Revelation 12 - Flood of Water

My time in the scriptures this morning was so enjoyable.  I read from the Book of Mormon and then went to Revelations where I’m reading it again.  I have noticed something.  The more I read, the more I understand what I’m reading.  Awesome!

I read Revelation 12 this morning where it talks about the apostasy and the war in heaven, which continues on the earth today.  Oh brother does it!  The “woman” (v1 and throughout the chapter), is the Church. The “man child” (v5) is the Priesthood.  Of course, we know the “rod of iron” is the word of God, more specifically the Book of Mormon, and Satan’s war to keep that from coming forth was and continues to be relentless.  He does NOT want us to read it and learn of the truth. 

The “wilderness” (v6) I believe is Utah, or what has become Utah.  We know it wasn’t a state when the saints first arrived here, but it was wilderness.  That was my thought this morning.  Verse 15 was an eye opener to me.  “And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.”  The serpent (Satan) cast out of his mouth a flood of water after the woman (the Church).  Never in our history as we know it has the world been flooded with such filth and sleaze as we see daily on the Internet, news, in the work place and it has even slipped into some of the higher echelons of our own beloved Church.  Could this not be considered a flood?  What is the definition of a flood?  “An overflowing of a large amount of water beyond its normal confines. . .”  Certainly evil has spread to every corner of the world.  Could it not be considered as an outright assault against the Lord’s Church – a war (v17) to destroy the remnant of her seed – us! 

I feel sad at the casualties of this war.  I see them daily – some my own family members.  It is heartbreaking.  But I have the faith that the Lord is in charge of this and He will prevail.  I want to be on the winning side of this war.  When I see big trees fall (Priesthood leaders in the Church), it is such a sad thing to me.  Yet we’ve been told that even the very elect will be deceived.  Matthew 24:24 – “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.”  I’m having a hard time seeing how a Priesthood leader can be deceived when it comes to a sexual transgression, but we are seeing some serious offenses in this arena. 

We can never let our guard down.  We can never think that we are immune from this flood.  We must read from the scriptures daily, pray for strength to overcome the adversities in this world, attend our meetings and the temple.  These are the tools the Lord has given us to inoculate us against this flood.