Lesson 153: Revelation 4–5
Introduction
The
Apostle John saw glorified beings worshipping Heavenly Father as He sat on His
throne. John also saw a book that was sealed with seven seals and saw the Lamb,
or Jesus Christ, who is worthy to open the book.
I.
Revelation 4
John
sees glorified beings worshipping Heavenly Father
---Consider
singing “Glory to God on High” (Hymns, no. 67) as the opening hymn, or
sing another hymn that praises and honors God.
---Ask
students to imagine being in the celestial kingdom. Invite several students to
describe what they think the celestial kingdom might be like.
---Explain
that as recorded in Revelation 4–5, the Apostle John saw a vision of
part of the celestial kingdom. Ask for a volunteer to draw on the board. Invite
several students to take turns reading aloud from Revelation 4:1–8, and ask the class to follow
along, looking for what John saw. Instruct the volunteer to draw, while these
verses are being read, what John saw. Those who are reading may need to pause
periodically to allow the student who is drawing time to complete each part of
the drawing. (Ask the volunteer to exclude the “one [who] sat on the throne” [verse 2], or Heavenly Father, from the
drawing to show respect for Him. For additional participation, you may invite
several students to take turns drawing.)
---Explain
that to be “in the spirit” (verse 2) means to be enveloped by the Spirit
in a revelatory state or vision, and explain that the “jasper” stone in verse 3 may indicate a colored stone or a
diamond and that a “sardine stone” (verse 3) is a precious stone that is usually
red or reddish orange.
---Explain
that modern revelation helps us understand more about what John saw. For
example, the Lord gave the revelation recorded in Doctrine and Covenants 77 after the Prophet Joseph
Smith asked Him to interpret some of the symbols and events recorded
in Revelation 1–11.
---Divide
students into groups of two or three, and give each group a copy of the
following handout. Invite students in each group to read the cross-reference
passages aloud together and to write on the chart additional information they
find about what John saw.
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What John Saw
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Cross-Reference
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Additional Information
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Throne
(Revelation 4:2–3)
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Twenty-four
elders with crowns (Revelation 4:4)
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Seven
Spirits of God (Revelation 4:5)
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Joseph
Smith Translation, Revelation 4:5 (in Revelation 4:5, footnote a)
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Sea
of glass (Revelation 4:6)
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Four
beasts (Revelation 4:6–7)
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Beasts’
many eyes and six wings (Revelation 4:8)
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©
2015 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
---After
sufficient time, invite students to report the additional information they
found. As needed, use the following answers to clarify or add to students’
understanding: God sits on a throne in the celestial kingdom; the 24 elders
with crowns are faithful elders who belonged to the seven churches; seven
servants of God are referenced, not seven spirits; the sea of glass is the
earth in its glorified, celestial state; the four beasts are actual animals
representing classes (or species) of glorified beings; the beasts’ eyes
represent great light and knowledge, and the beasts’ wings represent the power
to move and act.
---Invite
several students to take turns reading aloud from Revelation 4:8–11. Ask the class to follow along,
looking for what those assembled around Heavenly Father said and did.
- What did those assembled around Heavenly Father say about Him? What did they do?
- What could the elders casting their crowns before Heavenly Father’s throne represent? (Possible answers include their recognition of Heavenly Father’s greatness; their acknowledgment that they owe their exaltation to Him; and their reverence, adoration, and submissive devotion to Him.)
- What principle can we learn from this account about how recognizing Heavenly Father’s greatness can affect us? (Students may use different words, but make sure they identify the following principle: As we recognize Heavenly Father’s greatness, we desire to worship and praise Him.)
- What can help us recognize Heavenly Father’s greatness?
II.
Revelation 5
John
sees a book sealed with seven seals and the Lamb who is worthy to open it
---Invite
several students to take turns reading aloud from Revelation 5:1–4. Ask the class to follow along,
looking for what John saw in Heavenly Father’s hand.
