23) The New Jerusalem - The City Of Refuge

A city that descends from heaven sounds like pure symbolism until you follow the scriptural breadcrumbs. We go deep on the New Jerusalem and why it matters right now, tracing how Zion is described as a real city of refuge, a millennial center of peace, and the gathering place for covenant Israel.

We start with the story of Joseph and Asenath and the moment her life turns on repentance. In that account, she’s given a new name that reframes everything: City of Refuge. From there we connect the dots to Book of Mormon prophecy in Ether 13, where the New Jerusalem is shown in two movements that don’t get enough attention: a city center that comes down out of heaven and a holy city that is built up on the land. That shift changes how you think about preparation, timing, and what “building Zion” actually looks like.

Next we move into Jesus Christ’s teachings in 3 Nephi about Gentiles, a remnant of Jacob, covenant inclusion through repentance, and the sobering idea of a cleansing before the New Jerusalem is established. We also bring in a gripping modern account from a persecuted Russian soldier who claimed an angel showed him the light of the heavenly city, then compare it with Revelation 21 where John the Revelator describes jasper walls, pearl gates, precious stone foundations, and a city illuminated by the glory of God.

We close by widening the lens through Moses 7 and Doctrine and Covenants 88, exploring Enoch’s Zion, translation, and a cosmic framework where the New Jerusalem connects to work across worlds. If this expands your view of end times prophecy, Zion, and the millennial reign, subscribe, share the show with someone you love, and leave a review so more people can find it.

Transcript

Welcome And Dedication

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Welcome to the Black Swan Rising Podcast, an L10 production. For transcriptions, show notes, and extras, please visit us at the Black Swan Rising Podcast.com. Now, broadcasting across the world from the heart of the American Bible Belt, here is your host, Michael B. Rush.

