New Testament Lesson # 45—Revelation 1–3, 12
“He that Overcometh
Shall Inherit All Things
Ponderize
Scripture: Revelation 2:7
“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith .
. . ; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is
in the midst of the paradise of God.”
Introduction
Northrop Frye described the Book of Revelation as a work that either
finds a man mad or leaves him that way![1] But
Joseph Smith said, “The book of Revelation is one of the plainest books God
ever caused to be written.”[2] Excuse
the pun, but obviously in order for us to understand it, we need the Spirit of
Revelation. “The message of Revelation is the same as that of all scripture:
there will be an eventual triumph on this earth of God over the devil; a
permanent victory of good over evil, of the Saints over their persecutors, of
the kingdom of God over the kingdoms of men and of Satan” (Bible Dictionary, “Revelation
of John”).
According to the New Testament Institute manual, “Revelation was written
at a time when Christians were facing false teachings, apathy, and severe
persecution (see Revelation
1:9; 2:4,
10, 14–15; 3:16;
6:9). Most
likely this persecution came at the hands of Roman officials in the later years
of the reign of Domitian (A.D. 81–96). Domitian revived the practice of emperor
worship and exiled or executed those who did not worship gods approved by the
state. Ancient sources indicate that Christians and Jews were persecuted under
his reign. John wrote from the island of Patmos, where according to tradition,
he had been exiled by Roman officials ‘for the word of God, and for the
testimony of Jesus Christ’ (Revelation 1:9).
Probably the best way to approach it, that I have found, is to realize
that, for instance, when we sing Hark the Herald Angels Sing about Christ
coming with “healing in His wings,” we don’t mean he actually has wings. If you
talked about Pinterest to someone who had been frozen in time since as recently
as 1990, for instance, they wouldn’t have the faintest idea what you are
talking about. To a certain extent, the Apocalypse or Revelation given to John
the Beloved, which he faithfully recorded, was given in metaphors he could
understand. While not all of it can be decoded for modern readers, a lot can.
This lesson only deals with 4 chapters, but if you want a more in-depth look at
the Book of Revelation, the first volume in the BYU New Testament Commentary by
Richard Draper and Michael Rhodes on The Revelation of John the Apostle is
available electronically through Deseret Book.[3]
That being said, as we learn from the epistles of John, his overwhelming
message is one of God’s love. An alternative name for the Revelation of John is
the Apocalypse—this is a term that encompasses divine intervention in the lives
of man, and this book is a testimony of just that: the Love of God manifesting
itself in not only the grand scheme of things, but in the individual lives of
His children.
1. John sees several symbols representing
parts of the Church of Jesus Christ.
The JST of Revelation 1:1 clarifies that the
book was indeed a revelation given to John by the Savior, Jesus Christ: “The
Revelation of John, a servant of God, which was given unto him of Jesus Christ”
(in the Bible appendix).
|
Verse
|
Symbol
|
Possible Interpretation
|
References
|
|
Seven spirits
|
Servants or leaders over
the seven churches in Asia
|
Joseph Smith
Translation, Revelation 1:4 (in the Bible appendix)
|
|
|
Kings and priests
|
Those who receive
exaltation in the celestial kingdom
|
||
|
Alpha and Omega
|
First and last letters of
the Greek alphabet, representing Christ’s eternal role in God’s work
|
Revelation 1:4;
Bible Dictionary, “Alpha”
|
|
|
Seven candlesticks
|
The seven churches that
are to hold up the light of the gospel (see Revelation 2–3)
|
||
|
Right hand
|
Covenant hand and symbol
of power; Christ holds the seven churches in His right hand
|
||
|
Seven stars
|
Another image
representing the servants or leaders over the seven churches
|
Revelation 1:20;
Joseph Smith Translation, Revelation 1:20 (in footnote b)
|
|
|
Sharp, two-edged sword
|
The word of God, pronouncing
judgment on the wicked and freeing the innocent
|
||
|
Keys of hell and of death
|
Keys that unlock the
doors of (overcome) spiritual and physical death
|
||
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
said: “Candlesticks carry light; they do not create it. Their function is to
make it available, not to bring it into being. So by using seven candlesticks
to portray the seven churches to whom John is now to give counsel, the Lord is
showing that his congregations on earth are to carry his light to the world” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary,
3 vols. [1966–73], 3:442).
“In several places in the opening chapters,
reference is made to “seven Spirits” (1:4; 3:1, 4:5) and “seven angels” (1:20;
2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1). As is, this makes it sound as though the seven spirits
and the seven angels are different things. But the Prophet changed or explained
all references to the seven Spirits and the seven angels to show that the seven
Spirits and the seven angels both refer to the leaders of the seven churches
(see JST for all of the above verses). John, who at this time is the leader of
the Church, is writing to seven branches of the Church in Asia. The JST makes
it clear that he specifically addresses the leaders (the bishops or branch
presidents, as it were) of each of these branches.”[5]
2. The Lord tells the seven branches in Asia
about the blessings promised to those who overcome.
To Ephesus (Revelation 2:1–7)
The Lord warned the Ephesians of their need
to repent, but he also promised, “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of
the tree of life.”
To Smyrna (Revelation
2:8–11)
The Lord warned the Saints in Smyrna that
they would suffer tribulation, but he also promised, “He that overcometh shall
not be hurt of the second death.”
To Pergamos (Revelation
2:12–17)
The Lord criticized some of the people in
Pergamos for following the doctrine of Balaam, an Old Testament prophet who
desired earthly honors and rewards more than he desired to follow the Lord’s
will. To the Saints in Pergamos the Lord promised, “To him that overcometh will
I give to eat of the hidden manna.”
