Guest Post

By Kevin Merrell 

In Need of a Revelation About the Book of Revelation

Once we take the Book of Revelation seriously, what are we to make
of the casserole of curious metaphors that populate it?

Container or contents?

In the movie, The Princess Bride, Wallace Shawn plays Vizzini, a self–important little boss in a trio of bumbling outlaws. Mandy Pitinkin plays another of the outlaws, Inigo Montoya, a Spanish fencing master intent on revenging his father’s death. Despite his belief that he’s an unusually clever person, Vizzini is fond of saying that unlikely events are “inconceivable!” Once after he says this, Inigo thoughtfully replies, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” The same could be said for a word that showed up as far back as the Book of Revelation or The Apocalypse of John in the Bible. The word, apocalypse, is a part of our modern written and visual vocabulary to describe the world as we know it collapsing into chaos, suffering and destruction, right? Yes and no.

While the dictionary indeed defines apocalypse as “a great disaster: a sudden and very bad event that causes much fear, loss, or destruction”, the word has its origins in the Greek word, apokalypsis, simply meaning “to reveal or uncover”. It’s as if the word, apocalypse, was a jug full of chocolate milk. At one time the word, jug, meant a container for liquid and the words, chocolate milk, meant chocolate–flavored milk. Over the course of thousands of years, however, the word, jug in this case has taken on the meaning of its contents, the chocolate milk. There is great value in separating the container of the revelations of John from its contents of prophecies about the judgments of God in the last days.

This is revelation

The first verses of the Book of Revelation open with a bold statement announcing this separation of container from content and inviting our attention and further study:

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

 2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

 3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. (Revelation 1:1–3)

In verse one we learn that John’s revelation is actually Jesus’ revelation and as with all matters divine, it originates with God. Will we heed the mind and will of the Lord? By way of assignment a messenger or angel has guided John through the revelation. In verse two we learn that the Book of Revelation is John’s testimony or witness of Jesus Christ and the events of the last days that were shown to him. In verse three we discover that a blessing is attached to reading, hearing and abiding by the words of the revelation. The phrase, “for the time is at hand,” adds a note of urgency mirroring Jesus’ own urgency when he taught his apostles about the last days.

The gift of a divine message

In the Book of Mormon we learn that others, including Nephi the son of Lehi, have experienced this same comprehensive, panoramic vision of the human story seen by John:

25 But the things which thou shalt see hereafter thou shalt not write; for the Lord God hath ordained the apostle of the Lamb of God that he should write them.

26 And also others who have been, to them hath he shown all things, and they have written them; and they are sealed up to come forth in their purity, according to the truth which is in the Lamb, in the own due time of the Lord, unto the house of Israel.

27 And I, Nephi, heard and bear record, that the name of the apostle of the Lamb was John, according to the word of the angel. (1 Nephi 14:25–27)

Nephi is forbidden by an angel to write an account of the vision of all things because it is the task of another. John, the apostle of the Lamb of God, has been ordained to share this testimony and revelation with us. Other prophets have been shown the same vision but their records are sealed up to come forth in a future day of the Lord’s choosing. The Book of Revelation is the gift of a divine message to us, a testimony of Jesus Christ and a witness by divine decree to the events unfolding in the last days. What faithful person would not be drawn in study and prayer to John’s revelation? Will God not hold us accountable for what we do with such a gift?

“Plain and pure”

Even a casual reading of John’s Apocalypse, however, raises an additional but perplexing question: if the Book of Revelation is a specially-prepared testimony of Jesus and of end time events, why, oh why, does it feel so obscure and mysterious to us? With its jambalaya of curious beasts, books, seals, trumpets, colors and sounds, the book reads in places like some kind of fever dream or hallucination.

Remarkably, in the opinion of the angel teaching Nephi about the vision, John’s record is plain, pure and easy to understand:

Wherefore, the things which he [John] shall write are just and true; and behold they are written in the book which thou beheld proceeding out of the mouth of the Jew; and at the time they proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, or, at the time the book proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, the things which were written were plain and pure, and most precious and easy to the understanding of all men. (1 Ne. 14:23.)

