THE SEVEN SEALS
By
Janet Lisonbee
The Book of Revelation has been a book hard to understand, with all of its symbolism, especially in regards to future events. The revelation given to John, however, is much clearer if we look at it in relationship to the future roles of Jesus Christ.
The Jews were expecting a Messiah that would save them from their enemies. Hence, many did not recognize Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah, when he preached such doctrines as “love thy enemy…do good to those who hate you…forgive seventy times seventy,” and rode on a lowly donkey during His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
When Christ returns again to the earth, however, He will, come as the all-powerful Messiah the Jews have been anticipating for many generations. He will be coming, not on a lowly donkey, but as the Conquering Warrior King, in full regalia upon a white horse, followed by the armies of heaven. [Revelation 19:11-16] The book of Revelation also reveals Christ’s role as the Righteous Judge of the nations and as the Avenger of innocent blood that has been spilt by the wicked from the beginning.
Richard D. Draper, author of the book, The Opening of the Seven Seals, wrote, “The first chapter of Revelation, indeed the first sentence, introduces the theme of the entire vision. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ. But the genitive form of the Greek verb can be taken two ways: either as the revelation the Lord gives, or as the revelation that unveils him. The first interpretation emphasizes the purpose of the vision, the second emphasizes the importance, the work, and the role of the Savior….that is, the revelation proclaims the mission, ministry, and importance of the Lord and Savior.” [pg. 25]
This article focuses on the roles and mission of the Savior at His second coming as revealed to John. John first sees Jesus Christ in a vision, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt with a golden girdle standing in the midst of seven candlesticks. “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto fine brass…and his voice as the sound of many waters…and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.” [Revelation 1:13-16] In the Lord’s hand were seven stars, which John explains as the angels/servants of the seven churches and the candlesticks as the seven churches. Seven is symbolic of complete/perfection and I believe the seven stars and churches represent the leaders and membership of Christ’s church, not only in John’s time period, but throughout the dispensations where the Gospel has been on the earth.
Christ then gives this introduction of Himself, “I am the first and the last; I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore…and have the keys of hell and of death.” [Revelations 1:17-18] In chapters two and three, John is instructed to write to the servants of the seven churches. Each epistle begins with “These things saith” and then there is a small portion of the description of the Lord as seen in John’s vision. For example, to the church in Thyatira, the epistles says, “These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet are like fine brass“. [Revelation 2:18] The church at Laodicea received additional information. The epistle reads, “These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God“. [Rev. 3:14] Each church receives admonition and a blessing. It is noteworthy that the blessings of the seven churches have temple imagery. Paul has said that we, the church, make up the body of Christ, each with different roles or parts. [1 Corinthians 12:27] With that in mind, it makes sense to have different aspects of Christ introduced to each of the seven churches.
John was then shown a book that contained seven seals that only the “Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes” had the power to open the book. It was because of His atoning sacrifice, that Jesus Christ had the power to open the book, and to assume the right, powers, and role of the Avenging Warrior King and Righteous Judge who will rule the nations with a rod of iron, [Rev. 19:15] instead of simply opening a time frame of history.
The number seven and the horns represent perfect power, thus showing Christ’s omnipotence and the seven eyes represent His omnipresence. Thus, it makes sense to have each of the seven seals represent the perfect, the powerful, and the omnipotent Christ.
The First Seal [Rev. 6:1-2]
The vision opens with a rider upon a white horse, carrying a bow and wearing a crown and he went forth conquering. I believe this is representative of Jesus Christ as the Conquering Warrior King. Further in the revelation, John records, “And I saw heaven opened, and beheld a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns…” [Rev. 19:12] Evil has been permitted to wreak havoc, ruin and misery from the beginning, but at the last day, Jesus Christ will no longer permit the “Prince of Darkness” to exercise his powers over the children of men. The wicked and wickedness will be destroyed and Satan and his evil army will be bound. It is very fitting that the first seal opened with Christ as the Conquering Warrior King, with the white horse representing the purity of Christ and the rider is crowned, representing Christ as the King of Kings.
The Second Seal [Rev. 6:3-4]
In this seal, John was shown a red horse and “power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.” Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.” [Matthew 10:34-35] The sword of Christ has been equated with truth. It is the truth that Satan, “the father of all lies” fights against. [2 Nephi 2:18] The battle between truth and deception has waged a long war and continues to do so.
Further in the vision, John saw that the Conquering Warrior King, “was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood” [Rev. 19:13]. Likewise Joseph Smith saw, “And the Lord shall be red in his apparel, and his garments like him that treadeth in the wine-vat“. [Doc. & Cov. 133:48] Jesus, like the horse, will be red in His apparel at the second coming.
Jesus bled from every pore in Gethsemane, and was also flogged and crucified. His garments were stained with his blood as He paid the price for mankind’s sins. Perhaps he will wear the garments that testify of His atonement at His coming.
The Third Seal [Rev. 6:5-6]
In this seal, John was shown a black horse and the rider had a pair of balances in his hand and said, “A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.” This rider could be symbolic of Jesus Christ as the Righteous Judge. It is interesting that our judges wear black robes. In Psalms 67:4, David declares that Christ “shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.” Paul testified that “we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” [Romans 14:10] Mormon likewise testified, “And for this cause I write unto you, that ye may know that ye must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, yea, every soul who belongs to the whole human family of Adam; and ye must stand to be judged of your works, whether they be good or evil.” [Mormon 3:20]
The wheat and barley that were measured out equaled about a quart for the wheat and three quarts for the barley. The price was a penny, which was a man’s daily wages at John’s time period. A day’s wages for a quart of wheat would have been indicative of a famine where the prices were greatly inflated. Some biblical scholars think that this fourth period represented a famine, however, I think it represents those who are the “harvest” of Christ. The Lord has used wheat as a metaphor for the righteous. In the parable of the sower, the tares were allowed to grow among the wheat until the harvest. [Matthew 13:24-30] At the harvest, the tares were gathered and bound in bundles, ready to be burned. The amount or ratio of grain that was harvested was not mentioned, however, Jesus said, “Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, few there be that find it.“ [Matthew 7:14]
Perhaps the tithe, representative of the Lord’s portion, is indicative of the “harvest of good wheat.“ Hence the scripture that says, “He that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming“. [Doc. & Cov. 64:23] refers to the righteous who really are the Lord’s portion. Simply paying tithing as “fire insurance” does not guarantee worthiness. The quart of wheat could represent those who are of Celestial quality, and the three quarts of barley could be those of Terrestrial.
