Verses about the Last Days

 

87 For not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man; and the sun shall hide his face, and shall refuse to give light; and the moon shall be bathed in blood; and the stars shall become exceedingly angry, and shall cast themselves down as a fig that falleth from off a fig tree.

88 And after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon the people.

89 For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand.

90 And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds.

91 And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people.

92 And angels shall fly through the midst of heaven, crying with a loud voice, sounding the trump of God, saying: Prepare ye, prepare ye, O inhabitants of the earth; for the judgment of our God is come. Behold, and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.

93 And immediately there shall appear a great sign in heaven, and all people shall see it together.

94 And another angel shall sound his trump, saying: That great church, the mother of abominations, that made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, that persecuteth the saints of God, that shed their blood—she who sitteth upon many waters, and upon the islands of the sea—behold, she is the tares of the earth; she is bound in bundles; her bands are made strong, no man can loose them; therefore, she is ready to be burned. And he shall sound his trump both long and loud, and all nations shall hear it.

95 And there shall be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour; and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord shall be unveiled;

96 And the saints that are upon the earth, who are alive, shall be quickened and be caught up to meet him.

97 And they who have slept in their graves shall come forth, for their graves shall be opened; and they also shall be caught up to meet him in the midst of the pillar of heaven—

98 They are Christ’s, the first fruits, they who shall descend with him first, and they who are on the earth and in their graves, who are first caught up to meet him; and all this by the voice of the sounding of the trump of the angel of God.

99 And after this another angel shall sound, which is the second trump; and then cometh the redemption of those who are Christ’s at his coming; who have received their part in that prison which is prepared for them, that they might receive the gospel, and be judged according to men in the flesh.

100 And again, another trump shall sound, which is the third trump; and then come the spirits of men who are to be judged, and are found under condemnation;

101 And these are the rest of the dead; and they live not again until the thousand years are ended, neither again, until the end of the earth.

102 And another trump shall sound, which is the fourth trump, saying: There are found among those who are to remain until that great and last day, even the end, who shall remain filthy still.

103 And another trump shall sound, which is the fifth trump, which is the fifth angel who committeth the everlasting gospel—flying through the midst of heaven, unto all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people;

104 And this shall be the sound of his trump, saying to all people, both in heaven and in earth, and that are under the earth—for every ear shall hear it, and every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess, while they hear the sound of the trump, saying: Fear God, and give glory to him who sitteth upon the throne, forever and ever; for the hour of his judgment is come.

105 And again, another angel shall sound his trump, which is the sixth angel, saying: She is fallen who made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication; she is fallen, is fallen!

106 And again, another angel shall sound his trump, which is the seventh angel, saying: It is finished; it is finished! The Lamb of God hath overcome and trodden the wine-press alone, even the wine-press of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God.

107 And then shall the angels be crowned with the glory of his might, and the saints shall be filled with his glory, and receive their inheritance and be made equal with him.

108 And then shall the first angel again sound his trump in the ears of all living, and reveal the secret acts of men, and the mighty works of God in the first thousand years.

109 And then shall the second angel sound his trump, and reveal the secret acts of men, and the thoughts and intents of their hearts, and the mighty works of God in the second thousand years—

110 And so on, until the seventh angel shall sound his trump; and he shall stand forth upon the land and upon the sea, and swear in the name of him who sitteth upon the throne, that there shall be time no longer; and Satan shall be bound, that old serpent, who is called the devil, and shall not be loosed for the space of a thousand years.

111 And then he shall be loosed for a little season, that he may gather together his armies.

112 And Michael, the seventh angel, even the archangel, shall gather together his armies, even the hosts of heaven.

113 And the devil shall gather together his armies; even the hosts of hell, and shall come up to battle against Michael and his armies.

114 And then cometh the battle of the great God; and the devil and his armies shall be cast away into their own place, that they shall not have power over the saints any more at all.

115 For Michael shall fight their battles, and shall overcome him who seeketh the throne of him who sitteth upon the throne, even the Lamb.

