Seven Seals and the Paradisaical Millennium
The 8,000 Year Time Line of the Earth
By OneWhoIsWatching www.threewatches.blogspot.com
I suppose one of the most stirring passages of scripture that characterizes the spirit of watching is found in the 1st Chapter of the Gospel of John.
There were two disciples of John the Baptist that were with him on the occasion that John saw Christ and said “Behold the Son of God”. At that point, these two disciples left John and began following Christ.
“Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?
He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.
He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, A stone.”
These passages are exquisite to me every time I think about them. Can one comprehend what Andrew must have been feeling when he finally found the Messiah he had been waiting and watching for?
Can we comprehend how he felt as he was able to share the good news with his brother Peter who had also been watching for the Messiah?
Can we imagine what Peter must have been thinking and feeling when those words penetrated him?
The story line continues;
“The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me.
Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.
Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!”
What would it have been like to be Philip or Nathaniel?
Interestingly enough, during the 2nd watch, then Edward Partridge, one who had also been waiting and watching, traveled to meet the Lords Seer, the Lord compared Edward to Nathaniel of old;
“And again, I have called my servant Edward Partridge; and I give a commandment, that he should be appointed by the voice of the church, and ordained a bishop unto the church, to leave his merchandise and to spend all his time in the labors of the church; To see to all things as it shall be appointed unto him in my laws in the day that I shall give them. And this because his heart is pure before me, for he is like unto Nathanael of old, in whom there is no guile.” D&C 41: 11
It appears that it was somewhat common knowledge among the Jews that a Messiah was to soon make his appearance. Even the remnants of the other tribes of Israel who were looked down upon by the Jews seemed to understand that it was the appointed time for the Messiah to appear as demonstrated by the Samarian woman at the well, who, when conversing with Christ acknowledged;
“I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.” John 4: 25
It is truly amazing that after the 400 years of the heavens being closed since Malachi, that there was a group of believers who had studied the prophecies and were found waiting and watching for the Messiah and his forerunner.
It is not clear how the small group of watchers knew how they stood in time, whether it was mainly from personal revelation, from searching the scriptures, from the signs of the times, from the preaching of John the Baptist… or a combination of all of the above.
I am reminded however of the words of Daniel who had been searching in the “books” to understand various time lines and where he stood in time;
“In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.” (Dan 9:2)
The scriptures are filled with time line related prophecies and the continual reminder of the importance for believers in all three watches to understand where they stand in time relative to the prophecies to be fulfilled in the day they live.
Yet most of the Jews were encompassed about in the cares of the world.
Interestingly, although many of the Jews embraced Christ as a prophet initially, they eventually allowed their corrupt and jealous leaders to turn them against Him.
There was only a small remnant that were earnestly waiting and watching in anticipatory zeal along with Andrew, Peter, Philip and Nathaniel. They were actively looking for him, and he was looking for each of them.
I love the scripture that says Jesus went forth to Galilee and “findeth Philip”.
The Savior said; “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me..”
My wife mentioned in a previous blog about how I became obsessed with doing scriptural word searches using infobases and other word crunching software back in the 1980’s, however she did not mention why I became so obsessed.
It all began in about September or October of 1988 when a friend named Eric who I had not seen for a few years, knocked on the door of my new home in Holiday Utah and told me he had a video I needed to see. It was about the “seven seals” and the “prophetic time line of the earth”.
That was a topic I had always had a keen interest in. I dropped everything and viewed it with great interest… little did I know that my life and my priorities were about to change dramatically.
In the video, a “Brother Nelson” (who was a young insurance salesman) was giving a seminar on the time line of the earth. He quoted many of the time line related scriptures found in the Book of Revelation and section 77 of the D&C.
I had previously read several articles about the seven thousand year time line including a 1983 Ensign article and I had been amazed at how incongruent all of the information I had seen had been with the revealed word of God.
The book of Revelation makes it clear that after the first six thousand years are fulfilled, the seventh seal opens and an hour of judgment takes place, following the hour of judgment, the millennium begins. Following the millennium, a little season takes place before the earth is celestialized. Clearly, the entire time line as revealed in the scriptures could not possibly fit into a seven thousand year time period.
The novel thing about the time line theory being promoted in the video by “Brother Nelson” was what I will refer to as the “overlap” theory.
In short, the theory proposed that the sixth seal and the seventh seal overlapped each other and that the seventh seal began before the sixth seal finished.
Eric and I went to the next scheduled time line seminar to hear the time line presentation in person. While watching the video, I had had a strong impression that that the person who had originated the overlap interpretation was actually someone other than Brother Nelson. After attending a live presentation I asked Brother Nelson if he would be kind enough to give me the contact information of the person who had originated the theory and taught him what he was teaching.
My question surprised him because he was teaching the information as if he had discovered the concepts of the theory from the scriptures himself, but with a little further prodding he finally gave me the name and phone number of a “Brother Edmonds” who lived in Mapleton Utah.
Eric and I contacted Brother Edmonds and requested a meeting with him. If my aging memory serves me correctly, we sat spell bound from about 4 PM to about 4 Am in his living room as he shared with us his version of the divine time line of the earth and the associated prophesies of the last days.
