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A Satanic World-Wide Organization Foretold
Prophecies of Nephi and John the Revelator
Students of both the Bible and the Book of Mormon have, for many years, speculated about the identity of a satanic, world-wide organization called, among other things, “THE GREAT AND ABOMINABLE CHURCH OF THE DEVIL” which prophets foresaw would cover the earth in the last days. Both Nephi, a Book of Mormon prophet, and John the Revelator were permitted to envision this monstrous evil and to record a portion of what they saw.
There is no doubt that these prophets saw and discussed the same wicked organization. Not only did they use the same names to describe it, (“Mother of Abominations,” “The Great Whore that Sitteth upon Many Waters,” etc.) but also they both were shown in the last days it would make war against the Church of the Lamb and being drunken with the blood of the saints and the prophets. (Rev. 17:6; 19:19; 1 Nephi 13:5; 14:13)
Furthermore, while making a record of what he saw, Nephi was told by the angel who was providing him with an explanation of the vision, to cease recording. The angel said, “one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb [shall].. write the remainder of these things.” (1 Nephi 14:20, 21) Nephi was told that the name of this apostle was John. (1 Nephi 14:27)
John’s Account of the Devil’s Church Mutilated
When we turn to the account of John’s vision of the devil’s church as contained in the Book of Revelations, we find it so mutilated and full of unexplained symbolism that one has great difficulty in gathering its meaning. Nephi was told that when the record of the Jews was first made it was:
plain and pure, and most precious and easy to the understanding of all men. (1 Nephi 14:23)
However,
…after they [the records of the Jews] go forth by the hand of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles, thou seest the foundation of a great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all other churches; for behold, they have taken away from the gospel of the Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away. (1 Nephi 13:26)
The succeeding verse tells why the devil’s church had corrupted the record:
And all this have they done that they might pervert the right ways of the Lord, that they might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men. (v.27)
Prophecies Obscure And Incomplete Because Of Gentile Wickedness And Unbelief
Why, one might ask, did the Lord allow this to happen? Knowing that John’s account would be corrupted beyond the understanding of the people, why was Nephi commanded to cease recording his plain and undefiled account? Why was the devil’s church allowed to blind our eyes by corrupting those very records upon which we must depend for an understanding of that Satanic organization? The scriptures tell us why, and the explanation is not complimentary. The Lord has deliberately permitted Satan to deceive us because of our wickedness. This is made plain in the writings of Moroni, When he was abridging the record of the Jaredites, he also was restrained from giving us Gentiles a full account of what he thought we should know. When he commenced to relate the vision given to the Brother of Jared concerning the end of the world, the Lord told him:
They [the records] shall not go forth unto the Gentiles until the day that they shall repent of their iniquity, and become clean before the Lord. (Ether 4:6)
Christ went on to state that it was because of our unbelief and wickedness that He was withholding from us a full account of the great prophecies concerning our day. In His explanation, He specifically mentioned that not until we repented, would the revelations written by John be unfolded:
Come unto me, O ye Gentiles, and i will show unto you the greater things, the knowledge which is hid up because of unbelief
Come unto me, O ye house of Israel, and it shall be made manifest unto you how great things the Father hath laid up for you, from the foundation of the world; and it hath not come unto you, because of unbelief
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 my revelations which i have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people…. (Ether 4:13-16; see also D&C 6:26)
The Lord is withholding a pure and undefiled account of these visions pertaining to the devil’s organization in our day until such time as we make ourselves worthy.
Nephi also commented upon our unworthiness to possess the sealed portion of the Book of Mormon records. In describing conditions “in the last days, or in the days of the Gentiles,” he told us:
the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep. For behold, ye have closed your eyes, and ye have rejected the prophets; and your rulers, and the seers hath he covered because of your iniquity. (2 Nephi 27:5)
In the succeeding verses he continued thus:
And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall bring forth unto you the words of a book, and they shall be the words of them which have slumbered
And behold the book shall be sealed; and in the book shall be a revelation from God, from the beginning of the world to the ending thereof.