To Thyatira (Revelation
2:18–29)
The Lord through John declaimed the sins
prevalent in Thyatira, but promised “And he
that bovercometh,
and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give cpower
over the nations: And he shall rule them with a arod of iron;
as the bvessels
of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And
I will give him the morning astar.
To Sardis (Revelation 3:1–6)
Although not as sinful, apparently, as
Thyatira, nevertheless the Lord warned them, but promised to those that, “overcometh,
the same shall be clothed in bwhite craiment; and I
will not dblot out his
name out of the ebook of life,
but I will fconfess his
name before my Father, and before his angels.
To Philadelphia (Revelation
3:7–13)
Once again, the Lord promised to those who
overcome, “I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city
of my God.”
To Laodicea (Revelation
3:14–22)
The Lord condemned the Saints in Laodicea who
were “lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot” (Revelation
3:15–16). The Lord promised the Laodiceans, “To him that overcometh will I
grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down
with my Father in his throne” (Revelation 3:21).
What blessings are symbolized by the promise of sitting with the Lord on his
throne? (See Romans
8:16–17.)
Doctrine
and Covenants 132:20
is a summary of all the promises given to the seven churches.
3. John learns that the Saints overcome Satan
through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and their testimonies.
“As one studies the book, it becomes clear
that there are places in the chronological flow where the Lord pauses to teach
us important information before moving on. A teacher may do this as he moves
through a lecture, pausing in his logical development to say, ‘Now, before we
go further, I need to make sure you understand something.’ Such teaching
interludes seem to apply to John’s vision. For example:
1. The joy of those who are saved. (Rev. 7:9–17.)
Before launching into a grim description of the judgments, John sees an
innumerable company of the righteous—a powerful reminder that not all on earth
will be wicked and will suffer God’s judgments.
“2. The ‘little book’ interlude. (Rev. 10:1–11.)
In the midst of a vivid description of the great battle of Armageddon, there is
another pause. An angel gives John a little book to eat, which we learn is a
symbol of John’s ministry. (See D&C
77:14.) Since the Apostle was translated and was to live through all the
events he saw, the Lord seems to pause to show him what part he will have in
all of it.
“3. The ‘kingdoms’ interlude. (Rev. 12–14.) This
is the longest and perhaps the most difficult interlude to understand. The
three chapters seem to comprise an overview of mankind’s history from the
premortal existence to the Second Coming, as it pertains to the kingdoms of the
Lamb (Jesus Christ) and the dragon (Satan). When John hears that the kingdoms
of the world are to become the kingdoms of Christ (see 11:15), it
is as though the Lord stops to teach more about these two different classes of
kingdoms. …
“4. Another interlude that recounts the joy
of those who are saved, similar to the first. (Rev. 15.)” (“Seeing
the Book of Revelation as a Book of Revelation,” Ensign, Dec. 1987, 52).
The JST is of great help here. “And there
appeared a great sign in heaven, in the likeness of things on the earth; a
woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a
crown of twelve stars. And the woman being with child, cried, travailing in birth,
and pained to be delivered. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule
all nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up unto God and his
throne. … And the dragon prevailed not against Michael, neither the child,
nor the woman which was the church of God, who had been delivered of her pains,
and brought forth the kingdom of our God and his Christ” (Joseph
Smith Translation, Revelation 12:1–3, 7 [in the Bible appendix]).
President Wilford Woodruff said: “There are
two powers on the earth and in the midst of the inhabitants of the earth—the
power of God and the power of the devil. … When God has had a people on the
earth, it matters not in what age, Lucifer, the son of the morning, and the
millions of fallen spirits that were cast out of heaven, have warred against
God, against Christ, against the work of God, and against the people of God. And
they are not backward in doing it in our day and generation. Whenever the Lord
set His hand to perform any work, those powers labored to overthrow it” (quoted
by Gordon B. Hinckley, Ensign,
Nov. 1986, 43).
Elder Bruce R. McConkie described the
conflict that occurred in heaven: “What kind of war? The same kind that
prevails on earth; the only kind Satan and spirit beings can wage—a war of
words, a tumult of opinions, a conflict of ideologies; a war between truth and
error, between light and darkness. … And the battle lines are still drawn. It
is now on earth as it was then in heaven; every man must choose which general
he will follow” (Doctrinal New Testament
Commentary, 3:518).
President Packer, “[Satan] is determined to
disrupt our Heavenly Father’s plan and seeks to control the minds and actions
of all. This influence is spiritual, and he ‘is abroad in the land’ [D&C
52:14].
“But despite the opposition, trials, and
temptations, you need not fail or fear. . . . Youth today are being raised
in enemy territory with a declining standard of morality. But as a servant of
the Lord, I promise that you will be protected and shielded from the attacks of
the adversary if you will heed the promptings that come from the Holy Spirit” (“Counsel
to Youth,” Ensign, Nov. 2011, 16,
18).
Elder Christofferson, “The gospel of Jesus
Christ opens the path to what we may become. Through the Atonement of Jesus
Christ and His grace, our failures to live the celestial law perfectly and
consistently in mortality can be erased and we are enabled to develop a
Christlike character. Justice demands, however, that none of this happen
without our willing agreement and participation. It has ever been so. Our very
presence on earth as physical beings is the consequence of a choice each of us
made to participate in our Father’s plan.”[6]
[1]
Northrop Frye, “Typology: Apocalypse,” in The
Revelation of St. John the Divine, ed. Harold Bloom (New York: Chelsea
House Press, 1988), 71.
[2]
Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith,
comp. Joseph Fielding Smith (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1938), 290;
hereafter cited as Teachings.
[3]
https://deseretbook.com/p/revelation-john-apostle-richard-d-draper-89633?autocomplete=true&variant_id=6307-ebook.
No comments:
Post a Comment