Biblical Allusions In U2’s “Until the End of the World”

Three intense interests of mine have intersected lately–literacy, religion, and U2 (I’ll be seeing them in concert Friday night).  Ah, leave it to the Irish to combine literature and religion!

U2 has always been a great example of that trait of their people, and I fear that much of it is lost on us.  (I just found this great site summarizing some of the many Biblical allusions in their work.) 

Case in point: 1991’s “Until the End of the World,” from the Wim Wenders film of the same name, and U2’s album Achtung Baby.  At first glance, it’s just another conflicted love song (as every true fan knows, even after 30 years, U2 has still never written a purely positive love song).  But if you’re familiar with the Bible, it’s clear that this is Judas Iscariot confessing the betrayal of Jesus Christ.  Even the title takes itself from a famous promise made by Jesus to His followers, which ends the Gospel according to Matthew: “…and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.  Amen.” 

Here are the lyrics, with my explanations and links to relevant Biblical text (mostly from Matthew, since that’s the reference in the title):

 

A Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,

 

I thank Thee for Thy mercy and patience with me,

for thy perfect grace, which I don’t deserve or fully understand.

 

Father, please forgive me for my selfish indulgences,

for my rebellions and ingratitude.

Please help me to repent and turn more fully to Thee.

Please help my heart to change.

 

I would be Thy man and live Thy way.

But I can’t do it on my own.

I’ve tried and failed.

I need Thee, Father.

I need Thee that I may see the glory of Thy plan and creation,

to do Thy work and serve Thee.

I need Thee just to be happy.

 

Father, I feel so full of regret,

of weakness and cold, hard hearted pride.

Please help me to be open to Thy Spirit,

and to see others as Thou sees them,

as my brothers and sisters,

to love them and be there for them,

and I need Thee to open my eyes to the joy

of purity and virtue.

Please help me to see potential and hope.

Please help me to seek after these things.

 

What’s Missing In Our Charity

I’m in a position of leadership in a classroom and in a church.  In both of those areas, I get to know people pretty well, and I see how they interact as peers.  And I’ve been surprised to see the same basic human drama in each.  Whether it’s school or church, everybody is trying to find a little slice of joy while struggling with their trials in life, and keeping up a brave front for public show.  Truly, the same human drama exists in every community.

Those efforts at a brave front may have more to do with not wanting to derail the smooth machinery of the community’s activities by drawing undue attention than it does with embarrassment or pride, but it is sadly counterproductive in at least one way: our stoic repression of the heartaches we’re dealing with puts up a wall and stagnates our connection to others.  I’ve seen too much hurt and misunderstanding caused by it.

People try to go about their daily lives, doing their jobs and doing things with their friends, often very unaware of just what these friends are suffering through.  The hidden stress that we all keep inside often keeps us too focused on ourselves, unable to reach out to others, and constricted in our ability to express real charity. 

Not that I’m suggesting that we all have more weepy pity parties.  One Breakfast Club was enough, thank you. 

What we seem to need even more of between the people in our schools, our churches, and indeed in every community–our families, our workplaces, our neighborhoods–is empathy. 

April 2009 General Conference: 3 Month Review

We have a tendency to take a General Conference of the Church and discuss it, analyze it, work on applying it, and cherish it in every way we know how…for about three weeks.  Then we forget it until the next Conference six months later and by then, that last Conference might as well have never happened.  So instead of posting my notes on April’s meetings along with everyone else, I want to put mine up now, three months afterwards, halfway between that Conference and the next one. 

I hope that we might all be reminded of things we missed before, or have renewed motivation to live up to the teachings given.  Just this week at a home teaching meeting, a man in my ward mentioned that President Monson had taught in the priesthood meeting that every Melchizedek priesthood holder should be studying the scriptures every day.  I didn’t remember that; it wasn’t in my notes.   I looked up the talk and there it was.  The prophet did say that.  I was grateful to my friend.

When I take notes, immediately after each talk I write a title for that talk in the right margin of the page.  This is my way of summing up the most major point or topic.  My titles for each talk are given in parentheses after each speaker’s name.  It’s always fun to compare my titles to those later published online and in the Ensign.  Here are some highlights from my notes:

Saturday Morning

Elder Hales (“Overcome Debt & Addictions w/ Provident Living”)–The most impressive thing here was just the subject.  Along with Elder Perry’s “Let Him Do It With Simplicity,” this is the second consecutive Conference to begin with a talk about providing for ourselves better by scaling back our materialism.  That fact alone speaks volumes.  Perhaps the best things here were his admonition to “joyfully” live within our means, and the subtle chastisement that debt is money that we could have used to serve others.  Application: Have I reduced my longing for physical possessions through Elder Hales’s prescribed cure of service, obedience to the commandments, tithes, fast offerings, and a family budget?