“Well, of course it’s clear to an angel,” we think to ourselves, “Without the veil to cloud his understanding it’s easy for him to understand John’s vision.” While that’s undoubtedly true there’s also a possible clue for us in the text. The angel notes that “at the time the book proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, the things which were written were plain and pure.” Like many parts of the Bible the story may well have gotten muddled in transcription and translation before it got to us.

Working on the puzzle

Even if we’re stuck with a clear story that took a beating when it went through repeated translations, yet there are pieces to the puzzle that we might piece together for ourselves. For instance, when we read about the opening of the sixth seal (the sixth thousand-year period of the earth’s mortal probation) in Revelation 6:12–16 we see a tremendous earthquake followed by lights out and everyone ducking for cover:

12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;

 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

In verse 13 we’re not sure what to make of stars falling to the earth yet in verse 15 we read that everyone from the high and mighty to the lowest of the low are trying to find a cave to take refuge in. Why? Something is falling out of the sky on them. Could the word stars in this case perhaps mean meteorites? Later in chapter eight we read of hail and fire falling from the sky and burning up a third of the earth’s vegetation. Could the word hail in this case mean meteorites again? Hundred–pound burning rocks falling out of the sky makes more sense than 100–pound hailstones falling out of the sky. Also it’s a stretch to imagine fire and ice coming down at the same time much less burning up great swaths of vegetation around the world.

Continuing on in Revelation 8:8–9 we read of something described as a mountain falling from the sky into the sea causing the water to become as blood, rendering it toxic to all aquatic life. Where have we heard of water being turned to blood, rendering it poisonous before? The story of Moses and the plagues of Egypt. There are a number of similarities between the plagues of Egypt and the judgments of God found in the Book of Revelation. Because God always uses natural means to accomplish his purposes it’s not unreasonable to imagine him using the same natural forces in both scenarios. One of the striking similarities among all scriptural accounts of the last days is a connection to the heavens. Something dramatic always appears in the sky or falls out of the sky.

“One of the plainest books”

It’s one thing for an angel to declare the Book of Revelation to be clear and easily understood by all but what are we to make of Joseph Smith’s declaration to a conference of the Church on April 8, 1843 that, “The book of Revelation is one of the plainest books God ever caused to be written”? (History of the Church, 5:342.) What? Did the prophet of this, the final dispensation of the fullness of times, receive the same vision of all things seen by John, Nephi, Moses, Enoch and the Brother of Jared? Joseph never claimed that he did but anything he received from the Lord could help us decipher the Book of Revelation.

In fact as Joseph Smith was translating the Bible he had a question-and-answer session with the Lord about the Book of Revelation that is preserved in the Doctrine and Covenants as Section 77. A pattern quickly emerges in D&C 77 that John is telling the story using symbols: 

3 Q. Are the four beasts limited to individual beasts, or do they represent classes or orders?

A. They are limited to four individual beasts, which were shown to John, to represent the glory of the classes of beings in their destined order or sphere of creation, in the enjoyment of their eternal felicity.

 4 Q. What are we to understand by the eyes and wings, which the beasts had?

A. Their eyes are a representation of light and knowledge, that is, they are full of knowledge; and their wings are a representation of power, to move, to act, etc. (D&C 77:3–4)

Find me a code book

Describing one thing as another thing is a rich, poetic form called metaphor that resembles using code words or a specialized vocabulary. For instance, instead of saying there was so much dust in the air that the moon looked red, we read in several places in scripture that there will come a time in the last days that “the moon will turn to blood.” In fact there is an entire sub–genre in scripture called apocalyptic literature that includes, besides the Book of Revelation, sections of Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Habakkuk, Mark 13, Matthew 24, 1 Nephi 13–14 and D&C 88. These passages written by different prophets at different times and in different places all refer to the last days using similar if not the exact same metaphors. Perhaps part of our challenge in grasping the Book of Revelation or apocalyptic literature in general is learning this prophetic language. We’d benefit from a code book or a Rosetta Stone to help us make sense of all those metaphors. If Joseph Smith proclaimed the Book of Revelation one of the plainest of all books, he probably understood this prophetic language of metaphors.

