LESSON PLAN FOR REVELATION 7-12

ICEBREAKER

Top ten most googled questions of all time. 

• 1. when are the nba playoffs – 5,000,000

• 2. where’s my refund – 4,090,000

• 3. what is my ip address – 1,830,000

• 4. how to screenshot on mac – 1,500,000

• 5. who is the richest man in the world – 673,000

• 6. is water wet – 450,000

• 7. are jordans nike – 450,000

• 8. why is the sky blue – 165,000

• 9. can dogs eat apples – 74,000

• 10. does he like me – 74,000

They don’t even hold a candle to the most important question in the Book of Revelation. Do you remember what it is in chapter 6? It’s “Who shall be able to stand”. 

Is it possible? YES

But how?

REVELATION 7 QUESTIONS

1. Read Revelation 7:1-10

2. Write down at least 3 questions you have

If somebody asks you a question you’re not prepared for, then no need to panic. Either turn it to the class to ask what they think, tell them you would like some time to study it and you’ll get back to them, and then be sure you actually follow through on that promise, or tell them you don’t know the answer but encourage them to study and and ponder it out on their own. But what I’ve done is to assemble some of the questions that I think would be most likely and give a possible way of answering those questions.

7:1

Who are the angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds?

    D&C 77:8

    Same imagery in D&C 38:12

What does the wind symbolize? 

    Destruction

Why are they holding back the winds?

    Awaiting the command from God. A work needs to be done before they separate the wicked and righteous.

7:2-3

Who is the other angel in vs. 2?

    D&C 77:9

    An Elias who has power to seal the righteous

Why does he tell the angels not to hurt the earth?

    He needs time to seal the servants of God in their forehead

What is the seal of the living God?

    Revelation 14:1 The name of the father. If God puts his name on us, what does that say about us? If I write my name on my tools and my backpacking gear. Why do I do that? To show they belong to me. So if I have God’s name on me, I must belong to Him. 

Why is it on their foreheads?

    My commitment to God should be obvious. It may have reference to the clothing worn by the Israelite high priest who wore a plate of pure gold across the cap on his forehead with the words “holiness to the Lord” written on it. (Exodus 28:36-38)

7:4-10

Who are the sealed 144,000?

    D&C 77:11 They are high priests. 12 thousand from every tribe. 12,000 times 12 equals 144,000.

Why that number?

In John’s day, to square a number was to complete or perfect it. And the number 10,000 was often used as a hyperbolic expression meaning many. Like we would say, “I went to the concert last night and there must have been a billion people there”. We don’t literally mean a billion. We mean a lot. Well, 10,000 was like that number for them. So the 144,000 suggests a large, complete group of priesthood holders from every tribe, and nation, and kindred and tongue, and people. Meaning that in the last days, there will be many worthy Melchizedek priesthood holders from all over the world.

Who is the great multitude in vs. 9?

    And it’s not just priesthood holders, look in vs. 9 where he adds a great multitude of people to the group. These would represent all the righteous people of all the earth. I imagine we would see women, and children, and teenagers, and seniors, and white and black, and Asian, and South American, and Polynesian, and African all clothed with white robes and palms in their hands, singing praises to God.

Why are they so happy?

7:13-14

    Their robes washed in the blood of the Lamb.

Biggest Question:  So where do I get the seal of the Father’s name on my forehead?

Where do all these images come together.  Sealing, white robes, priesthood, Holiness to the Lord. Have you figured it out? Check your answer against these two verses.

Revelation 7:15, D&C 109:26

The Temple.  The temple worthy shall be able to stand. The major work of the 6th seal is temple work.

REVELATION 8

Well, moving on to chapter 8. Now we will open the seventh and final seal. The events that will set in motion the second coming of our Lord. 

The Sign of the Son of Man

And unlike all the other seals whose openings and closings are harder to  delineate, there is an event that clearly sets the opening of the seventh seal.  But it’s missing in the Book of Revelation. Revelation 8 begins with "And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. There should be another prophecy included before the half hour. And I’m not sure why it’s not there, but maybe it was one of the plain and precious truths removed from the New Testament. But thank heavens for modern scripture. If we go to D&C 88, we see a more inclusive and linear description of events. vs. 87-92 mirrors the prophecies of the chaos of the 6th seal and then announces in vs. 93 that "93 And immediately there shall appear a great sign in heaven, and all people shall see it together. The next verse announces the end of the apostasy, and then in vs. 95 we see the prophecy of the half hour silence. 

