about the Millennium itself, about that thousand year time.
Speaker:And we studied this in the Doctrine and Covenants, how Satan will be
Speaker:bound for those thousand years.
Speaker:And I love the way it's described here.
Speaker:It kind of reminds me of, remember in Isaiah, we were studying the Old
Speaker:Testament together and there's these phrases where he talks about how when
Speaker:the adversary is bound, people look on him narrowly and they basically say like,
Speaker:You're the one everybody was scared of.
Speaker:That's kind of the feel you get here.
Speaker:In one it says, And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the
Speaker:great key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand.
Speaker:And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and
Speaker:Satan, and bound him a thousand years.
Speaker:Like it doesn't even sound hard.
Speaker:I'm sure it is, but you know, I think there's something about the abruptness
Speaker:of these verses, that it's in a verse, two verses, Satan is bound.
Speaker:This great, scary, imposing force that everybody thought they should be
Speaker:bowing to is is bound in two verses.
Speaker:And I just, it kind of reminds me of, I don't know if your kids ever
Speaker:watched Hercules, like my older kids used to watch that show.
Speaker:And you know, when Hercules is still just figuring out his powers and like
Speaker:he, all these big giants and monsters and things come into the like Coliseum
Speaker:and he's able to just like grab them without any effort in any attempt.
Speaker:Like it feels like that to me because there's just no.
Speaker:There's no contest.
Speaker:I think that's John's message when it comes to the bluster and the, you know,
Speaker:intimidation of the adversary There is no contest between his efforts and what
Speaker:God can do and what the angels sent on God's errand can do And that's what you
Speaker:see in those verses so in three and he cast him into the bottomless pit Pit and
Speaker:shut him up and set a seal upon him that he could not deceive the nations till
Speaker:the thousand years should be fulfilled.
Speaker:And after that, he should be loosed for a little season, meaning for a
Speaker:thousand years of time during that millennial phase, when Christ will
Speaker:reign personally upon the earth.
Speaker:Satan is found, we're gonna talk about this in the object lessons
Speaker:as well, but I love that modern revelation helps us understand that
Speaker:he's bound, not just because he is in this pit and he is got this chain
Speaker:and this seal, but also because.
Speaker:There's no one paying attention to him anymore.
Speaker:The outpouring of the spirit that comes during the millennial phase, when Christ
Speaker:reigns on this earth, causes people to see truth and turn away from the adversary.
Speaker:And as soon as you turn away from the adversary, he flickers and
Speaker:dies, because he doesn't have the oxygen to feed on, you know?
Speaker:I think there's empowerment in that.
Speaker:It's part of the reason I think we all need to get strong, so that we can
Speaker:weaken the adversary in this building up phase towards the millennium.
Speaker:Then when you go a little bit further, it says in 4 what he saw.
Speaker:I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.
Speaker:And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus,
Speaker:and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his
Speaker:image, neither had received his mark on their foreheads, or in their hands.
Speaker:And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Speaker:What I like about this is, this is John the Beloved.
Speaker:He's someone who lives beyond every other apostle of the Savior, and he saw All
Speaker:of them, I imagine, at least, if not in person, he knew of their death, and I
Speaker:think he sees something sweet here, right?
Speaker:He sees these martyrs.
Speaker:Stand next to the Savior for those thousand years
Speaker:that they have a work to do.
Speaker:And this must have been so reassuring to him to see that happen.
Speaker:Then he talks about the first resurrection that will occur.
Speaker:So you can go in the notes and learn more about this.
Speaker:But even though there are some who are resurrected at the time, the
Speaker:time of the Savior's resurrection, he's the, he's the first fruits.
Speaker:He's the first one to be resurrected.
Speaker:But after that.
Speaker:Many more are resurrected.
Speaker:Those great saints of the Old Testament that we've talked about
Speaker:from the Doctrine and Covenants, they're resurrected around that time.
Speaker:And now we talk about the first resurrection.
Speaker:It's called the resurrection of the just at times, which is basically just those
Speaker:who are going to obtain a celestial glory.
Speaker:They're resurrected at least beginning of the millennium, and that's
Speaker:what John's trying to describe.
