When the Mystery of God is Finished
Making Sense of the Seer’s Apocalypse
By C. Edwin Martineau
Introduction
The seventh millennium has held great interest throughout recorded history because God has communicated to many of his prophets visions of the future; that they may have an overall view of the important work that the Lord has enlisted them to perform. When these faithful men were shown the panoramic history of God’s creation they knew that their work would have consequence. Much has been written of the last days, and often the prophets counseled the faithful to live as if they were in that time. Because so many end time prophecies have been incorporated in ancient scripture, faithful believers since then have likened their messages to their time, often with confusing results, particularly since the end of the apostolic age.
In the case of Ancient America, the prophets understood their place in history, and conveyed this perspective to their followers, yet made effective use of end time prophecies to motivate them to participate in the Lord’s ordained plan of salvation. Of special note is that the Nephite prophets knew that their posterity’s future would serve as a parallel and a type of the last days. For this reason many of their writings were directed not only to their people, but also the future inhabitants of their “promised land.”
The overall guiding theme of last day prophecy is the fulfillment of God’s promises with the house of Jacob, the covenant family. Jacob, grandson of Abraham, had 12 sons. It was through this lineage that God promised to fulfill Abraham’s promise of countless posterity and the perpetuation of sacred gospel covenants; all the nations of the earth would be blessed through Abraham’s seed. Biblical records indicate that the descendants of this family have undergone extraordinary transformation as they vacillated between humbly recognizing their divine destiny and embracing worldly philosophies. As a result, their posterity was literally scattered throughout the kingdoms of the world. In reality, this early dispersion has served to “salt” the earth with the seed of Abraham, thus fulfilling the ancient physical promise.
The only “undiluted” posterity of ancient Israel is that of the Jews, yet even they have intermarried over the millennia. Their Torah has enabled them to maintain a spiritual and physical identity that serves to give support to the larger family covenant. It is clear that the spiritual promises that God made with the ancients apply to more than the Jews, who for the most part live secular lives. God’s spiritual covenants found fulfillment in the atonement of Christ. These spiritual covenants of salvation have now been made available to all who are willing to follow the guidance of divine promptings. Since Israel has been physically scattered throughout the world, those who accept the Gospel of Christ not only accept the spiritual covenants of the ancients but most likely are literal heirs of the ancient family covenants. Consequently, as we read end times prophecies of the gathering of Israel, we must recognize that their fulfillment involves events that will prepare mankind for the great separation of those faithful to the Savior from those who choose to follow worldly promptings.
The events of the last days are subtle because the stage has been in the process of being set for quite some time. Although past generations have read the words of the Seer and have considered the end times to be apocalyptic, to those of the generation in which they occur, they are part of normal existence. For example, everyone has heard of the dreadful “mark of the beast,” 666. The scripture clearly says that no one will be able to buy or sell without it. Many have speculated there will be a global implementation of tattoos or microchip implants to replace national currencies. Yet we know that as of this time, such a global monetary system is impractical because our political systems would not tolerate it, and it would be an excessive burden for individuals. Yet if we are living in the seventh millennium, the mark of the beast should be in existence. The fact is we do have a global monetary system in place that defines all monetary transactions, great or small. It is part of normal life to us. We have come to appreciate the convenience of its simplicity. It is not the apocalyptic tyranny that so many have envisioned for centuries.
As we proceed to finally unveil the Book of Revelations with our contemporary eyes, we will discover that, as faithful Christians, the apostle John is witnessing to us. He is encouraging us to guard ourselves against a very cunning Satan who has produced a trinity of global deceivers—a dragon, a beast, and a false prophet. He has shown how he will fulfill many of the coming calamities by allowing a group of Islamic kings to make war against the righteous and to torment western civilization. John shows us how God has raised up two powerful witnesses of Christ to prepare the way for the establishment of glorious Zion. The Seer is sharing with us in detail the last chapter of the panoramic view of earth’s history. We, too, should find hope that our enlistment in God’s service will have glorious consequence.