We then returned the following day and had another all night session.
Brother Edmonds was an elderly mam who had been a convert to the Church. As I recall, he was part Indian. I would describe him as fascinating, passionate, eccentric and fanatic… all in a good way. He had a very harsh warning for those who had not prepared temporally for the judgments that were about to hit the world.
He had a self contained retreat that could function off the grid. He had developed an apparatus for generating his own electricity and a large barracks filled with food storage, clothing and survival equipment. He was financially independent and was somewhat of an alchemist who had developed a secret process for refining gold.
Brother Edmonds claimed to have been very close personal friends with President Joseph Fielding Smith and other prophets of the Church. He claimed that the divine time line, including the overlap theory which he taught had been taught to him by President Smith.
As Brother Edmonds shared the parable of the goodman of the house who was to be watching lest the thief come and break in, etc., the message penetrated my heart in such a way that changed my life forever. I feel as it I have been sleeping with one eye open ever since!
That was the experience 21 years ago that got me searching the scriptures in a much deeper way than I have ever searched them before.
Following that experience I purchased some scripture searching software and became obsessed with doing key word, key phrase and key topic searches. There were days I would spend 8- 10 hours at a time following the various search strings I was working on.
Although the topics I began with was that of the divine time line of the earth and end times prophecy, I soon found that every topic I would search would lead me to several other gospel topics and on and on. The more I learned, the more I realized how little I knew! I have now studied enough to realize I know NOTHING! lol
In the weeks following my initial visit with Brother Edmonds I began researching what President Joseph Fielding Smith had written about the divine time line of the earth.
After reading what he said in Doctrines of Salvation, I was shocked to find that President Smith had taught something quite different than what Brother Edmonds was teaching. To my surprise, President Smith did not teach about the overlapping of the sixth and seventh seal and a seven thousand year timeline, in fact, he taught that the divine time line actually consisted of eight thousand years instead of seven thousand years!
“We have evidence beyond dispute that Adam was driven out of the Garden of Eden about 6,000 years ago, or perhaps a short time less. It is possible using bible chronology and that given by the Lord in the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants to figure this almost accurately… Moreover, our Savior came in the meridian of time… This means that it was about half way from the beginning of “time” to the end of “time”. Anyone who desires can figure it for himself that our Lord came about 4,000 years from the time of the fall. The millennium is to come some time following the 2,000 years following to 2,000 years after his coming. then there is to be the millennium for 1,000 years, and following that a “little season” the length of which is not revealed but which may bring “time to its end about 8,000 years from the beginning.” (Page79-81 Volume One Doctrines of Salvation See also the thesis of Arch Bishop Ussher who spent his life studying the time line of the earth from a literal interpretation of the Bible)
President Smith taught, according to my interpretation of his writings and in conjunction with the word searches I have done, that the seven seals mentioned in the book of Revelation did not represent the entire time line of the earth.. it only had reference to the seven thousand year portion of temporal time that the earth is passing through but he revealed that during the seventh seal, the earth would leave temporal time and go into eternity where it would experience a paradisaical millennium. It would leave this telestial order shortly after the seventh seal begins and go into a paradisaical (terrestrial) order. It would be gone from our telestial reckoning of time for the space of a thousand years and then it would return back to temporal time and finish the remainder of the seventh seal in temporal time.
He taught that the paradisaical millennium that takes place in eternity was separate and distinct from each of the seven millenniums that take place in temporal time.
I returned to brother Edmonds and confronted him about the apparent discrepancy between his interpretation of the time line vs the interpretation provided by President Smith in Doctrines of Salvation.
Although it was not my intent to challenge his sincerity or integrity, I fear that is how he perceived the grilling he was getting. His response was not a pleasant one. It resulted in an unpleasant exchange between the two of us… we parted ways on a rather sour note, never to see each other in this life again.
I must say however that I feel eternally indebted to Brother Edmonds for his passion about prophecy and for instilling in me a desire to know where I stand in time and the importance of having the spirit of watching and waiting.
He has since passed on, but I shall always be grateful that he was the catalyst for a profound and defining experience in my life.
Needless to say, the time line being presented by Brother Nelson and Brother Edmonds created no small stir among many people back at that time.
There have since been several groups that have created their own variations of that time line, or were inspired to create different theories altogether, some of them have promoted their own time line videos.
At the time that all of this fuss was taking place, there were rumors about the general authority, under whose stewardship Mapleton Utah, fell, who was Paul H. Dunn, meeting Brother Edmonds and also with Brother Nelson and warning them to tone things down and to not circulate inaccurate information.
Apparently church headquarters was getting lots of calls and letters from members of the church who were beginning to panic about the perilous time they felt we were entering into.
In an effort to sort things out in my own mind on these issues and to see if the church had an official position on the matter, I wrote a letter to Elder Dunn inquiring about the time line doctrine being taught by Brother Edmonds and the discrepancies I had found between his teachings and those written by President Smith. I included a diagram of my own interpretation of the timeline for his review.
I was curious to know what the official position of the Church was on the time line of the Church.
He was kind enough to respond to my inquiry and to provide a copy of a letter he had recently received from brother Nelson.
