THE BOOK OF REVELATION

 

I want to tell you about a book of love. This book is reluctantly read and studied and largely unappreciated yet this book is one of the most important amongst holy writ. This book is The Book of Revelation and this is why it is a book of love……

 Some two thousand years ago, during the bleakest period of Church history, there was on the island of Patmos an exile, a prophet and an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, the last apostle alive;  Peter having been crucified, Paul beheaded, Bartholemew skinned alive, Thomas and Matthew run through with spears. By the time of Patmos, the history of the Church included ‘the lining of Nero's colonnade with crucified Christians’ (Student Manual, The Life and Teachings of Jesus and His Apostles, p 449). The Apostle that survived it all and would never taste of death was called by Jesus ‘the son of thunder’ (Mark 3:17). In his own writings he referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved and as the ‘other disciple’ (John 13:23; 21:20; 20:2-8). We know him as John The Beloved…..he who lives as ‘a flaming fire and a ministering angel’ and sorrows for the sins of the world….(D&C 7:5,6)

More than six centuries before John was even born, the Lord revealed to Nephi many of the things we now have in the Book of Revelation but forbade him to write them down because they were reserved for John (1 Nephi 14:19-28). And so to that rocky island prison, on a particular Sunday came the glorified, exalted Christ to the apostle whom He also called 'The Beloved' (Revelation 1:13-18; D&C 7:1; 3 Nephi 28:4-6). 

In the revelation John was given on that occasion, all the sinful and evil history of this world was revealed to him but completed with the glorious hope of Christ's return who would reign in peace, harmony and love for a thousand years. What comfort that must have been to John who, like the 3 Nephites, would sorrow for the sins of the world during his sojourn in this dismal telestial world (3 Nephi 28:9). This is a story of love...love for one cherished disciple and love for all those who accept and follow Christ and have a hope of eternal life through the virtue of his atoning blood.

When the Saviour appeared to John, it was as if He was saying to him: "You will be here a long time and you need to know everything that will happen while you are here but be comforted John, my Beloved, because I am coming back and when I come I will 'wipe away all tears....and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain...." (Revelation 21:4). Is this not love?

I long to see the paths he wanders

To and fro the length of the earth;

I wish to wipe his brow

At the end of the day

To uphold the magnitude of his holy work.

Let me hold him close

And soothe his heavy heart

As the time for final gathering nears,

And let me gather in my cupped hands

The hallowed drops of The Beloved’s tears.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Second Coming by Danny Hahlbohm)

INCONVENIENT LOVE

 

It is said, ‘It’s easy to love the lovelies’, and how very true that is! It is the ones who do not agree with us, who seek to hurt others, who we consider toxic, who do not look or live according to our standards and views that are not the easy or convenient for us to love.

The commandment to love one another must be the hardest one to live for most of us and most of us justify our failure to live up to it in one way or another  (John 15:12). Consider though the other side of the coin: “He that loveth not his brother, abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” (1 John 3:14,15). Those are hard words to swallow but logic prevails: if God is love, and we aspire to be gods like Him, how can we ever reach such a station if love is not in us? Can we be ‘loveless’ gods when love is so obviously central to the character of deity (1 John 4:7-11)?

When the Saviour said to His disciples, “love one another” he added an incredibly high standard: “as I have loved you” (John 15:12). This means that Christ loved those around Him without prejudice. I wager that among them were also the ‘unlovelies’…..such as Judas.

The standard is high but it is achievable, because of the example set before us: “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). We hear of heroic acts where people have sacrificed their own lives to save another. These acts are usually motivated by love for the person the sacrifice is given for. Imagine though giving up your life for someone you cannot abide. Someone who has hurt you, your children, your family. Even someone whose personality and character you cannot stand. But this is not required of us. What is required is sacrifice out of compassion which propels us to aid a brother in need (1 John 3:17). This is all that is asked of us to earn the love of God to dwell in us.

