Show i I 1 ilder ELBEE OM ORSON PRATT FEATT jn in the tabernacle sait salt lale lake city sunday afternoon may 1850 1890 REPORTED BY jonn JOHN IRVINE I 1 sill WILL VILL read a fw few verses of the chapter of the tiie revelation ehg given 17 en to st hit olin john the speaker then n read from the verse verso to th the end of the chapter also aiso the ath and ath verses of the same chapter I 1 do not think that I 1 wali will at this present time select any part of the scriptures or any particular verse which I 1 have read as a foundation for my remarks but I 1 will endeavor to follow so tar far as I 1 can cari get faith and have the spirit of tile tiie lord to 01 direct reet me in my speech and in my understanding some of the subjects about w which h ich I 1 have been reading without selecting any particular verse as a text we are taught here that some great and important events are to take place on the earth in the latter times that the earth will become so bo exceedingly corrupt and wicked oi or the inhabitants thereof that the jford will be under the necess necessity ily iky of sending his angels as well as acting himself personally to reap the earth this is represented as being at the time tima of harvest you may ask at what particular period of the world is the time of harvest in one of ghe the parables of our savior recorded jn in one of the four gospels he informs us that the harvest is the end of the tile world the savior did not mean tha end of the earth on ion which chich we dwell thesis this is not his meaning he meant the end of the world who are the world the inhabitants that dwell on the earth now we have an interpretation of this in the flood that calein came in ancient times the flood did not destroy the earth the earth was not blotted outa out as an organized az ed planet but weare we are told that it was as the end of the afife antediluvian world god once destroyed the world the apostle peter says by a flood of water but will in the latter days visit the inhabitants of the world with a desolating fire the world then was once destroyed ly by water that is the wicked of the world while the righteous were spared jesus in speaking of this last destruction that should come upon the tiie world has represented it lt as something similar to the thedaus days of noah As it was says jesus in the days of noah so shall shail it be in the end of the world as they were eating and drinking and engaged in all mil nil all manner of business transactions in the days of the flood and knew not nat till the flood came and took them hll all away except noah and his family so also aiso also aiso to earzy carry out tile the illustration given by the savior will it be with the in habitants inhabitants of the earth jn in the last days when the lord will destroy the tile wicked out of this planet he will find the inhabitants without much faith they will be exceedingly corrupt and will be unprepared for the day of jils his connin cornin coming 11 hence that thai tha day is represented a as coming like ilke a thief tillet in the night generally when our houses housey s are broken into by thieves we are not prepared for it wo we are not looking for the event it comes very unexpectedly gedly so will it be in the das days of re the coming of tile the son of man the inhabitants of the earth will rill say in their h hearts carts tomorrow to morrow will be beas as this day and more abundantly therefore let lot us eat drink and be merry merny 11 etc but by and bye in an unexpected moment represented by midnight darkness behold the bridegroom will come the tho sound bound from heaven was not to come just after the sun goes down or early in the evening but at midnight gh t when nearly all the people are supposed to be slumbering and asleep unaware of the great events that were coming suddenly unexpectedly a cry was heard behold tl tile tilo I 1 0 bridegroom cometh go ye out to iafet him 12 we might ask vily vils it Is that tho inhabitants of the earth should be so unprepared for a day of such immense importance aa the ohe represented in the scriptures of truth will not the lord give them a sunni sunil clent elent warning before that day shall come will lie not send forth a message to the inhabitants of the earth so that they may if they will wiil be well prepared for that solemn and dreadful perio period dr he will most certainly do so according to the words which I 1 have read here in this divine book no less than an angel is to be sent forth from heaven before this hour of gods judgment shall pome upa unon upon the thel instants of he ho arth eaith a heavenly messenger one sent by the special command of god with a message C to all people not to a few not to one nation or a few nations that may be called civilized or christian as they call themselves not sent to fume some dark and benighted quarter barter of the earth among athe ithe li eathen leathen but send an angel from heaven with a message to all people what is to be the tile nature oft his predicted message the everlasting gospel what are we to understand by these words everlasting gospel I 1 understand der stand it to mean the same gospel that was in the beginning the tho same gospel that was preached in ancient times not a new gospel not a false gospel not something that god has not ord tined