Speaker:And then he talks about when Satan is loosed again.
Speaker:So you really only have this tiny little sliver of a window about the
Speaker:millennium, and then you see the end of the millennium, where Satan is
Speaker:loosed and destruction comes out.
Speaker:I just found myself wondering like, how is it that anyone turns away from God?
Speaker:You know, after a thousand years of seeing him reign in righteousness,
Speaker:a thousand years without sorrow or death or, you know, those same
Speaker:things that we encounter here.
Speaker:I, how do you turn away?
Speaker:And it was the Institute Manual.
Speaker:And then I heard it reinforced in Michael Wilcox's book as well, but they
Speaker:both talked about fourth Nephi and how this happens in fourth Nephi, right?
Speaker:That first chapter of fourth Nephi, after the savior has come People are righteous
Speaker:and they band together and there's prosperity and growth and happiness.
Speaker:And then over the course of a few generations.
Speaker:We lose it.
Speaker:You know, we lose sight of what was just in front of us.
Speaker:We get greedy.
Speaker:We create divisions.
Speaker:All of those things are natural man tendencies that can creep
Speaker:up as soon as Satan is loosed.
Speaker:In fact, sometimes I wonder if Satan being loosed amplifies that or if
Speaker:it's our choices to go towards greed or go towards division that That
Speaker:amp up the power of the adversary.
Speaker:I'm not sure which, if it's the chicken or the egg in that scenario,
Speaker:but you can see things rolling forth.
Speaker:And then there is that, that final scene, that there is a judgment that occurs.
Speaker:There is that great last battle and judgment where you are judged based on
Speaker:your works and the desires of your heart.
Speaker:That's all phrased in 21.
Speaker:It's just so short.
Speaker:So I found myself, I mean, you get the millennium, the resurrection of the
Speaker:just, and, you know, the description of basically Armageddon, and the description
Speaker:of the judgment, all in like 15 verses.
Speaker:So this study of Revelation made me so grateful for the Doctrine and
Speaker:Covenants, because there's so much more.
Speaker:In fact, if you just go in the Book of Mormon, you can read so much more about
Speaker:these probationary states, and why it's worth it, and what the judgment is like.
Speaker:I just think.
Speaker:We are so blessed to have more modern scripture that can add to what John
Speaker:has given us as a foundation here.
Speaker:Now that we've been through that millennial phase, and we had that
Speaker:last great battle, and the victory of the Savior, and the judgment, now you
Speaker:get to open up to a whole new vista.
Speaker:In fact, if you go into chapter 21, to me, this feels like, well, I have Avatar
Speaker:written in my margin, because, you know the movies like Avatar, where you get
Speaker:to see This whole new world open up and you're just kind of dazzled by it when
Speaker:you first see it, especially if you go in a, like a big theater and you watch it.
Speaker:I can still remember seeing that world and just being sort of mesmerized by
Speaker:it, that the plants were glowing and the islands were floating in the air.
Speaker:And it was so unique and new and.
Speaker:Riveting.
Speaker:That's 21, you guys.
Speaker:He's describing this celestial city, this glory that opens up.
Speaker:So you can see it in one.
Speaker:And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and first earth were
Speaker:passed away, and there was no more sea.
Speaker:Meaning, no more chaos, no more division between people.
Speaker:There is, everything is made new.
Speaker:And I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from
Speaker:God, out of heaven, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband.
Speaker:So not just arrayed in white linen, but adorned.
Speaker:You know, there is a beauty and a weight to those words.
Speaker:And then you see how it plays out.
Speaker:So if you look in three, and I heard a great voice out of heaven saying,
Speaker:behold, the tabernacle of God is with men and he will dwell with them and
Speaker:they shall be his people and God himself shall be with them and be their God.
Speaker:That's the ultimate goal of God is that we can be with him.
Speaker:There's something so And I think he's so paternal and compassionate about
Speaker:that, right, that that's his goal.
Speaker:His goal is to find ways to bring us home.
Speaker:I just think it's so warm.
Speaker:In fact, I heard it was a few months ago, but I heard a commentary about
Speaker:Temples being an embassy of heaven.