At the time, I found it disconcerting that Brother Dunn would commend me for coming to the “proper source” on such doctrinal matters while failing to respond to the doctrinal observations and questions I asked.
As a heretic that tends to be somewhat of a non-conformist, I have tried to find discrepancies in the general nine part time line taught by president Smith as I have searched the scriptures. After 21 years, I have yet to find a major discrepancy in it. In my opinion, his general time line interpretation fits perfectly with every time line statement in the scriptures. Below is my interpretation of the time line based on the scriptures and the writings of President Smith.
1- 1st Seal (one thousand years)
2- 2nd Seal (second thousand years)
3- 3rd Seal (third thousand years)
4- 4th Seal (fourth thousand years
MIDDLE OF TIME
5- 5th Seal (fifth thousand years)
6- 6th Seal (sixth thousand years)
7- Beginning of the 7th Seal (Hour of Judgment/Redemption+ possibly about 41 years although the days will be cut short)
8- Paradisaical Millennium (“There shall be time no longer” the earth leaves temporal time for the “space of 1,000 years”
9- Remainder of the 7th Seal (“Little Season” possibly about 959 years)
The above time line which is patterned after the writings of president Smith and many of the time line related prophecies, solves many of the discrepancies found in many of the articles written about the seven seals. Aside from the fact that the time line of the earth revealed in the scriptures cannot possibly fit into a 7,000 year period, another of the glaring discrepancies that most articles pertaining to the seven seals creates, has to do with the term “meridian”.
President Smith taught that the term meridian, as used in this context, means “middle’ and “high point” of time. As you can see from the proposed time line spoken of by President Smith, the coming of Christ did in fact take place in the middle of time;
If the above scenario is anywhere close to being correct, we are very close to the end of the sixth seal… and very close to the events spoken of by Christ that will take place in the last generation of probationary time (which take place before the seventh seal opens)
Of course Joseph Smith and many of the other general authorities from earlier times have been warning the Saints for a long time that we are getting near to the end of the six thousand year period spoken of in the scriptures, but perhaps one of the most disruptive scriptural interpretations derived from the Edmonds time line presentations is found in section 20 of the D&C;
“The rise of the Church of Christ in these last days, being one thousand eight hundred and thirty years since the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the flesh, it being regularly organized and established agreeable to the laws of our country, by the will and commandments of God, in the fourth month, and on the sixth day of the month which is called April— ” D&C 20:
The reason this scripture is so disruptive is because in the past, the six thousand year period was spoken of in a vague context, taking for granted that our current calendar is not completely accurate and that we didn’t know the exact date of Christ’s birth, hence we don’t know when the six thousand year period comes to an end and we therefore don’t know exactly where we stand in time.
However a literal rendering of section 20 enables us to identify with pinpoint accuracy when the fall of Adam, the birth of Christ, the atonement of Christ and the end of the sixth seal takes place!
In essence, it tells us where we stand in time!
But can we take those passages in section 20 literally?
In another post I addressed the fascinating history behind section 20 and pointed out that it was actually written by Oliver Cowdery, not Joseph Smith. There is some disputation upon whether or not it should be consider an inspired writing or an actual revelation. In later years historical documents have surfaced that indicate that it was in fact a direct revelation from God.
Apparently President Kimball did take section 20 literally. On Easter Sunday April 6th 1980 he made the following statement;
“My brothers and sisters, today we not only celebrate the Sesquicentennial of the organization of the Church, but also the greatest event in human history since the birth of Christ on this day 1,980 years ago. Today is Easter Sunday” (May 1980 Ensign)
Harold B Lee also apparently agreed with the proposition contained in section 20 verse one;
“This is the annual conference of the Church. April 6, 1973, is a particularly significant date because it commemorates not only the anniversary of the organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in this dispensation, but also the anniversary of the birth of the Savior, our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ…” (ref)
When does the Sixth Seal End?
Recently I was asked by a friend, “Why didn’t anything happen on April 6th 2000?”
His question was based on the following assumptions;
1- 1- The Meridian (or Middle) of time is marked by the Birth of Christ
2- 2- The probationary period of mankind is six thousand years
3- 3- Section 20 reveals that our current calendar is correct to within a few months stating that on April 6th 1830, it had been 1830 years since the birth of Christ.
Based on the above assumptions, the end of the sixth seal would have been April 6th 2000. For this reason some people were anticipating that something might happen on that date.
Although I agree with President Smiths nine period chronology of the divine time line and with his definition of “Meridian” meaning middle and high point of time, I disagree with the assumption some people make when they identify the birth of Christ as the “coming of Christ” . I think this is an erroneous application of the term meridian.
Edmonds identified the birth of Christ with the scriptural phrase “coming of Christ”. he felt that the birth of Christ was a prophetic marker pointing to the middle or high point of time.