Elder Christofferson(“Covenants”)–

Now That’s Charity

Elder Holland’s recent Conference talk about the intense depth of suffering experienced by the Savior for the Atonement–and the Church’s incredibly successful YouTube clip from it–have got me thinking about how this episode also teaches us perhaps history’s greatest lesson about charity. 

Sometimes I’m tempted to pull my head back into my shell and call it quits as far as the world is concerned.  I think we all feel that way sometimes.  Work is stressful–or lost, finances are tight, illness is soaking up strength, family problems are heartbreaking, addictions are threatening, or a combination of these or any of a thousand other adversities conspire to drag us down.  Often we may feel that the best option to preserve what little sanity we have left is to circle the wagons and just worry about yourself, and let the rest of the world go its way. 

When this temptation surfaces, it’s good to remember how the Savior conducted himself in the midst of the Atonement.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, as Jesus Christ felt infinitely for “pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and…the pains and sicknesses of his people…their infirmities…[and] the sins of his people” (Alma 7:11-13)–truly, every negative experience every mortal has been, will be, or even could be called to pass through–a sacrifice so profound that the “suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit–and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink” (D&C 19:18), He did not pull his head into his shell, or circle the wagons, or give Himself up to worry or self pity, letting the rest of the world fend for itself. 

First, he

Jesus Christ Teaches Us How To Minister

One of the great overlooked gems in the Book of Mormon is 3 Nephi 18, in which the Savior both ministers to his disciples and teaches them directly how to minister to others.  It’s a treasure trove of wisdom for all who would follow the Lord’s example in serving others, and more practical and succinct than any other such manual there is.

In verse 16, the Savior declares, “Behold, I am the light; I have set an example for you.”  Especially considering his directive soon thereafter that “the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do” (3 Nephi 27:21), this is clearly an injunction for observant disciples to take notes and “go and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:37).  So we need to pay attention both to what Jesus tells us to do and what he actually does himself, for both are to be guides for our own conduct. 

Verses 15 and 18 have the Savior telling us to pray always to escape the power of the devil.  Such admonitions are hardly rare in scripture.  We do ourselves a grave disservice if we don’t take seriously the warning that unless we inculcate a steady habit of fervent prayer in our lives, we risk straying into behaviors borne of temptations.  There is no hyperbole here: without prayer, we will lose the light within ourselves, and so cannot be in position to share it with others.

Verse 21 extends the primacy of prayer into the next realm: praying with our families.  Once we have prayer instilled as a wellspring of spirituality in our private devotions and in our family worship, we then pray with and for “any man…coming unto you” (3 Nephi 18:22), whom we’re commanded to welcome into our community as we “meet together oft.”  In verse 25 Jesus intensifies the counsel to allow all others into our meetings to pray with us by commanding that we go out and actively invite all in to “feel and see.” 

Book Review: The Shack

I only read the first six chapters of The Shack, and I won’t be reading any more.  Author William P. Young uses a story about a man who loses a young daughter to violence, and then accepts an invitation from God to meet with Him at the scene of the crime, as a vehicle for his own pseudo-theological pontificating.  I’d call it the philosophy of men mingled with scripture, but Young never quotes any scripture.

He’s a competent enough writer but, like too many I’ve read, he makes his protagonist have thoughts and feelings that are too easy just to move the story along.

Mack: “I’m angry about the death of my daughter.”

God: “Let’s talk about something else.”

Mack: “Okay!”

That’s my next problem with The Shack: as soon as Mack comes to the cabin to commune with God, God proceeds to welcome him with…a lecture about the nature of the Trinity.  And it goes on for the rest of the chapter.  I’m not sure which bothered me more: that Mack would so calmly go along with the plan, or that Young would have the audacity to use his character’s pain as a vehicle for selling his own ideas about religion.