Remarkably, LDS researcher Anthony E. Larson claims to have discovered robust, workable insights mirrored by non–LDS scholars that unlock the metaphoric language of the prophets. He’ll be the first to state he’s not a prophet but he does make good use the same gifts of reason and prayerful study that we’ve all been given and invited to use. Through books, a blog, an excellent series of on–line courses and a Facebook page, Brother Larson connects us with both the seemingly supernatural, miraculous stories from ancient scripture as well as the events of the last days foretold in scripture. Check out Anthony Larson’s take on prophetic language and decide for your self.  http://mormonprophecy.com/

“One grand sign”

Joseph Smith taught that it is not God’s intention for us as the children of the light to be caught off guard by the events of the last days:

The coming of the Son of Man never will be—never can be till the judgments spoken of for this hour are poured out: which judgments are commenced. Paul says, ‘Ye are the children of the light, and not of the darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief in the night.’ It is not the design of the Almighty to come upon the earth and crush it and grind it to powder, but he will reveal it to His servants the prophets. (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 286).

More useful news: God reveals his design for the last days to his servants the prophets. Already Joseph Smith and Nephi have helped us better understand the Book of Revelation. By knowing about the events of the last days we can recognize in faith the hand of God when his judgments come instead of concluding that he has forgotten us, or worse.

And there’s more. Continuing his insights about the end times Joseph shared with us the grand sign of the second coming of Christ:

Judah must return, Jerusalem must be rebuilt, and the temple, and water come out from under the temple, and the waters of the Dead Sea be healed. It will take some time to rebuild the walls of the city and the temple, and etc.; and all this must be done before the Son of Man will make His appearance.

There will be wars and rumors of wars, signs in the heavens above and on the earth beneath, the sun turned into darkness and the moon to blood, earthquakes in divers places, the seas heaving beyond their bounds; 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 (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 286–87).

 Thank you, Joseph, for the grand sign of the second coming!

“Unfolded in the eyes of all the people”

Finally, let’s give Moroni the last word and add him to the list of the Lord’s servants the prophets that can help us better understand the Book of Revelation. In the book of Ether the Lord speaks to Moroni of the revelations of John:

15 Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you—yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel.

 16 And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people. Remember, when ye see these things, ye shall know that the time is at hand that they shall be made manifest in very deed.

 17 Therefore, when ye shall receive this record ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land. (Ether 4:15–17)

More clues! Our veil of unbelief, hardness of heart and blindness of mind are all part of the problem. It doesn’t mean we’re bad people it just means our traditions of understanding the Book of Revelation and the last days prevent us from actually understanding them. All of us can humbly call upon the Father in the name of Christ and seek to understand the Book of Revelation the best we can. As we do there’ll come a time when everyone understands the revelations of John, and when that happens, the events themselves will manifest shortly thereafter. Furthermore, as we’ve already received the record of Moroni we know that the work of the Father has commenced. It feels like we’re right in the thick of things now. We feel empowered to go out and study the Book of Revelation.

The Two Gospels

Once the symbolic nature of the scriptures is understood, as well as its origins and its implementation, an entirely new perspective of the gospel emerges. Knowledge of the events and conditions that lead to the religious symbolism of all ancient cultures allows us to see that gospel symbolism and the symbolism of idolatry both have their roots in the same ancient history. That is, the symbolism found in all ancient religions — false and true — shares the same origins.

It also allows us to make a clear distinction between the symbolism of the gospel and the truths of the gospel — hence the title of this article. One gospel is symbolic; the other is literal. The trick is recognizing which is which.

The gospel of symbolism

The symbolism of the gospel is typified by the New Testament book, Revelation. Nearly everything John wrote of was described in traditional, symbolic terms. In fact, it becomes clear that little about future events is ever revealed literally. With only a few notable exceptions, revelation given to prophets seldom explains the future in literal terms. Symbolism is the device used almost exclusively to depict future events. (It is not within the scope of this article to attempt an explanation as to why this is so. Whether symbolism is injected into the message by the prophet, who then transmits it to the people, or whether it comes from a divine source, the reader may judge for himself. Still, the question is worth asking, rhetorically. Why would revelation from an eternal source contain symbolism born in this creation only?)