I am going to suggest that the middle of time and the high point of time was not the birth of Christ, rather it was the Atonement of Christ. (or possibly half way between the birth and atonement of Christ)
Notice the curious scripture found in the Pearl of Great Price;
And it came to pass that Enoch looked; and from Noah, he beheld all the families of the earth; and he cried unto the Lord, saying: When shall the day of the Lord come? When shall the blood of the Righteous be shed, that all they that mourn may be sanctified and have eternal life? And the Lord said: It shall be in the meridian of time, in the days of wickedness and vengeance. And behold, Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, even in the flesh; and his soul rejoiced, saying: The Righteous is lifted up, and the Lamb is slain from the foundation of the world; and through faith I am in the bosom of the Father, and behold, Zion is with me.” Moses 7
It appears to me that the meridian of time is being linked with the day of the Lord which is clearly identified by the wickedness of those who shed the sanctifying blood of the righteous Savior. Clearly the emphasis pertaining to the events associated with his coming in the MERIDIAN of time is being placed on the crucifixion and the atonement of Christ, not his birth!
It is understandable that one would think that Christ has delayed the time of the end of probation and his return in glory in the beginning of the seventh seal if one assumes that the meridian of time is based on the birth of Christ. But I would suggest that is a false premise.
IF the following suppositions are true, then the end of the sixth seal would be closer to April 6th 2033 than to April 6th 2000;
· probationary time does consist of six thousand years
· section 20 is accurate in validating what the true calendar is
· the term Meridian does have reference to the middle and high point of the divine time line
· the high point of time was in fact the atonement of Christ
Of course we know that the events of the last generation leading up to the end of probationary time, as described by Christ in Matthew 24 must take place sometime during the last biblical generation of the sixth seal.
That would possibly mean that the last 40 year generation of the probationary period before the judgment which takes place in the beginning of the seventh seal, would have possibly begun in 1993 and will possibly end in 2033, or some time sooner since we not that things will be cut short!
Obviously, the events mentioned in Matthew 24 don’t necessarily begin when the generation begins, they simply take place sometime during that generation. Additionally, they are all completed before the entire generation expires for we are told that those days will be shortened;
“And except those days should be shortened, there should none of their flesh be saved; but for the elect’s sake, according to the covenant, those days shall be shortened.” JS-M 1: 20
The thought that the last generation might have begun back in 1993 is an awesome thought to ponder.
The thought that we are currently living in the tail end of the six thousand years is really not a far stretch, after all, as pointed out earlier, President Smith declared that we are nearly at the end of the first six thousand years period. Joseph Smith also declared that those living in his day were living close to the end of the six thousand years;
“The world has had a fair trial for six thousand years; the Lord will try the seventh thousand Himself..” TPSJ 5:252
If those living at the time of Joseph Smith were nearing the end of the six thousand year period, then we know that we are even closer to it!
The comments from Joseph smith would indicate that section 20 could be accurate.
Joseph Fielding Smith has since echoed those sentiments with even more specificity;
“We have evidence beyond dispute that Adam was driven out of the Garden of Eden about 6,000 years ago, or perhaps a short time less. It is possible for us, by using the Bible chronology and that given by the Lord in the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants to figure this almost accurately.” Doctrines of Salvation
Ezra Taft Benson also felt we were close to the end of the six thousand year probationary period:
“For nearly six thousand years, God has held you in reserve to make your appearance in the final days before the Second Coming…” (ETB, Spoken to a gathering of youth in Southern California after he became President of the Church)
Ezra Taft Benson also made the following comments to a youth group:
“Youth of Zion, do you realize you are living in the days of the fulfillment of these signs and wonders? You are among those who will see many of these prophecies fulfilled. Just as certain as was the destruction of the temple at Jerusalem and the scattering of the Jews, so shall these words of the Savior be certain to your generation.
We know not the day nor the hour of His coming, but of this you may feel assured: You stand close to the great day of the Lord! In His words of modern revelation, we say to you, “Seek the face of the Lord, always” (D&C 101:38).
Could it really be possible that we are already living during the last generation of probationary time?
1993 was a year to remember for many people, for many reasons.
Just to jog your memory, the most popular show was “60 minutes”, and the academy award for the best picture that year was given to “Schindler’s List”. That year the Nobel Peace prize was awarded to Nelson Mandela .
The most popular fiction that year was “The Bridges of Madison County” starring Clint Eastwood, written by Robert James Waller.
The four most popular Nonfiction books that year were written by an eccentric conservative political talk radio host who would gain such popularity that he would affect politics in a huge way, a degenerate sex pervert who would have been jailed for his antics in the previous generation, but with the downward trend in morals has become worshipped and revered by men and women alike, a stand up comedian that would create an award winning sitcom based on nothing, and a disenfranchised Latter day Saint who claimed to have died and seen the after life, creating her own quasi-new age religion mingled with bits and pieces of Mormon Doctrine;
1.”See I Told You” … Rush Limbaugh
2.”Private Parts” … Howard Stern
3.”Seinlanguage” … Jerry Seinfeld
4.”Embraced by the Light” … Betty J. Eddie with Curtis Taylor
Such were the latter day movers and shakers shaping the thoughts of our present generation in 1993. Those were the books being embraced by a depraved nation with darkened minds.
If indeed 1993 was the beginning of the last 40 year generation of probationary time, it is not unreasonable to suspect that a very significant event might have taken place that year as a prophetic marker indicating where we stand in time.
I have listed below, some of the major events that took place that year. There is one of them in particular that I find to be very significant.
How about you?
Do you find anything in the following list to be a significant prophetic event? Or are you aware of another event that took place in 1993 that is not on the list that might have been significant?