And make no mistake about it, that’s what The Shack is for.  Young has an axe to grind with anyone who “limits” God by suggesting that he has any kind of concrete church, truths, salvation system, or other such apparently trivial nonsense like that.  You know, the little things that religion doesn’t really need.  No, the God of The Shack is a stereotypical, multicultural, I’m-OK-you’re-OK, let’s-hold-hands-and-sing-Kumbaya kind of God, exactly the sort of silly, watered down, narcissistic Baby Boomer fantasy that gets made fun of with things like “Buddy Christ” statues. 

On The Virtue Of A Soft Heart, Despite Discouragement

Pessimism is tempting.  In a world where we constantly face rejection, scorn, and, for the most part, the failure of our work to do much lasting good, it’s easy to give in to the reflex to put up walls around our emotions, to practice not caring about those who we might care for but who will end up letting us down and breaking our heart.  Sometimes it feels like the only way to handle the overwhelming sadness of the world’s willful self-destruction is to shake our heads and say, “Oh well.  Good riddance.”

The Book of Mormon strongly encourages the opposite.  In the midst of risking the most bracingly discouraging setbacks, we are still shown example after example of prophets who wear their hearts on their sleeves, and invest every ounce of their own deepest feelings in their work, despite the ongoing pain.  It’s hard, it’s noble, and it’s necessary.

[all italics added for emphasis]

LEHI

1 Nephi 1:5 “…my father, Lehi, as he went forth prayed unto the Lord, yea, even with all his heart, in behalf of his people.”

1 Nephi 8:36 “…he exceedingly feared for Laman and Lemuel; yea, he feared lest they should be cast off from the presence of the Lord.”

NEPHI

1 Nephi 2:18 “and being grieved because of the hardness of their hearts, I cried unto God for them.”

1 Nephi 10:4 “…I, Nephi, was grieved because of the hardness of their hearts…”

1 Nephi 12:25 “…I did exhort them with all the energies of my soul, and with all the faculty which I possessed…”

1 Nephi 17:9 “…I, Nephi, was exceedingly sorrowful because of the hardness of their hearts…”

1 Nephi 17:47 “Behold, my soul is rent with anguish because of you, and my heart is pained; I fear lest ye shall be cast off forever…”

2 Nephi 26:7 “O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people!  For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh consumeth me…”

Notes On The Ministry And Character Of Jesus Christ

This morning I finished a project I’ve been working on for a long time; in fact, it’s the product of the bulk of my personal scripture study in 2008.  Last year, my stake president advised all Latter-day Saints in our areas to read the New Testament so we could renew our devotion to the Savior. 

Inspired by that, I started taking notes on everything I could recognize that Jesus said or did, in the spirit of “Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21) and “the works which ye have seen me do that shall ye also do” (3 Nephi 27:21).  My goal now is to practice imitating the items on this list, integrating them into my own character.

As I’ve worked on this, I realize there are two serious limitations.  The first is my own spiritual imperfection, which hinders the degree of light I can discern in the scriptures and obscures my perception of what I do understand.  The second is my intellectual immaturity, which leaves much truth in the text uncovered.  (I suppose factors such as being tired or in a hurry at times also contribute to failings in the notes.)  A better person surely would have made a much longer list, and worded them in a far more profound manner.

For my study of the gospels this year, I used Bruce R. McConkie’s Doctrinal New Testament Commentary Volume I: The Gospels, a harmonized text that I’ve studied before and with which I am very comfortable.  Because I used a gospel harmony, references in the notes to items that occur in one or more of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), are usually represented only with a citation in Matthew, hence that book’s disproportionate standing in the notes. 

I also elected to include a “gospel” from the Book of Mormon in my notes, 3 Nephi.  The personal ministry of Jesus Christ to the ancient inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere shortly after his ascension is a true record, and invaluable for its additional insights.  In the notes, I’ve italicized items that include Book of Mormon references, putting those that are exclusive to the 3 Nephi text at the end. 

This exercise provided its own lessons: the nature of the Savior’s work in the West was much more simple and positive than the dramatic epic of the Holy Land, but adds only a little major doctrine to that main ministry: truly, the Book of Mormon’s primary purpose is to testify of truths in the Bible.  3 Nephi strikes me now as a surprisingly prophetic and didactic document, in the best possible way. 