Speaker:You know how an embassy is in a different country, it gives you a piece
Speaker:of America in a different country.
Speaker:And that same kind of idea of being temples are an embassy
Speaker:of the celestial kingdom.
Speaker:Here on earth, we get just a piece of safety and beauty and
Speaker:a place where God can dwell.
Speaker:And in this celestial glory, he's there all the time.
Speaker:There is this openness to it that is just beautiful to me.
Speaker:And then you see.
Speaker:How he treats his people from four to seven.
Speaker:I mean, I've got these marked up like you wouldn't believe in my verses.
Speaker:And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more
Speaker:death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither the shuddery, any more pain,
Speaker:for the former things are passed away.
Speaker:And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.
Speaker:And he said unto me, Write, for these words are true and faithful.
Speaker:This is John's direction.
Speaker:Remember, this is the Lord saying, write this down, take pictures,
Speaker:give visuals to the people so that they know how it's worth it.
Speaker:So they remember what the kind of God I am and the love that I have for them.
Speaker:Write this down.
Speaker:And then in six, and he said unto me, it is done.
Speaker:I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.
Speaker:I will give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
Speaker:He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be his
Speaker:God, and he shall be my son.
Speaker:You just can't talk long enough about these verses.
Speaker:I just think there's such intimacy in them and such longing to have us close to him
Speaker:and the idea of him making all things new.
Speaker:You know, there's that great talk from Elder Renlund about infuriating
Speaker:unfairness and this idea of Jesus Christ being one who restores what was lost.
Speaker:In fact, you can go in the notes and read the full quote, but I love
Speaker:that he said that the consequences of life's unfairness will either
Speaker:be resolved, mitigated, or lifted.
Speaker:That's the promise.
Speaker:There's another one, I think it's Elder Wirthlin that talks about every tear
Speaker:that you shed here in mortal life will be restored with a thousand tears of joy.
Speaker:Like that, that kind of promise that the things that we, that the suffering that we
Speaker:experience in this life, those carved out parts of our hearts will be Full of joy.
Speaker:That's the fullness he promises.
Speaker:I also love how he says he's the beginning and the end.
Speaker:This is something you can see in the Come Follow Me manual and
Speaker:also in Brother Wilcox's book.
Speaker:But I love the way he articulates it.
Speaker:He just said it's powerful to think about what he's the beginning of.
Speaker:And what he's the end of.
Speaker:That we shouldn't just smush that phrase together, the Alpha and Omega.
Speaker:He is the beginning of life and of peace and of hope and of joy.
Speaker:He is the end of sorrow and pain and death and hell and like, that's his promise.
Speaker:He is a powerful beginning and a powerful end.
Speaker:He is the author and the finisher of our faith.
Speaker:He is these bookends and everything in between.
Speaker:That's the Savior.
Speaker:I think it's powerful how it's phrased in 10.
Speaker:And he carried me away into a spirit to a great and high mountain and
Speaker:showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from
Speaker:God, having the glory of God and her light was like a stone, most precious.
Speaker:This is when he starts to describe.
Speaker:What this holy city looks like what the celestial city will look like again I
Speaker:think just like we've had to kind of step back a little bit to understand
Speaker:anything in the book of Revelation I think you have to step back from
Speaker:the city description as well for me I don't think this is literally what
Speaker:the celestial kingdom looks like.
Speaker:I'm sure there's some similarities, but I think he's trying to teach us about what
Speaker:the celestial kingdom feels like and how it How it is played out because you see
Speaker:these great high walls, this promise of security and safety, but the very fact
Speaker:that it's set up in a mountain, I think, is this understanding of like, this is
Speaker:a city set on a hill that cannot be hit.
Speaker:And then he describes it.
Speaker:So he talks about the gates, that there are these gates on every side.
Speaker:I love that.
Speaker:I think that's wonderful.
Speaker:That's a description of the Celestial Kingdom to me.
Speaker:There is an open invitation to come in.
Speaker:In fact, later in the chapter, you see that those gates are never shut, that
Speaker:there's no night, there's no fear.