- The Great Blizzard of 1993 strikes the eastern U.S., bringing record snowfall and other severe weather all the way from Cuba to Québec.
- The European Union was formally established when the Maastricht Treaty came into force on 1 November 1993
- The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is signed into law by US President Bill Clinton.
- The World Wide Web is born at CERN.
- John Paxson‘s 3-point shot in Game 6 of the NBA Finals helps the Chicago Bulls, and their third consecutive championship. secure a 99-98 win over the Phoenix Suns.
- U.S. President Bill Clinton announces his ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell‘ policy regarding gays in the American military.
- The Mississippi and Missouri Rivers flood large portions of the American Midwest.
- LDS Apostles offered their sacrifices and oblations in the Kirtland Temple for the first time in over 140 years
- Waco seige in Texas.
- First World Trade Center bombing. Terrorists detonate bomb in underground car park.
- A seven year peace treaty signed between Israel and PLO. .
- The HAARP Program ( which stands for “High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program” was created. The HAARP Program is jointly managed by the US Air Force and the US Navy. Though the military denies the allegations, scientific evidence shows that HAARP can cause earthquakes (and other devastations). Russia and the U.S. have already signed treaties agreeing not to use the weather as weaponry against each other.
Assuming that 1993 was the beginning of the last forty year generation of probationary time, those who are watching have great cause to be very anticipatory.
We are now over 1/3 the way through the last generation in the sixth seal during which the preparatory event for the Lords Second coming in glory will take place before the final judgments in the beginning of the seventh seal will take place.
While many believing Mormons, Protestants and Catholics are watching for the judgments to take place in the opening of the seventh seal and the second coming of the Lord in glory, those who understand the three watch doctrine realize that the Marvelous Work and a Wonder must first take place BEFORE the seventh seal can begin.
Our Father Adam and the Seer and the Spokesman and the rest of the first laborers of the last kingdom must first make their appearance to seal up the righteous and the wicked.
During this time the Savior will return to the vineyard in secret. All of this must happen BEFORE the judgments of the seventh seal and the second coming in glory can take place.
The return of the servants and the testimony of the Servants to the world will be followed by the testimony of earthquakes and the voice of thunderings and the voice of lightnings and the voice of tempests and voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds. (See section 88)
As we watch in anticipation for the events to take place, the Lord has given many signs of the times for us to be watching for. Additionally there are other keys to help us understand what is to take place in the near future.
Among them, the dates that revelations took place in the D&C can possibly be very helpful.
Understanding the feasts of Israel and the meaning and sequence behind them and how they related to prophecy can be very helpful.
Perhaps another key was given in section 59
On August 7th 1831 the Lord said;
“Thou shalt offer a sacrifice unto the Lord thy God in righteousness, even that of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
And that thou mayest more fully keep thyself unspotted from the world, thou shalt go to the house of prayer and offer up thy sacraments upon my holy day;For verily this is a day appointed unto you to rest from your labors, and to pay thy devotions unto the Most High;
Nevertheless thy vow shall be offered up in righteousness on all days and at all times; But remember that on this, the Lord’s day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord.
And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full.“
Although that revelation was given on a Sunday, verifying that the Lords Sabbath day is indeed on Sunday during this period time, it is interesting to note that it was also given on a NEW MOON!
Hence, the statements from Isaiah and other prophets about the significance of the New Moon are still very applicable. It may be helpful to keep your eyes on the New Moon dates coming up.
This site is very helpful for researching past New Moon dates as well as future ones- Phases of the Moon Calendar
We live in amazing times.
Are you waiting and watching?
Will you be one of the ones that they find, just as the Lord found Philip?
Perhaps you will be one of the first to find them.
Perhaps you, like Andrew, will have the privilege of seeking out your beloved brother or sister and declaring “I have found them! The Servants have returned!”
Perhaps just as Philip found Nathanial, you will find your fellow believers and declare;
“I have found those who have been identified in the scriptures as the first laborers of the last kingdom, they have returned just as the Lord God of Israel has promised!”
May 25, 2009
Categories: Articles by OWIW, Atonement, LDS, Other Topics, Prophecy, Uncategorized . Tags: eight thousand years, end times, hour of judgment, Last Days, little season, meridian, Millennium, Prophecy, seven seals, time line, time no longer . Author: onewhoiswatching . Comments: 56 Comments
1 Nephi 13 & 14 commentary, using CTC’s view
On June 17th, 2008, Anthony E. Larson uploaded a post to this blog called, The Great and Abominable Church. A couple of weeks later a visitor called CTC claimed that 1 Nephi 13 & 14 spoke of a literal great and abominable church that had yet to make its appearance and that much of both of these chapters was yet to be fulfilled. He said he got this information from someone who he believed was a bona fide prophet of God. CTC did not use a chronological approach to Nephi’s prophecy. This made it easy for him to get around certain parts which posed problems to him as a future fulfillment. But I’m not going to take that approach. I’m going to read it chronologically and literally, and see where it takes me.