lined but a divine message of glad giad tidings to the inhabitants of the earth to whom will this heavenly message be sent we are told here in this same chapter that it is to be preached acunto unto them that dwell jon tile the earth and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people from this I 1 draw the conclusion cl that there will be no people however remote they may be located on this our globe but what will have this message of the everlasting gospel proclaimed in their hearing there is something very peculiar about this tho the gospel in ancient times was not sent by an angel it was committed by our lord and sa vior himself while he was here personally conall on the earth he chose men ylie lile he ordained them he called them and gave them their commission commanded them to preach the gospel in their day to the nations of the earth they did this so 50 far as they had opportunity before this prop prophecy mecy I 1 was given that I 1 have been reading so much so that the apostle paul before he was beheaded headed be declared that this gospel which he had bad been preaching all his life from the time of his conversion had been cc preached to every creature under heaven thus wo we see how extensively they had sent forth the ancient gospel among the inhabitants of the eastern hemisphere that is so far as they could carry or send it forth by others but after pauls death after he had bad made this declaration cl that the gospel had bad been preached reached to every creature whereof he ee had been made a minister the end did not come you recollect a certa centa certain saying in in the chapter of matthew matt ew that this gospel of the kini kingdom om shall be preached in all the wor world d for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end come now how are you going to reconcile the saying of paul with the saying of the savior he says then shall the end come that is not the end of the earth but the end of br the world when this gospel tel eel of the kingdom shall be pre preached achel to all the world for a witness to every eveny creature and yet the end did not come after paul had made the declaration preached to every creature why says ays one here is 19 a flat contradiction pl no you must read the connection in order to understand the two passages read the chapter berof of matthew carefully and you will notice that jesus was portraying im certain signs that were to take place pirce just before or immediately after the tile destruction of jerusalem and also the signs that were to precede the end lend of the world or his see second coming among the signs enumerated to take place immediately preceding his second coming was that this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations and then shall the end comee come now t that h at makes it plain that in the tile last days god would a again ain aln send the gospel to the human family and it should again be preached as it was in the days of the apostles to every nation kindred tongue and people and that when he should send it in the last days it should come by cano fano ano ther angel flying in the midst of heaven quite a dif dlf different way of introducing the gospel in the last days to that in which it was introduced in the meridian of ti time me have there been any people in europe in asia in africa in australia in america or in the islands of the sea who have tes fled fied during the last seventeen centuries or since this revelation was given to st john that another angel has come and brought the same gospel that was preached in ancient times has the roman catholic church the churell church that pretends to have come directly down with authority th tho or rity ty from th the e days of th the e apostles has it declared to any nation any people or tongue that an angel has brought the gospel to them oil no G go band and I 1 re eaf read eai their books 1 and le bear hear them preach they are aire widely w dely deiy sead spread oyer oyen all the civi buzed world read their books and they will tell you in the most pointed terms that the tiie canon of scripture is full they will inform you that there has been no revelation since tile the days of the apostles they do inform you of this in their writings they say that no new revelation has been given since the days of the apostles hence there has been no communication by angels for angels an gels geis when they are sent always come with a new revelation consequently they have not had haw this fulfilled upon their heads we go back to some of those modern chur churches chesto to king henry the eighth some three or four centuries ii ago 4 0 and to the protestants that came out and protested in rEu europe rope as well as in england against this mother church ask lartin martin K luther ask john calvin ask any of those early reformers and then come to john wesley and ask him and others that have lived jived since the days of the formation reformation Be till the present century of the christian era have any of you had bad a message delivered to you from heaven by an angel the message of the everlasting gospel have any of you had such a message committed to your charge and have you been commanded by an angel or or by divine revelation to proclaim it to every nation kindred longue tongue and people the united