Speaker:So you don't ever have to shut those gates.
Speaker:It's just those who are worthy, you get to come in.
Speaker:That's the promise is that there will be a, only those who can, who
Speaker:have lived worthy and have made those covenants are able to come in, but
Speaker:you don't need to be afraid there.
Speaker:And then he talks about these portals basically that are on every
Speaker:side of this city, that they are.
Speaker:There are 12 of them, and they have the names of the apostles on them.
Speaker:For me, this is, you know, those angels that stand as sentinels.
Speaker:This is, these are open gates, and if you can, if you can show your
Speaker:worthiness, then you can enter in.
Speaker:That's the imitation.
Speaker:So if you look in 16, it says, And the city lieth foursquare, and the
Speaker:length is as large as its breadth.
Speaker:And he measured the city with reed, twelve thousand furlongs, and the length and
Speaker:breadth and height of it were all equal.
Speaker:So it describes this, Cube almost, right?
Speaker:Like the Holy of Holies.
Speaker:In fact, I think this is supposed to be symbolic of the temple
Speaker:to the people who are reading John's writings then and today.
Speaker:This is the idea of God dwelling among his people, just like the tabernacle offered.
Speaker:But I love this picture of it in my mind, this it's gigantic.
Speaker:You know, like the.
Speaker:This is not a small, gated community where just a few people
Speaker:who live close to God get to be.
Speaker:This is a gigantic city.
Speaker:To me, that's just hopeful.
Speaker:It means a lot of people will be worthy to live there over the
Speaker:course of our lifetimes and after.
Speaker:I think we will We will come to this place, right?
Speaker:We will come to be worthy to be in this place.
Speaker:That's my hope.
Speaker:I just think the way he describes it as so expansive is John trying
Speaker:to say to me, Maria, there's hope.
Speaker:You belong here.
Speaker:The people you love belong here.
Speaker:There's space for you.
Speaker:I just, I love that piece.
Speaker:When you go a little further, you can see that things are Garnished with stones.
Speaker:It was, I think it was in the seminary manual, maybe the institute manual.
Speaker:You can see it in the notes.
Speaker:But he talked about how these jewels and the pearls and the gold can represent
Speaker:things that had to go through a process of pressure and time to be beautiful.
Speaker:That in the hands of someone who can cut a good gem or someone who
Speaker:could mold the gold, like they are someone who can, they can become
Speaker:something beautiful and there's.
Speaker:I think that's, those are the inhabitants of the Celestial Kingdom.
Speaker:They are people who had to go through a process of pressure and
Speaker:effort and repentance over and over again, and became something great.
Speaker:The same way a pearl begins as, you know, a grain of sand of sorts, and then
Speaker:over pressure and time becomes something greater, a diamond starts as this lump
Speaker:of coal, and over pressure and time and heat becomes something beautiful.
Speaker:I think the visual is cool to me.
Speaker:It's not so much about having a city that's bejeweled and lovely, I think
Speaker:it's more about the symbolism of that.
Speaker:That's woven into that part of the story and in 22 you learn that there isn't
Speaker:a temple in this city So it says and I saw no temple therein for the Lord God
Speaker:Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it Remember the temple is a place
Speaker:where God can dwell among his people.
Speaker:So in this celestial city He is there.
Speaker:So you don't need a temple.
Speaker:The whole city is a temple.
Speaker:And then in 23, And the city had no need of sun, neither
Speaker:of the moon, to shine in it.
Speaker:For the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
Speaker:And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of
Speaker:it, and the kings of the earth to bring their glory and honor unto it.
Speaker:To me, this is that city set on a hill visual.
Speaker:It is lit from within, it radiates out, and it beckons people in.
Speaker:Remember, it's not For me, when I read it, it's not this city
Speaker:that's tucked away and hidden in a mountaintop, hoping no one will find it.
Speaker:It beams out to the world.
Speaker:It beams out goodness and truth and invitation and has open
Speaker:gates saying, come and partake.
Speaker:In fact, he's going to talk about that idea of like, come and partake
Speaker:freely of the waters that are here.