We also know about this sign from what Jesus Christ told his apostles on the Mt. Of Olives recorded in Joseph Smith-Matthew vs. 36

Joseph Smith gives us more detail in the following quote:

    . . .then will appear one grand sign of the Son of Man in heaven. But what will the world do? They will say it is a planet , a comet , etc. But the Son of Man will come as the sign of the coming of the Son of Man, which will be as the light of the morning cometh out of the east.

(HC 5:336-37.)

Joseph Smith, Discourses of the Prophet Joseph Smith

But Ezra Taft Benson once said:

“The record of the Nephite history just prior to the Savior’s visit reveals many parallels to our own day as we anticipate the Savior’s second coming”.

Ezra Taft Benson

(CR, Ap. 1987, p 3)

So, there are many parallels between what happened to the Nephites before their great destruction and visitation from the Savior, and our great destruction and visitation of the Savior. And I would ask you to think back if there were any signs given to them prior to his coming, that were astronomical in nature, and seen by all, and rationalized away by the unbelievers? The day and the night, and the day of light, or the sun going down and it not getting dark for a whole night that we find in 3 Nephi 1. Could we see a repeat of that miracle? Maybe.  The Book of Zechariah in the Old Testament, which is a book focused on the second coming, there is a scripture that perhaps alludes to this, Zechariah 14: 6-7

Anyway, do with that what you will, just an opinion.

The Half Hour of Silence

So this sign clearly delineates the opening of the 7th seal and sets in motion the events that will eventually climax in the visitation of the Savior. Then after that great sign,   we have the half hour of silence. But does that mean? a literal half hour? Probably not. This is the Book of Revelation.  I think it just indicates a relatively short period of time. Now that short period of time could be a number of years. If we make a parallel with what happened to the Nephites, as Ezra Taft Benson suggested, they too had a period of “silence" between the appearing of the sign and the great destruction preceding Christ’s appearance. How long was theirs? 34 years. I’m not suggesting that this will be the same with us, but maybe it will be 25 years, or 52 years, or 87 years. Whatever it is, it will be a relatively short period of time. And the purpose behind the silence? I’m not sure, perhaps it’s a dramatic pause, a silence of finality, or more hopefully, a silence of longsuffering, where Christ is offering the inhabitants of the earth a period of time in which to repent and change. He really wants all of his children to partake of the wonders of the millennium

1. What element is the major cleansing agent of the seventh seal?  (8:7/ 8:8/8:10/8:12/9:2/9:17)

Answer: Fire. Fire will be the major cleansing element. In this case it is a destructive fire. I’m not going to necessarily take this one literally. Perhaps there will be literal burning, but perhaps it’s a different kind of fire. The fire of anger, the fire of hatred, the fire of violence.  It brings to mind this verse in 1Nephi 22:17

2. What is the common portion of destruction on all areas of the earth? 8:7-12.

Answer: A third part

What does that mean? It could just mean that the destruction is not total. It is localized. Another compelling theory is this. How many kingdoms of glory are there? 3, Celestial, Terrestrial, and Telestial. Doctrinally speaking, who will be spared the destruction of the second coming? We know that both Celestial, and Terrestrial people will be spared and live through the millennium. Who will be destroyed? The Telestial, the third part are destroyed? Maybe.

3. Who do you think is the fallen star with the key to the bottomless pit in 9:1 and 9:11?

Answer: I think we are pretty safe to assume that it’s Satan. In vs. 11 he’s given two more names. Abaddon and Apollyon, both of which mean destruction in Hebrew and then in Greek. Remember parallel images. Jesus held the keys to death and hell. Satan has a key as well, to where? The bottomless pit. And smoke billows out of the pit and blocks out the light. An allusion to temptation, or hatred, anger, greed? Just like Lehi’s vision of the tree of life where mists of darkness blind their eyes

4. What destructive force do you think is represented by the strange locust creatures that come out of the smoke of anger and hate described in 9:7-10?