116 This is the glory of God, and the sanctified; and they shall not any more see death. (D&C 88:87-116)

In these verses are a whole bunch of prophesies about the last days, about calamities to come on the earth, and then v94-106 tells of seven angels sounding their trumpets to announce the fall of Babylon and the progressive resurrection of various parties based on their level of righteousness. After that comes v108-110 telling of another seven angels sounding their trumps to tell of the secret acts of men in the various thousand-year eras of history. Then the binding of Satan and his loosing after another thousand years, with the final fight of Michael against the devil and armies.

Before I studied the Book of Revelation in depth, it seemed like these verses were a sort of translation of Revelation into a simpler form. I thought it was supposed to overlay the top of Revelation and readers were supposed to find corresponding points.

But after having studied Revelation a lot more, I now read this and I can see it is a mishmash of a bunch of different elements of Revelation, but they are all out of order. The Book of Revelation only has one sequence of angels sounding their trumpets, but these verses have two. These verses have all the dead resurrected before the final battle when Satan is bound, but Revelation has it the other way around.  Revelation has the angel warning there will be time no longer in the sixth trumpet, but these verses have him doing that in the second set of seven trumpets, in the last trumpet, just before Satan is bound (v110).

So what are we to make of this? Unbelievers might say Joseph Smith was making it up, but we who believe he was a prophet know differently. We dare not say he didn’t know what he was doing, especially since he said the Book of Revelation is the plainest of all books. And if it is plain, then he wouldn’t have then gone and “messed it up” like this, if this is supposed to be an improvement.  I am personally forced to conclude that he was using the imagery of Revelation to reveal additional things.

V92-106 tells of a sequence of different groups of people who are resurrected at different times based on their level of righteousness. We may think this is obvious now, but it would not have been so in Joseph Smith’s day. Also, the Book of Revelation only says the righteous are raised at Christ’s coming and then the rest later after the final battle against Satan. The trumpet sequence of seven here shows us the resurrection is a sequential process.

V108-110 has yet another sequence of angelic trumpets sounding to announce the secret things of the various thousand years of history that will be revealed. This is another thing that is probably obvious to us now, but again, it may not have been obvious before. The Bible is pretty clear about the doctrine that God sees all and knows our doings, our words, our thoughts, our intents, and our desires. But it is not clear on the doctrine that all these things will eventually be revealed to everyone else as well. The Book of Revelation only says the books will be opened and everyone will be judged according to what is written in the books concerning their works. But these verses tell us all will be revealed to everyone. And if so, then we need to be especially careful about everything we do, say, think, intend, and want. Sooner or later, everyone will know all the secrets of everyone on the planet who has ever lived, whether good or bad. We will be very happy if we have repented of all our sins and if all we have done, said, or thought is beyond reproach.

Isaiah testifies of Christ’s resurrection and others’ too

He will swallow up death in victory;

and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces;

and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth:

for the Lord hath spoken it.

(Isaiah 25:8)

I love that image of death being swallowed up in victory. The only way that could be done was for Christ to lay down His life and take it up again.

However, that isn’t the end of what this verse says about resurrection. The second line about the Lord wiping tears from all faces, which we generally take to mean the ending of all kinds of sorrow, is meant to refer to the grief at someone’s death. The only way that can be wiped away is for all the dead to arise.

The third line about the rebuke of the Lord’s people being taken away from off all the earth is also about resurrection. Think about the biggest way that the Lord’s people have been rebuked by the world. It’s by martyrdom, isn’t it? Killing the Saints and prophets has been the world’s way of saying, “Shut up forever, and leave us alone.” So when that rebuke is taken away, it means the Lord resurrects the righteous, and they can’t be gotten rid of any longer.

Good tidings to ALL people

-->

I was reading through the story of the Nativity in Luke 2 recently, and I was struck by these verses as the angel speaks to the shepherds:

10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:10-11)

Even though Jesus Christ was born in Israel at a specific time in history, I love that the angel says that the good tidings are not just for Israel, but for ALL people.  EVERYONE has reason to rejoice, whether they believe or not, because Christ overcame death, and all will benefit from the gift of the resurrection. 

