Scriptural Highlights

• Satan fights against the righteous.
• Satan will be bound and Christ will reign in triumph during the Millennium.
• After the last judgment, the righteous will dwell with God.

Satan Fights Against The Righteous

1. READ REVELATION 5:1-5.  A book sealed with seven seals.
• WHAT IS THE BOOK AND WHAT ARE THE SEVEN SEALS?
• "Q. What are we to understand by the book which John saw, which was sealed on the back with seven seals?

"A. We are to understand that it contains the revealed will, mysteries, and works of God; the hidden things of his economy concerning this earth during the seven thousand years of its continuance, or its temporal existence." (D. & C. 77:6)
• "Q. What are we to understand by the seven seals with which it was sealed?

"A. We are to understand that the first seal contains the things of the first thousand years and the second also of the second thousand years, and so on until the seventh." (D. & C. 77:7.)
• Orson F. Whitney:  "'The book which John saw' represented the real history of the world—what the eye of God has seen, what the recording angel has written; and the seven thousand years, corresponding to the seven seals of the Apocalyptic volume, are as seven great days during which Mother Earth will fulfill her mortal mission, laboring six days and resting upon the seventh, her period of sanctification. These seven days do not include the period of our planet's creation and preparation as a dwelling place for man. They are limited to Earth's 'temporal existence,' that is, to Time, considered as distinct from Eternity....

    "According to received chronology—admittedly imperfect, yet approximately correct—four thousand years, or four of the seven great days given to this planet as the period of its 'temporal existence,' had passed before Christ was crucified; while nearly two thousand years have gone by since. Consequently, Earth's long week is now drawing to a close, and we stand at the present moment in the Saturday Evening of Time, at or near the end of the sixth day of human history. Is it not a time for thought, a season for solemn meditation? Morning will break upon the Millennium, the thousand years of peace, the Sabbath of the World!" (Saturday Night Thoughts, pp4-5)
• WHO IS IT THAT IS ABLE TO OPEN THE BOOK AND LOOSE THE SEVEN SEALS?
• Bruce R. McConkie:  "Christ is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. (Rev. 5:5.) When Father Jacob gave Judah his patriarchal blessing, Judah was likened both to a lion's whelp and to an old lion and was promised that the sceptre should not depart from his descendants until the coming of Christ. (Gen. 49:8-12.) Accordingly, to denominate our Lord as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is to point to his position as a descendant of Judah, to his membership in that tribe from which kings were chosen to reign, and also to show his status as the most pre-eminent of all that house, as the one who bore the banner of the tribe so to speak." (Mormon Doctrine, p449)

    "Christ is the Root of David. (Rev. 5:5; 22:16.) This designation signifies that he who was the Son of David was also before David, was pre-eminent above him, and was the root or source from which the great king in Israel gained his kingdom and power." (Mormon Doctrine, p657)
2. The First Six of Seven Seals in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 6):
• Note: In a review of several authoritative sources (Teacher's Manual, Religion 211-212 Manual, Doctrinal New Testament Commentary) I found that there was some difference as to how the events of history fit into each of the seven seals or time periods.  Thus, what follows does not intend to be a rigid explanation of each period.
• The First Seal:
• V1-2: "And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

    "And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
• Time frame:
• Bruce R. McConkie: "The period involved is from 4000 B. C. to 3000 B. C. It extends from (or rather, after) the fall of Adam, which according to Ussher's chronology was 4004 B. C., to shortly after the translation of Enoch and his city in 3017 B.C." (DNTC, 3:477)
• Major events:
• The creation and fall of Adam and Eve.
• The murder of Abel and the cursing of Cain.  The beginnings of apostasy.
• The populating of the earth and the development of nations, kingdoms, and governments.
• The ministry of Enoch and the translation of his city into heaven.
• WHAT ARE THE FOUR BEASTS REFERENCED IN VERSE 1?
• D&C 77:2: "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."
• D&C 77:3: "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."
• Joseph Smith: "I suppose John saw beings there of a thousand forms, that had been saved from ten thousand times ten thousand earths like this,—strange beasts of which we have no conception: all might be seen in heaven. The grand secret was to show John what there was in heaven. John learned that God glorified Himself by saving all that His hands had made, whether beasts, fowls, fishes or men; and He will glorify Himself with them.

