A Ceremony at the Throne of God
READ Revelation 4:1
What
is this door into heaven?
It is a guarded portal, conduit or
“ladder” to heaven.
It is entered by invitation only.
It is real.
It is guarded
on this end (the earth) by John the Beloved and in Heaven by Elijah.
Other examples include the fiery ascent
that Elijah took to Heaven, Christ’s ascension to Heaven (with Mary and with
the Apostles), Joseph Smith’s First Vision/Visitation, Moroni’s visit to Joseph
Smith, Moses’ Burning Bush, Lehi’s first vision.
What
is the difference between the first part of Revelation (chapters 1-3) and what
is happening now in chapter 4?
In the first 3 chapters, John is being
visited by Christ on Earth.
Starting in chapter 4, John is invited to
ascend the Ladder to visit Heaven itself.
READ Revelation 4:2-3
What
would the Father have us understand about Him as revealed in this vision (see
also Ezekiel 1)?
He is a being of light – i.e. symbolized
by precious shining stones, rainbows, etc.
He is the source of light (see D&C
88:11-13).
He lives in the midst of light –
everlasting burnings and complete brilliance – there are no shadows.
Lectures on Faith says He is a personage
of “spirit, glory, and power, possessing all perfection and fullness” (see LoF
5:2).
Light (a form of radiation) is energy in
the form of electromagnetic waves and is synonymous with glory, intelligence
and truth; thoughts also have electromagnetic signatures.
READ Revelation 4:4-6, 10-11 (including
JST) and D&C 77:5
Who
are the 24 crowned elders surrounding the throne of God?
“Ordinary” saints from the 7 church
branches who had been sealed up to eternal life.
Showing that “callings” are not tied to
where one will end up in the afterlife; it’s your personal relationship with
Christ that is key – they “know God”, which is eternal life.
What
are the 24 elders doing?
They are performing a ceremony in a
setting reminiscent of the breastplate of Aaron used in the Holy Place of the
Temple (see also Exodus 39:1-31).
If
the 24 elders surround the throne, what shape do they form, where is God, and
what does it all symbolize?
The 24 form a circle or eternal round.
They are “one” – no division or
polarization – no sides are taken; they are in harmony and have a united
purpose.
God’s throne is in the center – He is the
fixed point, the sure place, from which all truths are derived.
What
do the thunder, lightning and voices represent?
Thunder and lightning are symbols of
heavenly power, as they are above us and can induce fear or awe.
The voices come from the throne and
represent communication to and from God, who controls all things and from whom
all prayers are heard and answered; symbolic of intelligence and truth.
Together they convey a picture of power,
glory, might, dominion, majesty, intelligence and authority – the things of
which exaltation is composed (see D&C 132:19).
Why
are seven lamps of fire burning before the throne of God, from whom a fullness
of light comes?
The lamps represent seven servants of God
– i.e. Seraphim (the “flaming ones” who can abide in the presence of God).
They are adding their own eternal life to
the glory of God – His work and glory is to enable our immortality and eternal
life, or in other words, to receive a fullness of His glory and add to the
light of Heaven.
One day they will become as the Father
is, and their places will be taken by others in a continual parade of eternal
progression.
Why
are there beasts/animals represented in this apocalyptic vision?
It shows that the beasts are also God’s
creation.
But they are of a different order to
God’s children – their level of intelligence and quickening/frequency is not as
high; having said that, we don’t know how high the level of their intelligence
their spirits have; just as a spirit within a human body has less capability to
comprehend light as that same entity would as a spirit or resurrected being, we
don’t know how animals will be or progress after this life.
However, they are also destined to
fulfill the measure of their creation with eternal felicity (celebratory
happiness); it also confirms their light/knowledge and power (eyes and wings in
verse 8 – see D&C 77:3-4) which are offered to ALL of God’s creations.
What
does the “sea of glass” represent?
The earth in its sanctified, immortal and
eternal state (see D&C 77:1 and D&C 130:9).
Crystal or glass are representative of
the celestial world because they do not decay or change.
Crystal suggests purity born out of the
heat of refining fires – as the earth will be burned and sanctified, destroying
all impurities, prior to its becoming a celestial world.
Joseph Smith referred to the celestial earth
as a huge Urim and Thummim, representing lights and perfections – a sphere of
light, truth, intelligence, beauty, perfection, purity, endless & open
knowledge.
The Celestial Kingdom is not a literal
“glass Kansas” or smooth “marble planet” in this state; the “mountain of the
Lord” and the “sides of the north” imply there is elevation in the Celestial
Kingdom.