Everyone gets to decide what they do with this gift of resurrection, what they want to spend their life in eternity on.  Christ helps those who want to use that gift for the greatest purpose.  That takes preparation and progression and change, and we can’t do it without His help.

Everyone has reason to rejoice, whether they were born thousands of years before Christ, or thousands of years after.

With Christ, carnality and decay can’t win.

With Christ, this life is not the end.

With Christ, this life has meaning, even in struggle and pain.

To be Quickened by a Portion of Glory

28 They who are of a celestial spirit shall receive the same body which was a natural body; even ye shall receive your bodies, and your glory shall be that glory by which your bodies are quickened.

29 Ye who are quickened by a portion of the celestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.

30 And they who are quickened by a portion of the terrestrial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.

31 And also they who are quickened by a portion of the telestial glory shall then receive of the same, even a fulness.

32 And they who remain shall also be quickened; nevertheless, they shall return again to their own place, to enjoy that which they are willing to receive, because they were not willing to enjoy that which they might have received. (D&C 88:28-32)

This has been hard for me to wrap my mind around, but some things I have learned about the fiction-writing process have helped me gain a better understanding of how this happens.

I’ve learned that there are certain kinds of stories that excite me. When I read their back blurbs, I recognize them as something I would want to read. When I write my fiction, I try to put in my current work-in-progress the kinds of things that give me that zing of excitement. What gives me a zing is not going to automatically give a zing to everyone else.

D&C 88 talks elsewhere about how everything is given a law and that which keeps the law is sanctified by it.  There are celestial, terrestrial, and telestial laws.  And I think that the level of laws we choose to follow are like the laws that we want to give us the zing of excitement.  We are striving to live the celestial law so that it gives us the zing, so that becomes the thing that most resonates with us and who we are.  Then it will be the glory that quickens us in the resurrection. 

Once upon a time, the idea of service did not get me excited.  Now it does, though certain kinds of service zing me more than others.  A decade ago, family history used to leave me cold, but since then I’ve definitely warmed up to it.  I can see I’ve made some progress, but I have more to do.

What if we’re not zinged by all the celestial principles?  Obviously that means we still have changing and repenting to do, sanctification to undergo.  And that’s what the Atonement is for. None of us are stuck where we are unless we give up. 

The Light That Can Never Be Darkened

8 But there is a resurrection, therefore the grave hath no victory, and the sting of death is swallowed up in Christ.

9 He is the light and the life of the world; yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death. (Mosiah 16:8-9, emphasis added)

That image of Christ as the light that can never be darkened is more meaningful if you remember the prophet lived in a time when light only came from burning fuel. A light that is never darkened is a light that never lacks fuel, though nobody knows where the fuel comes from. It keeps burning on its own, and that is a great metaphor for how the resurrected Christ (and someday us) keeps living in glory.

This hope of resurrection is the great thing that gives us reason to believe, to repent, to do everything we can to become better so we can be ready for eternity.

The Lord making bare His arm

10 And I would, my brethren, that ye should know that all the kindreds of the earth cannot be blessed unless he shall make bare his arm in the eyes of the nations.

11 Wherefore, the Lord God will proceed to make bare his arm in the eyes of all the nations, in bringing about his covenants and his gospel unto those who are of the house of Israel. (1 Nephi 22:10-11)

When it speaks of the Lord making bare His arm in the eyes of all the nations, it means that the Lord will make His power obvious.

Making bare an arm is a great image to describe how someone shows their power. We visualize a strong man rolling up their sleeves and flexing their muscles and maybe doing some heavy lifting to emphasize the strength they have.

When the Lord makes His arm bare, or shows His power, it will be done through the power of the Holy Ghost that will work upon the hearts of men when they hear the truth of the gospel. It will attract those of the house of Israel to the covenants of the Lord. When they enter covenants, they will also experience the power of the Lord through the priesthood and receive blessings promised to Abraham and his seed.