answer from all these protestant dissenters would ouid be in accordance with the catholic mothers answer no zo w we e have had no angels we have had no new revelation we have had llad no inspired men we have had no communication from god in our day neither in the days day s of our fathers nor in the days of our fathers fathers for a great many centuries thel the heavens leavens are completely sealed up to usno esno us no answer comes no revelation comes no gospel comes no angel comes but the heavens have become as brass over our heads etc well then if there are no people among all the religious sects of christendom who bear testimony to the ministration of this angel is it not time should we not naturally expect from reading the prophecies of the holy prophets that etwas nearly the time for god to send this angel about which I 1 have been reading in the chapter of Revel revelation Ee atlow fifty years ago and a little upwards these scriptures concerning the coming of the angel were literally fulfilled an angel came that angel appeared in glory and in brightness that angel appeared to a boy a common farmers boy an unlearned youth and told him to ga go to a certain hill in the state of nel nei ne york and there he should find ancient records containing the falness of the everlasting gospel and that he lie should translate this everlasting gospel and these records and finally was waa commanded by the angel and by the spirit of revelation and prophecy prop beay becy to organize the kingdom 0 of god on the earth or in other words the church of god preparatory to what preparatory to the coming of the tile son of man but says ohe one 1 I always thong thought ht the church had bad been on the earth ever since the days of the apostles what a message this is for an angel to come and tell teli a boy to organize the church and kingdom of god when we have so many churches churches that we cal cai cala st johns church st peters church st marks church and other Cb christian ristian churches and yet you tell us now that a boy has been com eom commanded m by an angel to organ organize ize t he the cl church I 1 of GO god d ly on n the earth a again aln ain it is a very strange thing in ill the tile minds of this generation that a youth you til so young so inexperienced perien ced so untaught should receive the ministration of an holy angel with a commandment to organize on the earth the church of the living god if the church of god were already on the tile earth how unnecessary it would bo be for this youth to perform a work of that kind there would be no necessity for it whatever if the methodists were the church of god if the catholics were the church of or god if any one of the protestant denominations was the church of god it would be altogether unnecessary for an angel to be ba sent with the tile everlasting gospel the fact is that till the year 1830 there was no such thing as the church of god on the earth there was no such thing in asia africa europe america or upon the islands of the sea the church of god could not be found if it could have been found all you would have had to do would have been to go and seek that church and ask the tile apostles the inspired men of that church th the 0 privilege rl lie lle g of becoming members th thereof a and nd pu you would be iv saved that is if you walked diligently according to the law of the gospel to the end of your days but inasmuch as there was no such thing as agthe the church of god on the earth it became necessary as one of the signs before the lend of the world should come that this tilis gospel I 1 f the kingdom should again Ee preached be preached to all na nations eions as a witness I 1 told you y ou in in a few brief w words how the angel brought to 1 light ight the falness of the gospel he did not commence in the palaces of kings nor emperors emperors nor in the tile white house at washington nor in the halls of governors nor in any of the ecclesiastical institutions but a farmers boy young without withof t experience in the literature of tile the world was chosen cli cil osen to whom was committed teethe the everlasting gospel aud and he by the command of god conferred authority upon others and eangel theaniel th commanded them to car bear witness of the same which they have done and go has confirmed and revealed toh too to a great many witnesses witness bs the truth of this by sending forth the holy ghost which testifies of the things of god and also bestows bestons the gifts and powers of the ancient gospel as they were given when the church of god was on the earth in the meridian of time no wonder that these powers and gift gifts sueh such asheal as healing the sick and opening the eyes of the blind healing the lame jame and rebuking various diseases no wonder that they have haive not been for many generations among mankind it is because mankind have not had the gospel preached by authority in its falness and purity it is because mankind for many centuries have not hadtke had the church of god among them it is because there have been no true christian believers who have obeyed the ancient gospel there bere was no promise that these signs should follow believers va in the spurious doctrines of men but the promise is to all who belleve believe believe belleve the ancient gospel which |