This symbolic gospel can be an invaluable vehicle for communicating, but both the giver and the receiver must have a clear understanding of its use. Otherwise, the receiver is left with a multitude of confusing images and metaphors that seem meaningless and muddled — the fevered inventions of manic minds. The Savior’s use of parables is a mild form of this symbolic or metaphorical method. Those who were “enlightened” got the full meaning of his story, while the remainder simply heard a prosaic homily.

Clearly, the symbolic gospel is a kind of Gnosticism — a system of metaphors and symbols that both the giver and the receiver must know (hence the Greek term for knowing, gnosis) to properly interpret the story or lesson. Gnostic writings are cluttered with symbolism that is still largely incomprehensible to modern scholars and religionists.

Latter-day Saints fail to recognize that even modern revelation has this element of Gnosticism. Yet, they seem perfectly willing to embrace the gnostic elements of temple worship. This may be a reflection of the intellectual dichotomy the Saints exhibit, or it may be due to simple ignorance and indifference.

This universal use of symbolism is the reason the traditions of other religions — indeed, all the myths and legends of antiquity — seem so extravagant to the modern mind. We have not been schooled in their symbolic traditions. The modern, rationalist philosophy has no place for ancient symbolism. The rationalist — whether an agnostic or a believer — sees ancient symbolism as so much nonsense. Thus, any religion based in ancient symbolism holds no meaning for him or her.

Common traditions, common symbols

The common origin of ancient symbolic religious systems may explain many strange similarities between religions that are usually explained away by the process of diffusion (the migration of ideas, beliefs and practices from one culture to another). The fundamental ideas behind common beliefs and traditions originated in the same ancient heavenly events. It also explains why all ancient religions possess a cosmology in one form or another.

All ancient religious traditions, no matter the religion or culture, share a common origin in ancient heavenly events. Yet, each culture created unique stories, gods, and rituals based on those events. At first glance, the symbolic traditions of one culture appear to have nothing to do with those of another. Yet, upon closer inspection and considering those ancient celestial events, we find that they all share a remarkable degree of coincidence. Those ancient traditions all tell of gods and demons: super-human beings who ruled the heavens, whose actions determined the fate of mankind; they describe a cataclysmic creation and the near destruction of the world. Their traditions are intricately interwoven with astronomical interests: stars, suns, and planets. These religions are filled with concerns for the movement and order of the heavens: the solstice, the equinox, precession, the rising of certain constellations and planets, etc. Seen from this perspective, the disciplines of Comparative Mythology and Comparative Religion are very nearly the same discipline.

This pervasive use of symbolism also explains a small curiosity. When Joseph Smith inquired of the Lord about the meanings of certain passages in Revelation, he was given a more extensive explanation of the symbols themselves — more symbolism, in other words — not their origin or their meaning. Most Saints have the impression that the revelation gave literal explanations for the symbols, but a careful reading will demonstrate that this is not the case. Rather, he was given all the shades of meaning that have been attributed to the symbols from hoary antiquity, attributions typical of the elaboration and exposition of all such symbols that have been going on since the beginning of time. (See Doctrine and Covenants, 77, “. . . explanation of the Revelation of St. John.”)

The gospel of literalism

The truths of the literal gospel are typified by latter-day revelation. (For example, see Doctrine and Covenants 138, “. . . a vision of the redemption of the dead.”) This literal gospel invariably transmits information about the nature of our relationship with God, the pre-existence, the afterlife, the eternities and the purpose of mortality. There is nothing symbolic about it, except perhaps for the language used in a vain attempt to explain the ineffable.

Thus, what we call the gospel is really a combination of two primary elements: symbolism from ancient tradition and literalism from eternal truths. If we can discriminate between the two, there is little concern about misinterpretation. However, if we perceive the two as one, then misunderstanding is inevitable. It is this kind of confusion — mistaking imagery for reality — that has caused some of the most heated debate among Latter-day Saints in this dispensation. More apostasy and more bitter acrimony can be traced to this cause than almost any other.

Take the second coming, for example. The literal gospel teaches us that the Savior will come again to the Earth to usher in an age of peace and prosperity called the Millennium. It gives no details about the actual event, except to suggest that he will simply descend from heaven as he ascended. (See Acts 1:11.) The symbolic gospel describes his coming as if it were to be a staged media event, as the return of a conquering hero: Christ comes with fire in his eyes, wearing many crowns, riding a white horse, with a sword in his mouth, his clothing dipped in blood, and accompanied by concourses of angels. (See Revelation 19:11-15.)