What “heavy lifting” does the Lord do that we can see? He changes people’s lives. The older we get, the more we understand how difficult change can be without God. People are stubborn. Habit is a deep rut to get out of. But God has the power to change lives, and He shows that to everyone, one by one. He shows people through the Spirit a hint of how they could be blessed, and then they get to choose to respond or not.

Also, everyone will see the power of God at the resurrection.

Impressions from April 2016 General Conference: Sunday Afternoon session

Robert D Hales (12)

I appreciated Elder Hales’ reviewing the different roles of the Holy Ghost and how he can help us.  Some of them I can definitely testify to seeing in my life, but others I need to definitely humble myself to receive.  Unless I can do that, I will only enjoy part of the blessings I might otherwise. 

At least three helpful principles and warnings that I also appreciated are the following: 1) The Holy Ghost isn’t given to control us.  2) The adversary tempts us with false ideas that we may confuse with the Holy Ghost, but faithfulness will protect us from being deceived. 3) We are tempted to let our personal desires overcome the Holy Ghost.

He pointed out that the fruit of the Spirit is gentleness, meekness, kindness, love unfeigned.  I suppose this should also help us discern between the Holy Ghost and other spirits that are not of God.  If we feel hostile pride, or impulses to be unkind, or anger or love with any sort of pretense, then we know that’s not of God.  Also, any spirit of coercion is not from God either.

Gerrit W. Gong (70)

Another good talk focusing on remembering Christ.  I liked his six suggestions for how we can do this, including acknowledging his hand in our lives,  and especially what he said about trying to read the Book of Mormon or doing everything as if for the first time.   When the gospel starts to feel same-old-same-old, that’s when we badly need a dose of meekness to see things like they are new.

Patrick Kearon (70)

This was a powerful talk about the need to help refugees.  He echoed the women’s general session of conference in reminding us that our people were refugees a number of times at the beginning of this dispensation.  I also hadn’t put together that the Savior had once been a refugee when his parents fled into Egypt to escape King Herod’s command to kill the children under 2.

I like that he said that being a refugee does not define these people and that many were great contributors before they lost everything and that they can be contributors again with help.

Practical counsel: Pray, check the church’s “I was a stranger” website, offer to mentor, increase awareness of events that caused people to flee, take a stand against intolerance.

Extra note: I know I was touched by Elder Uchtdorf’s emotion when he got up to conduct the rest of the meeting after this talk. I couldn’t’ help but remember his story of having been a refugee himself as a child. I think his tears represent compassion born of having experienced it, and if he were moved that much, think how much more must the Savior be moved by the refugees’ plight and all our other sufferings, having experienced them too.

Dallin H. Oaks (12)

Elder Oaks’ talk was about opposition.  As a writer, I was impressed by the story of all the effort Joseph Smith went to trying to get the Book of Mormon published and all the publishers he went to.    Opposition enables good to be discerned from bad, gives experience, helps us grow, builds endurance. 

When opposition increases, I think his talk helps give us perspective.  But even after we gain perspective, we still have to get back in the fight. The struggle is real! 

Kent F. Richards (70)

This talk about temple work made me realize we need to get to the temple more.  Simple as that.

Paul V. Johnson (70)

About the atonement and resurrection.  I loved that he quoted from Handel’s Messiah (which is quoting scripture) “WE shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed.  The trumpet shall sound and we shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed.”  The songs that have those words always make me happy and give me a sense of the triumph and reality of the resurrection.

I remember when I was in first grade and my vision started to get short-sighted. I had to get glasses. That was when I started to anticipate a future resurrection.  Here my six-year-old body was being revealed to be a flawed thing, which was a disappointment.  But suddenly I could hope for a future perfect body.  I found a few more health problems as the years went on, but each time, hope of the resurrection helped me take things in stride.  My weaknesses were the very thing that helped me gain faith.