- What did John see in Heavenly Father’s hand? (A book, or scroll, with seven seals.)
---Explain
that in ancient times, important documents were sealed with clay or wax seals.
Only the owner of the document and those whom the owner authorized were allowed
to break the seals and read the text.
- According to verse 2, what qualification did the person who could open the book need to have?
---Invite
students to read Doctrine and Covenants 77:6–7 silently, looking
for the meaning of the book and the seals.
- What does the book contain?
---Explain
that the 7,000-year period refers to the time since the Fall of Adam and Eve.
It does not refer to the actual age of the earth, including the periods of
creation.
- According to Doctrine and Covenants 77:7, what did the seven seals represent? (Seven thousand-year periods of the earth’s temporal existence, which extends from the Fall of Adam to the end of the Millennium.)
---Point
out that considering the meaning of the book and the seals, when it appeared
that no man was worthy to open the book, John may have thought that God’s will
and works would not be revealed or carried out.
- What would happen to Heavenly Father’s children if His plan for their salvation could not be carried out?
---Invite
a student to read Revelation 5:5–7 aloud. Invite the student to
also read the Joseph Smith Translation in verse 6, footnote b. Ask the class to
follow along, looking for why John was told not to weep. You may want explain
that in the scriptures, horns are often a symbol of power or authority; eyes
can symbolize light and knowledge; and the number twelve can symbolize divine
government and organization, or the priesthood.
- Why was John told not to weep?
- What does the title used for Jesus Christ as recorded in Revelation 5:6 reveal about Him? (He was the sacrificial offering that was given to atone for God’s children [see also Isaiah 53:7; 1 Corinthians 5:7; 1 Peter 1:18–19]. You may need to explain that “a Lamb as it had been slain” [Revelation 5:6] refers to the Lamb displaying the marks of having been slain. Point out that John the Baptist referred to the Savior as “Lamb of God” [John 1:29, 36].)
---Invite
a student to read Revelation 5:8–10 aloud. Ask the class to follow
along, looking for how the beings surrounding Heavenly Father’s throne praised
the Lamb. You may want to explain that “vials full of odours” (verse 8) refer to wide cups or bowls full of
incense.
- How did these beings praise the Lamb, or Jesus Christ?
- Based on what John saw and heard regarding the Lamb, what truth can we learn about Jesus Christ? (Students may use different words, but make sure they identify the following truth: Jesus Christ is the only one who is worthy and able to redeem us.)
- Why is Jesus Christ the only one who is worthy and able to redeem us?
- According to verse 10, what will those who are redeemed by Jesus Christ become? (Kings and priests, which includes women as queens and priestesses [see Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. (1966), 613].)
---Ask
students to ponder what Heavenly Father’s plan of salvation and the Savior’s
role in that plan mean to them personally. Invite students to write their
thoughts and feelings in their class notebooks or scripture study journals.
Inform them that they will be invited to share what they wrote later in the
lesson.
---Invite
a few students to take turns reading aloud from Revelation 5:11–14. Ask the class to follow
along, looking for how others joined in worshipping and praising Jesus Christ
and Heavenly Father.
- After the Lamb took the book from the hand of Heavenly Father, why did the glorified beings and all creation worship and praise Them? (The beings recognized the goodness of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and felt gratitude for the Lamb’s role in Heavenly Father’s plan.)
- What truth can we learn about what can lead us to worship and praise Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ as the beings and creations that John saw did? (Students may use different words, but make sure they identify the following principle: As we recognize and feel gratitude for what Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have done for us, we desire to worship and praise Them.)
---Point
out that the glorified beings and all creation worshipped Heavenly Father and
Jesus Christ in song. Similarly, we sing hymns to worship and praise Them.
Invite the class to sing “All Creatures of Our God and King” (Hymns,
no. 62) or another hymn that praises or glorifies God, and ask them to
think about how the hymn relates to Revelation 5:9–14.