The literal gospel teaches truths; the symbolic gospel employs elaborate imagery to make an entirely different point. In this case, as with so very many other doctrinal issues, this view of the scriptures helps avoid misinterpretations.

© Anthony E. Larson, 2003

Another Vision of the Last Days

Since all communication — including revelation — is corrupted to one degree or another by the interpretation placed upon it by the recipient, it was assumed that the visions of early Saints would necessarily have been closer to the original concepts taught by the Prophet Joseph Smith; they would not have been adulterated by modern misconceptions of prophecy that have been introduced over time. (See “Children of the Light” for an explanation as to why the interpretation of recent revelation might be tainted by sectarian notions.)

Thus, every attempt was made in The Prophecy Trilogy to include visions of the last days given to early Saints (Charles D. Evans and President John Taylor). This was done to demonstrate the remarkable harmony and integrity between the concepts presented in The Prophecy Trilogy and the scenes presented in those early visions. Former LDS exegetes of prophecy had been unable to make any sense of these visions, so they ignored them. Yet, with the point of view presented by this author, the true value and merit of these visions can now be appreciated. Hence, they were included in the trilogy.

Like the Charles D. Evans vision, the following vision was recorded in The Contributor, the official church publication at the end of the 19th century and forerunner to the Improvement Era and today’s Ensign. As such, its credibility is greater than those dreams or visions recorded in journals and diaries of other Latter-day Saints since the general authorities themselves chose this material for The Contributor. Note that the author is not named, leading some to speculate that he may have been a general authority, if not the president of the church himself, who reported this vision. Commentary will follow.

The Dream of the Plagues

The present times seem to be more than usually prolific of prophetic dreams among the Latter-day Saints. In nearly every settlement the people have been warned of events soon to occur; and visions of the future glory of the Kingdom of God upon this earth have passed like a panorama before many of those who love God and obey His commandments.

Some two or three years ago, I had retired for the night, when suddenly a glorious messenger appeared at my bedside and awoke me from my slumber. The light of his presence filled the room, so that objects were discerned as clearly as at noonday.

He handed me a book, saying, “Look, and see what is coming to pass.” I took the book in my hands and, sitting up in bed, examined it carefully and read its contents. In size this book was about seven by ten inches, opening like a copybook and bound in beautiful cover, on the front of which was stamped in gold letters its title, which was The Book of the Plagues. The leaves were printed only on the front side of each, and were composed of the very finest quality of pure white linen, instead of paper. The typography throughout was in the finest style of the printer’s art. Each page was composed of a picture printed in colors as natural as art can copy nature, which occupied the upper half of the space, below which was the printed description of the scene represented.

On the first page was a picture of a feast in progress, with the long table set upon a beautiful lawn, over which were interspersed clumps of fine shrubs and towering trees. In the background through the foliage, could be discerned a stately suburban villa, adorned with all the ornaments of modern architecture. The landscape presented the appearance of midsummer. The sky, and indeed the whole atmosphere, appeared of a peculiar sickly brassy hue, similar to that which may be observed when the sun is wholly eclipsed, and the disc is just beginning again to give its light. Throughout the atmosphere small white specks were represented, similar to a scattering fall of minute snowflakes in winter. About the table a part of richly dressed ladies and gentlemen were seated in the act of partaking of the rich repast with which the table was laden. The minute specks falling from above were dropping into the food apparently unheeded by all, for a sudden destruction had come upon them. Many were falling backward in the agonies of a fearful death; others drooping upon the table, and others pausing with their hand still holding the untasted food, their countenances betraying a fearful astonishment at the peculiar and unlooked for condition of their companions. Death was in the atmosphere; the judgments of God had come upon them as silently and swiftly as upon the proud Sennacharib and his host of Assyrians.

