Revelation 1

Revelation 1
The Book of Revelation was written by John while he was banished to the island of Patmos, an island that is 6 by 10 miles in size and about 60 miles southwest of Ephesus. It was used a prison. One account written about 100 A.D. says that John was lowered into boiling oil but came out unharmed so since he couldn't be killed he was banished. The book is full of symbols so that only those who had the Spirit would be able to understand what John was saying. It also jumps back and forth from one time frame to another making it hard to follow. The Book of Revelation is the vision given to John. It is a vision of the "big picture" similar to those given to other prophets. The difference is, those prophets were commanded to seal it up and not speak of it. John protects it by using symbols that are hard for those not in the Spirit to understand.

John hears the voice of Christ and turns and sees him. There are seven candle sticks and these are the seven churches this is being written to. They are symbolized as candle sticks because from these seven churches the light of the gospel is to be taken. Also with the Savior is a two-edged sword. One edge is to cut the wicked to their very core, the other edge is to pierce the hearts of the righteous with the truth by the power of the Spirit. The number seven is used 54 times in Revelation. It represents completeness. In this chapter seven angels (also called stars) are mentioned. Joseph Smith substituted the word servants for angels meaning servants or leaders of the seven churches.

Another important change in the JST occurs in verse 7 where it is describing the second coming the Savior. Rather than all people shall wail at his coming, the JST says that all of the wicked will wail, especially those who crucified him. I believe that this isn't just referring to those who crucified the Savior at the time he was on the earth, but those who crucify him anew, as it's described in the scriptures, through their denial of him and persecution of those who do believe.