- In addition to worshipping Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ through music, what else can we do to worship Them?
---Invite
a student to read aloud the following statement by Elder Bruce R. McConkie
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Ask the class to listen for what he
taught about worship:
“True and perfect worship consists
in following in the steps of the Son of God; it consists in keeping the
commandments and obeying the will of the Father to that degree that we advance
from grace to grace until we are glorified in Christ as he is in his Father. It
is far more than prayer and sermon and song. It is living and doing and
obeying. It is emulating the life of the great Exemplar” (“How to Worship,” Ensign, Dec. 1971, 130).
- How do Elder McConkie’s teachings add to your understanding of how we can worship Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
- How are we blessed by worshipping and praising Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
- Why do you desire to worship and praise Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ? (Invite students to share some of the thoughts and feelings they wrote earlier.)
---Consider
sharing your feelings about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, including why you
willingly worship Them.
---Invite
students to ponder and answer the following question in their
class notebooks or scripture study journals:
- What more could you do to worship Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ?
---After
students have had sufficient time to write, encourage them to apply what they
wrote.
Commentary and Background Information
Revelation
4–5. Symbolism of what John saw
See
page 541 of New Testament Student Manual (Church
Educational System manual, 2014) for commentary on the four beasts (Revelation 4:6–9), the titles “Lion of the tribe
of Juda” and “Root of David” (Revelation 5:5), and the Savior’s role as the
Lamb of God (Revelation 5:6–14).
Revelation
4:3. “He that sat [on the throne] was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine
stone”
Elder
Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained why John
might have mentioned the jasper and sardine stones (see Revelation 4:3):
“In
striving to record for mortal comprehension the grandeur, glory, and beauty of
the Almighty of Almighties, John likens his appearance to precious and
semi-precious stones. The jasper mentioned is believed by commentators to be a
diamond …
“… How
can mortal prophets find language to unveil to the view of their fellow mortals
the splendor and transcendent beauty of that eternal world of celestial might
and glory? They speak of rainbows and jewels, of circling flames of fires, of
burning coals of fire with lightning flashing forth therefrom; they tell of
thunders and voices, of the sound of the rushing of many waters, and of
majestic displays of might and beauty—all in an attempt to record in mortal
words that which can be seen and known only by the power of the Spirit. (Ezek. 1 and 10; Isa. 6.) But the Lord be praised that they have made such
attempts so that those who have not seen and heard may gain some meager
knowledge of those things hidden behind the windows of heaven” (Doctrinal New
Testament Commentary, 3 vols. [1965–73], 3:464–66).
Revelation
4:6. “A sea of glass”
The
Prophet Joseph Smith said the following about the “sea of
glass” (Revelation 4:6):
“While
at dinner, I remarked to my family and friends present, that when the earth
was sanctified and became like a sea of glass, it would be one great urim and thummim, and the Saints could look in it
and see as they are seen” (in History of the Church, 5:279).
President
Brigham Young gave the following insight:
“This
earth will become a celestial body—be like a sea of glass, or like a urim and thummim; and when you wish to know
anything, you can look in this earth and see all the eternities of God” (in Journal
of Discourses, 8:200; see also D&C 88:17–20, 25–26; 130:6–9).
© 2016 by
Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
Ask
follow-up questions
Asking
follow-up questions can help you better understand students’ answers. Examples
of follow-up questions include “Can you help me understand what you mean by
that?” and “Can you give me an example of what you mean?” These questions
invite students to share their thoughts and feelings and invite a spirit of
testimony into the students’ responses.
Lesson 154: Revelation 6–11, Part 1
Introduction
John
saw a vision of the Lamb of God opening the first six seals of the sealed book.
In the sixth seal, John saw the servants of God who had “washed their robes …
in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14).
I.
Revelation 6
John
saw the Lamb of God opening the first six seals of the sealed book
---Invite
students to share any concerns they may have about living in the latter days.