    "Says one, 'I cannot believe in the salvation of beasts.' Any man who would tell you that this could not be, would tell you that the revelations are not true. John heard the words of the beasts giving glory to God, and understood them. God who made the beasts could understand every language spoken by them. The four beasts were four of the most noble animals that had filled the measure of their creation, and had been saved from other worlds, because they were perfect: they were like angels in their sphere. We are not told where they came from, and I do not know; but they were seen and heard by John praising and glorifying God." (TPJS, p291)
• Verse 2:
• Bruce R. McConkie: "Such of these events as John saw pertained to someone on a white horse (the emblem of victory); who had a bow (weapons of war); wore a crown (the garland or wreath of a conqueror); and who went forth conquering and to conquer (that is, was victorious in war)." (DNTC, 3:477)
• Bruce R. McConkie: "...it is clear that the most transcendent happenings involved Enoch and his ministry. And it is interesting to note that what John saw was not the establishment of Zion and its removal to heavenly spheres, but the unparalleled wars in which Enoch, as a general over the armies of the saints, 'went forth conquering and to conquer'." (DNTC, 3:478)
• See Moses 7:13-17.
• The Second Seal:
• V3-4: "And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.

    "And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword."
• Time Frame: 3000 to 2000 B.C.
• Major Events:
• Noah and the flood.
• On era of war and destruction.
• Bruce R. McConkie: "Who rode the red horse, the red horse of war and bloodshed and a sword, during the second seal? Perhaps it was the devil himself, for surely that was the great day of his power, a day of such gross wickedness that every living soul (save eight only) was found worthy of death by drowning, which wickedness caused the Lord God of Heaven to bring in the floods upon them.

    "Or if it was not Lucifer, perhaps it was a man of blood, or a person representing many murdering warriors, of whom we have no record." (DNTC, 3:479)
• The Third Seal:
• V5-6: "And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.

    "And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine."
• Time Frame: 2000 to 1000 B.C.
• Major Events:
• Ministries of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph.
• Bondage in Egypt and Moses ministry.
• A period of famine and hunger.
• Elder McConkie provides an explanation of the symbols in these verses (DNTC, 3:481):
• A pair of balances: The symbol of scarcity of provisions, the bread being doled out by weight.
• A measure of wheat: About two pints.
• A penny: A day's wages. (Matt. 20:2.)
• Three measures of barley for a penny: The cheaper and less nutritious grain, bought by the laborer who could not buy enough wheat for his family with his day's wages.
• Hurt not the oil and the wine: Preserve enough of the fruit of the earth so that man shall not utterly perish and cease to be.
• The Fourth Seal:
• V7-8: "And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.

    "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth."
• Time Frame: 1000 B.C. to the birth of the Lord.
• Major Events:
• The reign of the judges.
• The period of reign by kings.
• The division of the kingdom.
• The conquering of the kingdoms.
• Bruce R. McConkie: "During the fourth seal, from 1000 B. C. to the coming of our Lord, death rode roughshod through the nations of men, and hell was at his heels. Thus, the slain among the ungodly in this age of bloodshed -- whether by sword or by famine or by pestilence or by wild beasts -- were, at their death, cast down to hell. This is the millennium of those great kingdoms and nations whose wars and treacheries tormented and overran, again and again, the people whom Jehovah had chosen to bear his name. This is also the general era in which the Lord's own people warred among themselves and sent countless numbers of their own brethren to untimely graves." (DNTC, 3:482)
• The Fifth Seal:
• V9-11: "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

