The Church

This is the second in a series of articles extracted and edited from The Revelation of John the Apostle, volume fourteen in the Brigham Young University New Testament Commentary Series.

Revelation Chapters 4 and 5

The focus of chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation was the advice the church members of Johns day needed to prepare for and endure the particular trials they were facing. Chapter four presents a change of scene and subject. Up to this point only Johns world has been in view; now God lifts the Seers vision to heaven.

In an instant, John leaves behind him the troubles, the apostasies, the dissensions, and the apprehensions of the earthly church, and passes into an atmosphere of perfect accord and assurance. Here not even an echo of earthly turmoil disharmonizes the songs of adoration and trust in God sung by the heavenly hosts. Everywhere there prevails an infinite harmony of righteousness and power. The might of God thunders, flashes, radiates, and permeates all heaven while angelic choirs proclaim the worthiness of him whose sovereignty the earth follows even in its rebellion.

For a moment, John was able to forget the earthly struggles in which he was a key player. Of course, for the near term, he could not win. There simply was not enough overall righteousness to stop the apostasy. Western civilization as a whole was still too steeped in paganism to yield to the enlightening and lifting powers of the fullness of the gospel. Even Judaism could not loosen its hold on the Mosaic Law to accept a new law and Law-giver. And many of those within the ranks of the Church were too willing to make compromise or distort the truth for their own ends. They rejected the apostles and many would follow them. The rebellion, therefore, would succeed.

That did not mean, however, that all truth would be lost. Though some early versions of Christianity developed bizarre and twisted visions of the gospel so strange that the Lords teachings could hardly be found in them, many clung to what truths they had. These sensitive souls continued to fight against internal heresy, and both internal and external persecutions. They guarded and promulgated, as best they could, the essence of the Gospel and, over time, collected, edited and preserved the letters and gospels that contained the message of salvation in Christ and the hope it brought.

The book of Revelation emphasized these same themes with the promise that the Christians efforts would yield an eventual and full triumph. Johns respite and consequent vision surely must have given him and his readers strength to carry on the war. It should do the same for his modern readers.

The throne room theophany provides both the members of the seven Churches and today with the reason why they should put their trust in the Eternal God. The rest of the vision gives additional support for that trust. It reveals the power, majesty, and omnipotence of God and the Lamb and also discloses their work as they prepared for the salvation of the faithful. The thrust of this of this point must not be lost on Latter-day Saints.

Given the circumstances in which the ancient Saints were living and the modern Saints do live, the message in this section bolsters trust in the Lord. When John wrote, the conditions for the early Christians were moving from bad to worse. They were entering an intensified period of distress as two ugly forces escalated against them, apostasy and persecution. The revelation, therefore, brought consolation, encouragement, and understanding to help the Saints get through the period of tribulation (see Rev. 2:10:3:10; 17:3).

To do this, the vision broadened in scope and vista. The revelation expanded Johns understanding so that he comprehended that God was in full command of the course of human history. “On the plain of history the church appears unable to resist the might of hostile worldly powers,” wrote on scholar, “but the course of history is not determined by political power but by God enthroned and active.”[1] John understood that when God determined the time right, he would hand to the Lamb the scroll of destiny (Rev. 5:1; D&C 77:6). At that moment, the Savior would execute his Fathers plans in bringing telestial history to an abrupt close and usher in his millennial reign. The vision of the celestial realm served to assure Johns readers and us that all can place their trust in God.

Johns experience seems to have been similar to that of Joseph Smith who reported, “The heavens were opened upon us, and I beheld the celestial kingdom of God, and the glory thereof, whether in the body or out I cannot tell. I saw the transcendent beauty of the gate through which the heirs of that kingdom will enter, which was like unto circling flames of fire” (D&C 137:1-2). John also saw the glory but in addition, he saw the adoration God continually receives there; a stark contrast to what he often receives on earth. The focus of this vision, however, is less on God and more on the specific events that will bring telestial history to a close.

Since events on earth are orchestrated by the powers of heaven, Johns ascent, by which he was made privy to what heavens role in those events, is not unexpected. “A true insight into history is gained only when we view all things from the vantage point of the heavenly throne.[2]

That vantage point makes one thing very clear. John does not see what might happen, that is, potentiality. He saw what will happen, that is, divinely appointed destiny. It is this rock solid pre-determinism that has given Revelation its enduring appeal.

Many have found strength and courage while supported by its unyielding and unwavering witness. Others have found concern in its seeming discounting of human agency. That, however, is a problem foreign to John and his world. For the Seer, what God has predetermined is worked out within the context of human agency.[3] The point is that telestial history will end exactly as God has determined it will with righteousness being victorious and faithfulness fully vindicated.