Why
do the 24 elders cast their crowns at God’s feet?
It is a ceremonial affirmation of God’s
rule over all people and kingdoms.
And then they recite in unison a
worshipful prayer in their heavenly prayer circle to confirm their fealty to
the most high God and King of Kings.
Why
are the 24 elders performing a ceremony/ritual at all?
Ceremony is the way joy and rejoicing are
proclaimed in Heaven.
Ceremonies enable groups of people to
have a collective and connected experience.
Ceremonies are designed to introduce us
to the higher culture (set of beliefs and accepted behaviors) lived in Heaven;
John is seeing it to teach him and us about heaven.
The Book with Seven Seals
READ Revelation 5:1-6 and D&C 77:6-7
What
is the sealed book?
It contains the revealed will, mysteries
and works of God on the Earth.
It is sealed because His will is not our
will; it is sealed to protect us as much as anything else. We must make an effort to unseal it – to be
worthy to be taught how to or to be enabled to.
Why
is no one found worthy to open the book?
No one is able to do the work of the
Father as written in the Book.
The work is to bring to pass or enable
the immortality and eternal life of man on the Earth – without violating the
principle of agency (see D&C 1:39 and D&C 88:18-20).
It is like King Arthur and the sword
Excalibur – only one who is worthy can pull the sword from the stone or in this
case, open the seal of God’s book.
Christ is the only one able to do the
work of God as pertaining to this Earth – he is the rightful King.
How
is Christ both the Lion of Judah and the Slain Lamb?
Lion = ascended to Godhood before the
foundation of the world; upon His triumphant resurrection when He comes again
in Glory to subdue the world and rule as King of Kings. He comes in a fullness of His glory which is
fiery and terrible to those on the earth who cannot abide it – like a lion with
his prey.
Lamb = condescending to come to Earth as
a mortal and in humble economic circumstances; meekly conforming to the
Father’s will in all things; descending below all things in taking upon Himself
the sins of the world and suffering eternal punishment – the Lamb is meek and
lowly in heart.
Both of these roles are aspects of
Christ’s personality and events he will/has accomplished.
READ Revelation 5:7-8
Why
does John’s weeping turn into the singing of a new song?
John is weeping in despair – seemingly there
is no one in Heaven who can save mankind, not even the “strong angel”.
But then Christ agrees to condescend to
Earth to do the will of the Father and enable the rescue of all those who are
on earth, including John and all those that he loves.
The new song is a victory song –
indicating that a change has taken place and things on the earth are not as
they were before.
READ Psalms 40:1-3, Revelation 5:9-12 and
D&C 84:98-102
What
are the words of the New Song?
Worthy is the Lamb.
Able to do God’s great work.
Willing to pay the eternal sacrifice.
So, to be able to redeem us/Zion.
By attaining to the resurrection.
And defeating Satan and all enemies.
To then become as the Father is.
What
is the purpose of the New Song?
To give us hope, even when we are in the
darkest part of the “story”.
To give us a collective song to sing
together – it is like a ceremony or ritual where we can join together in
worship.
How
does Christ use the power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and blessings
He received by doing God’s work on Earth?
He employs them with charity and
compassion to save all of us and creation – seeking to make us like Him,
joint-heirs in all that He has rightfully earned through His merits.
Christ’s will is to enable the
immortality and eternal life of mankind.
The Four Horsemen
The rest of the Book of Revelation can be
read literally – looking for specific historical or future events – AND it can
be read symbolically, like how one would read Isaiah (see 2 Nephi 11:8).
READ Revelation 6:1-8 (JST)
What
are the traditional meanings for the 4 Horsemen/Horses and their associated eras?
White = Enoch who led the people of God
when their enemies came against them to battle (in the opinion of Elder Bruce
McConkie) during the first 1000 years of the history of mankind on the earth.
Red = the violence of the days of Noah,
where all flesh was corrupt and everyone but Noah’s family died in the flood
during the second millennia of mankind’s history on the earth.
Black = an era of great famine, including
the time of Joseph of Egypt who saved Israel and Egypt from starvation during
the third thousand years.
Pale = the time of the destruction of the
North Kingdom of Israel and the enslavement of the South Kingdom by Babylon in
the fourth thousand years since Adam.
If
we take a more symbolic approach to the horsemen, what might the white horseman
stand for?
Conquest.
A desire for power and the unrighteous
seeking and taking of it.
What
might the red horseman symbolize?
Hatred.
War and the violence that comes with it.
Hatred and war comes on the heels of a
desire for power and conquest.
What
might the black horseman mean?
Famine.