I consider this a first draft, to be revised over a lifetime:

 

Notes on the ministry and character of Jesus Christ

 

1. Be in the temple often. Luke 2:46, John 7:14, 8:2, 10:23, Mark 12:35, Luke 21:37-38

2. Both hear, and ask, “the doctors” questions. Luke 2:46

3. Achieve understanding. Luke 2:46 (2:40, 52)

4. “Wax strong in spirit” Luke 2:40

5. Be subject unto your parents. Luke 2:51

6. Be baptized. Matt. 3:13

7. Do everything that fulfills all righteousness. Matt. 3:15, Matt. 26:51-56, John 19:28

8. Be with God, alone, in wilderness and mountains. Matt. 4:1, Mark 1:35, Luke 6:12, Matt. 14:13, Matt. 14:23, John 8:1, Luke 22:39, Matt. 26:36, John 18:1-2, Matt. 28:16, 3 Nephi 19:19, 27, 31

Quotes, Pics, and Clips IV

ARTS: 

Several years ago, I noticed a poster on a friend’s wall: John William Waterhouse’s Pre-Raphaelite masterpiece The Lady of Shalott:

I was impressed by the passionate atmosphere in the piece, and could only wonder at the story behind it until I heard Loreena McKennitt’s hauntingly ethereal setting of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s great poem, “The Lady of Shalott.”

This is still one of my favorite songs, and the lyrics (just Tennyson’s words set to music) are some of the best English poetry I know.  For example:

But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror’s magic sights,
For often through the silent nights
A funeral, with plumes and lights
And music, went to Camelot;
Or when the Moon was overhead,
Came two young lovers lately wed.
“I am half sick of shadows,” said
The Lady of Shalott.

Perfection.  I know that feeling; it’s why I love The Truman Show.  No emo band ever wrote anything half so honestly heartbreaking.

And I’m also impressed that such a minor anecdote from the Arthurian legends could spawn three great works of art in such disparate genres: poetry, painting, and pop music.  That’s significant, methinks.

EDUCATION: 

Have you ever heard of Eric Coyle?  He was a student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, around the same time I was.  He was a self-described average student who “woke up” one day and decided to become extraordinary.  He worked his way up to taking 64 credits per semester, and got A’s.  He graduated with five degrees and went to Georgetown. 

When this all happened in 1998, I remember seeing it on the NBC Nightly News.  Here’s an excerpt from a story about him from The New York Times:

”It was then that I realized that there was injustice in the world and that if you wanted to be in a position where you could fight against it you would have to work terribly hard,” Mr. Coyle said. ”You would have to make sacrifices. In my case, I would have to go to law school — one of the top law schools. And to get in I would have to exceed any demands that any law school could make on me.”

”I have fun going to school,” Mr. Coyle said. ”I’m not this smart guy. I’m just average. But I got motivated.”

HUMOR: 

This isn’t a great video, but I remember my parents playing a record of this song for my brother and me when we were little kids.  I thought it was hilarious then, and now, listening to it tonight for the first time in at least twenty years, it still made me laugh.  Ladies and gentlemen, Harry Belafonte and Odetta singing, “There’s A Hole In The Bucket.”

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE: 

When William Faulkner won the Nobel Prize for Literature, he gave a speech that was only a mere four paragraphs long.  You can listen to it at the Nobel Prize Web site; it only lasts three minutes. 

Like many short works, though, it packs in a power whose magnitude leaves me blissfully dizzy.  A quote:

I decline to accept the end of man….I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet’s, the writer’s, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet’s voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.

LIVING WELL:

Did you know that The New York Times puts a classic crossword puzzle from its archives online each week?  Of course, I’m assuming you’ve seen the riveting, rollicking documentary (really!) Wordplay.  If not, watching it might help inspire you to tackle those NYT toughies. 

POLITICS AND SOCIETY: 

“You and I are told increasingly that we have to choose between a left or right, but I would like to suggest that there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down–up to a man’s age-old dream, the ultimate in individual freedom consistent with law and order–or down to the ant heap totalitarianism, and regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would trade our freedom for security have embarked on this downward course.”

-Ronald Reagan, “A Time For Choosing,” 1964

RELIGION:  

“Men and women who turn their lives over to God will discover that He can make a lot more out of their lives than they can. He will deepen their joys, expand their vision, quicken their minds, strengthen their muscles, lift their spirits, multiply their blessings, increase their opportunities, comfort their souls, raise up friends, and pour out peace. Whoever will lose his life in the service of God will find eternal life.”

-Ezra Taft Benson, “Jesus Christ–Gifts and Expectations”

Ten Best Atheist Arguments?

Presented here for your convenience, for the first time ever and after countless hours of painstaking research by eavesdropping on actual cafe conversations and Internet chat rooms, are the top ten reasons I overheard secular Americans give for dismissing faith.