List their responses on the board.
---Invite
a student to read aloud the following statement by the Prophet Joseph
Smith. Ask the class to listen for how ancient prophets felt about
our day:
“Prophets, priests and kings … have
looked forward with joyful anticipation to the day in which we live; and fired
with heavenly and joyful anticipations they have sung and written and
prophesied of this our day”
(Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 186).
- How did ancient prophets feel about our day?
---Point
out that John the Revelator was one of the prophets who knew about the events
of the latter days and who prophesied of our day with joyful anticipation.
---Invite
students to look as they study Revelation 6–7 for reasons why ancient prophets looked forward
to our day with joy.
---Remind
students that as recorded in Revelation 5:1–5, John saw a book with seven
seals that only the Lamb was worthy to open. Explain that in his vision, John
saw figurative representations of some of the major events pertaining to each
of the thousand-year periods represented by the seven seals.
---Write
the following list on the board (consider doing this before class):
First
seal (Revelation 6:1–2)
Second
seal (Revelation 6:3–4)
Third
seal (Revelation 6:5–6)
Fourth
seal (Revelation 6:7–8)
Fifth
seal (Revelation 6:9–11)
---Give
each student a sheet of paper. Assign each student one of the seals (each seal
may be assigned to more than one student). Ask students to read the references
corresponding with their assigned seal and to draw some of the events John saw
pertaining to that seal.
---After
sufficient time, invite students to show their drawings to the class in order,
starting with those who were assigned the first seal. Invite one student from
each group to use his or her drawing to explain what John saw when that seal
was opened. As students report, share the following possible interpretations
suggested by Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
You may want to encourage students to write this information in their
scriptures or in their class notebooks or scripture study journals.
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First
seal
(About
4000 to 3000 B.C.)
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White
horse = Victory
Bow
= Warfare
Crown
= Conqueror
Elder
McConkie suggested that verses 1–2 describe Enoch’s day and that the
rider is Enoch (see Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3 vols.
[1966–73], 3:476–78).
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Second
seal
(About
3000 to 2000 B.C.)
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Red
horse = Bloodshed
Sword
= War and destruction
Elder
McConkie suggested that verses 3–4 describe Noah’s day, when wickedness
covered the earth. The rider of the red horse could be the devil himself or
perhaps “a person representing many murdering warriors” (Doctrinal New
Testament Commentary, 3:478–79).
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Third
seal
(About
2000 to 1000 B.C.)
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Black
horse = Famine
Balances
= High prices for food
Elder
McConkie suggested that verses 5–6 describe Abraham’s day, when many
died of starvation (see Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:479–80). A
person could purchase only enough food to live on with a whole day’s wages,
indicating extreme famine prices.
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Fourth
seal
(About
1000 B.C. to the birth of Christ)
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Pale
horse = Death
Death
and hell = Destruction of the wicked and their reception into spirit prison
(see Isaiah 5:14)
Elder
McConkie said verses 7–8 refer to “the millennium of those
great kingdoms and nations whose wars and treacheries tormented and overran
[Israel], again and again” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 3:481). These
nations included Babylon, Persia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome.
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Fifth
seal
(About
the birth of Christ to A.D. 1000)
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Altar
= Sacrifice
Souls
= Martyrs, Christians killed for their beliefs
Elder
McConkie suggested that verses 9–11 refer to the many early Christians,
including most of the original Apostles, who died as martyrs (see Doctrinal
New Testament Commentary, 3:482–83). Because these Saints gave up their lives
“for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held” (Revelation 6:9), they were given “white robes,”
symbolic of purity (see Revelation 7:13–14; 3 Nephi 27:19).
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After
each group has presented, explain that the sixth seal represents our time and
the events leading up to the Millennium, when Jesus
Christ will reign personally on the earth (see Doctrinal New
Testament Commentary, 3:485–86).