Very often we say, ‘oh they are not worth it!’. What is being said in reality is that such a person is of no worth. When on the other hand, we can give of ourselves to those we consider to be the unloveable we are on the path to godly love. This godly love was what prevented the Saviour from ever considering anyone not being worthy of His attention, His care, His love and ultimately His sacrifice. We are told that the worth of a soul is great in the sight of God (D&C 18:10). Imagine if there was a proviso in His atoning sacrifice which excluded you by name.  How would you feel?  It would crush even the most odious person if he was not atoned for. This was unthinkable to the Saviour as He hung upon the cross. The ‘unlovelies’ were gathered into His bosom as much as the lovely ones. No sinner, no thief, no murderer, no liar, no adulterer, no atheist was excluded. Such is the heart of the man who is The Truth, The Light, and The Way. (John 14:6)

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art AI generated)

DIVINE SUBMISSION

 

As Christians our primary focus should be the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and rightly so because it relates to our salvation. As much as I believe in it, revere it and constantly express gratitude for it, my ultimate admiration for the Saviour lies in His condescension. This, more than anything tells me about the man and His life. It represents in my mind divine submission at every turn of His earthly years, in small and great ways. It suggests renewed commitment every time He was reminded what His purpose was and where His life would end. Imagine the determination, the commitment, and the integrity that defeated retreat.

I imagine that his upbringing from the very beginning, in heavenly realms, was fostered with acute sense of responsibility for His younger siblings.  He would have been tutored and molded by Father’s perfect character to be like Him. A God yet a man, no doubt with His own desires, His own vision, His own destiny, submitted to the responsibility of the Firstborn in His care for those less than Him, His primary focus doing the will of the Father rather than His own.

This is what Christ’s condescension tells me of the man we call our King.  You would have to be devoid of the least degree of pride to lay aside a godship that you had so diligently earned through impeccable obedience and lower yourself to a corruptible, mortal body and painstaking mortal life. This selflessness is the kind that seeks only the wellbeing of others even if they do not want it or deserve it.  For this He exchanged ‘the dominion of a god for the dependence of a babe. He gave up wealth, power, dominion, and fulness of His glory – for what? – for taunting, mocking, humiliation, and subjection. It was a trade of unparalleled dimension, a condescension of incredible proportions, a descent of incalculable depth. And so, the great Jehovah, creator of worlds without number, infinite in virtue and power, made his entry into this world in swaddling clothes and a manger’. (Tad. R. Callister, The Infinite Atonement, p 69)

And what of the Father He so valiantly defended when the Son of the Morning sought to usurp His power and glory? The depth, the width, the entirety of His devotion to the Father in whose shadow He walked and into whose image He grew cannot be overlooked or overstated. Ultimately the price of His willingness to descend to a mortal life unworthy of Him, was to preserve and add to the glory of the Father. It was the ultimate expression of perfect love only a god could bestow upon another. The selflessness is beyond compare.

This is Christ the King, the Saviour of the weak, the Babe of Bethlehem. Glory be His forever and ever.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Born This Day by Liz Lemon Swindle) 

A MOTHER'S PATH

 

There were among the host of heaven many noble and great ones without whom Father’s Plan of Salvation would have come to naught (Abraham 3:22-23). The noblest of them all was Jehovah, the Firstborn (v 24). Along the many noble sons of God were female counterparts without whom also the Plan would have come to naught. The first that comes to mind is Mother Eve but my greatest admiration goes to Mary, the chosen vessel to bear the Son of God. The purity of her character could never be disputed but the devotion to God the Father that Jesus would have learnt at her knee is unsurpassable.

Jesus would have fulfilled His role as the Saviour no matter what mother He had because that’s who He is, but Mary’s pious devotion to God that He was raised with would have made His journey to the Garden easier. It tells you a lot about parenting skills. I am convinced that Mary’s compliant submission when a young girl in the presence of angel Gabriel paved the way for Christ’s supernal ‘Thy will be done’ in Gethsemane (Luke 1:26-38; 22:42). Like mother, like son.

I wonder if Mary recognized her part in Christ’s acceptance of the cross when her heart was breaking. I hope against hope that her pain was lessened knowing she brought up a dutiful son. I hope she reflected on the holiness of His birth and on the purpose for which He was born. I hope she knew the boy she mothered was the God she pledged long ago to accompany to the cross. I hope she saw on that cross the God of her salvation and gave thanks for her boy. I hope she wept good tears also.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus and Mother Mary by Liz Lemon Swindle)

THE POWER OF A LITTLE MEMBER

 

Have you noticed how contention is rising in the world? Hatred is fostered, false convictions made, wrong ideologies taught, lies spread, deadly orders issued, crimes denied…..and all this perpetrated by the smallest member of the human body….the tongue.

