This is not going to be about what all the symbolism means in these chapters of Revelation. There are amazing articles and videos that explain all of that from an LDS perspective. I will try to pull out some principles that we can apply to ourselves as individuals in our current day.
6:15-17
"And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" Those who rule this world will ultimately realize that their worldly power has to use in the eternities. Their self-perceived greatness melts away under the heat of eternal scrutiny. This will happen to every great man the moment they leave this world.
For some, it happens in this mortal life. On the earth at this prophecied time, men will be realizing their folly. As their worldly power is instantly ripped from them, their perspective will instantly change. They had built up a bubble of their own greatness and everyone around them reinforced. Now, that bubble is popped by a "reallocating of resources."
As they see themselves accurately, they will feel shame and regret. As their perspective radically shifts during this perilous time, they will see themselves as they are and will not want to be in the Lord's presence. They will see their accomplishments as meaningless and their lives mostly squandered. They will wish that they could turn back the clock and use their time in mortality in a way that would help them progress spirituality and develop humility and reliance in the Lord.
This shame and regret isn't reserved only for the "kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men." It will also be felt by "every bondman, and every free man." The Lord is saying that all men, regardless of power or station will feel this same deep regret.
7:13-14
There is a great number of men and women from all nations that appear to John "clothed in white robes, and palms in their hands." "And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?" I think it's interesting that one of the elders in this vision is asking John who the people in white robes are. This messenger obviously already knew the answer. So, why did he ask? We actually see this happening a lot with heavenly messengers, including God himself. He asked Adam and Eve where they were in the garden. Why would he ask that when he already knew the answer. I think the reason is that questions are invitations for people to answer or simply think. In our classes with the youth, we sometimes ask questions where we know that they don't know the answer. The point is to open up a part of their brain to receive the answer we're about to give them. It's possible that this elder was doing the same thing.
"And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." This was a "great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations." These are they who had faith in Jesus Christ and had repented.
Every one of them had "came out of great tribulation." Every person that lives on this earth has their own unique, personalized set of tribulation. It's part of the purpose of being born. Their robes were not white based on effort of their own. It didn't say that they had "washed their robes with a ton of elbow grease and effort on their part." Their robes had been stained. Every robe was dirty. Otherwise, there would be no need for "washing." What was the only way of making them pure white? The blood of Jesus Christ.
7:17
"For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Christ will heal all of our pains and regrets and heartache and suffering. He is a healer. He heals all affliction. Whatever distress we feel now will not continue forever.
9:6
"And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them." Why would men seek death? I believe that it has to do with the fact that they are suffering and don't see a purpose to it. If life is miserable and worthless, why endure it? They are completely unaware of the plan of salvation and the value of struggle. They don't have faith that there is any redeeming value in their suffering.
They may not see a source of beauty and divinity in their miserable world. They may not have hope that anything good will come from living another day.
I believe that the same problems exists today for those who are considering suicide. They are suffering and don't see a point to it. There is no eternal perspective. To them, if life is miserable and there's no hope for it to change, why continue?
9:20-21
"And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts." Why don't they repent? Why don't they accept that what they had been doing is not helping?
I think that pride prevents us from admitting that we were ever wrong. For most of us, our brains will fashion some other thing to blame for our troubles. The problem can never be with ourselves! It alsways has to be something outside of ourselves that is the problem! So, when the going gets rough, the fingers will point everywhere else. This pride prevents us from accepting that we must repent - even when our way of doing things isn't helping us.
Also, the natural man is a powerful force. We want what we want. We want to feel pleasure or live in leisure. We are willing to do all kinds of sin to feel that way. This desire will continue in the midst of death and destruction.
10:8-11
"And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter." This little book represents the mission that John was called to serve. His mission was to "prophesy again before many people's nations, and tongues, and kings."
This mission was to be sweet and bitter. Isn't this true for most things that are of value in our lives? For everything that matters, there is a hard and good aspect.
Getting a good job involves a lot of hard work.
Being in a beautiful marriage includes self sacrifice.
Expertise in any sport requires a lot of challenging practice.
Being righteous requires rejecting the natural man.
A rewarding church calling will take away a lot of personal time.
We should all understand that, for most things of value in our lives, something great will require a lot of difficult effort. There must be opposition in all things.
11:9-10
"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night." This is an interesting word to use for Satan: The Accuser. Why is Satan called the accuser?
This really hit home for me because I see clearly how Satan is the accuser. He tempts us with his craftiness and then accuses us after the fact. The devil does not support those whom he tempts. He abandons those who follow him. Part of that abandonment is accusation. He whispers in our ears "how could you possibly do something that bad?" He wants us to be miserable. Part of that is making us feel horrible about ourselves.