To kill with hunger.
Famine follows on the heels of war,
because battle destroys grain in the fields and also prevents farmers, who have
turned soldier, from planting in the first place.
What
might the pale horseman point to?
Pestilence or disease (see Alma 10:22).
Famine weakens healthy bodies, which then
become more susceptible to disease, particularly in the unsanitary conditions
of war.
The “pale” color is not a ghostly white
but a sickly yellowish green like a person on their deathbed.
What
does viewing the horsemen this way show us?
That the four traits are not exclusive to
only one time period but are more often seen together across all time periods –
the four horsemen of the apocalypse ride together.
We are being shown the way Lucifer rules
the world when man gives him the ascendency – with horror and blood from
various, usually connected, means.
READ Revelation 6:9-11
What
is the traditional, historical reading of the fifth seal?
It is the meridian of time and the souls
under the altar are the Christian martyrs, from John the Baptist and the
Apostles to the historical Christian apostasy and reformation.
What
might a more expansive or symbolic, cross-time period meaning be for the fifth
seal?
The Lord sends His righteous Saints into a
world inhabited by the 4 Horsemen to be tested and fight against them through
their testimonies of the truth and their faith in Christ.
But many times they will die martyrs for
the cause – this happens in every dispensation of the gospel.
Their “lying under the temple altar”
suggests they’re being sacrificed, as Christ was also sacrificed – that they
laid down their own lives for the truth and their blood stands as their witness
to it.
READ Revelation 6:12-17 (including JST)
What
is the traditional, historical reading of the sixth seal?
It is our time, the latter days of the
restoration of the gospel and the end-times, winding up scene.
Earthquakes.
Solar eclipses or atomic winter.
Blood moons – lunar eclipses or haze from
fire and destruction.
Meteors and comets in the sky and some
falling to earth.
Opened heavens – revelation from the time
of Joseph Smith.
Shifting or volcanic mountains and sinking
islands in the way of tidal waves (see D&C 88:90).
Fear among men – looking for safety and a
place to hide.
Taken
together, what could a more metaphorical meaning be for the sixth seal?
Darkness – sun darkened, moon to blood,
stars fall.
Instability – all things in commotion
(D&C 88:91) including the earth, the heavens, the ocean, and mankind.
Deeds of darkness and the instability
that come from the lack of trust that comes from evil people and the karmic
results of the deeds of mankind – personally, economically, socially,
politically.
What
will happen when the nations are shaken as a result of their dark deeds?
Some will fall – eventually all will
fall.
With less to lose or in desperation, they
will go to war with each other (see D&C 84:117-119 and 2 Nephi 28:18-19).
Eventually, only Zion will survive.
What
is implied symbolically by the sun becoming as black as sackcloth?
Sackcloth is associated with mourning.
The wickedness of men makes the heavens
(symbolized by the sun) mourn.
The wickedness of men also inhibits the
revelation or light from heaven to mankind – symbolized by daylight being
“blackened” by something in the atmosphere of the earth.
What
is the symbolism of a “blood” or red or lunar eclipsed moon?
Anger between the wicked on earth.
Anger of the heavens as they look on at
dark events taking place on earth.
What
is the symbolism around the stars falling from the sky?
The stars are set in the universe – e.g.,
we can look to the North Star for direction – if they fall, then it symbolizes
that people have nowhere to look for sure direction.
The stars were set for signs in the
heavens – as evidenced by the fact that the Magi detected Christ’s birth by
what they read in the heavens and the “new star” they saw, as well as Abraham’s
lesson in the topography of Kolob; the only way we can lose the signs or that
they can “fall” such that we cannot “see” them, is that we have forgotten what
they mean: we can no longer “decode” the messages written there, as the Magi or
Abraham could.
Why
does all mankind seek to find a hiding place or refuge from the presence of God
and His wrath?
The thought of coming into the presence
of a Holy God unprepared is a terrifying notion (see Mormon 9:3-5).
A “fig leaf” to “cover our sins” is no
longer big enough – we need mountains.
Dark places are for dark business; the
world tries to hide its dark works from itself, to better perpetrate its
wickedness; do they not think God can see into the darkness to view what they
are up to?
Who
shall be able to stand in this day of God’s wrath and in the face of His glory?
Only those who have already acquired His
glory – they are a Holy Temple.
If you’ve already stood in the presence
of the Lamb and He has sealed you His, you will not fear the Lion because you
will have hope in His promise and testimony to you.
You can’t stand in His presence unless
you can stand His presence – and this must happen over time as He prepares us
as quickly as we will allow Him to; so the time to start is now.