Speaker:If you go a little further, you'll see that described.
Speaker:So if you jump down into 22, for example, it says, and he showed
Speaker:me a pure river of water of life.
Speaker:Clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Speaker:And in the midst of the street of it, on either side of the river, was
Speaker:the tree of life, which bared twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit
Speaker:every month, and the leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations.
Speaker:This city is at its center point.
Speaker:There is a throne of God, with this river that flows out from under it,
Speaker:and these trees on either side, that are freely available to partake.
Speaker:It's in fact if you go on three it says and there shall be no more curse But the
Speaker:throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it and his servant shall serve him to me.
Speaker:This is There is no more chairwoman a flaming sword Defending against
Speaker:anyone partaking of the tree of life.
Speaker:Now you can partake of it freely.
Speaker:In fact, its leaves can heal and bless others.
Speaker:It's designed to be something that offers life to others.
Speaker:And I just think that's such a gorgeous visual for what the
Speaker:Celestial Kingdom is about.
Speaker:It's something that is not designed to be this gated enclosure, but
Speaker:something where goodness flows from it.
Speaker:And it's an epicenter for that goodness to go out.
Speaker:I just love that visual.
Speaker:And four, it says, And they shall see his face and his name, and his
Speaker:name shall be on their foreheads.
Speaker:And there shall be no night there.
Speaker:They shall have need of no candle, neither light or the sun.
Speaker:For the Lord God giveth them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.
Speaker:I actually really like the idea of the name on the foreheads.
Speaker:To me, it's not so much about Being part of an exclusive club as it is like you,
Speaker:you're in a fellowship with each other.
Speaker:Just the other day I was driving down the road and the truck in front of us
Speaker:had a Buckeye logo on the back window and had a Buckeye license plate and I found
Speaker:myself wanting to honk and wave and like say OH and see if they would respond.
Speaker:Like I think that's how you'll feel when you see other people
Speaker:who have taken his name upon them.
Speaker:We are In a fellowship with each other.
Speaker:And there is this, you know, I just can only imagine how productive we will be
Speaker:at this point in time, the great things that will be accomplished in art and
Speaker:science and, you know, all the studies.
Speaker:I just think you've taken away wickedness.
Speaker:You've taken away destruction.
Speaker:You've taken away temptation.
Speaker:And now you have these people who are all ready to me, the way I pictured
Speaker:it was like, If you've ever been in a team project where people are eager to
Speaker:work, normally, I hate team projects.
Speaker:At least I did in school because, you know, you get stuck
Speaker:with the brunt of the work.
Speaker:This is basically saying like, you're going to be in a team project
Speaker:always where everybody is capable and strong and eager to do the work.
Speaker:I just think it sounds so exciting to be a part of this community.
Speaker:In fact, I love the way it's phrased.
Speaker:If you look at 9, it says Well, eight, John falls down and worships
Speaker:the angel that shows him all this.
Speaker:And this is what the angel says in response, Then he saith unto me, See thou
Speaker:do it not, for I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of
Speaker:them which keep the sayings of this book.
Speaker:Worship God.
Speaker:To me, what this is saying is there is no hierarchy in this holy city of God.
Speaker:There are no higher angels.
Speaker:There are no lower angels.
Speaker:Either you belong here or you don't, but there is no class structure.
Speaker:There's no division.
Speaker:So there's no worship of each other.
Speaker:Instead, we just turn and worship God.
Speaker:I love that visual.
Speaker:And then it says in 14, so again, he talks about coming quickly.
Speaker:And he says, I am Alpha and Omega and 13, the beginning and
Speaker:the end, the first and the last.
Speaker:And then 14.
Speaker:Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have
Speaker:right to the tree of life and may enter into the gates of that city.
Speaker:That gate phrasing is interesting to me.
Speaker:All these open gates that surround the city.
Speaker:It's interesting that that's the word choice of baptism, right?
Speaker:The baptism is a gate, a place where we begin and we enter
Speaker:and we make covenants with him.
Speaker:And his invitation is, if you want to belong here, do,
Speaker:you know, do my commandments.
Speaker:That's what it says in 14.