I’m doing this because it interests me, not because I subscribe to this view, so please don’t take this as my interpretation of this chapter. As I’ve said before, my understanding of prophecy is that it is plain and speaks of real things, and also that it often has shadows or types. When CTC first posted his comments, I did not respond, because I hadn’t taken the time to really look at 1 Nephi 13, to see if the fulfillment that we normally assign to it could be a mere shadow. So, I remained silent and let others respond to him. However, recently I have found myself mentioning time and time again about a coming future captivity of the saints, which brought to my mind what Nephi had stated in 1 Nephi 13, which then brought to my mind what CTC had written in his comments.
All of which leads me to this post, in which I look at these chapters and attempt to interpret them as if their literal fulfillment was still future. So, let’s begin.
Chapter Thirteen of First Nephi
I will quote a part of the chapter, then give what is commonly assumed as its fulfillment, but as a shadow, and then I will give its literal future fulfillment. I will try to convincingly show why the shadow fulfillment does not satisfy the prophecy, meaning why the prophecy is not fulfilled every whit by the shadow, necessitating a future, literal fulfillment. I am using this as my Book of Mormon text.
The times of the Gentiles
This is obviously talking about the times of the Gentiles. But which times? The times of the primitive church with the twelve apostles, the times right after the death of the apostles, the times of Joseph Smith, the current times, or a future time of the Gentiles? Nephi isn’t clear on this point, but I will interpret this as a future time.
The formation of a church
Shadow past fulfillment: Some have stated that this is the Roman Catholic Church, a literal church, which would put its formation after the death of the apostles. Others have stated that this is the “church” of science, a metaphorical church, which would put its formation after the Roman Catholic Church. Others believe this is speaking metaphorically about all churches that are not the true saints of God, per the later verse of 1 Ne. 14:10, giving it a metaphorical “formation” and a metaphorical “captivity.” These must all be shadows because they do not fulfill the prophecy every whit.
Literal future fulfillment: This a real church, not a figurative or metaphorical church. And it exists among other, real churches. It literally kills and tortures real saints—or sanctified people who have entered into a covenant with God, witnessed by baptism—and literally binds them, puts real iron yokes upon them and brings them down into literal (not metaphorical) captivity.
To literally fulfill this prophecy every whit, living saints of God must be present during, or after, the formation of this church, and they must be killed, tortured, bound, yoked with iron, and brought into captivity. Also, there must be other, real churches present, which do not pertain to the abominable church.
This has not occurred, yet, for although there were people tortured, killed, put into iron yokes and brought into captivity, by various religious organizations in the past, these tortured souls were not saints of God, for the church of God was already non-existent by then and the saints and apostles were already dead. Therefore, this prophecy must pertain to the future.
Devil, materialism, worldy praise
The previous commentary applies to this section, as well, for if the church of God is not present, in order for this abominable church to bring God’s saints down into captivity and destroy them, it cannot be fulfilled literally.
Many waters
Shadow past fulfillment: The Gentiles of Europe are divided (separated) from the American Indians (Lamanites) by the Atlantic Ocean.
Literal future fulfillment: The Gentiles of Asia are divided (separated) from the American Indians (Lamanites) by “many waters.” The term “many waters” refers to that body of water called by the Nephites, Irreantum, which is the Pacific Ocean.
The Spirit of God upon a man
Shadow past fulfillment: The European Gentile, Christopher Columbus, “believed himself chosen by God to find [a new] land and deliver the light of Christianity to the natives there.” He sailed upon the Atlantic Ocean to the New World, all the way to the Lamanite remnant.
Literal future fulfillment: A man among the Asian Gentiles (not necessarily a Gentile man, nor Asian) will have the Spirit of God come down and work upon him. This man will be a holy prophet of God and will travel from Asia to North America, upon the Irreantum or Pacific Ocean, until he reaches the Lamanite remnant.
The Spirit of God upon captive Gentiles
Shadow past fulfillment: European Gentiles (Puritans) leave Europe and their religious “captivity” for America to partake of religious freedom. (Never mind that Europe was one of the freest places on the planet at the time.) They travel over the Atlantic Ocean.
Literal future fulfillment: Asian Gentiles are wrought upon by the Spirit of God, becoming saints of God, and leave Asian captivity, meaning that they leave the captivity of the tyrannical Chinese, North Korean and other communist regimes and dictatorships, which bind the people down in literal captivity. They travel over the Irreantum (Pacific Ocean.)
The scattering of the Lamanites
Shadow past fulfillment: Lots of European Gentiles are in America. The European Gentiles partially scatter the American Indians and gather them into reservations. The European Gentiles take possession of Indian and American land. Some prosper, some do not. The European Gentiles are white, fair and beautiful.
Literal future fulfillment: Lots of different Gentiles are in America. An unnamed group of (European?) Gentiles fully scatter the American Indians, off of the reservations, and smite them, so that the Lamanites are completely landless. The Spirit of the Lord comes upon a righteous group of (Asian?) Gentiles (saints) and they prosper and inherit the land. This righteous group of Gentiles is white, fair and beautiful.
Former captors wage war against former captives; God saves former captives
Shadow past fulfillment: Many European Gentiles (in the American British colonies) are either deists or believe in God, Christianity and the Bible. The American Revolutionary War ensues. Despite hardships, lack of supplies, training, etc., the American Continental Army defeats the British.