---Invite
a few students to take turns reading aloud from Revelation 6:12–17, including the Joseph Smith
Translation in verse 14, footnote a. Ask the class to
follow along, looking for the events John foresaw.
- When the sixth seal was opened, what events did John see? (Explain that these catastrophic events are signs of the last days.)
- According to verse 16, what will those who seek to escape God’s “wrath” wish for?
- What question is recorded in verse 17?
---Write
the following question on the board: Who shall be able to stand?
---Explain
that Revelation 7 helps us understand who will be
able to stand, or abide, the catastrophes of the sixth seal.
II.
Revelation 7
John
saw the servants of God who had washed their robes in the Lamb’s blood
---Invite
a student to read Revelation 7:1 aloud, and invite another student
to read Doctrine and Covenants 77:8 aloud. Ask the class
to follow along, looking for what else John saw in the sixth seal.
- What were the four angels doing? (Point out that the winds they are holding back have power to destroy life on earth. See also D&C 86:5–7.)
---Invite
a student to read Revelation 7:2–3 aloud and another to read Doctrine and Covenants 77:9 aloud. Ask the class
to follow along, looking for what another angel said to the four angels.
- According to Doctrine and Covenants 77:9, who is the angel “ascending from the east”? (Revelation 7:2).
---Explain
that the word Elias in this instance is a “title for those whose mission [is]
to commit keys and powers to men in the final dispensation” (Doctrinal New
Testament Commentary, 3:491–92; see also Bible
Dictionary, “Elias”).
- •What did this angel say to the four angels?
---Explain
that “the sealing, or marking, of ‘the servants of our God in their foreheads’
is a metaphor of their devotion, service, and belonging to God (Revelation 7:3; see also Revelation 9:4; 14:1). …
“The Prophet Joseph Smith taught
that the sealing of the faithful in their foreheads ‘signifies sealing the
blessing upon their heads, meaning the everlasting covenant, thereby making
their calling and election sure’ (in History of the Church, 5:530)” (New Testament Student
Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2014], 544).
---Explain
that as recorded in Revelation 9, John saw what would happen to
those who do not bear this seal. Invite a student to read Revelation 9:3–4 aloud. Ask the class to follow
along, looking for the condition of those who do not have this seal. Invite
students to report what they find.
---Invite
students to read Revelation 7:4 silently, looking for how many
people were sealed in the forehead by this angel. Ask students to report what
they find.
---Explain
that the Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith that “the number 144,000 mentioned
in Revelation 7:4–8 is the number of ordained high
priests out of the twelve tribes of Israel who will assist others in their
quest for exaltation [see D&C 77:11]. It is not, as some people
believe, the total number of people who will be exalted” (New Testament Student
Manual [Church Educational System manual, 2014], 544).
---Invite
a student to read Revelation 7:9–10 aloud. Ask the class to follow
along, looking for who else John saw.
- Who did John see?
- What was this multitude wearing and holding? (You may need to explain that palm branches can symbolize victory and joy.)
---Invite
a student to read Revelation 7:13–17 aloud. Invite the class to
follow along, looking for what John learned about these people.
- What had these people endured?
- How did their robes become white? (By the “blood of the Lamb”—symbolic of Jesus Christ’s Atonement.)
- According to verses 15–17, what blessings did these people receive because they were purified through the Atonement of Jesus Christ? (You might point out that these verses describe the joy, peace, and devotion of those who inherit celestial glory.)
- What principle can we identify from these verses about how we can inherit celestial glory? (Students may use different words, but make sure they identify a principle similar to the following: If we endure tribulation faithfully and become pure through Jesus Christ’s Atonement, we will enjoy celestial glory with God. Write this principle on the board.)
---Invite
students to ponder what it would be like and how they would feel to stand
purified in God’s presence.
- How would these feelings compare to the feelings of the people described in Revelation 6:16?
- What must we do so that the Savior can purify us through His Atonement?
- How has remembering the blessings of celestial glory helped you in your efforts to endure tribulation and become pure?
