It is revelation, not revelations.
1st thoughts. Revelation is hard to understand. Full of peculiar symbols. Can I get past that mindset?
This is what the manual says.
Ultimately, you don’t have to understand every symbol in Revelation to understand its important themes, including its most prominent theme: Jesus Christ and His followers will triumph over the kingdoms of men and of Satan.
Thats reassuring. Because at the start of the week I decided I'm not even going to try and understand everything. That would have been too much.
Even if you don't understand all of the symbolism, what sort of imagery is coming through? What is happening? Do we get the impression there is some kind of battle, a fight? Good against evil. Serpents & Dragons might usually be associated with evil. Lambs & children associated with good.
I do wonder why such obscure imagery was used. I think the answer is found in the 1st line of the manual. It asks the following. Have you ever struggled to express to others what you felt during a powerful spiritual experience? Everyday language can feel inadequate to describe spiritual feelings and impressions. I did get the impression that the symbols we being used, less to be literal comparisons, but more to provoke emotions and feelings.
What general thoughts or themes came through for you?
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Questions from the manual this week
-Have you ever struggled to express to others what you felt during a powerful spiritual experience?
-Why might he have compared Church congregations to candlesticks, Satan to a dragon, and Jesus Christ to a lamb?
-How can I make sense of the book of Revelation?
-Who was John?
-How is the book organized, and what are some themes to look for?
-What do the symbols in Revelation represent?
-What truths do I learn from Revelation about what Heavenly Father has done to help me return to Him?
-How can this help me understand God’s plan for me?
-What does Jesus Christ promise to those who overcome?
-What changes do you feel prompted to make to overcome your challenges?
-Why could Jesus Christ alone do this?
-How can you show your faith in Him as your Savior?
-What are you inspired to do to better prepare yourself and your family for the Second Coming?
-What would he say is going well?
-How might you improve?
-Why does Jesus knock instead of just coming inside?
-How can we invite His influence into our home?
-What can these verses teach us about why we wear white for temple ordinances?
I'd like to focus on the highlighted questions.
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Have you ever struggled to express to others what you felt during a powerful spiritual experience?
Answered above
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How can I make sense of the book of Revelation?
See next three questions
Did anybody have a go at looking into these questions?
Did anybody have a go at looking into these questions?
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Who was John?
Who was John?
Who wrote Revelation? John. Which John? John the beloved. Which one was John the Beloved (we learned a while ago, John was, even back then, a common name)?
Manual points us to 1 Nephi 14:18-27 & the Bible Dictionary 'John'.
The footnote of 1 Nephi refers to him as the apostle John. Sounds like he was given the keys to write about the end of the world.
Bible dictionary is clear from the get go, 'one of the twelve'. It also states that he is the disciple that has been allowed to remain on the earth as a ministering servant until the time of the lords second coming.
Emphasis placed on the word ministering.
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How is the book organized, and what are some themes to look for?
How is the book organized, and what are some themes to look for?
The manual states Ultimately, you don’t have to understand every symbol in Revelation to understand its important themes, including its most prominent theme: Jesus Christ and His followers will triumph over the kingdoms of men and of Satan.
The Bible Dictionary says The message of Revelation is the same as that of all scripture: there will be an eventual triumph on this earth of good over the devil
Also, confirming my thoughts as before By a little study, the theme can be perceived even if the details are not completely identified.
I loved this, also from the Bible dictionary, It may be in this sense that the Prophet Joseph Smith said that Revelation was “one of the plainest books God ever caused to be written” (HC 5:342). However, the more fully the details are understood, the greater will be the appreciation of the theme. If we fail to catch a glimpse of the theme, we fail in our comprehension, no matter how many details we are able to understand. Basically saying, if you focus too much on the symbolism, and miss the overall theme then you have wasted your time. So if you did get that good triumphing over evil vibe, you have understood the book of revelation. Well done.
Did anyone else find anything interesting in the Bible dictionary they wish to share?
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What do the symbols in Revelation represent?
I could list the symbols as found in D&C 77. However, simply listing the meanings of the symbols is only half the job. They mean nothing until we read the verses again where the symbolism is found.
For example out of context the sea of glass is the earth in its sanctified, immortal & sanctified state and the four beast are the glory of the classes of beings in their destined sphere of creation.
Now we need to go back to Revelation 4:6 and reread the verse with the substitution to see if we gain any greater insight.
And before the throne there was the sanctified earth: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were the glory of the classes of beings in their destined sphere of creation full of light & knowledge before and behind.
hmm. Not sure it is fantastically clearer. Probably then need to read the other verses of revelation to fully appreciate the symbolism.
I wonder if anyone has reworked the book of revelation of all the approved (lds) symbolic substitutions. If I had time, I might have had a go, or even looked online. My journey of literal symbolic substitution came to end, with simply reading what the ensign has to say, where I came across the repeated message.
to read the text of the book of Revelation as a sort of intricate puzzle that must be solved risks going beyond the mark and missing the vision’s central message.