James compares the tongue to a small helm which has the power to control big ships (James 3:4). Picture the size of the helm compared to the size of a huge ship. Its’ power, however, comes from the captain of the ship who uses the helm to make the ship go in the course it is destined for.  And so it is with the tongue that operates under our directions. We use this tongue with ease and many of us, if not most, exercise little control over it. In the words of James: “For in many things we offend all. If any man offend NOT in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body” (James 3:2). I believe this. The function of the tongue is the hardest to control. I am in awe of people who never say a bad word about anyone. I believe they are in control of themselves in more ways than one.

The tongue is destroying the fabric of our society. The technology and social media make this plain. I have seen lately a number of YouTube videos where protestors against oil are blocking roads. They are igniting such hatred of the public toward them and creating so much contention that civilians are now undertaking control over the protestors. I saw one video yesterday where a man in Panama fought with the protestors and having had no success to persuade them, he pulled out a gun and shot to death two of them.

“And in that day shall….the whole world be in commotion,  men’s hearts shall fail them…and the love of men shall wax cold, and iniquity shall abound” (D&C 45:26,27). We are turning on each other. And not just through wars. Cast your mind back on the covid pandemic. The verbal conflict between people was unprecedented and all because of the vaccine. One Australian member I know was so contentious that he was fighting with the unvaccinated members and telling them they will not be able to get temple recommends because they were disobeying the Prophet. The tongue is also destroying families. One of my friends who only has two siblings left of her family is sustaining venomous attacks from them because they have left the Church and are doing all they can to destroy her testimony as well. It’s a painful situation.  We are turning on each other in families, friendships, communities, political arenas and global events. The tongue never sleeps. This was Satan’s design from the beginning. So here’s the thing. He doesn’t have one but he is envious of yours…..so he will use it. The more we are open to his influence, the more compliant the tongue.

I think of the Saviour’s reserved manner and impeccable control of His tongue when brought before the haughty and iniquitous Herod to be tried. A man, a God, who could have destroyed His accusers by the breath of His mouth stood silent before a man who was not worthy of his breath (Luke 23:6-11). He knew when to keep silent. A man who withered the fig tree the minute He spoke to it (Matthew 21:19), a man who commanded the waves of the sea to be still (Mark 4:39), a man who raised the dead by his voice (John 11:43), a man who proclaimed He was the ‘resurrection and the life’ (John 11:25), a Son of God (Matthew 3:16,17) who created worlds by the word of His mouth (Hebrews 11:3) who uttered the greatest invitation ever issued to all who ‘labour and are heavy laden’ (Matthew 11:28), knew when and how to use His tongue.

There is a time to speak and a time to stay silent. And they each reveal which master we obey. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Jesus At Trial by Jon McNaughton)

THE MAGNITUDE OF HIS GLORY

 

Nothing brings home to me more the magnitude of Christ’s condescension than “The Little Drummer Boy”. I cry every time I hear it. I simply fail to grasp how someone as supernal, powerful and godly could enter a baby’s body. This song brings to my mind His helplessness, vulnerability, dependence, His willingness to forget for a season that He graced as an infant the earth He created. This willingness makes me see in Him the greatness He embodied from the beginning of time. I simply cannot fathom in my finite mind the humility that such an undertaking warranted. Humility on this level equals greatness. No ego, no pride, no self-importance. Just a baby but yet a King.

When the Saviour comes the second time, He will come in the fulness of His glory. Consider the magnitude of that statement:

1.  Mountains will flow down at His presence (D&C 133:40,44; Micah 1:4)
2. The waters on the earth will boil (D& C 133:41)
3. All nations will tremble at His presence (D&C 133:42)
4. The sun will hide, the moon will withhold its light, and the stars will be hurled from their places (D&C 133:49)
5. The wicked will be burned by the brightness of fire of His glory (Malachi 4:1-3; 2 Thessalonians 2:8)

I am a mother. When I hear The Little Drummer Boy, I yearn to hold baby Jesus in my arms. The thought of His helplessness as He then was sears my heart. What a blessing and unspeakable privilege it was for Mary to hold Him close to her heart. I also yearn to see Him come in the fulness of His glory, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Lord Omnipotent, the Everlasting King….