    "And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
    "And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled."
• Time Frame: From the Lord's birth to 1000 A.D.
• Major Events:
• The birth, life, ministry, and atonement of Jesus Christ.
• The establishment of the Lord's church and ministry of the Apostles.
• Bruce R. McConkie: "...the complete falling away from true and perfect Christianity, which sad eventuality ushered in the long night of apostate darkness on all the face of the earth." (DNTC, 3:484)
• Bruce R. McConkie: "Our Lord's work and ministry are everywhere taught in holy writ; the facts relative to the post-meridian apostasy and the perversion of the saving truths and powers are also abundantly taught in other sacred writings. And so what is more natural than to find the Lord revealing here, that portion of the sealed book which deals with the doctrine of martyrdom. Among the ancient saints martyrdom was an ever present possibility, one which completely occupied their thoughts and feelings. They knew that by forsaking all to follow Christ, they might, if fate so decreed, be called to lay down their lives for Him who had laid down his life for them. In an almost death-inviting sense, the meridian of time was the dispensation of martyrdom." (DNTC, 3:484)
• The Sixth Seal:
• READ REVELATION 6:12-17.  The opening of the sixth seal.
• Time Frame:
• Bruce R. McConkie: "We are now living during the final years of the sixth seal, that thousand year period which began in 1000 A. D. and will continue through the Saturday night of time and until just before the Sabbatical era when Christ shall reign personally on earth, when all of the blessings of the Great Millennium shall be poured out upon this planet. This, accordingly, is the era when the signs of the times shall be shown forth, and they are in fact everywhere to be seen." (DNTC, 3:486-487)
• Major Events:
• Continuation of the Apostasy.
• Restoration of the gospel through the Prophet Joseph Smith.
• Signs of the times.
3. As we review chapter 6, we learn that Satan has fought against the righteous throughout the history of the earth.
• WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WAYS HE HAS DONE THIS?
• Review Revelation 6:4-11.
• Violence and warfare (v4, 8).
• Hunger and famine (v5-6, 8).
• Persecution (v9-11).
• WHAT TACTICS DOES SATAN USE TODAY TO TRY TO OVERCOME THE RIGHTEOUS?
• President Gordon B. Hinckley:  "That war, so bitter, so intense, has gone on, and it has never ceased.  It is the war between truth and error, between agency and compulsion, between the followers of Christ and those who have denied Him.  His enemies have used every stratagem in that conflict.  They've indulged in lying and deceit.  They've employed money and wealth.  They've tricked the minds of men.  They've murdered and destroyed and engaged in every other unholy and impure practice to thwart the work of Christ....

    "[Opposition] has been felt in the undying efforts of many, both within and without the Church, to destroy faith, to belittle, to demean, to bear false witness, to tempt and allure and induce our people to practices inconsistent with the teachings and standards of this work of God....
    "The war goes on.  It is waged across the world over the issues of agency and compulsion.  It is waged by an army of missionaries over the issues of truth and error.  It is waged in our own lives, day in and day out, in our homes, in our work, in our school associations; it is waged over questions of love and respect, of loyalty and fidelity, of obedience and integrity.  We are all involved in it." (Ensign, Nov 1986, p42, 44-45)
• HOW CAN WE MAINTAIN HOPE AND A POSITIVE OUTLOOK AS WE FIGHT THE WAR AGAINST SATAN?
• President Hinckley painted a rather grim picture of the battle that Satan is waging against the Lord's people.  But he continued his comments by saying, "We are winning [the war against Satan], and the future never looked brighter."
• Though Satan is waging an ugly war, President Hinckley has assured us that we can and are being victorious in the battle.  The fact that Satan has brought out his "heavy artillery" is evidence that we can win and are winning.  That knowledge should give us hope as we persevere though difficult times.

Satan Will Be Bound & Christ Will Reign During The Millennium

1. In Revelation, chapters 8 through 16, John identified many plagues, wars, and judgments that would occur before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  In chapter 19, he described the coming of the Lord, symbolized by a marriage supper.
• Revelation 19:7-9:  "Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

    "And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
    "And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God."
• WHAT DOES THE WIFE OF THE LAMB REPRESENT?
• The Church of Jesus Christ.
• WHAT MUST WE DO TO BE INVITED TO THIS MARRIAGE FEAST?
• Bruce R. McConkie: "The elders of Israel are now issuing the invitations to the marriage supper of the Lord; those who believe and obey the gospel thereby accept the invitation and shall sit in due course...at the marriage feast." (DNTC, 3:563-564)
• If we return to verse 8, we must be properly attired for the marriage feast in "fine line, clean and white".  That comes from our righteousness.
2. Revelation 20:1-3: "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