Well, not really, but it sounds about right.

 

10. “If there truly is an infinitely powerful and all-knowing God, then why can’t I easily understand him right away? He may well be an omnipotent and eternal deity ruling over a universe larger and more complicated than the mortal mind could ever possibly envision, much less comprehend… but I do read The New York Times, you know.”

 

9. “Why are all Christians such closed-minded morons? Their attitude towards atheism is marked by perpetuating generalized misconceptions about honest seekers of truth like me… often in the form of pitifully sterile insults. They should celebrate those whose opinions differ from their own, like we do. Stupid Christians.”

 

8. “Completely unlike us, Christians never demand any more evidence for the validity of their belief than bandwagon appeals to common knowledge. Everybody knows this is true. How could anybody even entertain conclusions drawn about an opposing point of view from such ridiculous ignorance? Hypocrites!”

 

7. “And what about the Bible? If there is a God, reason dictates that the Bible should have compelling, dynamic theological and ethical innovations unlikely to be conceived by human beings alone. It should also offer strong circumstantial support for divine inspiration. Of course it does not. I know this because I heard somebody quote a verse from it once.”

 

6. “The Bible has been proven many times through scholarly critical analysis to be nothing more than a biased collection of fairy tales written for the sole purpose of subjecting the superstitious masses under a code of moral liberty and civil enlightenment. This conspiracy is what allows monsters like Mother Teresa to rule as the despicable despots they are, breaking the spirits of proactive altruists everywhere.”

 

5. “Why is there any degree of disorder and injustice in the world? It’s not like a perfectly black and white world would make the existence of God obvious, thus removing our crucial need to develop faith in God and would reduce us to mindless automatons forced into conformity!”

 

4. “The complex worldview that Christianity posits suggests that humanity is an intricate tapestry of interdependence working towards a fundamentally greater collective good. That selfishness cannot distract us from the more neutral, objective conclusion that life is simply a series of random events, the inevitable result of a physical system that developed completely by chance and that ends in death, rendering life ultimately pointless and devoid of any obligation to improve ourselves or the world in general. I know how ennobling this sounds, but it is merely a fact, unadulterated by any ulterior motive.”

 

3. “‘By their fruits you will know them?’ So has anyone ever abandoned a materially abundant lifestyle or altered behavior inconsistent with their beliefs because of religious conviction? Nobody that I know of! This is because religion is only a selfish delusion of convenience, not a vigorous and vital dimension of life whose empirical validity empowers adherents to make vastly positive personal change. Their wanton mental self-indulgence is starkly revealed when placed in contrast with those of us who so stoically bear the Spartan torch of atheism.”

 

2. “I read this in the correspondence of a European philosopher and scientist to his brother in 1895: ‘If there were in existence some Supreme Being, why has he then withheld from his own children that most natural of blessings, automated wheeled transportation? For, as any fool can see, such a marvel absolutely must be commensurate with the existence of God. If not for this insurmountable flaw, however, I would gladly become a Christian.’ This perfectly logical query was never satisfactorily addressed, and he died a happy atheist in 1948.”

 

1. “Clearly, belief in God amounts to no more than wishful thinking. Simply put, while those of us who accept atheism only do so after the most stringent open-minded research into every possibility, and then often reluctantly, those who embrace any faith-based belief system always do so blindly. The more they explain their opinion, the more they reveal their fundamental ignorance.”

 

King Benjamin On Happiness

Surely most Latter-day Saints are familiar with the powerfully rich sermon in Mosiah chapters 2-5 given by a prophet and king named Benjamin.  Not only is it a source of some of the Book of Mormon’s most quotable insights, it’s possibly the single best resource for instructions on serving God (the inimitable Neal A. Maxwell referred to it as a “manual for discipleship“).  I’ve gone through these chapters before and marked each thing we’re told to do or become in our quest to follow God.  My list, incidentally, came to 13 items.

However, the most recent time I studied this text, I noticed something that, in an important way, is just as profound.  I had never noticed until then just how much Benjamin stresses that living the gospel–I mean really striving to follow in the footsteps of Christ and center our lives on his pattern for discipleship–makes us happy.

Consider these excerpts from Benjamin’s address, with admonitions to faith and righteousness italicized, and promises of hapiness in bold:

Mosiah 2:41, “…consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God.” 