Literal future fulfillment: The Asian Gentiles (who are converted saints of God)—who left their Asian communist countries, who traveled over the Irreantum (Pacific Ocean), who are now living upon the land of America—humble themselves before the Lord and obtain the gifts and powers of the Holy Ghost. Their mother countries (China, Russia and the rest) send warships upon the waters to battle them and gather together upon the water and also gather together upon the land. Divine intervention (miracles of God) takes place and the armies of the mother Gentile nations, as well as the armies of all those nations who were gathered with them to battle the former Asian Gentile captives, are defeated by the power of God, and not by any power of man.
A book, the record of the Jews
Shadow past fulfillment: The European Gentiles (now called American citizens) have a Bible—written by multiple authors, not a single Jew—which has been corrupted by that great and abominable church, you know, the Roman Catholic Church, or the science non-church, or the vast assembly of non-saint churches “church.” That church. Anyway, that church/non-church takes some plain and precious parts away from the Bible and then sends it out to all the European Gentiles, which then makes its way to America, since the European Gentiles have traveled there over the Atlantic Ocean. And because of this faulty Bible, many of the European Gentiles stumble and sin. But hope is not lost, for the Lord has a plan.
Literal future fulfillment: The Asian Gentiles saints living in America have a book, written by a singular Jew, which contains a record of the Jews, the covenants of the Lord and many of the prophecies of the prophets. This book is like the plates of brass, except it doesn’t contain as much information as the plates of brass. It contains the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the testimony of all twelve apostles of the Lord.
When the book first appears, written by the singular Jew, it will go to the Gentiles, presumably to the Asian Gentiles who were in captivity, since they will be carrying the book. After it goes to the Gentiles, the great and abominable church will be formed. That church apparently will get a copy of the book and make drastic changes to it, taking out plain and precious parts. Then they will publish the book far and wide, so that it ends up in every Gentile nation, including in America.
There will be, then, two editions of the book. One which is pure, carried by the Asian Gentile saints living in America, and the other which is corrupted, carried by the other Gentiles (living in America and elsewhere). Because of the corrupted version, many Gentiles stumble and sin. But hope is not lost, for the Lord has a plan.
Another book, the record of the Nephites
Shadow past fulfillment: The Book of Mormon, an abridged record of the Nephites, was written, and came forth to the Gentiles that were stumbling, by the gift and power of God, and in it is God’s rock, salvation and gospel, and it contains the many plain and precious parts that have been taken out of the Bible, as well as an abridgment of the ministry of the Savior to the Nephites. Those during the time of Joseph Smith were blessed with the gift and power of the Holy Ghost as they sought to establish Zion.
Future literal fulfillment: An unabridged Nephite record (not the Book of Mormon) will be written, to come forth to the Gentiles that stumble, by the gift and power of God, and in it will be God’s rock, salvation and gospel, and it will contain the many plain and precious parts that have been taken out of the book that is carried by the Asian Gentile saints. In the Nephite record will be “many things” that the Savior personally ministered to the Nephites. In other words, it will be an unabridged account of that ministry. Those during the time of the appearance of this unabridged Nephite record will be blessed with the gift and power of the Holy Ghost as they seek to establish Zion.
Two records established in one
Shadow past fulfillment: The Bible written by multiple Jews went to the Lamanites. Later, the Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants and Pearl of Great Price went to the Lamanites, and these last records established the truth of the Bible (as far as it is translated correctly), which is a record of the four apostles of the Lord, and made known the plain and precious parts missing in it. Both volumes of scripture were established in one, by being bound up as a quadruple combination.
Literal future fulfillment: The unchanged book carried by the Asian Gentile saints, written by a singular Jew, will go to the Lamanites. Later, the unabridged Nephite record (as well as other records) will go to the Lamanites and will establish the truth of the unadulterated book that is carried about by the Asian Gentile saints, which is a record of all twelve apostles of the Lord, and will make known the plain and precious parts that are missing in the perverted edition of that record. Both volumes of scripture will be established in one.
Chapter Fourteen of First Nephi
The whole of 1 Nephi 14 is still future, according to my understanding, but since I’m using CTC’s view to interpret the prophecy, I will try to bring up anything that may coincide with what I wrote about chapter thirteen.
Numbering
Shadow past/present fulfillment: I suppose latter-day saints could interpret numbering among the house of Israel as fulfilled by getting their patriarchal blessings, which tell them what tribe they have been assigned to.
Literal future fulfillment: Numbering is a tribal function. I’ve already gone over this on this blog before, so I’m not going to elaborate on this topic again. Let it suffice that my understanding is that this pertains to the future and has not yet been fulfilled in any part, whatsoever.
The great and marvelous work
Shadow past fulfillment: The times of Joseph Smith in which he restored many lost truths and layed the foundation of the kingdom is often thought as the great and marvelous work.
Literal future fulfillment: The great and marvel work takes places after the numbering of the Gentiles among the house of Israel, therefore, it is still a future event.
The covenants of the Father to the house of Israel
I don’t really need to comment on this.
Two churches only
Shadow past fulfillment: Some use this scripture retroactively, to apply to the thirteenth chapter of First Nephi. So, they define the great and abominable church as everything that isn’t the LDS church.
