Revelation 6-14: “They Overcame … by the Blood of the Lamb” (December 11-17)

Detail from Death on the Pale Horse, by Benjamin West

Four horsemen, 144,000 servants of God, two witnesses in Jerusalem, “a woman clothed with the sun,” threatened by “a great red dragon” (Revelation 12:1-3). There is a lot of symbolism in this week’s reading! But when we look past the symbols, we find familiar principles which are relevant in our lives: the Atonement of Jesus Christ, the Restoration of the gospel, the plan of salvation, and the importance of overcoming the world.

Here are some principles I’ve learned from this week’s reading, with associated blog posts:

1. The Savior can purify and cleanse us.

White clothing represents purity and holiness, while filthy clothing represents contamination or corruption. In a vision, John saw numerous people “arrayed in white robes.” A heavenly being explained to him, “These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14).

The imagery is striking. Blood shouldn’t turn clothing white, but the Savior’s blood does just that. His willing sacrifice enabled us to return to the presence of God in a state of holiness and purity.

This imagery also appears multiple times throughout the Book of Mormon. (See 2 Nephi 12:11, Alma 5:21, 27, Alma 13:11, Alma 34:36, 3 Nephi 27:19, Ether 13:10).

• What Does It Mean for Our Garments to Be “Washed White Through the Blood of the Lamb?”

2. God can restore all things.

The apostle John saw in a vision a woman (representing the church) who fled into the wilderness to escape from danger. (See Revelation 12.) Nephi likewise foresaw that the Savior’s church would be smothered by persecution and corrupted by inaccurate doctrines. (See 1 Nephi 13.)

But there is more to the story. In John’s vision, God sends “another angel [flying] in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel” (Revelation 14:6). In Nephi’s vision, “the power of the Lamb of God” descends “upon the saints upon the saints of the church of the Lamb” (1 Nephi 14:14).

We can trust in a God who refreshes, replenishes, rebuilds, and renews all things that are needed for the happiness and progression of His children.

• Restoration of All Things

3. We lived before we were born.

The war in heaven described by apostle John was a momentous event with eternal implications, but for us at the time, it was personal. (See Revelation 12:7-9.) Real people made important decisions about whether to follow our Heavenly Parents or whether to reject their plan for our progression. (See “The Family: A Proclamation to the World.”) The devil and his angels were cast out and lost the privilege of participating in mortality.

An awareness that we lived before we were born gives added perspective to our lives and to the decisions we make each day.

• Premortal Life

4. Cultural influences can distort our perception of reality.

“The world is too much with us,” wrote the poet William Wordsworth. He meant that our lives are influenced more than we realize by the society in which we live, leaving us unable to properly perceive “things as they really are” (Jacob 4:13).

Throughout the scriptures, “Babylon” is a metaphor for the damaging influences in the world around us. So, when the angel in John’s vision announces, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen,” (Revelation 4:8), what sounds like a lamentation is also a sigh of relief. We can prepare for that future event by being mindful of the cultural influences in our lives and not becoming unduly immersed in them.

• “Go Ye Forth of Babylon” – 1 Nephi 20:20

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