Mosiah 3:13, “…whosoever should believe that Christ should come, the same might receive remission of their sins, and rejoice with exceedingly great joy…”

Mosiah 4:11, “…as ye have…received a remission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God…”

Mosiah 4:12, “…if ye shall do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the love of God, and always retain a remission of your sins…”

Mosiah 4:20, “…ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins…he has poured out his spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.”

These five explicit references to Benjamin’s “formula,” as it were (faithfulness brings blessings of joy), is mirrored by a statement attributed to his audience for this sermon:

Mosiah 5:4, “…the faith which we have had on the things which our king has spoken unto us that has brought us to this great knowledge, whereby we do rejoice with such exceedingly great joy.” 

Mormon, editing this account, also clearly sees Benjamin’s formula at work in this special conference, describing one moment like this:

Mosiah 4:3, “…after they had spoken these words [the congregation praying for the Atonement to purify them], the Spirit of the Lord came upon them, and they were filled with joy, having received a remission of their sins, and having peace of conscience, because of the exceeding faith which they had in Jesus Christ who should come…”

In fact Mormon makes another reference to this formula in his exposition leading up to his transcript of Benjamin’s sermon, where he tells us of the people coming up to the area for the conference as doing so “that they might give thanks to the Lord their God who had [done several major things for their good throughout history, and] had taught them to keep the commandments of God, that they might rejoice and be filled with love towards God and all men” (Mosiah 2:4).

This is a part of my own testimony that I never tire of reiterating: yes, the church is true, but that, in theory, doesn’t guarantee happiness.  Hypothetically, the plan of salvation could be real, but also a grinding, depressing chore.  It’s only through the infinite love, mercy, and kindness of a generous Father in Heaven that His plan for us to to be redeemed and return to Him also creates joy, happiness, peace, and rest.  So when I testify of the gospel, I testify that the gospel is true…and good, and powerful, and wonderful. 

Perhaps Jacob, that most sensitive of Book of Mormon prophets, felt the same thing when he was moved upon to exclaim these six superlative phrases of praise in one of his sermons:

“O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace!”  2 Nephi 9:8

“O how great the goodness of our God…” 2 Nephi 9:10

“O how great the plan of our God!”  2 Nephi 9:13

“O the greatness and the justice of our God!”  2 Nephi 9:17

“O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel!”  2 Nephi 9:19

“O how great the holiness of our God!”  2 Nephi 9:20

Proposed Chronology For The Book Of Revelation

The following is something I’ve been working on for a while; it represents my attempt to understand a very difficult book of poetic prophecy in a cohesive order and correlated to specific dates in these last days.  Obviously, my interpretation is viewed through the filter of LDS doctrine.  I feel that such study and observation is important because, to paraphrase the great Hugh Nibley, look at the name of our church–The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints–our interest in the Second Coming is even emphasized in our name! 

If you’re not LDS or interested in such things, well…it’s still a nice outline!  : )

This is definitely a work in progress, and very subjective–my understanding is limited by study, resources, spiritual separation from God, and a rampaging video game habit when I was 15.  Any corrective feedback would be welcome.

 

Proposed LDS chronology for the Book of Revelation

harmonized with additional prophecies of the Second Coming from other scriptures

“And it shall come to pass that he that feareth me shall be looking forth for the great day of the Lord to come, even for the signs of the coming of the Son of Man.” D&C 45:39

 

I.Pre-existence; Rev. 12:4, 7-10– War in heaven

II. @4000-3000 BC; Rev. 6:1-2– First seal, dispensation of Enoch

III. @3000-2000 BC; Rev. 6:3-4– Second seal, great global wickedness

IV. @2000-1000 BC; Rev. 6:5-6– Third seal, great famine

V.@1000 BC- 1 AD; Rev. 6:7-8– Fourth seal, great wars and death

VI. @ 1 AD- 1000 AD; Rev. 6:9-11– Fifth seal, persecution of early Christian martyrs

VII. 1st century AD; Rev. 12:1-3, 5-6, 11-17– Satan wars against early Christian saints; great apostasy for

about 1,260 (years).

VIII. (during the sixth seal) 1820- present; Rev. 7:1-3, 14:6-7– Angels help restore the gospel and warn

the world.

IX. 1820’s- present; Rev. 14:14-16– Righteous hear the gospel and are gathered in.

X. 1830- present; Rev. 7:4-8– 144,000 high priests (12,000 of each tribe) have calling & election made

sure.

2008–You are here?