Literal future fulfillment: The great and marvelous work, which is still future, will cause a division among the people, so that there are no longer a multiplicity of churches on earth. Everything will either align itself with the great and abominable church, being absorbed by her, or join the saints of God in the now-called church of the Lamb of God. The church of the Lamb of God will be using, if you remember, the Book of the Lamb of God. In other words, that unchanged book written by a singular Jew, carried by the Asian Gentile saints, which contains the writings of the twelve (not four) apostles of the Lamb. Just as Mormons are called Mormons because of the book they carry and use and believe, so the Lamb of God church will be called by the name of their main book.
Headquarters in the midst of Irreantum
Shadow past fulfillment: Bad (non-LDS) churches are all over the planet.
Literal future fulfillment: The great and abominable church will be headquartered somewhere in the Pacific Ocean and will have global reach.
The church of the Lamb of God
Shadow past fulfillment: Good (LDS) churches are all over the planet.
Literal future fulfillment: The church of the Lamb of God will have global reach, but small membership, due to the other church’s wickedness.
Gathering of the whore to fight the Lamb
I ain’t gonna interpret this.
Power of God upon the saints and covenant people
Nor will I interpret this. But do notice that at this point in the prophetic timeline, the covenant people of the Lord are still in their scattered state.
Worldwide wars
Nor will I interpret this. But do notice that only now, after there are wars and rumors of war everywhere, after the numbering, after the unabridged Nephite record and the record of the twelve apostles of the Lamb come forth, etc., only after all these things happen does the work of the Father commence in preparing the way for the fulfilling of His covenants with Israel!
The apostle John
Shadow past fulfillment: John the apostle wrote the Book of Revelation, which contains some of the things that Nephi saw and the Book of Revelation is found in the Bible, which was written by multiple Jews.
Literal future fulfillment: John the apostle will appear in the future, with a mission to gather the tribes of Israel, as a Jewish Elias, meaning an Elias of the tribe of Judah, and he will come and restore all things pertaining to the Jews.
It was for this reason that John was translated, that he might perform this latter-day work.
John, then, is the Jew, out of whose mouth the book, which Nephi saw in vision, would proceed. He is the “hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb” which will write this book. Through John will proceed the record and testimony of all twelve apostles of the Lamb, and all the things which Nephi saw will be written by John, “and also many things which have been,” meaning that John will write things which preceded Nephi. The writings of John in the Bible do not cover all the things that the angel told Nephi John would write, which would be written in the book that proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, which is called “the Book of the Lamb of God.”
And this is the very reason why the angel prohibited Nephi from writing the rest of his vision. The Book of Revelation does not contain the vision that Nephi saw. If anything, it only contains a part of the vision, or an abridgement. Nephi could not write what he saw because it was not the proper time for that information to come forth. When John re-appears on the scene, he will dictate the book that Nephi saw the Asian Gentile saints carrying, which will contain the full vision of Nephi, as well as the covenants of the Lord, many of the prophecies of the prophets, the testimony of all twelve apostles, a record of the Jews and “many things which have been.” Yet, despite all that, it will still be less material than what the plates of brass contain.
John may, in fact, be the man who is wrought upon by the Spirit of God, who goes forth upon the many waters (Irreantum) to the promised land, who is followed by the Asian Gentile saints. John may be that man among the Asian Gentiles, who preaches to them and gives them the book that he will write, which they will carry with them to the promised land. John may be the very one who frees them from captivity, allowing them to leave their countries and come over the Irreantum to America.
Wrapping this up
Is any of this true? Could our standard interpretation of these two chapters be mere shadows? I will leave it up to the reader to figure that out for him or herself. One thing is for sure, if 1 Nephi 13 has yet to be literally fulfilled, we know what the very first thing mentioned is: the formation of a great and abominable church and the death, torture and captivity of the saints. Let us hope that none of the things I wrote above have any basis in prophetic reality.
Complete List of Articles authored by LDS Anarchist
December 29, 2012
Categories: Babylon, Gift of the Holy Ghost, Holy Ghost, Jesus Christ, LDS, Patriarchal Blessings, Power of the Holy Ghost, Preaching the Gospel, Prophecy, Prophets, Repentance, Sanctification, Scriptural Expositions, Secret Combinations, Symbolism, Tribalism, Zion . Tags: America, American Indians, Asia, Atlantic Ocean, Baptism, Book of Mormon, Book of the Lamb of God, captivity, Christopher Columbus, Church, Church of the Devil, Church of the Lamb of God, covenants, Death, destruction, devil, Elias, Europe, Gathering, Gentiles, Great and Abominable Church, Great and Marvelous Work, history, House of Israel, Irreantum, Jesus Christ, Jew, Jews, John, John the Apostle, John the Beloved, Lamanites, Land of Promise, Last Days, Latter-days, Nephi, Nephites, Pacific Ocean, Prophecy, Prophecy Interpretation, Remnant of Jacob, saints, Saints of God, Scattering, Scriptural Commentary, Scriptures, Spirit of God, Torture, Tribes of Israel, War, Warfare . Author: LDS Anarchist . Comments: 53 Comments