Wine and oil were an integral part of the Old Testament sacrifices as well as an important staple of ancient Israel’s diet. The oil and wine are symbolic of the healing powers of the Lord’s Spirit and His atoning blood. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the Samaritan [representative of Christ] heals with oil and wine. The Lord has taught his disciples to anoint with oil in their healing blessings. “And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.” [Mark 6:13] Jesus used wine to represent His atoning blood.
The Fourth Seal [Rev. 6:7-8]
In this seal, John was shown a pale horse and the rider’s name was Death and hell followed him. Christ declared that He held the keys of death and hell early in the revelation. John also saw that “the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse…and the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet and …were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse…and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.” [Rev. 19: 19-21] This rider can also represent Christ, as He destroys the wicked and they are cast into hell. “Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must stand before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.” [2 Nephi 28:23]
The Fifth Seal [6:9-11]
In this seal, John was shown the souls of “them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice saying, How long, O lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” [vs. 9-10] The righteous from Abel to the present day, have been slain by the wicked and their blood cries from the ground. Luke records, “Shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily.” [Luke 18:7]
Christ said that He would come “in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance” [Moses 7:60]. The vengeance is Christ’s upon the wicked. “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay down the haughtiness of the terrible.” [2 Nephi 23:9-11]
Isaiah wrote, “…and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke. According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence.” [Isaiah 59:17-18]
The Sixth Seal [Rev. 6:12-7:17]
When this seal opened, John was shown a great earthquake, the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth. [Rev. 6:12] This is the great sign of the coming of the Lord. The wicked shall say to the mountains, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb.” [vs. 16]
The Lord has been “long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” [Peter 3:9-10] The Lord has extended His “voice of mercy all the day long“, and would have saved us with an everlasting salvation, but we would not! The Lord says, “Behold, the day has come, when the cup of the wrath of mine indignation is full.” [Doc. & Cov. 43:25-26] That day of justice has come.
Then, as an interlude, John saw that the righteous from all the tribes of Israel [Why Dan is not mentioned, is not known] were sealed against the destruction and he also saw “a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues…which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” [Revelations 7:9, 14]
Enoch saw that the righteous would be gathered upon the face of the earth. He recorded, “And righteousness will I send down out of heaven; and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten…and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, a Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins and be looking forth for the time of my coming…” [Moses 7:62]
The Seventh Seal [Rev. 8 – 9:21]
The seventh seal opens with silence. Prior to the Lord’s visit, the Nephites/Lamanites experienced three days of darkness. In the darkness, they heard the voice of the Lord explaining why He destroyed their cities. Their response was silence. “And now behold, it came to pass that all the people of the land did hear these sayings, and did witness of it. And after these sayings, there was silence in the land for the space of many hours; For so great was the astonishment of the people that they did cease lamenting and howling for the loss of their kindred which had been slain; therefore there was silence in all the land for the space of many hours.” [3 Nephi 10:1-2]
The sixth seal had opened with great destructions. Perhaps the Lord will, as He did with the Nephites, explain the reason for the destruction and the heavens will mourn in silence and the world will be stunned into silence.
Joseph Smith recorded that after the silence, the face of the Lord shall be unveiled. [Doc. & Cov. 88:94-95] John then sees seven angels which stood before God with seven trumpets. Then another angel, having a censer full of incense, along with the prayers of the Saints, places it on the altar before the throne of God and the smoke ascended up before God. It seems like those prayers will be avenged, according to the rest of chapter eight in Revelations and all of chapter nine.
The seven angels sound and 1/3 of things and men are destroyed in Revelations chapter eight. One-third of the hosts of heaven were cast out during the war in heaven. Perhaps 1/3 is a symbolic fraction, representing the wicked. Note that the tabernacle/temple commanded by the Lord contained three areas--the Holy of Holies, the Holy Place and the outer courtyard, symbolic of the Celestial, Terrestrial and Telestial Kingdoms. Even though animal sacrifice was performed in the outer courtyard, it was not sacred space like the inner sanctum of the temple. Perhaps the 1/3 is symbolic of the “outer” third or the ones who are cast out and cannot dwell with the righteous during the Millennium. These are those who will have the “animal” in them destroyed as they suffer for their sins during the Millennium before they can inherit the Telestial Kingdom.
Chapter nine describes some fierce looking locusts that have power to torment the wicked five months. They come from the “bottomless pit” and because of their torment, the wicked shall desire to die and seek death, but “death shall flee from them.” [Rev. 9:6] It seems like John is seeing the torment of the damned souls by the hosts of Satan, seeing that they come from the “bottomless pit”. In the parable of the servant who owed the Lord ten thousand talents, in which the Lord forgave, and then turns around and does not forgive someone who owes him a hundred pence, Jesus made this comment; “O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desirest me: Shouldest not thou also have compassion on they fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his Lord was wroth and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.” [Matthew 18:32-34] Alma the younger described his three day visit to hell. “I was racked with eternal torment, for my soul was harrowed up to the greatest degree and racked with all my sins….Oh, thought I, that I could be banished and become extinct, both soul and body…for three days and for three nights was I racked, even with the pains of a damned soul.” [Alma 36:12-16] The number five has been symbolic of “the law” and because the wicked have willfully rebelled against the law, I believe the five months of torture, is symbolic.
Even at the end of the torture, John records that there were those who would not repent of their murders, thefts, fornications, worship of devils and idols of gold and silver. Perhaps these are the sons of perdition who simply will not repent.