Jeffery R. Holland (12)

I loved that Elder Holland acknowledged that we have the spiritual high of conference and then on Monday morning real life attacks like a T-Rex.  I sometimes find myself wishing that we could take the sacrament on conference Sunday because I really depend on the renewal I get from it, and it is hard to go two weeks without it.  But it was nice to be shown in the scriptures how this pattern of a great fight of affliction after spiritual highs is seen throughout sacred history.  We’re not the only ones who have experienced it, and if others have dealt with it, then we can too.

Here’s my favorite part from his talk: “The gospel, the church, the conferences are intended to give hope and inspiration.  Satan tries to convince us the ideals are depressing and unrealistic.  He knows HE can’t improve.  Don’t fall for his message.  With Christ and grace, we can improve and we get credit for trying even if we don’t always succeed.”

Re-examining Jesus’s appearance on the road to Emmaus

When Jesus visited two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus, they were talking of the events of Jesus’s crucifixion and the news of the resurrection and were sad.  The main cause of their sadness seems to have been a sense of betrayal—they had trusted Jesus to be the one who would redeem Israel militarily, but contrary to their expectations He had been crucified.  They seemed to not know now where to look for redemption, and the stories of Christ’s resurrection only confused them.

When Jesus meets them, He asks them about their concerns and he listens to them, and when they’ve gotten it all out in the open, His answer is instructive: “O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:25-26)   I suspect that the term “fools” was not just an epithet meaning “unwise,” but also one expressing they were in a spiritual state bordering on apostasy.  For them to forsake Christ because He had not militarily redeemed Israel would be apostasy. 

Quick sidenote: What do you suppose was Christ’s tone and manner as he said this to them?  Was he loud and harsh?  Or was he gentle?  What would have better conveyed his concern for them?

Anyway, thinking about these things, it seems to me that Jesus’s visit was meant to pull back into the faith two disciples who were wandering because the prophesied events had not gone according to their expectations.  Through the rest of His visit with them, He shored up their knowledge through the scriptures, and when they finally recognized Him through spiritual manifestations, they had gained the foundational knowledge upon which to base their testimony.  Then, His actual presence, when they recognized Him, had much more power.

I think this has a good lesson for us.  We or others around us may struggle with testimony when prophesied events happen differently than expected.  Christ (and by extension Heavenly Father) still cares for these and desires they obtain personal witness as well.  The witness needs to be built upon a better understanding of the scriptures, spiritual witness, and also personal experience.

KJV versus JST: The Lamb Slain in Revelation 5

And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. (Revelation 5:6)

And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having twelve horns and twelve eyes, which are the twelve servants of God, sent forth into all the earth.

KJV Revelation 5:6	Joseph Smith Translation
And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. (Revelation 5:6)	And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having twelve horns and twelve eyes, which are the twelve servants of God, sent forth into all the earth.

The number twelve used for the horns and eyes of the Lamb makes us think immediately of the twelve apostles.  It also reinforces they are servants of God, not multiple Holy Ghosts.

The fact they are represented as being a part of the Lamb (horns and eyes) shows us how close to Christ they are, how dependent on Him they are, how close to his thoughts and purposes they are.  It also gives us a sense of how indispensible the office of apostle is to the organization of the church. 

Horns are sharp and pokey and they are used in the scriptures as symbols of power.  Any time the apostles share their witness, they are being used as a power for the Lord.  (Prod, prod)

It is also interesting this verse tells us the Lamb is standing (and presumably alive), but as it had been slain, with wounds testifying to its death.  This represents the resurrected Christ, not the pre-crucifixion Christ.  I don’t know exactly what to say about this, but it fascinates me.  Maybe it is because the wounds are visible, so they can be witnessed by others, but they are no longer a source of trauma to the Lamb.  He overcame it all for us.   This isn’t a zombie Lamb; it’s a resurrected Lamb.  Death has no more power.

KJV versus JST: Twenty four elders and beasts around the throne in Revelation 4

There’s a fair amount of Joseph Smith Translation differences in Revelation 4 that I think are worth looking at, particularly in verses 4 - 6.