XI.End of the sixth seal (current era, but in the future); Rev. 6:12-17– physical signs of the Second

Coming begin (see D&C 88:87-90):

          A. 12– Earthquake (and pestilence and famine– JS-M 1:29; and fire and tempest– 2 Ne. 6:15)

          B. 12– Sun darkened (see Joel 2:31 and D&C 29:14)

          C. 12– Moon turns red as blood (JS-M 1:33)

          D. 13– Stars fall from the sky (D&C 34:9)

          E. 14– Heavens open

          F. 14– Mountains and islands move

          G. 15-17– Humanity fears

XII. Rev. 8:1- 9:21– Seventh seal opened (1/2 hour may equal 21 years); Angels sound 7 trumpets

(destructions to encourage repentance– D&C 77:12):

          A. 8:9; 1st- Hail and fire burn 1/3 of all plants D&C 29:16

          B. 8-9; 2nd- 1/3 of seas turn to blood

          C. 10-11; 3rd- a great, fiery star falls from heaven

          D. 12– 4th- 1/3 of heavens darkened

          E. 9:1-12; 5th (first wo)- Satan makes his followers (“locusts”) physically torment humanity for

five months

          F. 13-21; 6th (second wo)- Final war kills 1/3 of humanity

1. After second wo; Rev. 11:1-14– 2 prophets (apostles or 1st pres.- BRM) minister in

Jerusalem for 3 1/2 years, death, resurrection after three days.

G. Rev. 11:15-19– 7th trumpet: 24 elders from John’s day, now in heaven, worship and prophesy.

XIII.Rev. 15:1-16:12– Seven vials (final plagues- third wo?) poured out during seventh trumpet (XII,

G), near beginning of 7th seal (XII).

          A. 16:2; 1st- wicked afflicted with great sores– see Zechariah 14:12, D&C 29:19 for details

          B. 3; 2nd- all seas become blood, all sea life dies.

          C. 4-7; 3rd- rivers and fountains all become blood.

          D. 8-9; 4th- heat scorches earth

          E. 10-11; 5th- “darkness” (physical and/or spiritual) covers earth

          F. 12; 6th- Euphrates river dries up

1. Rev. 16: 13-16– Battle of Armageddon begins (Ezekiel 38:8-22, Joel 3:9-14, Zechariah 14:2-5)

G. 17-21; 7th vial- greatest earthquake, continents unite, earth levels out, great hail (Hag. 2:6-7, D&C 49:23)

XIV. During Armageddon:

A. Rev. 19:1-10– Victory song sung in heaven

B. Rev. 19:11-16– Second Coming of Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17– All righteous, living and dead, rise to meet Christ in the air; Jude 1:14-15– Christ comes with ten thousands of his saints; D&C 29:12-13–and with the Apostles, who will judge the world now; D&C 133:46-51– Christ shall declare his divinity and Atonement to the world; Zechariah 12:1-4, 14:4-5– Christ sets foot on Mt. of Olives during this war, it splits in two)

C. Rev. 19:17-21– Great final war is won (Zech. 12, 13– Jews recognize Christ, believe; Ezekiel 39:1-22– great devastation will take seven years to clean and repair), Satan and Antichrist cast into lake of fire.

XV. Rev. 14:8-13– Angels declare fall of Babylon

XVI. Rev. 14:17-20– Wicked destroyed (Malachi 3, 4, D&C 29:9– earth burned; 2 Peter 3:10, D&C 63:34– elements melt with fervent heat; D&C 29:21—great and abominable church cast down by devouring fire)

XVII. Rev. 18:1-24– Babylon is overthrown

XVIII. Rev. 20:1- 22:24– Satan bound, 1st resurrection, Christ reigns personally on earth for 1000 years (D&C 29:11),Satan loosed for “a little season” (1000 years? JFS; D&C 29:22), Satan and followers overcome and cast out eternally, final resurrection and judgment (D&C 29:26-28), new heaven and new earth come (D&C 29:23-25), New Jerusalem descends (Moses 7:63-64– Enoch’s Zion returns)

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Items in Revelation with unsure or general places in timeline of last days

1. Rev. 10:1-11– John preaches gospel in last days (already begun among lost tribes; beginning or end of this mission unknown)

2. Rev. 13:1-10– Satan and (Rev. 13:11-18) Antichrist gain political power over earthly governments and economics in last days (begun establishment during and/or after VII; must be in place by XIII)