In one corner of this picture was a small circular vignette, showing the front of the store of a dealer in pork. The wide sidewalk was covered by an awning supported on posts at the outer edge, and on this walk were shown barrels of pork, long strings of sausages, fresh slaughtered hogs, piles of smoked bacon and headcheese; and along the edge of the walk, next to the store, beneath the front windows, leaned a number of large hams and pieces of side meat, reaching across the whole front, except a small space at the doorway. There were twelve of these pieces, and on each piece was painted a large letter, in order to make as a whole the word ABOMINATIONS.

Below this scene was the description: A Feast among the Gentiles, commencement of the Plague. And in smaller type below [was] a note saying that the particles of poison, though represented in the picture, are so small as to be invisible to the naked eye.

On the next page was another picture. It was a street scene in a large city. In the foreground were the residences of wealthy city merchants. The character of the buildings gradually changed; along the view and in the distance were shown the great buildings of trade and commerce in the heart of a large metropolis. On the sidewalks throughout the long vista, the busy, throbbing rushing crowd had been cut down like grass before the mower.

Again it was a midsummer scene. The same atoms of poison were falling through the air, but their work was done; the same sickly brazen atmosphere that seemed thick with foul odors laid upon the earth, in which no breeze stirred a leaf of the foliage. Upon the balconies of the richly decorated residences, across the thresholds of the open doorways, along the walks and upon the crossings, lay the men, women and children, who a few days before were enjoying all the pleasures of life. Further on, the dead were everywhere. Houses of business that had been thronged with customers stood with open doorways, frowning upon streets covered with the dead. Across the thresholds of the banks lay the guardians of wealth, but no thieves were there to take the unlocked treasures within. The costly merchandise of a thousand owners laid untouched upon the counters and shelves. In the noonday glare of the sickly sun, not a soul was shown alive; not one had been left to bury the dead—all had been stricken or had fled from the death-dealing plague and the doomed city. Along midway upon the street, a hungry drove of those horrible ugly slaughterhouse dogs, (which may be seen in the pens attached to the filthy slaughtering places in the outskirts of many cities), was tearing and devouring the dead and feasting upon the bodies of rich and poor alike with none to molest them.

Below this picture was the description: Progress of the Plague among the Gentiles. A street scene in a large city. Nearly fifty of these pictures I carefully observed, wherein the fearful effects of this and other plagues were almost as vividly portrayed as if I had actually seen them.

The last scene in the book was descriptive of the same plague as the first. A beautiful park-like, grassy prairie was surrounded by elm and cottonwood trees, the area embraced being about eighty rods across. In the center of this enclosure was a large cone-shaped tent of a bright purple color, about thirty feet in height by twenty in diameter at the base. Midway in height in this tent was a floor dividing the inside into two stories. Near this tent was another, a round wall tent, about thirty feet in diameter, and nearly as high as the first. This was clean and white. Leaving a space of about a hundred yards from these central tents were hundreds of small rectangular wall tents in rows, reaching as far as the surrounding trees, each tent clean and white, and appearing to be of a size suited to the wants of an ordinary family. Not a human being, animal, bird or vehicle was in sight. Not a breath of air appeared to be stirring. The same atmosphere as in the previous pictures, with the atoms of poison, was represented, and the same time and season of the year.

Below this picture was the description: “A camp of the Saints who have gathered together and are living under the daily revelations of God, and are thus preserved from the plague.” I understood from this that each family was in its tent during the hours of the day that the poison falls, and thus were preserved from breathing the deathly particles.

Handing the book to the messenger, who all this time had remained by my side, he vanished from my view as suddenly as he had appeared. I awoke my wife, who was soundly sleeping, and commenced to relate to her what I had just beheld. After telling her the description of the two pictures at the beginning of the book, and commencing on the third, this third picture and all up to the last was suddenly taken from my memory, so that I have never been able to recall them; but still I remember that they were scenes about the plagues and judgments.

In the revelation given to the Prophet Joseph, among the many plagues and judgments portrayed, that given in the Doctrine and Covenants, Sec. xxix:17-20, has always seemed to me to fully coincide with what has been related in the account of that dream. But whether that plague or another is meant, it does not matter. Plagues will come and the wicked must suffer; but the Saints will be preserved by the very principle for which the wicked persecute them, which is present revelation from the Almighty. (The Contributor, 5:411.)