It is not clear exactly when the seventh seal ends, whether it ends with chapter nine or continues through the rest of the Book of Revelation. In chapter ten, John is given a book to eat that was sweet to the taste, but bitter to the belly. It was his commission to prophesy again “before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” [vs. 11] The Book of Revelation, written in many languages throughout the world, helps to fulfill John’s commission. The Book of Revelation testifies of the roles and missions of Jesus Christ at the last days.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Seventh Day and the Millennium
The Seventh Day
By
Janet Lisonbee
“On the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on
the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the
seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work
which God created and made.” [Gen. 2:2-3]
I have often wondered whether God really rested after He had created the earth and all things in it. It isn’t logical to me, because after He had created man, it appears His work really got started! He, Himself, stated, “This is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” [Moses 1:39] Is it possible that the account of the creation of the world was an overview of the plan of God and that the seventh day has yet to occur?
Enoch was told that the “day of the Lord” [Moses 6:45] would come in the last days and that the righteous would be gathered unto Zion, “which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest.” [vs. 64] It is interesting to note that the Lord included Zion as part of His creations and then the rest comes.
Additionally, Enoch, in the vision, he heard a voice from the bowels of the earth saying,
“Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest and be cleansed from the filthiness which is gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me, that I may
rest, and righteousness for a season abide upon my face?” [Moses 7:48]
Enoch wept and cried unto the Lord, saying “When shall the earth rest? [7:58] The next verse records that he saw Jesus Christ ascend to the Father. Enoch cried unto the Lord saying, “Wilt thou not come again upon the earth?” [7:59]
In answer to those two questions, Jesus Christ answered, “As I live, even so will I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfill the oath which I have made unto you…and the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but before that day the heavens shall be darkened…and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my people will I preserve.” [7:61] “And it came to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for the space of a thousand years.” [7:65]
If the “seventh day“ has not occurred yet, then we are still in the “sixth day” of creation in God’s plan. John S. Welch also supports this idea. He wrote, “I first turn to the idea that our creation by God, described in Genesis and the Book of Moses, is, in an important sense, still ongoing. By seeing that the earth’s creative cycle has not ended and that we are still in its sixth creative day, we can situate God’s omnipotence in this temporal world.” [BYU Studies, “Why Bad Things Happen at All” June 18, 2007, p. 77] He explained that chapter two of the Book of Moses is an account of a spiritual creation and that chapter three is the account of the physical creation of the world and of Adam and Eve. The Book of Moses continues on into the history of mankind; stopping with the story of Noah. Welch says, “It is significant, however, that the Book of Moses, never describes or mentions day seven a second time. The book ends, not with the completion of humanity and God resting from His labors, but with the commandment to have faith, repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Ghost, an invitation to become perfected and completed in the future…Day seven in the physical creation is yet to come in the millennial or celestial age.” [IBID, pg. 80]
The Sabbath Day or the Day of the Lord, was instituted for two reasons: to commemorate God’s day of rest in regards to the creation and also the redemption of the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. “Remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm; therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.” [Deut. 5:15] It is interesting to note that Paul told the Colossians that the Sabbath Day was a “shadow of things to come.” [Colossians 2:16-17] Hence the Sabbath Day could be designed to be a type and a shadow of the great Millennium where the righteous enter into the rest of the Lord, and the deliverance of the righteous from the “prince of darkness”, for Satan will be bound a thousand years.
The scriptures are clear that the Lord’s rest is to enter into His presence. In the Millennium, the Lord will personally rule and reign. Alma taught that we must repent and do works of righteousness in order that we might enter into the rest of the Lord. The righteous who enter into the rest of the Lord, after this life, are in a state of paradise where they rest from all their sorrow, troubles, and cares. [Alma 40:12] The Millennium is also day of rest from strife, pestilence, war, sickness and sin.
However, the seventh day starts out in darkness. Several scriptural references illustrate this, for example in Joel 2:1-3, “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.” Amos also recorded, “The day of the Lord is darkness and not light.” [Amos 5:18]
Why would the “day of the Lord” or the Lord’s Day be darkness? It is interesting to note that in the scriptural account of the creation, each segment or “day” was written as “and the evening and the morning was the first day.” [or second or third day, etc.] In other words, the day started at night! This is why the Jews start the new day at sunset. It seems likely that the Lord would be consistent and start His day symbolically and literally with darkness.
There are other instances regarding the Lord’s second coming starting off in darkness. The Lord has likened Himself as the Bridegroom and the Church as the Bride. In the parable of the ten virgins, the Lord states, “And at midnight, was a cry made, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him.” [Matthew 25:6] Likewise, Peter declared, “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” [2 Peter 3:10]
The scriptures state that the darkness and destruction are a prelude to His actual coming. “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.” [Joel 2:31] “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty men shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.” [Zephaniah 1:14-15]
The Nephites also experienced great darkness and destruction before Jesus actually appeared to them. “And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.” [3 Nephi 8:22] President Ezra Taft Benson stated, “The record of the Nephite history just prior to the Savior’s visit reveals many parallels to our own day as we anticipate the Savior’s second coming. [Ensign, May 1987]
The righteous Nephites/Lamanites were watching for the darkness that would precede the Lord‘s coming. “The thirty and third year had passed away; and the people began to look with great earnestness for the sign which had been given by the prophet Samuel, the Lamanite, yea, for the time that there should be darkness for the space of three days over the face of the land.” [3 Nephi 8:2-3] There is no record if there was any preparation for those days of darkness, whether the righteous had gathered to escape the great destructions, whether they stored up food or any other precautions. The Lord did say that the more righteous were spared, however.