Locusts suggests an large overpowering force that leaves destruction in it’s wake. Shaped like horses suggests speed and strength, the crowns on their heads suggest conquering, the faces of men suggest intelligence and cunning, the women’s hair or long hair was often a sign of strength and brute power on a man. Think Samson.  Lion’s teeth suggests ferocity and aggression, the breastplates suggest invincibility, the sound of chariots suggest that they are an unstoppable and unyielding force, and scorpions tails suggest that they are intent on inflicting pain.  Put all of this together and what destructive force is John describing here? What unnatural, devastating, and terrifying force could it be? It’s war. One of the greatest means of destruction preceding the second coming will be war. It is the major cleansing element. We’ll talk about this idea more later in Revelation when we talk about Armageddon. 

If you think of the three cleansing agents of the Bible, water, fire, and blood, it’s easy to see the parallel imagery. I can be cleansed by the water of baptism or drowned in the flood of destruction, I can be purified by the fire of the Holy Ghost, or burned in the fires and smoke of hatred and anger, I can be atoned for by the blood of the Lamb, or my blood can be spilt in war. 

REVELATION 10

1. What does the Book represent in 10:8?

(See D&C 77:14 and Revelation 10:11)

    It represents a mission. So this is a mission call. If I were teaching a class, I might have some of you share what it was like to get your mission call. How did you feel?

2. What does the angel have John do with the book?

    He tells him to eat it. So John eats the book, or in this case, it would be a scroll.

3. Why? What do you think that means?

  Like Nephi said, feast upon the words of Christ. The idea of eating something suggests that you are internalizing it, taking it in to you. It nourishes you, sustains you, and becomes a part of you. I think I would encourage any person about to serve a mission to devour their mission call

4. Why do you think it was both bitter and sweet?

    Missionary work is both bitter and sweet

REVELATION 11

D&C 77:15 The Two Prophets. Literal prophecy according to Josep Smith

Even though this is a literal prophecy, I believe we can also learn some things if we study it figuratively. If you want to understand the allusion to the two olive trees and candlesticks better, I invite you to read Zechariah chapters 3 and 4. Here Zechariah also speaks of two olive branches and a candlestick. This was the time when the Israelites had been conquered by the Babylonians and many had been exiled to the East. But they were allowed to return and reestablish the temple and Jerusalem. Two men led the way, Joshua, the high priest, and Zerubabbel, the heir to the throne. They both face opposition, but in the end, they conquer. Perhaps this chapter could suggest that in the last days, God will raise up our own Joshua’s and Zerubabbels, spiritual leaders that will guide us through the opposition and help us to conquer. I see every prophet from Joseph Smith to Russell M. Nelson in this prophecy. They have all faced opposition from the world, but they have guided us through it, established temples and stakes of Zion all over the world. 

REVELATION 12

Read it in the full Joseph Smith Translation lengthy excerpts section in the appendices of your Bible.  

POSSIBLE ICEBREAKER

Revelation Pictionary. Call on a student to come forward to be the artist and draw on the board or on paper. What you will give them is a verse from chapter 12 or 13 and their job is to illustrate it only through pictures, but no talking. You could have two teams and each team has 30 seconds to try and guess the correct verse. If they can’t get it in 30 seconds, then the other team has an opportunity to steal the point, but they only get one guess to do so. Whichever team has the most points wins. 

Here are the verses I would choose for them to illustrate. Do them out of order.

• Rev. 12:1

• Rev. 12:7

• Rev. 12:15

• Rev. 13:1-2

• Rev. 13:11

12:1

Q: You may know that the Nauvoo temple had sun stones, moon stones, and star stones on it. The Salt Lake Temple as well. Without looking up a picture of it, What order do they go in from bottom to top? 

Read Revelation 12:1 for the correct order and the symbol that inspired it. 

A: Moon, Sun, and Stars. The woman has the moon under her feet, she is clothed with the Sun, and the she wears a crown of twelve stars on her head. Moon, sun, stars. What does she symbolize? The church. We talked about this idea back in the epistles of John with the three sets of parents. Here is Christ’s symbolic bride. 