He also doesn't want us believing that we are sons and daughters of God with divine potential. He accuses us of being animals with no life beyond what we see. He wants us to believe that we are liars, adulterers, thieves. If we believe that we are nothing much, he loves it.
He even accused Jesus of NOT being the Son of God with his question, "IF thou be the son of God..."
11:11
"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." How was the war in heaven fought? Did we have weapons? I don't think so. I think our personal weapons were our testimonies and our words and our obedience. There was a war over the hearts and minds of God's children.
Ultimately, our only power came from "the blood of the Lamb." Christ's atonement extended to the premortal world. We were all hopeless without the plan of salvation and Jesus's willingness to sacrifice for us in every way. He was willing to be an example in the premortal and mortal worlds, to create all of the universe, to teach us for millennia prior to his 33 years in mortality. He was willing to suffer and die for us. Without him, we were all doomed. Christ is what gave us hope then and now. We can overcome the great accuser only through the atonement of Jesus Christ.
11:13, 17
"And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child." The woman is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He doesn't want the church to succeed. He persecuted the early saints until they were all murdered.
"And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Satan continues to persecute the "remnant of her seed." We are that remnant as members of the church. Satan doesn't want the church to succeed in any way.
What does that persecution look like today? I think the primary sources of persecution are anti-LDS podcasts, YouTube channels, blogs and other websites. I see that the number of these content creators is dramatically increasing. These anti-LDS content creators are gaining momentum.
Their arguments are all the same. They twist things in predictable ways. They re-hash the same material over and over again. However, for those who are disaffected in some way, what these sites suggest sound pretty good. I predict that they will continue to gain support and this will lead to greater persecution for the church.
Currently, it's just a nuisance. The day is coming soon when large numbers of church members will leave based on the influence of these content creators. It is prophesied that, in the last days, even the most valiant of souls will fall away. Our greatest enemies of the church will be those who were once members. They will become accusers and heap persecution on those who remain in the church. All of this is inspired because "the dragon was wroth with the woman."
Chapter 13
This chapter is all about "the beast." The chapter heading says, "John sees fierce-looking beasts that represent degenerate earthly kingdoms controlled by Satan—The devil works miracles and deceives men." The beast is not a literal beast. We are not going to be seeing a monster walking around. What are the degenerate kingdoms? I see them as:
Politics.
Hollywood.
The internet.
Corrupt governments.
Anti-LDS propaganda.
Misled churches - including atheism.
Businesses.
These are my "seven heads of the dragon." These combined "kingdoms" seem unbeatable. Their power comes from Satan. "And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?" The victory of the beast will seem inevitable.
This beast currently has and will have great power. "And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." If we consider the beast to be those seven degenerate kingdoms, it is clear how powerful this enemy is. All of the power of the earth is wrapped up in these seven forces.
What will be confusing is that there may be a man who is able to do miracles. "And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live." For those who are swayed by an apparent miracle, this person will be very convincing.
For those who have faith in Christ and are very familiar with the gospel, this counterfeit will be easily identified. For those who are convinced by an impressive show, they'll be easily influenced and manipulated.
What will they be willing to do? "And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." I don't know if this is an actual mark or this represents that the followers of the beast will support him through their thoughts (foreheads) and their actions (hands).
The point here is that things are going to get worse before they get better. The beast is on his home turf. He has every worldly advantage. He will demonstrate great power that will attract many followers.
14:13
"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them." We know that those who die with faith in the Lord are blessed. If they are relying on Jesus when they enter the next life, they are that much more prepared to follow and rely on him.
I personally believe that there is much work after we die. So, why does it say that we will rest from our labors? I personally believe that the Lord is saying that we will rest from our worldly work. There will be no ditch digging or marketing or photography. For most in John's day, every day was filled with back-breaking work. There weren't many cushy desk jobs then. All of the work that they were expected to do six days a week will no longer be needed.
However, "their works do follow them." What does this mean? I understand this to possibly mean two things:
What we choose to do in this life shapes our character and that character will follow us into the next life. What we do is who we become. Who we become in this life is who we are in the spirit world. In this way, our works do follow us.
I also believe that the spiritual work that we do in this life will follow us there. Our earthly lives can be filled with building up, teaching, supporting, understanding, loving, and ministering to others. Our lives SHOULD be filled with this type of work. This work will continue in the next life in earnest. In fact, I think this will be the primary work happening there. The spirit world is a place of rest from our worldly cares. It is not a place of rest from our need to love and serve others. There are a lot of spirits in the spirit world that need our help.
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