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Blissful Bond by Greg Collins)

THE MORTAL BURDEN

 

“The trial of Jesus in Gethsemane would not have been possible and could not have occurred had it not been preceded by a lifetime of sinless virtue…Fromm His temptation in the wilderness to His rejection in Nazareth to the illegal trial before the Sanhedrin, Christ paid the price of a perfect life, walking in holy sinlessness despite adversity, physical suffering, deep sorrows, and the snares of ruthless and determined adversaries, both seen and unseen. ‘He suffered temptations but gave no heed unto them’ (D&C 20:22). All this He did with the knowledge that one misstep would mean creation’s doom! For had he sinned even in the smallest point or slightest negligence of thought, the Atonement would have become impossible and the whole purpose of creation frustrated. The burden of the whole world weighed upon him through every moment of His life.” (Elder Bruce D. Porter, The King of Kings, p 92)

Those of us who are parents would understand what it means to be responsible for another human being. Now imagine being responsible for the existence of the entire human race. Imagine the ever- present awareness of the utmost necessity to be perfect in every way every minute of your day because if you weren’t, the whole structure of human existence would crumble. This was the mortal life of Jesus of Nazareth. The burden of the responsibility upon His holy shoulders is beyond my capacity to comprehend, to pave the way to someone else’s perfection even more so. How could He be an example of obedience had He sinned in the minutest degree? How could He be the way if that way was flawed?

Nobody depended on the Saviour more to fulfil the responsibility placed on His shoulders than the Father of us all. He knew according to His foreknowledge that His firstborn Son could save the rest of His children and that He would. It is with this foreknowledge that He also placed upon us our individual mortal responsibilities. We each have a part to play in this great Plan of Salvation. We are each a link in the chain of humanity. The Plan of Salvation the Father presented to us could never work without us, His children. The Saviour could never be the Saviour if there was no one to save. We accepted, we voted, we came. The burden is heavy but possible…..because of Him.

I was tempted my burdens

To lay to Your charge;

I considered them acutely unfair.

Then you opened my heart

And showed me Your godly task,

Beyond human capacity to bear.

Knowing where you had gone

I would never have to go,

I sorrowed and sought

My arrogance to bury;

In humility I assent,

Your mortal burden,

So valiant, so holy,

I would never in this life 

have to carry.

 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Through Heaven's Veil by Greg Collins)

A WELCOME BY THE FAITHFUL

 

In his efforts to stay the tide of increasing floundering amongst the early Church members who had converted from Judaism to Christianity, Paul wrote the famous sermon that we now call the book of Hebrews. Throughout the entire sermon, his goal was to reinforce the members’ conversion by denouncing the law of Moses and emphasizing that the only way to salvation was through Christ. He reminded these converted Jews of the time they were illuminated, had accepted the truth and had endured afflictions because of it (Hebrews 10:32). He admonished them not to let all that growth and endurance go to waste by casting away their confidence in the truth they once accepted (v 35). In other words, if it was right when you prayed about it and received a witness of it, and trusted it, and lived for it, it is still right. It is right when the pressure mounts, when doubts set in, when fears rear their ugly heads, when the adversary steps in to destroy your reward if you remain faithful.

Following his admonition to confidence, Paul said something highly significant to us, the saints of this last dispensation who await the Second Coming of the Saviour: “For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Hebrews 10:37). In other words, don’t give up especially now when the Lord is at the door….

It has been 2023 years since the Lord’s first advent. Many, like Nephites of old who awaited His first coming, are becoming incredulous about His return. Those who still believe are asking how much more wicked the world has to get before He appears. Elder Christofferson who was in Melbourne, Australia, conducting a leadership meeting was asked this very same question of a sister during a question and answer segment to which he replied: “The world is already wicked enough for His coming, the Father is waiting for more covenant keeping saints to welcome Him.” In his talk, “Preparing for the Lord’s Return” given in April 2019, Elder Christofferson elaborated: “First, and crucial for the Lord’s return, is the presence on the earth of a people prepared to receive Him at His coming.”  

Nephi saw us in our day and testified that the ‘power of the Lamb of God descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord…and we were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory’ (1 Nephi 14:14). It is time for us, the covenant people, to rise to that privilege. We are the chosen for this time and this place to usher in the greatest event of the history of mankind. The winding up scenes will not be easy, they will not be pleasant, but they will be worth the sacrifice, the perseverance, the wait…..and when He comes, the tears of the faithful….