All of this darkness and destruction is aimed at the wicked. The earth will be cleansed before the Lord comes to reign. “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay down the haughtiness of the terrible.” [2 Nephi 23:9-11]
Paul, however, counseled the Saints, “For ye yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night… But ye brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” [1 Thessalonians 5:2-6]
Likewise, the Lord told Joseph Smith, “And again, verily I say unto you, the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, and it overtaketh the world as a thief in the night---therefore, gird up your loins, that you may be the children of light, and that day shall not overtake you as a thief.” [D & C 106:4-5]
Just as the light of the morning follows the darkness of the night, so shall the second coming of Jesus Christ. In the Pearl of Great Price, we read: “For as the light of the morning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, and covereth the whole earth, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” [JST Matthew 1:26]
The effect of Jesus Christ’s visit to the Americas was so great that these people lived in a state of happiness for many years. “And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people. And there were no envying, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.” [4 Nephi 15-16] Imagine how wonderful it will be when Christ reigns for a thousand years! “For I will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory, with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a thousand years, and the wicked shall not stand.” [Doc. & Cov. 29:11]
“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” [Rev. 20:4-5]
The Sabbath Day should be our day of rest in that we strive to have the Lord’s Spirit with us, that we rest from our temporal labors and concerns, and that we remember the Lord’s great deliverance of our souls from the bondage of sin in preparation for the great Millennium yet to come.
Joseph Smith recorded, “We are to understand that as God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day he finished his work, and sanctified it, and also formed man out of the dust of the earth, even so, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years will the Lord God sanctify the earth, and complete the salvation of man, and judge all things, and shall redeem all things, except that which he hath not put into his power, when he shall have sealed all things, unto the end of all things.” [Doctrine and Covenants 77:12]
By
Janet Lisonbee
“On the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on
the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the
seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it he had rested from all his work
which God created and made.” [Gen. 2:2-3]
I have often wondered whether God really rested after He had created the earth and all things in it. It isn’t logical to me, because after He had created man, it appears His work really got started! He, Himself, stated, “This is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” [Moses 1:39] Is it possible that the account of the creation of the world was an overview of the plan of God and that the seventh day has yet to occur?
Enoch was told that the “day of the Lord” [Moses 6:45] would come in the last days and that the righteous would be gathered unto Zion, “which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest.” [vs. 64] It is interesting to note that the Lord included Zion as part of His creations and then the rest comes.
Additionally, Enoch, in the vision, he heard a voice from the bowels of the earth saying,
“Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest and be cleansed from the filthiness which is gone forth out of me? When will my Creator sanctify me, that I may
rest, and righteousness for a season abide upon my face?” [Moses 7:48]
Enoch wept and cried unto the Lord, saying “When shall the earth rest? [7:58] The next verse records that he saw Jesus Christ ascend to the Father. Enoch cried unto the Lord saying, “Wilt thou not come again upon the earth?” [7:59]
In answer to those two questions, Jesus Christ answered, “As I live, even so will I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfill the oath which I have made unto you…and the day shall come that the earth shall rest, but before that day the heavens shall be darkened…and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be among the children of men, but my people will I preserve.” [7:61] “And it came to pass that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for the space of a thousand years.” [7:65]
If the “seventh day“ has not occurred yet, then we are still in the “sixth day” of creation in God’s plan. John S. Welch also supports this idea. He wrote, “I first turn to the idea that our creation by God, described in Genesis and the Book of Moses, is, in an important sense, still ongoing. By seeing that the earth’s creative cycle has not ended and that we are still in its sixth creative day, we can situate God’s omnipotence in this temporal world.” [BYU Studies, “Why Bad Things Happen at All” June 18, 2007, p. 77] He explained that chapter two of the Book of Moses is an account of a spiritual creation and that chapter three is the account of the physical creation of the world and of Adam and Eve. The Book of Moses continues on into the history of mankind; stopping with the story of Noah. Welch says, “It is significant, however, that the Book of Moses, never describes or mentions day seven a second time. The book ends, not with the completion of humanity and God resting from His labors, but with the commandment to have faith, repent, be baptized, and receive the Holy Ghost, an invitation to become perfected and completed in the future…Day seven in the physical creation is yet to come in the millennial or celestial age.” [IBID, pg. 80]
The Sabbath Day or the Day of the Lord, was instituted for two reasons: to commemorate God’s day of rest in regards to the creation and also the redemption of the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage. “Remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm; therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day.” [Deut. 5:15] It is interesting to note that Paul told the Colossians that the Sabbath Day was a “shadow of things to come.” [Colossians 2:16-17] Hence the Sabbath Day could be designed to be a type and a shadow of the great Millennium where the righteous enter into the rest of the Lord, and the deliverance of the righteous from the “prince of darkness”, for Satan will be bound a thousand years.
The scriptures are clear that the Lord’s rest is to enter into His presence. In the Millennium, the Lord will personally rule and reign. Alma taught that we must repent and do works of righteousness in order that we might enter into the rest of the Lord. The righteous who enter into the rest of the Lord, after this life, are in a state of paradise where they rest from all their sorrow, troubles, and cares. [Alma 40:12] The Millennium is also day of rest from strife, pestilence, war, sickness and sin.
However, the seventh day starts out in darkness. Several scriptural references illustrate this, for example in Joel 2:1-3, “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.” Amos also recorded, “The day of the Lord is darkness and not light.” [Amos 5:18]
Why would the “day of the Lord” or the Lord’s Day be darkness? It is interesting to note that in the scriptural account of the creation, each segment or “day” was written as “and the evening and the morning was the first day.” [or second or third day, etc.] In other words, the day started at night! This is why the Jews start the new day at sunset. It seems likely that the Lord would be consistent and start His day symbolically and literally with darkness.