Speaker:I don't think we have to do.
Speaker:16 is where I feel like the power starts to come in.
Speaker:This is almost John's plea for me.
Speaker:So instead of just describing that holy city, now he's trying to
Speaker:say, I've shown you all of this.
Speaker:Now come.
Speaker:So 16, I, Jesus, have sent mine angel to testify unto you
Speaker:these things in the churches.
Speaker:I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright and morning star.
Speaker:To me, this is the Savior holding us close saying, I am the way.
Speaker:I am all these things, all these things that you might seek for.
Speaker:I am all those things.
Speaker:I am the only way.
Speaker:That you can get to this place in 17, and the spirit and the bride say, come and
Speaker:let him that heareth say, come and let him that is a thirst come and whosoever will
Speaker:let him take of the water of life freely.
Speaker:That's John's invitation.
Speaker:That's how he, that's what he pulls from all of this vision.
Speaker:He's saying, I've seen it.
Speaker:I've written it down for you.
Speaker:Come.
Speaker:It's worth it to come.
Speaker:I just think that's the same thing Mormon and Moroni taught.
Speaker:They say, we've seen destruction, we know what that looks
Speaker:like, and we know the Savior.
Speaker:To me, that's the message of the whole New Testament and all of this year's study.
Speaker:Above all other things, I think his invitation is, told you what is true.
Speaker:Given you an example in my life, I've offered a sacrifice
Speaker:so that you can come close.
Speaker:Please come follow me.
Speaker:I think that's his invitation from the first page to the last,
Speaker:and maybe that's why I loved this year in the New Testament.
Speaker:I'm just grateful we got to do it together.
Speaker:Welcome back, you guys.
Speaker:Okay, time for the creative side of our last week of the New Testament.
Speaker:This week runs between Christmas Day and New Year's Eve, I think, so I'm
Speaker:trying to give you some options that could keep your kids busy and help
Speaker:you have fun and teach scripture during this last week of the year.
Speaker:Okay, I'm gonna give you a quick preview of each one first, and then for those
Speaker:of you in the full course, I'll walk you through each one individually and give
Speaker:you access to the notes and the printables so that you can teach these in your
Speaker:classes or in your kitchens or wherever you happen to be teaching this week.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:First and foremost, if you haven't seen on the chart, it's Kahoot week.
Speaker:Remember at the end of each quarter, we do a gigantic Kahoot to test our know how.
Speaker:So I've got 25 new questions for you that cover the last 13 or so chapters of the
Speaker:New Testament, and then a giant Kahoot to test your knowledge of all year.
Speaker:So it'll keep your family guessing and give you some good options.
Speaker:I'll teach you how to link up to it in just a second.
Speaker:The second one, I really wanted to find a way to link.
Speaker:What we read in the Doctrine and Covenants about the Millennium and
Speaker:about these last days to what we're studying in the Book of Revelation.
Speaker:I think John does a masterful job of teaching us some of the symbolism and
Speaker:the things we should look forward to.
Speaker:But it would be a shame to only read it from the Book of Revelation because we
Speaker:get so much more depth in the Doctrine and Covenants and the Book of Mormon.
Speaker:One of the things you read in those places is about Satan being bound.
Speaker:by two forces.
Speaker:The idea of him being bound by what John talks about, him being literally bound by
Speaker:a chain, and also him being bound because there is no one to give him heed anymore.
Speaker:The spirit is rich in the land, people are turning towards the Savior,
Speaker:and nobody's giving him attention.
Speaker:And we're going to use a really cool object lesson to teach it.
Speaker:If you weren't with us in the Doctrine and Covenants, this is
Speaker:one that was incredibly popular.
Speaker:It's just dazzling to watch and really fun.
Speaker:So this one, you'll need a little bit of fire.
Speaker:It's our last week.
Speaker:So I had to incorporate some kind of fire.
Speaker:So you're gonna need a lighter.
Speaker:You also need a tea light candle, a salad plate, a paper towel, and
Speaker:then some kind of cup or vase.
Speaker:We use this kind of like straight edged base, but you could use
Speaker:choose a drinking glass as well.
