A Rider Clothed in Red
READ Revelation 19:7-9
Who
is invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb?
Zion – on Earth and in Heaven.
It is the Church of the Firstborn – those
who are sealed up to Eternal Life, were valiant in the Testimony of Jesus, and
can stand in His presence.
READ Revelation 19:11-16 (including JST)
How
would you describe this coming of the Lamb?
As a Lion.
He is the conquering Warrior King.
Dressed in blood red garments – He is
stained as a soldier from battle, the man treading grapes in the press, and the
priest sacrificing animals in ritual.
Riding a white horse of war - He is no
longer the Suffering Servant riding on the donkey.
He comes in His glory – nothing to shield
it.
He will easily destroy the Beast, the
Image/False Prophet, and the Harlot/Great City – it is a “no contest” fight.
What
is the difference between the events of the Seventh Seal and all other seals?
It signals the ending of Babylon and the
reign of the King of Kings.
Prior to that, the evil of the Seventh
Seal is the same evil that is found in all other seals, if read symbolically
and not chronologically; it is a culmination of the evils in all the past seals.
The Millennium and Beyond
READ Revelation 20:1-3 and Isaiah
14:10-16
Why
is Satan’s sentence just and karmaic?
He who sought to exalt himself to the
throne of God is held to the standard of God and found wanting (see Isaiah
14:13-15).
He who chained the world is chained
himself (see Moses 7:26).
He who veiled the earth with darkness is
shut up in darkness.
He who dragged others into the pit
descends into it himself.
READ Revelation 20:4-6
What
is Christ’s definition of “reigning”?
To reign is to serve – it is not to
subjugate others and aggrandize oneself; Christ taught this by washing his
Apostles’ feet (see John 13:4-17).
The true King is the one who sacrifices
himself and suffers the most to save his people – He descends below all of them
to save as many as will follow him but they are not compelled to follow; they
do it out of love for the king when they realize what he has done for them.
READ Revelation 20:7-8 and 1 Nephi 22:26
How
is Satan bound?
By the righteousness of the HEARTS of the
people.
And by the presence of Christ and His
power/seal.
How
is Satan loosed again at the end of the Millennium?
Again by the hearts of the people (see
D&C 29:22, Helaman 4:11-12, Helaman 6:17, 30-31).
Satan uses wealth gained by “righteous”
people via blessings they’ve received, to pervert their heart (see 4 Nephi
1:23-30).
And we see divisions based on class
wealth and a desire to get gain (either to stay or to get into those desired
“classes”) and a religion that professes Christ but tolerates and secretly
promotes this anti-Zion behavior – and you have the Beast, the False Prophet,
and the Harlot/Great City back again.
READ Revelation 20:11-12
What
is the Book of Life?
It is the Record kept in heaven of the
people who were sealed through faithful living of covenants administered in
good faith by an authorized administrator on the earth (see D&C 128:6-12).
As the Holy Spirit is also referred to as
the “record of heaven”, the way people are recorded in the Book of Life is not
just through “ink” but it is visible in the light of their souls – the
frequency of vibration and the quantity of light that results.
What
is the lake of fire?
It is the torment of disappointment in
the mind of man when he realizes what he could have had, if he had accepted the
freely given offer (see TPJS 348:1, 401:1 and 406:1);
It is not a punishment imposed by God on
“sinners” – He doesn’t have to punish people as the natural consequences of
behavior does that, per eternal law (which God lives by).
The exception happens when God intervenes
as a Savior to atone for sins and extends forgiveness through His mercy; the
natural state of justice is what happens otherwise.
The Holy City
READ Revelation 21:1-7
What
kind of relationship is implied by one person wiping the tears from the eyes of
another?
A familial, parent-child or husband-wife
relationship.
A friendship, even close friendship,
would not be intimate enough for this kind of gesture.
What
does “alpha and omega” mean?
Alpha = first or beginning.
Omega = last or ending.
We
know what Christ is the first or beginning of, but what is he the last or
ending of?
He descended below all things to save us.
He is the ending of tears/suffering,
death, and sin.
He is the bookend of this cycle of
eternity – He redeems what He creates, to the degree it will come unto Him (and
all things do but mankind).
How
are the Waters of Life free?
Access – they are provided freely to all;
God is no respecter of persons.
Price - there is no temporal price or
even threshold of required righteousness to live; we couldn’t pay it or live it
(at this point in our progression, anyway) if we wanted to.
What
conditions exist?
Only those that are “athirst” want the
waters of life; they must be asked or desired for.
There is an offering required – our whole
souls or broken hearts; He wants an intimate relationship with us, to become
our Father and our God.
READ Revelation 21:10-11, 18-19, 21
Why
is the Holy City described in terms of crystals and stones?
It will not decay – the city is eternal
and unchanging.
There are no impurities in pure crystals.
They reflect light.
They are beautiful and refined.
Why
is there a wall and gates in the city?
The Wall symbolizes the fact that one
cannot just walk into the Kingdom but must enter through the predetermined ways.
The 12 Gates symbolize the 12 tribes of
Israel or the family of God on Earth.
Baptism is the ordinance – through water
and fire, that enables the rebirth of membership into that family and grants
entry through the gates to the city.
The Pure River and the Tree of Life
READ Revelation 22:1-5
What
is in the center of the City of Heaven?
The Throne of God.
A river of pure water (see Ezekiel
47:1-8).
The Tree of Life.
The Lord Himself.
What
does the river of water represent?
Life-giving grace.
What
does the Tree represent?
The healing and nurture/food of the love
of God who gives and saves life.
Where
does the light of Heaven emanate from?
God and Christ.
They are at the center.
But it seems to show in these verses that
Christ is now sitting in God’s throne, that the light comes from Him, and that
we are His children now, spiritually begotten by the one who sacrificed to save
us (see TPJS 392:1).