There are other instances regarding the Lord’s second coming starting off in darkness. The Lord has likened Himself as the Bridegroom and the Church as the Bride. In the parable of the ten virgins, the Lord states, “And at midnight, was a cry made, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him.” [Matthew 25:6] Likewise, Peter declared, “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” [2 Peter 3:10]
The scriptures state that the darkness and destruction are a prelude to His actual coming. “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come.” [Joel 2:31] “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty men shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.” [Zephaniah 1:14-15]
The Nephites also experienced great darkness and destruction before Jesus actually appeared to them. “And there was not any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which were upon the face of the land.” [3 Nephi 8:22] President Ezra Taft Benson stated, “The record of the Nephite history just prior to the Savior’s visit reveals many parallels to our own day as we anticipate the Savior’s second coming. [Ensign, May 1987]
The righteous Nephites/Lamanites were watching for the darkness that would precede the Lord‘s coming. “The thirty and third year had passed away; and the people began to look with great earnestness for the sign which had been given by the prophet Samuel, the Lamanite, yea, for the time that there should be darkness for the space of three days over the face of the land.” [3 Nephi 8:2-3] There is no record if there was any preparation for those days of darkness, whether the righteous had gathered to escape the great destructions, whether they stored up food or any other precautions. The Lord did say that the more righteous were spared, however.
All of this darkness and destruction is aimed at the wicked. The earth will be cleansed before the Lord comes to reign. “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay down the haughtiness of the terrible.” [2 Nephi 23:9-11]
Paul, however, counseled the Saints, “For ye yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night… But ye brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are the children of light, and the children of the day; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.” [1 Thessalonians 5:2-6]
Likewise, the Lord told Joseph Smith, “And again, verily I say unto you, the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, and it overtaketh the world as a thief in the night---therefore, gird up your loins, that you may be the children of light, and that day shall not overtake you as a thief.” [D & C 106:4-5]
Just as the light of the morning follows the darkness of the night, so shall the second coming of Jesus Christ. In the Pearl of Great Price, we read: “For as the light of the morning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, and covereth the whole earth, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.” [JST Matthew 1:26]
The effect of Jesus Christ’s visit to the Americas was so great that these people lived in a state of happiness for many years. “And it came to pass that there was no contention in the land, because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people. And there were no envying, nor strifes, nor tumults, nor whoredoms, nor lyings, nor murders, nor any manner of lasciviousness; and surely there could not be a happier people among all the people who had been created by the hand of God.” [4 Nephi 15-16] Imagine how wonderful it will be when Christ reigns for a thousand years! “For I will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory, with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a thousand years, and the wicked shall not stand.” [Doc. & Cov. 29:11]
“Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” [Rev. 20:4-5]
The Sabbath Day should be our day of rest in that we strive to have the Lord’s Spirit with us, that we rest from our temporal labors and concerns, and that we remember the Lord’s great deliverance of our souls from the bondage of sin in preparation for the great Millennium yet to come.
Joseph Smith recorded, “We are to understand that as God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day he finished his work, and sanctified it, and also formed man out of the dust of the earth, even so, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years will the Lord God sanctify the earth, and complete the salvation of man, and judge all things, and shall redeem all things, except that which he hath not put into his power, when he shall have sealed all things, unto the end of all things.” [Doctrine and Covenants 77:12]
Boaz and Ruth
RUTH AND BOAZ: MORE THAN A LOVE STORY
By
Janet Lisonbee
The stories in the scriptures have layers and as one starts to look underneath those layers, new meanings and treasures can be found. If we look at the story in the book of Ruth and view Naomi as Israel [the Church], Ruth as the future covenant bride of Christ [righteous members of the Church are depicted as the bride of Christ], and Boaz as the Bridegroom, or Jesus Christ, a wonderful analogy appears that can be applicable in our lives. I have put in italics certain phrases of the scriptural account to emphasize the symbolism.
Elimelech and Naomi and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, left their homeland in Bethlehem-judah and traveled to Moab because there was a famine in the land. Famine has been symbolic of apostasy, and Israel has been scattered more than once because of a “famine” of righteousness among its covenant people [see Amos 8:11].
While in Moab, their two sons married and within ten years, Elimelech, Mahlon and Chilion died, leaving three widows. Naomi decided to return to her homeland, amid tears of her daughters-in-law. One daughter-in-law returned to her mother’s house, but Ruth would not be moved. She had converted and desired to stay with the Naomi [the Church] rather than live among the idol-worshipping Moabites. She pleaded, “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God” [Ruth 1:16].
The Barley Harvest
The return of Naomi to her homeland can be symbolic of the return of scattered Israel.
Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem at “the beginning of the barley harvest” [Ruth 1:22], which is also the Passover season, and possibly Naomi returned in time to celebrate it with her people. As the Passover was a reminder to Israel that they had left Egypt [symbolic of spiritual Babylon], through the death of the Firstborn, so had Ruth and Naomi left Moab during this symbolic feast of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In order for us to truly partake of the Passover in our lives, we too must leave spiritual Babylon.
When they left their land of inheritance, their property was most likely sold and used by others during their ten year stay in Moab. Because of ancient Israel’s land inheritance rights, Naomi could “redeem” her land when she returned by re-purchasing it, but it was impossible for her because she had not the means to do so. Like Naomi, we have left our land of inheritance when we entered mortality and cannot return to our “promised land” on our own — we need help through our near kinsman, Jesus Christ.
Needing food, Ruth said to Naomi, “Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn [barley] after him in whose sight I shall find grace.” She gleaned in the field belonging to Boaz. Like Ruth, we as members of the Church, should gather our daily spiritual bread in the “fields” sown by Christ through daily scripture study, prayer and pondering.
When Boaz noticed industrious [faithful] Ruth in the field, he asked her not to glean in any other field but his and she would be protected and when she was thirsty, she could drink all she wanted [Ruth 2:8-9]. Then Ruth “fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground” before Boaz and asked “Why have I found grace in thine eyes…?” Boaz replied, “It has fully been shewed me, all that thou has done… and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother and the land of thy nativity.”
Like Boaz, Christ is aware and notices our efforts. Ruth had left her family in order to be with Naomi [the Church]. Jesus said, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and even his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” [Luke 14:26] Ruth had demonstrated that she was disciple worthy. Christ, like Boaz, also asks us to get our spiritual sustenance from His “fields” and He offers us “living water“ to quench our thirst.” [John 7:38]
Boaz continued, “The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust” [Ruth 2:12]. Ruth responded, “Let me find favour in thy sight, my Lord; for that thou has comforted me…”[vs. 13].