KJV	JST	My thoughts
4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.	And in the midst of the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.	The JST places the seats not round about the throne, but in the midst of the throne.  Since we take the throne to be the throne of God, to say these seats are in the middle of the throne tells us these 24 elders have been exalted and share in the authority and power of God, having been given the privilege of having the same power God has.  They couldn’t be given this if they hadn’t achieved great holiness and righteousness.
5 And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.	And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven servants of God.	The JST changes “Spirits” to “servants,” and this prevents us from falling into some kind of error of thinking there are 7 Holy Ghosts and not just one.  The way I see it, the seven servants give light, and they are between the throne and whoever would approach the throne, so they represent a level of righteousness we must get to first before we can become perfected.
6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.	And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne were the four and twenty elders; and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind.	The JST clarifies that it is not the 4 beasts in and around the throne, but it is the 24 elders in the throne and the 4 beasts are around the throne.  To put beasts in the throne and elders outside of it would essentially demote righteous perfected men below heavenly animals, which is laughable.  No, man is the crowning creation of God and His children, so of course in their exalted perfected state they will still be higher than exalted animals.

It is also useful to look at D&C 77, a revelation given to Joseph Smith about these verses as well.

2 Q. What are we to understand by the four beasts, spoken of in the same verse?

A. They are figurative expressions, used by the Revelator, John, in describing heaven, the paradise of God, the happiness of man, and of beasts, and of creeping things, and of the fowls of the air; that which is spiritual being in the likeness of that which is temporal; and that which is temporal in the likeness of that which is spiritual; the spirit of man in the likeness of his person, as also the spirit of the beast, and every other creature which God has created.

 3 Q. Are the four beasts limited to individual beasts, or do they represent classes or orders?

A. They are limited to four individual beasts, which were shown to John, to represent the glory of the classes of beings in their destined order or sphere of creation, in the enjoyment of their eternal felicity.

 4 Q. What are we to understand by the eyes and wings, which the beasts had?A. Their eyes are a representation of light and knowledge, that is, they are full of knowledge; and their wings are a representation of power, to move, to act, etc. (D&C 77:2-4)

Why do these verses from the D&C matter to us? 

Let me give you an example from my life.  I had pet fish as a teenager, and one of my favorite fish was killed by one of my siblings.  If you ask my sister, to this day she will deny that she did it, but I did find the fish’s body dried up under her bed.  I was tremendously grieved about that fish; there was much weeping and wailing in all the land. 

When it came to the deaths of people, I had a testimony of the resurrection and the plan of salvation, but I didn’t quite know what would happen to my fish. 

D&C 77: 2-4 elaborates on how John’s vision reveals that not just human creation will be exalted, but animal creation as well.  The four beasts shown represent “the glory of the classes of beings . . . in the enjoyment of their eternal felicity.”    What is felicity?  Intense happiness.  Like the elation when school is let out for the holidays. 

So next time you or one of your children loses a beloved pet, comfort them with those scriptures so they know for sure that their pets will enjoy eternal happiness as well.

Paul’s citations to establish Christ’s resurrection

33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

34 And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David.  (Acts 13:33)

One of the things I find interesting about Paul is that he uses the scriptures very creatively to prove his points.

When he preaches in Antioch, he cites certain scriptures to establish that Christ’s resurrection was prophesied of by the prophets.  His references can be obscure, but it is worth examining how he uses them and thinking about the logic by which he concludes they establish his point.

So the first citation is from Psalms 2:7 which says “Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.”  Paul is comparing resurrection to birth.  The speaker in the Psalm speaks for God and declares another (Jesus Christ) is His Son and has been begotten or born in a day.  Christ was born of Mary and was also the Son of God, but His birth was by a mortal mother.  We could say that baptism is a rebirth, and that might be the way we understand it for ourselves when we apply it to us. 