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Why does Jesus knock instead of just coming inside? & How can we invite His influence into our home?
Rev 3:20 - This is a good example of how maybe Revelation is not as hard to understand as we think it is.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
There is some pretty simple imagery here.
We could have a go at dissecting this one and answering the questions the manual pose.
My 1st thoughts
-What door is he talking about here? The door to ones heart?
-Why is he knocking at my door? Because he want's to talk to me.
-What is his message? Good news, come follow me, the welfare of my soul. Peace, Love, Charity.
Why does Jesus knock instead of just coming inside?
Because it is rude to just barge into someone else home. May be treated as uninvited and rejected. Forcing ones ideas upon another is not the way. That is someone else's way. There is no growth in forcing someone to do something. Knocking is akin to inviting, not forcing.
He will not just sup with us, but we with him. Two way communication, he listens, we listen.
How can we invite His influence into our home?
We need to listen for the knock. We need to listen for his invitation & be sensitive to the spirit. He does not literally knock on doors. So what is knocking on the door a metaphor for? How does he get our attention? Moments like this? Church, temple, personal & family study, prayer.
I don't know if it is wise to leave the door wide open so he can just come in. Unless one has a filter.
Here is a fun little insight. If this verse was written today, it may not use the metaphor of the door, but possibly refer to instead a notification on your phone. Imagine, he's trying to sent you notifications all the time, but you keep looking at your phone. You're using the wrong device!
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The Bible Dictionary says The message of Revelation is the same as that of all scripture: there will be an eventual triumph on this earth of good over the devil
Also, confirming my thoughts as before By a little study, the theme can be perceived even if the details are not completely identified.
I loved this, also from the Bible dictionary, It may be in this sense that the Prophet Joseph Smith said that Revelation was “one of the plainest books God ever caused to be written” (HC 5:342). However, the more fully the details are understood, the greater will be the appreciation of the theme. If we fail to catch a glimpse of the theme, we fail in our comprehension, no matter how many details we are able to understand. Basically saying, if you focus too much on the symbolism, and miss the overall theme then you have wasted your time. So if you did get that good triumphing over evil vibe, you have understood the book of revelation. Well done.
Did anyone else find anything interesting in the Bible dictionary they wish to share?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What do the symbols in Revelation represent?
I could list the symbols as found in D&C 77. However, simply listing the meanings of the symbols is only half the job. They mean nothing until we read the verses again where the symbolism is found.
For example out of context the sea of glass is the earth in its sanctified, immortal & sanctified state and the four beast are the glory of the classes of beings in their destined sphere of creation.
Now we need to go back to Revelation 4:6 and reread the verse with the substitution to see if we gain any greater insight.
And before the throne there was the sanctified earth: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were the glory of the classes of beings in their destined sphere of creation full of light & knowledge before and behind.
hmm. Not sure it is fantastically clearer. Probably then need to read the other verses of revelation to fully appreciate the symbolism.
I wonder if anyone has reworked the book of revelation of all the approved (lds) symbolic substitutions. If I had time, I might have had a go, or even looked online. My journey of literal symbolic substitution came to end, with simply reading what the ensign has to say, where I came across the repeated message.
to read the text of the book of Revelation as a sort of intricate puzzle that must be solved risks going beyond the mark and missing the vision’s central message.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why does Jesus knock instead of just coming inside? & How can we invite His influence into our home?
Rev 3:20 - This is a good example of how maybe Revelation is not as hard to understand as we think it is.
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
There is some pretty simple imagery here.
We could have a go at dissecting this one and answering the questions the manual pose.
My 1st thoughts
-What door is he talking about here? The door to ones heart?
-Why is he knocking at my door? Because he want's to talk to me.
-What is his message? Good news, come follow me, the welfare of my soul. Peace, Love, Charity.
Why does Jesus knock instead of just coming inside?
Because it is rude to just barge into someone else home. May be treated as uninvited and rejected. Forcing ones ideas upon another is not the way. That is someone else's way. There is no growth in forcing someone to do something. Knocking is akin to inviting, not forcing.
He will not just sup with us, but we with him. Two way communication, he listens, we listen.
How can we invite His influence into our home?
We need to listen for the knock. We need to listen for his invitation & be sensitive to the spirit. He does not literally knock on doors. So what is knocking on the door a metaphor for? How does he get our attention? Moments like this? Church, temple, personal & family study, prayer.
I don't know if it is wise to leave the door wide open so he can just come in. Unless one has a filter.
Here is a fun little insight. If this verse was written today, it may not use the metaphor of the door, but possibly refer to instead a notification on your phone. Imagine, he's trying to sent you notifications all the time, but you keep looking at your phone. You're using the wrong device!
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