Boaz invited her to join with the reapers at mealtime for bread and vinegar [the NIV Bible account says wine-vinegar], from which we could draw the symbolism of the supper of the Lord, the Sacrament. Then Boaz instructed his servants to let Ruth even glean among the sheaves and purposely leave handfuls of grain for her to glean. When we study and seek the words of the Lord, and He notices our efforts, often we are blessed with “handfuls” of insights, understanding and blessings. Ruth went home to Naomi with an ephah of barley, which is approximately eight gallons of grain, which is a heavy load for a woman to carry [Ruth 2:17].
Naomi's Plan
Realizing that Boaz is a near kinsman, Naomi devised a plan for Ruth. She said, “My daughter, [notice that Ruth is not considered an in-law anymore, but an adopted daughter — adopted into the house of Israel] shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?” Our Church likewise teaches us the Lord’s plan for each of us to enter into His rest, or back to His presence. It is called the Plan of Salvation or the Plan of Happiness.
The role of the kinsman-redeemer was to protect the interests of needy members of the extended family [Deut 25:5-10], to redeem the land that a poor relative had sold outside the family, like Naomi [Lev. 25:25-28], to redeem a relative who had been sold into slavery [Lev. 25:47-49] and to avenge the killing of a relative [Num. 35:19-21]. Boaz was described as a “mighty man of wealth” [Ruth 2:1] and would have the means to be able to fulfill the role of the near kinsman.
Likewise, Christ has the means to protect us, to provide the means whereby we can obtain our “promised land,” to redeem us from spiritual bondage and to execute judgment upon the enemies of our souls.
Naomi gave instructions to Ruth to meet Boaz so “that it may be well with thee” [Ruth 3:1]. Boaz would be winnowing barley at the threshing floor that night. To thresh the grain, livestock trampled the stalks. After the grain was loosened from the stalk, the wheat was tossed into the air by a large fan. The chaff is blown away, leaving the kernels behind. This process was called winnowing.
John the Baptist prophesied of Christ, “Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner: but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” [Matt. 3:12].
Amos and Jeremiah likewise recorded;
For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as wheat is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth [Amos 9:9].
For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while and the time of her harvest shall come [Jeremiah 51:33].
The threshing floor is located on the highest point on the property, where there is a good, strong wind. It was on a threshing floor that David was commanded of the Lord to build an altar to the Lord and offer sacrifice [see 1 Chron. 21:20-30]. Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God…” [1 Chron. 22:1]. It was upon this threshing floor that Solomon built the temple [see 2 Chron. 3:1].
The threshing floor of Boaz could be symbolic of the Temple. Naomi told Ruth to “wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee and get thee down to the floor…” [Ruth 3:3]. The NIV Bible commentary says that Ruth prepared herself and dressed like a bride. It is in the Temple that we prepare ourselves to meet the Lord. As we truly wash and anoint ourselves through repentance, justification, and sanctification, and put on the robes of the Holy Priesthood, we prepare ourselves, like a bride, to meet the Bridegroom.
On the night of harvest, the owner would join the reapers in threshing the grain and the grain was piled in great heaps. After their work, it was a time of rejoicing and eating together. Then they would lie beside the great mounds of grain in order to protect it from thieves.
Ruth was obedient to all of Naomi’s commands. She went to the threshing floor and found Boaz asleep and she came to him softly and “uncovered his feet, and laid her down” [Ruth 3:7] The uncovering of his feet is probably the best way to gently help Boaz to wake up without being startled. It could be symbolic of the parting of the veil. Ruth also wore a veil that was later removed that night.
At midnight, Boaz turned himself and beheld Ruth. Midnight was the hour the Lord used to exemplify his second coming. “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh: go ye out to meet him” [Matt. 25:6].
After asking who she is, Ruth answered, “I am Ruth thine handmaid: [there is no account that she officially worked for him, so the author feels that this is symbolic of Ruth desiring to be a servant of Boaz or the Lord]. Then she requested, “Spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.” The skirt is the lower part of Boaz’s robe.
Isaiah 61:10 reads, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom…” Nephi pleads, “O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!” [2 Nephi 4:33]
The request for covering could be symbolic of the atonement which “covers” our sins — as Paul stated, “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered” [Romans 4:7].
Boaz was obviously pleased with this request for he said, “Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter… fear not: I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman” [Ruth 3:10-11].
Because of her righteousness, Ruth’s requests are granted. Like Naomi, Boaz called Ruth a daughter. Paul writes, “…but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” [Romans 8:15-17]. Boaz, like Christ, was willing to make Ruth his daughter, his bride and joint-heir.
Then Boaz told her to bring her veil and hold it while he gave her six measures of barley. This indicated that Ruth did wear a veil and took it off so that Boaz could fill it. That is what Jesus Christ does…He feeds and fills us.
Boaz also told Ruth that there was a nearer kinsman that he needed to deal with before he could redeem her. [Ruth 3:12-13]
Returning to Naomi with the six measures of barley, Ruth told Naomi all that had transpired. Naomi said, “Sit still, my daughter… for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.” Likewise Christ will not rest until He has completed His work.
Answered Prayers
The six measures of barley could be symbolic of the six days or six periods of time until the Lord has finished His work and rests on the seventh or Sabbath Day. The Sabbath also is symbolic of the saints entering into His rest, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” [Rev. 21:2, also see my article “Shabbat Hamalka — The Sabbath Queen”, Meridian Magazine].
Boaz went to the gate and, with ten elders of the city, talked with the nearer kinsman. This could be symbolic of the judgment. Of what can this near kinsman be representative? As Christ is the only one that can truly redeem us, the nearer kinsman could represent the law or justice that has claim upon us until we can be redeemed by Christ. Alma wrote, “There is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law” [Alma 42:22]. Boaz is symbolic of Christ and mercy. Because Ruth is a virtuous woman, mercy, through the atonement of Jesus Christ, claimeth justice.