But it best fits the resurrection because when you are born you have the type of body like the one who bore you.  For someone to have a glorified body like Heavenly Father, one that would never die, you have to be resurrected; you have to have your spirit inseparably reunited with your body.

The next scripture cited is part of Isaiah 55:3 : “I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.”

This is an obscure reference to a promise given to David that a descendant of David would always sit on the throne of Israel.  For some time this was interpreted to mean that the Davidic dynasty would continue, but it also prophesied of Christ’s resurrection because He was a descendant of David, and once He was resurrected, He would rule in heaven and would never be removed.  Any time “the sure mercies of David” is mentioned, it is a reference to this promise.

It is neat to find these little references to resurrection and to see how apostles in the former day found them in unexpected places.  It gives me the sense that there are depths in the scriptures yet to be plumbed.

Jesus rose from the dead and because He did, so will we!

Happy Easter!

The Key of the House of David

And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. (Isaiah 22:22)

I ran across this verse in Sunday School lesson #37 in the teacher’s manual.  The manual’s interpretation is that this tells of the Messiah and that he has the power to admit or exclude any person from Heavenly Father’s presence.

This leads me to ask the question, “Why is ‘the house of David’ being used to refer to Heavenly Father’s presence?”  We’re used to David being used as a type of Christ, so why the slight shift here?  

I suppose since David was the king of Israel, and Heavenly Father is the king of the earth, Isaiah meant to teach how Christ was like the doorkeeper to Heavenly Father’s presence.

Another meaning occurs to me after having studied 1 Samuel so carefully lately about how the Lord chooses kings of Israel.  It suggests that to have the key of the house of David opened for you is to be admitted not just into the presence of royalty, but to be admitted into royalty itself, to be made a king or queen, implying celestial exaltation.

It could also refer to the resurrection, since we can only return to the presence of God, having been resurrected.  It suggests the final judgment and our hope to stay in the presence of God with a favorable verdict.

All of this depends on Christ.

I also like how two other scriptures give us more perspective on this verse of Isaiah.  John the Revelator uses this imagery and Nephi clarifies it too.

7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write;

These things saith he that is holy, he that is true,

he that hath the key of David,

he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

8 I know thy works:

behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it:

for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. (Revelation 3:7-8)

Imagine how you’d feel if a prophet or apostle told you that Christ had opened the door to you.  Wouldn’t that be the greatest feeling?

Then there’s Nephi:

…the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel;

and he employeth no servant there;

and there is none other way save it be by the gate;

for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name. (2 Nephi 9:41)

Just think; if Christ had never been born, that key of David spoken of by Isaiah would never have been forged. 

Two Angels Sitting in the Empty Tomb

-->

I was reading in John 20 about the resurrection and the disciples’ discovery that Jesus’ body was gone and I ran across this detail:

11 ¶But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. (John 20:11-12)

This detail about the angels sitting one at the head and one at the feet seemed very odd to me.  They seemed too far apart.  Wouldn't you imagine these angels would be more likely to sit together?  It terms of body language it makes it seem as if they don’t like each other.  But it would be strange for two angelic messengers to be sent who didn’t like each other, right?

In the process of reading about others have wrote about this chapter, I ran across a wonderful insight on this from the blog “Jesus is Lord!” in the post “A Study of John20:1-23.”   It connected the angels’ positions at the head and foot with the positions of the cherubim on the mercy seat of the ark of the ark of the covenant in the temple, the detail of which, as we know, were given by revelation to Moses in Exodus 25:

18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.

19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof….

21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. (Exodux 25:18-19, 21)

When I read this, I thought, Oh that’s interesting; the angels were imitating the cherubim on the mercy seat! 

And then I thought, Wait a second! No!  The cherubim on the mercy seat were meant to testify and prefigure the angels sitting in the empty tomb!  And I realized that Heavenly Father had meant for the construction of the ark of the covenant with the cherubim’s positions to testify of Christ’s resurrection and his empty tomb so many years ahead of time.  And the instructions to put the testimonies given in the ark teach us that we need to put our faith in Christ and His resurrection.

Wow…