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: His Return by Dan Wilson)

GOOD THINGS TO COME

 

I watched this week a video detailing the tragic life of deceased Matthew Perry who struggled with alcoholism and prescription drug abuse from age 14. In his interview before his death Perry said he had a spiritual hole that he was always trying to fill with a material thing which just kept perpetrating his need for his addictions. These addictions became so severe that he found himself one day praying to God in desperation for help. As he did so, a light appeared in his room brighter than the sun emanating from a heavenly messenger. Even though he could not discern who it was, Perry said he knew he stood in God’s presence because he had never before been encased in such love as he then felt. This experience afforded him several years of abstinence and well-being, but Perry continued to struggle on and off with his addictions. This led him to open his home to rehabilitation of alcoholics. In one of his final interviews he said he wanted to be remembered for the work he did with people who needed help rather than for being an actor.

In his attempt to persuade the converted Hebrews struggling to stay in the Church, Apostle Paul wrote extensively in his epistle to them about the Saviour offering Himself as sacrifice for our sins that outranked any sacrifice offered by Levite priests. In so doing he named Christ as ‘the high priest of good things to come’ (Hebrews 9:11). Even though this had reference to Christ’s sacrifice bringing us eventually into God’s presence, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland used this description of Jesus to provide encouragement to those struggling in despair here and now. He said:

“There really is light at the end of the tunnel. It is the Light of the World, the Bright and Morning Star, the ‘light that is endless, that can never be darkened’ (Mosiah 16:9; John 8:12; Revelation 22:16)….To any who may be struggling to see that light and find that hope, I say: Hold on. Keep trying. God loves you. Things will improve. Christ comes to you in His ‘more excellent ministry’ with a future of ‘better promises.’ He is your ‘high priest of good things to come’. (An High Priest of Good Things to Come, Ensign, Nov 1999, p 36)

 

I look to Thee to lift me up

When into the depths of sorrow

I sink and comfort cannot find;

I look to Thee to lift me up

When nothing makes sense

In my troubled finite mind.

I look to Thee to lift me up

When forsaken I happen to be;

I look to Thee to lift me up

When trials seek to swallow me.

I will look to Thee to lift me up

When farewell I have to say,

Lift me up with tender mercies

In thine arms to gently lay.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Rescue Me by Yongsung Kim)

ODE TO PAUL

 

I am often amazed at how much influence one person can have, for better or for worse. I have studied the New Testament before but this year I saw the man Paul, his life and his heart. It has had a profound influence on me relative to my life. I have felt the beating of this man’s heart as I read the words which abridged our earthly span of time; from the time of that fateful day on the road to Damascus to the turnaround of his entire life to finding himself alone and abandoned facing death during the madness of Nero and his genocide of Christians in Rome.

Elder Bruce R. McConkie claimed that Paul was foreordained to his ministry because of his spiritual endowment, nurtured and earned in pre-existence (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary, 2:91). His zeal, his devotion to God, his diligence in exact obedience, were all traits he brought with him but his recognition and adherence to the truth he owes to the person he met on the road to Damascus. Only the Saviour of the world, the crucified Christ, the long- awaited Messiah, could have changed his heart to the enabling of the new life he embraced, the suffering he endured, the love he bore for those he taught and the devotion to the only source of salvation that he took to the grave with him.

Paul is the prime example of the truth that the Saviour of all mankind can make of us much, much more than we can make of ourselves. Once we grant Him entrance to our heart, we are  never be the same again. Paul wasn’t, and he took that new heart to the grave with him. He worked, he suffered, he endured….and he owed it all to Christ Jesus, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, the great Jehovah, the Rock of our Salvation. To Him we owe all we are and all we can become if we yield our hearts to Him and Him only. May we like Paul, bring glory to His name and pay Him homage now and forever….

I gave up all

To come to know Thee and hear Thy call.

I sought the fertile ground

For Thy seeds to grow,

I nurtured the tender plants

And fed those who wanted to know.

I did it all

To catch Your crimson drops

In my grateful hands for them to fall.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: I Will Give You Rest by Yongsung Kim)

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