Q: Why is this a good symbol for the church?

Well, she embodies the three great sources of light. The sun, the moon, and the stars. And those three sources of light are all very different. The light of the sun is bright, powerful, life giving, glorious, and constant. The light of the gospel matches that description. The light of the moon, is soft, gentle, peaceful, and beautiful. This is also a good description of the church and its gospel. It brings peace and beauty into our lives. Then the crown of 12 stars no doubt represents the 12 apostles. We’ve already mentioned that stars provide a different kind of light. A guiding light, a navigating light. So too do our apostles and prophets provide us with that guidance. 

12:2-3

So the woman is pregnant. And who would the child be? The guess made is usually Jesus Christ. But that’s not it. Remember, Christ is the husband in this symbolic relationship, so he can’t be the child too. What is it that the church and Christ wish to bring forth to the world? You can check your answer in vs. 7. There we find that the child is the kingdom our God and his Christ. That child has a name. It’s Zion. The purpose of the church in every dispensation has been to create Zion, the city of God. And it’s ultimate destiny is to be caught up unto God and his throne. The city of Enoch would be a prime example of this. 

And he is to rule all nations with a rod of iron. Well, you probably can figure that symbol out just be thinking of Lehi’s dream. What is the iron rod? The word of God. Zion rules by God’s word, not by fear, or intimidation, or brute force. 

12:4

Q: The kingdom of God is not going to grow without opposition. Who is the red dragon? Take a guess and then check your answer in vs. 8. 

A: It’s Satan. Why is Satan and his kingdom depicted by a dragon with seven heads? One idea. Evil has many faces, but it’s all the same heart. They could represent different types of sin attacking us from different directions. If Satan can’t get us with the sin of adultery, maybe he can succeed with anger.  If he can’t get us with the sin of pornography, maybe he can succeed with pride. If he can’t get us with the sin of greed, maybe he can succeed with gossip. Satan has many weapons in his arsenal, the worst strategy in facing a foe like this would be to focus all our attention on just one of the heads. Rather, we must be prepared to face all of them at once. Also, In John’s time many nations had opposed and conquered Israel in turn. Each was a unique enemy, but it was all the same heart. The Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, and the Romans all took turns trying to devour the child. In our day, dictatorship, Nazism, Communism, Terrorism, are all very different faces of evil, yet they are all inspired by the same source. In a later chapter. In 13:3 one of the heads of evil is wounded, yet it is healed and continues to fight. It reminds us of the Hydra of Greek mythology. You cut off one of its heads and two grow back. Yes, the hissing head of Nazism was cut, but what grew back in it’s place? Communism, well that was all but wiped out at the end of the last century, but what has taken it’s place? Militant Islam and terrorism. And if we ever solve that problem in our world, what can you bet is going to happen? Another head of evil will take its place.  The dragon stands with an open mouth, ready to devour the child. Satan will do everything in his power to keep Zion from being established. He has fought it for ages, and will continue to do so. 

12:5, 14

Q: What would the wilderness be? 

A: Apostasy. You see this imagery in Jacob 5 and D&C 86. I’m sure John understood all to owell what the church being driven into the wilderness  was all about because he was an eyewitness to it. At this time, he had already seen forces at work corrupting the church. We have some interesting numbers here again.1260, and then we have a time, and times, and half a time. How do we interpret those. Well they are basically the same measurement. 1260 days would be 3 1/2 years. The other expression is the same, time=1 year, times=2 years, and half a time= 1/2 a year. 3 1/2 years.  In Revelation 11 and 13 we have the time frame of 42 months. Again, 3 1/2 years. What’s the significance of that time. It’s an Old Testament reference to Elijah. When he was being opposed by Jezebel and most of the nation, he called a famine upon the land where there was no rain for 3 1/2 years.  Jesus refers to this time frame in Luke 4:25 and James also in James 5:17. Three and a half years symbolizes a time of persecution, contention, or a time of spiritual famine, apostasy. Now Joseph Smith changes the 1260 days to years, but I don’t think that alters the meaning. Perhaps it just augments the fact that this was no ordinary apostasy, but a Great and far reaching apostasy. 

