"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."
Revelation 20:12-13
The first part of this chapter talks about the first resurrection and then the Millennium, which is the thousand years of peace when Christ reigns and Satan is bound. Then the rest of the people are resurrected, Satan is loosed, there is deception and battle, then Satan's army is consumed with fire, and Satan is cast into a lake of fire. And then suddenly we are at the point where the dead are judged.
It seems like there is a lot of drama when we talk about the last days. The part before the Millennium sounds even kind of scarier, but I think for us, there is a lot of good to look forward to as well. It comes down to these verses. God tells us in D&C 38:30 that "if ye are prepared ye shall not fear." We also know that "all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28) and that "walk uprightly" (D&C 90:24 and 100:15). We don't have to be afraid of the drama to come... the next chapter talks about the new heaven and the new earth and pretty much eternal happiness. :) But, of course, we should be prepared to be judged according to our works.
Today, let's examine our lives and make sure that we are doing good works--working for the welfare of others, and making the world a better place. Let's be magnifying our talents and building the kingdom of God... loving the people around us, and doing all we can to help them to be happy in the long term. As we do, the book of Revelation won't seem so scary, because we'll be ready for whatever comes. Some bad, yes, but in the end, as we keep turning the pages, only perfect, eternal good.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."
Revelation 20:12-13
The first part of this chapter talks about the first resurrection and then the Millennium, which is the thousand years of peace when Christ reigns and Satan is bound. Then the rest of the people are resurrected, Satan is loosed, there is deception and battle, then Satan's army is consumed with fire, and Satan is cast into a lake of fire. And then suddenly we are at the point where the dead are judged.
It seems like there is a lot of drama when we talk about the last days. The part before the Millennium sounds even kind of scarier, but I think for us, there is a lot of good to look forward to as well. It comes down to these verses. God tells us in D&C 38:30 that "if ye are prepared ye shall not fear." We also know that "all things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28) and that "walk uprightly" (D&C 90:24 and 100:15). We don't have to be afraid of the drama to come... the next chapter talks about the new heaven and the new earth and pretty much eternal happiness. :) But, of course, we should be prepared to be judged according to our works.
Today, let's examine our lives and make sure that we are doing good works--working for the welfare of others, and making the world a better place. Let's be magnifying our talents and building the kingdom of God... loving the people around us, and doing all we can to help them to be happy in the long term. As we do, the book of Revelation won't seem so scary, because we'll be ready for whatever comes. Some bad, yes, but in the end, as we keep turning the pages, only perfect, eternal good.
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