3. Rev. 14:1-5– Christ and 144,000 come to Zion (probably in Missouri– must occur between XII and XIV)

4. D&C 45:26-30—wars and rumors of wars, people say Christ delays his coming, love of men waxes cold, iniquity abounds

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Other prophecies relevant to Revelation’s timeline of Second Coming with indeterminate placement

1. Daniel 7:9-14– Christ to convene with Latter-day Saints and Adam at Adam-Ondi-Ahman; between XI and XIII

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Items in the Revelation of general description; do not fit in a timeline

1. Rev. 1-3– Introductory context and letters to contemporary congregations

2. Rev. 4:1-11– 24 elders of John’s day worship Christ in heaven in the future

3. Rev. 5:1-14– Lamb is worshipped in heaven

4. Rev. 7:9-17– Multitudes of exalted saints worship God in heaven

5. Rev. 17:1-18– Description of Babylon

 

Book Review: The Holy Secret

I’ll cut to the chase: The Holy Secret is a disappointing follow-up to James Ferrell’s superior book, The Peacegiver.  They share much in common: both books are short and simple; both are parables about improving our relationship with God by being reconciled with each other; and both take the form of a wise old man mentoring an earnest but flawed protagonist.

It’s easiest to approach this one with a list of pros and cons.  First, the bad news:

• The title is misleading.  There is no single thing that the author wants us to know: in fact, his narrative is structured around three “insights,” though even these are nebulous.  Nor are the spiritual truths that Ferrell relates in any way “secret.”  To the contrary, they’re obvious to any one who has ever payed attention in Sunday School.  They could only be considered hidden in the sense that our worldly, distracted lives often forget them.
• The narrative conceit is annoying.  I can only imagine that Ferrell scripts his sermon as a parable about an impetuous, frustrated disciple (us) so that he can more humbly present the teachings of the story’s elderly sage (Ferrell).  However, after a few uses, the ongoing device of the protagonist thinking, “Wow!  That’s so profound!  A merely normal person like me could never have realized such a massively spiritual mystery like that on my own!” gets to seem pretty cocky. 
• It’s poorly written.  I don’t expect a mainstream, didactic religious novel to be Wuthering Heights, but Ferrell’s prose is a day laborer who grunts and just gets the job done.  The literary care taken in writing by a Neal A. Maxwell or even the engagingly casual stylings of a Thomas S. Monson would be welcome here.  As it is, the cliche “his mind was racing to keep up” appears at least twice in the book, to endless irritation.
• Even the three major facets of spirituality that Ferrell dwells on–scripture study, Sabbath observance, and temple worship–ultimately all boil down to scripture study.  At one point in the text, Ferrell almost admits that his methods–and the book’s whole foundation–are ripped off of a great old story by Jeffrey R. Holland: http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=2354fccf2b7db010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=14f3fd758096b010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1 (reading this fine little tale will do you just as much good as most of The Holy Secret, frankly).
• Ferrell briefly tries to show a unified, natural flow of his ideas from beginning to end in a single paragraph near the end, and it doesn’t even come close to working.  The truth is, Ferrell’s ideas are random, and even the sections on Sabbath keeping and temple worship have very little to do with those subjects.

OK, enough griping.  Here’s what’s good:

• Ferrell presents enough genuinely useful gospel information that anyone reading it will either learn something, or be reminded of something that they hadn’t thought for a while.  If you’re looking for a good model of scripture study (or an expanded version of Holland’s story from above), then The Holy Secret really is worth your time.
• A few sections do stand out as especially worthwhile: a few pages where the lives of many major and minor Old Testament figures are described so as to highlight their symbolic figuring of Christ; an arrangement and then analysis of the two sacrament prayers done so we can see how they aid fallen humanity; and a unique, compelling analysis of the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood that relates it to the Abrahamic Covenant and the promised blessings of the temple.  These three things are, undoubtedly, meaningful and powerful.  Despite the book’s many flaws, these things alone make it worth reading, albeit quickly. 
• I admit my review is subjective; someone else could be entirely capable of reading it and deriving great personal value from Ferrell’s extended meditations on reconciliation (his references to how Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son wake us up to reality and convince us to come to Him with a broken heart and contrite spirit are genuinely eye-opening). 

Ferrell’s book has some positive points, but someone looking for a rejuvenation of faith or a refreshing analysis of scripture (or, preferably, both) would do well to look elsewhere.  Holland’s Christ and the New Covenant would fit the bill quite nicely. 

Final grade: C