One more thought from vs. 14. It says the woman was nourished in the wilderness during that time. Interesting. She doesn’t die in the wilderness. She’s nourished. Yes, the early Christian church did devolve into apostasy. However, not all the precious truths of the gospel were destroyed. The writings of the early church, though altered, still maintained the basic teachings of Christ, the ordinance of baptism, though changed, still existed, the sacrament, the resurrection, the importance of faith survived. That’s why I’m grateful in a way for the Catholic and Orthodox Church’s, and the reformers who didn’t allow the woman to die. I think that’s why it’s possible for me to still feel the Spirit in European cathedrals and looking at religious art  from that time depicting scenes from the Savior’s life. They had a corrupted gospel and many misunderstandings, but many of them loved Jesus and maintained an understanding of his truths. In the New World, the woman died. There was really nothing left of the church in the Americas when the Western world discovers it. But in the Old World, she survived. She survived enough to make it possible for a fourteen year old American boy from upstate New York to read James 1:5 and be inspired to pray about a true church. So, in a way, I feel we owe a debt of gratitude to those faithful monks, nuns, church leaders, and Christian disciples throughout the time of the Great Apostasy for keeping the woman alive during her sojourn in the wilderness.

12:6-13 

Well, you should view vs. 6-13 then as a parenthetical section. As John ruminates on Satan’s opposition to the church in the last days, his thoughts are called to rest upon another time when Satan opposed God and his people, the pre-mortal existence. As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, these verses are doctrinally significant to us. What happened in that pre-mortal realm? I invite you to read the rest of the chapter with this question in mind:

What do we learn about Satan? 

• He rebelled and made war with God.  

• Lucifer did not prevail and was cast out along with all those who followed him. 

• He is a deceiver. 

• Satan is the accuser of our brethren. 

• He is angry

• He knows he has but a short time.  

• He persecutes the church.
  

Now out of the parenthesis, John returns to the last days where The dragon spews a giant flood after the woman. What is the significance of the flood coming out of his mouth. Remember parallel images. In chapter 1, the sword of the word of God and truth came out his mouth,  but a flood issues from the mouth of dragon. A flood of lies? False doctrine? Accusation? Discouragement? All the corrupt communication that flows from the adversary. Luckily the earth opens up to protect her, which further angers him as he continues to make war with the Saints. 

We’ve fought this battle before. The war in heaven became the war on earth. And what is the war over? The exact same issue. It’s still the same question. Are you going to follow God’s plan, or rebel with the adversary. Will you choose the woman or the dragon? And there is a promise inherent in that comparison. Just as Satan was cast out of our presence there, one day we may rest assured that he will be cast from our presence again. We will not have to face him forever.

APPLY

Q: How are we going to overcome the dragon? If you were to make a wager based on appearance as to who would win this battle, who would you choose? A pregnant woman or a Seven headed dragon? You’d probably pick the dragon. But you’d be wrong. The dragon loses in the end. And maybe there is some message in that. Yes, it often appears that Satan has the upper hand. He seems in control of our world, he’s intimidating, powerful. But he will lose. The woman and the child will cast him out eventually. But what about us? He may defeat us. So how do we overcome him? Well, the same way we overcame him in the premortal existence.  The answer is in vs. 11, and 17. We have each been given three very powerful weapons. Can you find them?

Q: What are they?

A: The Blood of the Lamb, The word of our testimony,  obedience.

That is how we win this battle. Our confidence in the power of the Blood of the Lamb to cleanse us from our sins. We don’t need to be afraid of the accusations of unworthiness from the adversary because we are washed clean in Christ’s blood. Our testimonies and faith will help us to overcome, and our obedience to God’s commandments.  We won once before, and if we fight with the same winning tactics and weapons, we will enjoy the same result. 

So now I invite you to take a moment of introspection. How are you doing in the battle? Are you still fighting valiantly for the Lamb, or are you a casualty? How have these weapons helped you to stand against the dragon? The Atonement, your testimony, your obedience.