Boaz went to the city council in behalf of not only Naomi, but also for Ruth, who was a gentile and a Moabitess, and who by law had no rights at all. At first the nearer kinsman was willing to redeem the land, but when Boaz told him that he must “buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance” [Ruth 4:5], the nearer kinsman said, “…redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.” [Ruth 4:6].
As Paul clearly states, the law cannot save us because “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” [Romans 3:23]. As we are “covered” through the atonement of Jesus Christ through repentance, “sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace” [Romans 6:14].
The nearer kinsman [he is never named] then took of his shoe and gave it to Boaz, as a testimony that he transferred the right of redemption. What the law [the nearer kinsman] couldn’t do, Boaz [Christ’s atoning grace] was willing and able to perform all the legal obligations.
Boaz then exclaimed, “Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi. Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife” [Ruth 4:9-10]. Paul said, “Ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” [1 Corinth. 6:19].
It is fitting that Jesus Christ descended from Boaz and Ruth [Matt. 1:5-16] and that one of the two pillars in Solomon’s temple was named Boaz [1 Kings 7:21]. The wonderful story of Ruth and Boaz can teach us how to have this covenant relationship with Jesus Christ and His role as our Redeemer.
By
Janet Lisonbee
The stories in the scriptures have layers and as one starts to look underneath those layers, new meanings and treasures can be found. If we look at the story in the book of Ruth and view Naomi as Israel [the Church], Ruth as the future covenant bride of Christ [righteous members of the Church are depicted as the bride of Christ], and Boaz as the Bridegroom, or Jesus Christ, a wonderful analogy appears that can be applicable in our lives. I have put in italics certain phrases of the scriptural account to emphasize the symbolism.
Elimelech and Naomi and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, left their homeland in Bethlehem-judah and traveled to Moab because there was a famine in the land. Famine has been symbolic of apostasy, and Israel has been scattered more than once because of a “famine” of righteousness among its covenant people [see Amos 8:11].
While in Moab, their two sons married and within ten years, Elimelech, Mahlon and Chilion died, leaving three widows. Naomi decided to return to her homeland, amid tears of her daughters-in-law. One daughter-in-law returned to her mother’s house, but Ruth would not be moved. She had converted and desired to stay with the Naomi [the Church] rather than live among the idol-worshipping Moabites. She pleaded, “Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God” [Ruth 1:16].
The Barley Harvest
The return of Naomi to her homeland can be symbolic of the return of scattered Israel.
Naomi and Ruth returned to Bethlehem at “the beginning of the barley harvest” [Ruth 1:22], which is also the Passover season, and possibly Naomi returned in time to celebrate it with her people. As the Passover was a reminder to Israel that they had left Egypt [symbolic of spiritual Babylon], through the death of the Firstborn, so had Ruth and Naomi left Moab during this symbolic feast of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In order for us to truly partake of the Passover in our lives, we too must leave spiritual Babylon.
When they left their land of inheritance, their property was most likely sold and used by others during their ten year stay in Moab. Because of ancient Israel’s land inheritance rights, Naomi could “redeem” her land when she returned by re-purchasing it, but it was impossible for her because she had not the means to do so. Like Naomi, we have left our land of inheritance when we entered mortality and cannot return to our “promised land” on our own — we need help through our near kinsman, Jesus Christ.
Needing food, Ruth said to Naomi, “Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn [barley] after him in whose sight I shall find grace.” She gleaned in the field belonging to Boaz. Like Ruth, we as members of the Church, should gather our daily spiritual bread in the “fields” sown by Christ through daily scripture study, prayer and pondering.
When Boaz noticed industrious [faithful] Ruth in the field, he asked her not to glean in any other field but his and she would be protected and when she was thirsty, she could drink all she wanted [Ruth 2:8-9]. Then Ruth “fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground” before Boaz and asked “Why have I found grace in thine eyes…?” Boaz replied, “It has fully been shewed me, all that thou has done… and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother and the land of thy nativity.”
Like Boaz, Christ is aware and notices our efforts. Ruth had left her family in order to be with Naomi [the Church]. Jesus said, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and even his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” [Luke 14:26] Ruth had demonstrated that she was disciple worthy. Christ, like Boaz, also asks us to get our spiritual sustenance from His “fields” and He offers us “living water“ to quench our thirst.” [John 7:38]
Boaz continued, “The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust” [Ruth 2:12]. Ruth responded, “Let me find favour in thy sight, my Lord; for that thou has comforted me…”[vs. 13].
Boaz invited her to join with the reapers at mealtime for bread and vinegar [the NIV Bible account says wine-vinegar], from which we could draw the symbolism of the supper of the Lord, the Sacrament. Then Boaz instructed his servants to let Ruth even glean among the sheaves and purposely leave handfuls of grain for her to glean. When we study and seek the words of the Lord, and He notices our efforts, often we are blessed with “handfuls” of insights, understanding and blessings. Ruth went home to Naomi with an ephah of barley, which is approximately eight gallons of grain, which is a heavy load for a woman to carry [Ruth 2:17].
Naomi's Plan
Realizing that Boaz is a near kinsman, Naomi devised a plan for Ruth. She said, “My daughter, [notice that Ruth is not considered an in-law anymore, but an adopted daughter — adopted into the house of Israel] shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?” Our Church likewise teaches us the Lord’s plan for each of us to enter into His rest, or back to His presence. It is called the Plan of Salvation or the Plan of Happiness.
The role of the kinsman-redeemer was to protect the interests of needy members of the extended family [Deut 25:5-10], to redeem the land that a poor relative had sold outside the family, like Naomi [Lev. 25:25-28], to redeem a relative who had been sold into slavery [Lev. 25:47-49] and to avenge the killing of a relative [Num. 35:19-21]. Boaz was described as a “mighty man of wealth” [Ruth 2:1] and would have the means to be able to fulfill the role of the near kinsman.