---Remind
students of the list of concerns written on the board at the beginning of
class. Invite them to consider how the principle written on the board can help
them when they feel concerned about living in the latter days. Invite a few
willing students to share their thoughts with the class.
---Invite
students to take a few minutes to ponder how they can apply the principle they
learned today. Encourage them to record any promptings they receive.
Commentary and Background Information
Revelation
6–11. Living in the last days
President
Boyd K. Packer of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught the following
about living in the last days:
“Teenagers
also sometimes think, ‘What’s the use? The world will soon be blown all apart
and come to an end.’ That feeling comes from fear, not from faith. No one knows
the hour or the day (see D&C 49:7), but the end cannot come until all
of the purposes of the Lord are fulfilled. Everything that I have learned from
the revelations and from life convinces me that there is time and to spare for
you to carefully prepare for a long life” (“To Young Women and Men,” Ensign, May
1989, 59).
Revelation
7:1–3. The righteous will experience trials and suffering
“The
Apostle John saw that certain calamities preceding the Second Coming would not
affect all the earth or its inhabitants ‘but only those men which have not the
seal of God in their foreheads’ (Revelation 9:4). This corresponds with other
scriptural promises that in the last days, those who are faithful will
ultimately be protected (see 1 Nephi 22:17–19; D&C 115:5–6). …
“Though
the Lord promises protection to the righteous in the last days, the Prophet Joseph
Smith clarified that some who are righteous may lose their lives in
the trials and calamities of the last days: ‘[I] explained concerning the
coming of the Son of Man; also that it is a false idea that the Saints will
escape all the judgments, whilst the wicked suffer; for all flesh is subject to
suffer, and “the righteous shall hardly escape” [see D&C 63:34]; still many of the Saints will
escape, for the just shall live by faith [see Habakkuk 2:4]; yet many of the righteous shall
fall a prey to disease, to pestilence, etc., by reason of the weakness of the
flesh, and yet be saved in the Kingdom of God’ (Teachings of Presidents of the
Church: Joseph Smith [2007], 253)” (New Testament Student Manual [Church
Educational System manual, 2014], 547).
Revelation
7:2. Elias
Elder
Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles explained the title
Elias:
“Many
angelic ministrants have been sent from the courts of glory to confer keys and
powers, to commit their dispensations and glories again to men on earth. At
least the following have come: Moroni, John the Baptist, Peter, James, and
John, Moses, Elijah, Elias, Gabriel, Raphael, and
Michael. (D&C 13; 110; 128:19–21.) Since it is apparent that no one
messenger has carried the whole burden of the restoration, but rather that each
has come with a specific endowment from on high, it becomes clear that Elias is
a composite personage. The expression must be understood to be a name and a
title for those whose mission it was to commit keys and powers to men in this
final dispensation. ([See Joseph Fielding Smith,] Doctrines of Salvation,
vol. 1, pp. 170–174.)” (Mormon Doctrine, 2nd ed. [1966], 221).
See also Bible Dictionary, “Elias.”
Supplemental Teaching Ideas
Overview
of the book of Revelation
To
help students better understand the chronology and events described in Revelation 6–11, consider using the Overview of the Book of Revelation found in the New
Testament Student Manual (Church Educational System manual, 2014) on pages
538–39. You may want to invite students to read the information found in the
top half of the overview, titled “The Seven Seals (Seven 1,000-Year Periods of
the Earth’s Temporal Existence).”
Video presentation—“Helps for
Understanding the Book of Revelation”
Consider
using the following video clips to help students understand the context and
content of the book of Revelation (these videos are available on LDS.org):
© 2016 by
Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.
Teacher
presentation
While
it is important that students take an active role in the learning process in
order to better understand the scriptures and apply them in their lives, you
will still need to explain, clarify, and illustrate when appropriate so that
students can more clearly understand the context and content of a particular
scripture block.
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