    "And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
    "And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season."
• WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO SATAN DURING THE MILLENNIUM?
• John Taylor: "I would remark, further, that so far from Satan not exercising this power over man, he exercises it to such an extent, and he possesses such an unbounded influence over the human family, that God's purposes relative to man, and the earth, never can be carried out until Satan is bound, and cast into the bottomless pit." (The Government of God, Ch.6)
• Bruce R. McConkie:  "What does it mean to bind Satan? How is he bound? Our revelation says: 'And in that day Satan shall not have power to tempt any man.' (D&C 101:28.) Does this mean that power is withdrawn from Satan so that he can no longer entice men to do evil? Or does it mean that men no longer succumb to his enticements because their hearts are so set on righteousness that they refuse to forsake that which is good to follow him who is evil? Clearly it means the latter. Satan was not bound in heaven, in the very presence of God, in the sense that he was denied the right and power to preach false doctrine and to invite men to walk away from that God whose children they were; nay, in this sense, he could not have been bound in heaven, for even he must have his agency." (The Millennial Messiah, p668)

"During the Millennium Satan will be bound (Rev. 20:2). He will still be on earth, attempting to tempt every person, as he has since the Fall of Adam, but he will be bound because no one will hearken to his temptations (1 Ne. 22:26)." (Encyclopedia of Mormonism, Vol.1, DEVILS)
• WHAT WILL LIFE BE LIKE WHEN SATAN IS BOUND?
• HOW CAN WE LIMIT THE POWER OF SATAN IN OUR LIVES RIGHT NOW?
3. Revelation 20:7-8: "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
       "And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea."
• WHAT WILL BE THE RESULT OF THIS GREAT BATTLE AT THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM?
• READ REVELATION 20:9-11. The devil cast into an eternal lake of fire and brimstone.
• D&C 88:114-115: "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.
      "For Michael shall fight their battles, and shall overcome him who seeketh the throne of him who sitteth upon the throne, even the Lamb."
• Ezra Taft Benson: "Each day the forces of evil and the forces of good enlist new recruits.  Each day we personally make many decisions showing the cause we support.  The final outcome is certain--the forces of righteousness will win.  But what remains to be seen is where each of us personally, now and in the future, will stand in this battle--and how tall we stand.  Will we be true to our last days and fulfill our foreordained missions?"  (Ensign, Sep 1988, p2)

After The Last Judgment, The Righteous Will Dwell With God

1. AFTER THE LAST GREAT BATTLE, THE FINAL JUDGMENT WILL OCCUR.  HOW WILL WE BE JUDGED?
• Revelation 20:12: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."
• Spencer W. Kimball:  "The Book of Life (see Revelation 20:12) will show the earthly activities of all of us, and the book of the angels will give the entire story of every man and what he did in the light and in the shadows, in the open and in the corners, all that is said in the secret places and from the housetops, all that was thought and expressed, whether good or bad. There will be no escape. The honest judge will give full value to all for their good works and will not overlook the other." (Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, p46)
2. READ REVELATION 21:37. He that overcometh shall inherit all things.
• WHAT BLESSINGS WILL COME TO THOSE WHO ARE JUDGED TO BE RIGHTEOUS?
• Dwell in God's presence (v3).
• No longer experience death, sorrow, crying, or pain (v4).
• Inherit all things as sons and daughters of God (v7).
3. Revelation 21:10-22:5 describes the celestial glory of the earth and the city in which those who have attained celestial glory will reside.
• In his vision, John did not see a temple in the city (21:22).
• Bruce R. McConkie: "Temples are to continue until this earth becomes a celestial sphere, when, as it appears from the revelations, their purposes will have been served and they will no longer be needed." (Mormon Doctrine, p781)
• "The purpose of the temple is to bring us closer to God and teach us his plan.  When we live with him again, temples will no longer be necessary." (Lesson Manual, p195)
4. WHAT MUST WE DO TO BE ABLE TO ENTER THE GATES OF THE ETERNAL CITY?
• Revelation 22:14: "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city."
• President David O. McKay told of a vision in which he saw a beautiful city; many people dressed in white, and the Savior: "The city, I understood, was [the Savior's].  It was the City Eternal; and the people following him were to abide there in peace and eternal happiness.
      "But who were they?
      "As if the Savior read my thoughts, he answered by pointing to a semicircle that then appeared above them, and on which were written in gold the words: These Are They Who Have Overcome the World--Who Have Truly Been Born Again!" (Cherished Experiences from the Writings of President David O. McKay, p60)

Next Week

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