Speaker:The more space it has, the cooler the object lesson will be.
Speaker:But if you only have a drinking glass on hand, that works just fine.
Speaker:Okay.
Speaker:Last one.
Speaker:I loved the description of the holy city this week.
Speaker:It's in chapters 21 and 22.
Speaker:This is where John talks about the walls and the jewels, and I just
Speaker:think there's so many cool metaphors and so many ways to teach your
Speaker:kids about what to look forward to.
Speaker:So I wanted some way that my kids could get a hands on experience for that.
Speaker:And I have to tell you, the first thing that came to mind was Minecraft.
Speaker:My boys play Minecraft.
Speaker:A ton.
Speaker:Maybe your kids do as well, but when they talked about the city of Zion being
Speaker:a cube and having gems and jewels, like my mind instantly went to Minecraft.
Speaker:So this week I'm creating a challenge where you can either fulfill it by
Speaker:building a cool Zion like world in Minecraft, which we'll show you, or if
Speaker:you, your kids don't play that game or you don't have access to it, I'm also giving
Speaker:you a printable to do the same thing.
Speaker:So this is a printable cube that you can open and.
Speaker:Draw Zion.
Speaker:So I'll show you what's inside here.
Speaker:Violet's made a very sparkling kingdom for you to enjoy.
Speaker:But the idea with the printable is that you'll be able to talk through
Speaker:the symbols that are in the description that John gives and talk about why that
Speaker:should give us hope and excitement about the days that are coming towards us.
Speaker:I think you're going to love it.
Speaker:So gather those supplies and you'll be all set.
Speaker:Guys, that is the end of week 52 and the end of an awesome year of study.
Speaker:I am so grateful for this New Testament year.
Speaker:I loved the scriptures before I started this course and I feel
Speaker:like I love them even more today.
Speaker:Like I, four years of intense, hard study and taking time to write
Speaker:down my thoughts and write down my testimony, write down impressions.
Speaker:They have cemented these scriptures into my heart and I'm just.
Speaker:I'm just so grateful for it.
Speaker:As hard as it's been, I'm so grateful.
Speaker:I was trying to think of how I could wrap things up for this year, and I
Speaker:can't think of an adequate way other than just to bear a simple testimony
Speaker:that I know the Church is true.
Speaker:I have never studied it so intensely as I have these four years.
Speaker:And the more I study, and the more I seek, The more I know of a certainty
Speaker:that it's true, not just from spiritual promptings and impressions that come, but
Speaker:from the study itself, like the puzzle pieces are clicking into place for me.
Speaker:Things, prophets and prophecies from, you know, scripture and from modern prophets
Speaker:today, they have clicked into place in a way that I know that church is true.
Speaker:I, I feel like not only do I believe it, but I know it and for
Speaker:that I am profoundly grateful.
Speaker:I also feel like these four years of study have given me a rich,
Speaker:full faceted view of my Savior.
Speaker:I have, um, a deeper and more lasting testimony, not just that He lives, but
Speaker:what His character is like, the kind of God He is, and why we worship Him.
Speaker:I am, I love learning that in scripture and I feel like every book of scripture
Speaker:we studied brought that out for me, gave me a new facet of His character
Speaker:to study and understand and hopefully try to emulate so I'm grateful for it.
Speaker:Um, I was just very a simple witness that I know the church is true and for
Speaker:me, I know God speaks to his people.
Speaker:I know he does through prophets.
Speaker:Through scripture and through personal revelation, I've felt it in all of
Speaker:those ways over these four years, and I look forward to many more.
Speaker:I think our testimonies and our understandings just get richer from here.
Speaker:As I look forward to 2024, I don't see us repeating the same things
Speaker:or getting the same insights.
Speaker:I see us using these four years as a stepping stone to progress in our
Speaker:testimonies and get richer, deeper understandings, and I can't wait for it.
Speaker:I just think as hard as it has been, the blessings are.
Speaker:Abundant in my family, in myself, in my testimony, in every way.
Speaker:So I look forward to many more and I, I bury that witness
Speaker:in the name of Jesus Christ.
Speaker:Amen.