Likewise, Christ has the means to protect us, to provide the means whereby we can obtain our “promised land,” to redeem us from spiritual bondage and to execute judgment upon the enemies of our souls.
Naomi gave instructions to Ruth to meet Boaz so “that it may be well with thee” [Ruth 3:1]. Boaz would be winnowing barley at the threshing floor that night. To thresh the grain, livestock trampled the stalks. After the grain was loosened from the stalk, the wheat was tossed into the air by a large fan. The chaff is blown away, leaving the kernels behind. This process was called winnowing.
John the Baptist prophesied of Christ, “Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner: but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” [Matt. 3:12].
Amos and Jeremiah likewise recorded;
For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as wheat is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth [Amos 9:9].
For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while and the time of her harvest shall come [Jeremiah 51:33].
The threshing floor is located on the highest point on the property, where there is a good, strong wind. It was on a threshing floor that David was commanded of the Lord to build an altar to the Lord and offer sacrifice [see 1 Chron. 21:20-30]. Then David said, “This is the house of the Lord God…” [1 Chron. 22:1]. It was upon this threshing floor that Solomon built the temple [see 2 Chron. 3:1].
The threshing floor of Boaz could be symbolic of the Temple. Naomi told Ruth to “wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee and get thee down to the floor…” [Ruth 3:3]. The NIV Bible commentary says that Ruth prepared herself and dressed like a bride. It is in the Temple that we prepare ourselves to meet the Lord. As we truly wash and anoint ourselves through repentance, justification, and sanctification, and put on the robes of the Holy Priesthood, we prepare ourselves, like a bride, to meet the Bridegroom.
On the night of harvest, the owner would join the reapers in threshing the grain and the grain was piled in great heaps. After their work, it was a time of rejoicing and eating together. Then they would lie beside the great mounds of grain in order to protect it from thieves.
Ruth was obedient to all of Naomi’s commands. She went to the threshing floor and found Boaz asleep and she came to him softly and “uncovered his feet, and laid her down” [Ruth 3:7] The uncovering of his feet is probably the best way to gently help Boaz to wake up without being startled. It could be symbolic of the parting of the veil. Ruth also wore a veil that was later removed that night.
At midnight, Boaz turned himself and beheld Ruth. Midnight was the hour the Lord used to exemplify his second coming. “And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh: go ye out to meet him” [Matt. 25:6].
After asking who she is, Ruth answered, “I am Ruth thine handmaid: [there is no account that she officially worked for him, so the author feels that this is symbolic of Ruth desiring to be a servant of Boaz or the Lord]. Then she requested, “Spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.” The skirt is the lower part of Boaz’s robe.
Isaiah 61:10 reads, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom…” Nephi pleads, “O Lord, wilt thou encircle me around in the robe of thy righteousness!” [2 Nephi 4:33]
The request for covering could be symbolic of the atonement which “covers” our sins — as Paul stated, “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered” [Romans 4:7].
Boaz was obviously pleased with this request for he said, “Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter… fear not: I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman” [Ruth 3:10-11].
Because of her righteousness, Ruth’s requests are granted. Like Naomi, Boaz called Ruth a daughter. Paul writes, “…but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ” [Romans 8:15-17]. Boaz, like Christ, was willing to make Ruth his daughter, his bride and joint-heir.
Then Boaz told her to bring her veil and hold it while he gave her six measures of barley. This indicated that Ruth did wear a veil and took it off so that Boaz could fill it. That is what Jesus Christ does…He feeds and fills us.
Boaz also told Ruth that there was a nearer kinsman that he needed to deal with before he could redeem her. [Ruth 3:12-13]
Returning to Naomi with the six measures of barley, Ruth told Naomi all that had transpired. Naomi said, “Sit still, my daughter… for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.” Likewise Christ will not rest until He has completed His work.
Answered Prayers
The six measures of barley could be symbolic of the six days or six periods of time until the Lord has finished His work and rests on the seventh or Sabbath Day. The Sabbath also is symbolic of the saints entering into His rest, “prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” [Rev. 21:2, also see my article “Shabbat Hamalka — The Sabbath Queen”, Meridian Magazine].
Boaz went to the gate and, with ten elders of the city, talked with the nearer kinsman. This could be symbolic of the judgment. Of what can this near kinsman be representative? As Christ is the only one that can truly redeem us, the nearer kinsman could represent the law or justice that has claim upon us until we can be redeemed by Christ. Alma wrote, “There is a law given, and a punishment affixed, and a repentance granted; which repentance, mercy claimeth; otherwise, justice claimeth the creature and executeth the law” [Alma 42:22]. Boaz is symbolic of Christ and mercy. Because Ruth is a virtuous woman, mercy, through the atonement of Jesus Christ, claimeth justice.
Boaz went to the city council in behalf of not only Naomi, but also for Ruth, who was a gentile and a Moabitess, and who by law had no rights at all. At first the nearer kinsman was willing to redeem the land, but when Boaz told him that he must “buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance” [Ruth 4:5], the nearer kinsman said, “…redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.” [Ruth 4:6].
As Paul clearly states, the law cannot save us because “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” [Romans 3:23]. As we are “covered” through the atonement of Jesus Christ through repentance, “sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace” [Romans 6:14].
The nearer kinsman [he is never named] then took of his shoe and gave it to Boaz, as a testimony that he transferred the right of redemption. What the law [the nearer kinsman] couldn’t do, Boaz [Christ’s atoning grace] was willing and able to perform all the legal obligations.
Boaz then exclaimed, “Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of the hand of Naomi. Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife” [Ruth 4:9-10]. Paul said, “Ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” [1 Corinth. 6:19].
It is fitting that Jesus Christ descended from Boaz and Ruth [Matt. 1:5-16] and that one of the two pillars in Solomon’s temple was named Boaz [1 Kings 7:21]. The wonderful story of Ruth and Boaz can teach us how to have this covenant relationship with Jesus Christ and His role as our Redeemer.
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