Wherefore, because of the things which are sealed up, the things which are sealed shall not be delivered in the day of the wickedness and abominations of the people. Wherefore the book shall be kept from them. (2 Nephi 27:6-8, emphasis added)
According to this scripture not only are we unworthy to receive God’s revelations “from the beginning of the world to the ending thereof,” but our seers have been “covered” because of our iniquity.
The Whole Church Under Condemnation For Failure To Hearken To The Book Of Mormon
Even though many of the Book of Mormon records are being withheld, it appears that we are under condemnation because we are not studying and comprehending that which has already been given. The charge of “unbelief’ made against us in the foregoing scriptures would seem to bear this out. Let us ponder the following modern revelation wherein the Lord has placed the whole Church under condemnation. He states we would remain there until we repent of our unbelief and failure to heed the messages of the Nephite scriptures:
And your minds in times past have been darkened because of unbelief and because you have treated lightly the things you have received— Which vanity and unbelief have brought the whole church under condemnation.
And this condemnation resteth upon the children of Zion, even all.
And they shall remain under this condemnation until they repent and remember the new covenant, even the Book of Mormon and the former commandments which i have given them, not only to say, but to do according to that which i have written. (D&C 84:54-5 7)
Taken together, the above scriptures should convince us that there are some vital messages in the Book of Mormon which are addressed to us “Gentiles” which are not being heeded. Furthermore, if we fail to repent of this neglect, the succeeding verses promise that we will be punished:
That they may bring forth fruit meet for their Father’s kingdom; otherwise there remaineth a scourge and judgement to be poured out upon the children of Zion.
For shall the children of the kingdom pollute my holy land? Verily, i say unto you, Nay. (D&C 84:58-59)
The scourge referred to could be an attack by Satan’s church on the Church of the Lamb, for Nephi was shown that it would:
gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God (1 Nephi 14:13)
The Need To Identify The Devil’s Church
In spite of such predictions of a culminating conflict between the forces of good and evil, relatively few of those who consider themselves members of Christ’s Church seem to concern themselves with the identity of the opposition. Such apathy may prove disastrous, because in order to prepare for battle it is essential to identify the enemy, especially if he is combined and organized. The Lord has instructed us to “Contend against no church, save it be the church of the devil.” (D&C 18:20) But if we are going to contend only against the devil’s church, we must be able to distinguish it from all others. If a diligent search of the Book of Mormon would reveal the exact nature of the danger which those prophets foresaw, then such a search should be made with all haste.
If a knowledge of how Satan used his organizations to destroy the Nephite and Jaredite civilizations would enable us to avoid the “scourge” and ‘judgement” which the Lord has decreed if we continue to ignore the Book of Mormon, such knowledge is worth any effort to obtain. The Lord has instructed his servants to set forth “clearly and understandingly the desolation of abomination in the last days.” (D&C 84:117) To follow such an instruction, it is essential to identify the great and abominable organization which will cause such a desolation.
There is another compelling reason why the members of Christ’s Church should be able to identify the church of the devil. There is much scriptural evidence that many of them will be deceived into joining Satan’s organization, thus accepting his plan to destroy free agency. Such could hardly occur if the people understood that organization and that plan.
Before Nephi ceased recording what he saw, he made known some interesting facts about the Great and Abominable Church. Though he saw the rise of that organization before the Gentiles came upon the promised land, it was not until after the Americas were settled by them and the Book of Mormon came forth, that it assumes such terrifying proportions. It corrupts the entire earth with its awful wickedness and overwhelming power. Note from the following quotation that this monstrous evil is destined to hold dominion in every nation in the world, and everyone will belong to it, except the few who remain true to the Church of the Lamb:
And it came to pass that he [the angel] said unto me [Nephi]: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose foundation is the devil.
And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.
And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. (1 Nephi 14:9-11)
The above prophecy sets forth these startling facts:
1. There is on the earth in these latter days a specific, identifiable organization founded and operated by Satan which is “most abominable above all other churches.”
2. This “church of the devil” will eventually control and have dominion over every nation on the face of the earth.
3. The time will come when a great division will occur and everyone will belong to the devil’s church except a few who belong to the Church of the Lamb.
4. There will be a culminating war between Christ and Satan when this “whore of all the earth” will “gather together multitudes upon the face of the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.” (v. 13)
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