Commentary

In many respects, this vision matches certain primary elements of Bro. Evans’ and John Taylor’s visions. Each wrote of a similarly poisoned atmosphere that brought certain death. The three corroborate one another and the thesis of this author regarding a future, planet-wide plague, caused by extra-terrestrial contamination of air and water, making them poisonous to living things. It is further evidence that the central thesis of And The Earth Shall Reel To And Fro regarding the Great Plague of the last days is valid. Furthermore, it is very significant that the sole source for the accounts of this future plague is the membership of the church. The scriptures make only passing reference to this plague, while latter-day revelation, given to general authorities and priesthood holders alike, exhibits a much fuller and technically accurate picture of this catastrophic plague. Once again, modern revelation, when coupled with the catastrophist view, is capable of amplifying our understanding of future events.

The first paragraph paints a very interesting picture of a church that anticipates the onset of the last days at any time. Mormonism was, in its infancy, very much a Millennialist or Adventist religion. Central to the restoration was the idea that the mission of the church was to prepare for the imminent return of the Savior. For example, the scriptural quotations of Moroni to Joseph Smith deal almost exclusively with prophecies of the last days. (See Joseph Smith—History 1:36-41.)

The author of this vision notes that there were “nearly fifty of these pictures . . . .” Yet, he only remembers the first two and the last. (One can only lament that he was not allowed to remember the rest!) The first picture is said to represent the beginning of the plague, and the second to document the progress of the plague. It is logical to surmise that the last scene in the book represents the final stage of the plague. Taken all together, the book was as close to the animator’s art as a 19th century work could be—almost a motion picture! The author notes that it was all so “vividly portrayed” that it was “as if I had actually seen them.”

Apparently, each scene was meant to depict a virtual reality. The scenes were accurate in their representation of the plague’s effects on mankind, but the settings were rather idealized and therefore somewhat symbolic. The vignette of the pork store was certainly a symbolic representation, having nothing to do with reality. It is an allusion to the Mosaic Law’s prohibition on pork, which was seen as a foul pollution. A shop trafficking exclusively in pork would certainly be seen as an abomination in a kosher neighborhood! The 12 large hams with letters that spelled out ABOMINATIONS may be a metaphor for a wicked 12 tribes. It also relates to the scriptural phrase “desolation of abominations” that is often applied to the catastrophic destructions of the last days since such destructions have historically been the means by which God swept wickedness or abominations from the planet. Obviously, the destruction of something as horrific as a pork shop could be construed as a symbolic “desolation of abominations.”

Assuming that most of the vision is self-explanatory in light of this author’s thesis, it is the last scene depicting the final stage of the plague to which we turn our attention.

The situation, as described, has many subtle implications. That they were living in tents implies two things: Their permanent dwellings were uninhabitable and they were in the process of migrating to a new location. This conforms with the traditional belief among early Mormons who had migrated to the Salt Lake Valley that the day would come when they would return to Jackson County, Missouri, the site designated by Joseph Smith for the building of the New Jerusalem. It confirms the idea of a modern exodus, seen to occur in the last days, under very similar conditions to those experienced by the Israelites under Moses’ direction. The mention of an assembly and temple-like pair of tents in the center of the encampment further reinforces this analogy.

The size of the encampment is also a notable detail. Given the size of the encampment enclosure, “about eighty rods across,” the number of tents in that defined area would be astoundingly small, given the size of the church today. It seems to indicate that although the membership of the church today numbers in the millions, only a tiny fraction of those Saints will survive to reclaim Jackson County. This, of course, is consistent with the nature and extent of the plague witnessed in this vision and also conforms to the traditional view of the original Exodus wherein it is said that 49 out of 50 Israelites perished.

Given the modest level of interest in these ideas among Latter-day Saints, it seems logical to assume that very few of us will be prepared to cope with the Great Plague and the other profoundly devastating and destructive events of the last days. Those of us who have been given a glimpse of the reality and the nature of these plagues and destructions should consider ourselves fortunate because that forewarning will allow us to better prepare ourselves for them and to better cope with them when they do happen. Such revelations as this, seen through the focused lens of catastrophism, provide us with life-saving information.

© Anthony E. Larson, 1999