Joseph And Asenath Begins

Asenath Repents And Gains New Name

Ether Prophesies New Jerusalem In America

Remnant Of Jacob And Gentiles

Ivan’s Vision Of The Heavenly City

John’s Revelation Of New Jerusalem

Zion Of Enoch And Millennial Return

Dimensions Portals And Cosmic Gates

D&C 88 And A Cosmic Priesthood Role

Gathering To Zion And Final Charge

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Hello, friends, and welcome back to the Black Swan Rising Podcast. I'm your host, Michael B. Rush. Today, uh, at the request of one of my friends, I am going to dedicate this episode to the New Jerusalem. Now, I've talked about the New Jerusalem throughout the books that I've written. I've touched on it on some question and answer, but I've I've not done an entire episode just exclusively focused on the New Jerusalem. So that's what we'll do today. So where do you start when you talk about the New Jerusalem? Because this is, you know, it takes a pretty prominent place in the book of Revelation, which is kind of the quintessential last days book. And yet the larger Christian community really doesn't talk about it too much. They don't really understand what it is. And I think that this is really important to understand because it is totally awesome. So let's start at the beginning. Where do you what is the beginning when it comes to the New Jerusalem? Well, my favorite beginning goes back to the story of Joseph and Asenath. Now, Asenath, as you may recall from the book of Genesis, is Joseph's wife. Now, Asenath was a ten out of ten. She was a stone-cold fox. I mean, when we're talking about Asanath, we're talking about all of the princes in all of the kingdoms had their eye on Asenath, including Pharaoh's own son. Now, obviously, you know, Asenath, she was an Egyptian. She was of the royal lineage. There's lots of people that try to say that Asenath was Hebrew, but that is simply just not true. Because in these days, you've got to remember, Jacob had 12 sons, and Asaneth wasn't one of his daughters. So Asaneth, she was actually, if you read in the Pearl of Great Price, in the account of Abraham, Abraham says that the line of pharaohs started with Ham and Ham's wife, who was herself a Canaanite. And as a result, she could not hold the priesthood. And so the pharaohs, the first leaders of Egypt, they patterned the kingdom after the patriarchal order, but they did not have the priesthood. And they couldn't hold the priesthood because of the Canaanite blood lineage. It wasn't because of Ham, it was because of Ham's wife. And that is really interesting. So one of my favorite ancient records of this, it comes from the book titled Joseph and Asenath. And it tells a story of how Joseph came to marry Asenath. And I love this story because it also introduces the New Jerusalem in a really cool way. So let me just paraphrase the story to you. So I already told you that Asenath was a stone-cold fox. Everyone had their eyeball on Asanath, so much so that Asenath just hated being ogled everywhere that she went. And her father was a very important man in Egypt. All of the vassal kingdoms of Egypt reported through Asenath's father. And so, of course, Joseph, he was second in command. So the only person higher than Joseph in all of Egypt was the Pharaoh himself. And Joseph would, you know, make rounds and he'd go and he'd check with the different uh folks from time to time. And he was no stranger to, I believe that uh Asenath's father, his name was Pentiprus, and he went to his house and or he had scheduled this in a in advance. It wasn't just a spur-of-the-moment visit because uh Pentiprus goes to his daughter and says, Hey, Joseph is coming to dinner tonight, and I am really excited for you to meet Joseph. And in fact, if it was up to me, you'd marry Joseph. And Asenath, the this book says that she her face became red and she looked at her father sideways and was saying, you know, how in the heck could you possibly think that I would condescend to marry Joseph? You know, he was a he's he's an ex-con. You know, he was in prison for sleeping around. Why would you want me to marry Joseph? And Pentatris and Pentepris just said, you know, you maybe maybe you don't know the whole story here. But Asenath was so mad at her father that she high-telled it to her room. She said, I'm not coming down. You can forget it. And so that's where she's she's up in her room, you know, pouting. And then Joseph comes and he's dressed in all white and he's on a golden chariot, and he he comes down the lane, and Asenath is up in her bedroom and can see him coming. And Joseph, I mean, he was no slouch himself. I mean, he too hated the fact that everywhere he went, he was ogled by the Egyptian women. And you know, he sees Asanath looking at him from her bedroom window, and he's put off by that because you know everyone's always you know oggling him. And so when he drives up and comes to Asenath's house, and Asenath's father comes out to greet him, one of the first things that Joseph says is, Can you send away that you know girl up in that window? She's ogling me, and it's making me feel uncomfortable. And Penteprus says, Well, actually, that girl is my daughter, and I'm really excited for you to meet her. So let me go get her. And meanwhile, Asenath is she as she's just dumbfounded. She's looking at Joseph, and she knows immediately that all of these rumors that she's heard about him are totally bogus. And in fact, she says, This man has to be the son of God. Look at him. He's radiant. I've never seen anyone like this. How could I have thought these things of this man? And so obviously, she's completely changed her tune. And so when her father calls her to come down, she immediately bounds down the stairs and comes in and you know, sees Joseph exuberant. You know, it's obvious that she's excited to talk to him. And her father says, Why don't you greet Joseph with a kiss? And Joseph puts the kibosh on that right away and says, Petrapras, I'm I'm sorry, uh, your daughter, if she's your daughter, she will be like a sister to me. But I could never kiss lips that have worshipped idols. And ask enough, this just cuts her to the core. She's stunned. She's never been rebuffed by a man in her entire life. Much less there's been a reason for it. And here's this man that you know, just you know, previously, a few minutes before, she was saying, This Joseph has to be the son of God, because I've never seen anyone that has a countenance like him. And now she's feeling rejected by him. And the reason for that rejection is because she worships the idols of Egypt. And so, you know, they have uh a dinner, and Jose, you know, Joseph is, I mean, he's just lighting up the place, and you know, everyone just loves Joseph. Of course, you know, Joseph has you know made Egypt the bees' knees in the you know ancient world. I mean, everybody knows Joseph because he's a visionary, he can interpret dreams, he saved Egypt, and essentially, you know, if you study the account of the famines in Egypt, you know that by this time everybody is essentially a servant to Pharaoh now because they had to sell you know everything that they had by the time this famine was over just to get food. And it was Joseph that made it possible for them to not starve to death. So Joseph was a superstar, and apparently he had the physical presence to you know just bring that status home all the more. And so yeah, dinner ends and Joseph leaves, and Asenath, she she's just heartbroken, and she just goes up to her room and she sobs uncontrollably. And one of the first things that she does is she just takes all of the idols in her room and she just breaks them, and she gives them to their servants and says, I want you to take these idols, they were all made out of precious metals, and says, I want you to go and sell these idols, get whatever you can for the metal, and give it all to the poor. I want nothing to do with any of those. I want to worship the God that Joseph worships, because I've never seen anybody like Joseph. And so she spends seven days, she's fasting and praying for forgiveness. And according to this narrative, and then this is where the New Jerusalem comes into play, the angel of the Lord appears to Asenath in her room, and you know, he anoints her, and he gives her a new name and says, You know, Asanath, you are not the same as you were before, but your sins are forgiven you, and I give you a new name, which is city of refuge. Now, for most people, that name is weird, it's strange. But for those of you that are familiar with the New Jerusalem, another name for the New Jerusalem is the city of refuge, because in the last days, anyone who is unwilling to take up the sword against their neighbor must sleep must flee to Zion for refuge. And Zion is the new Jerusalem. So the Lord here, and by the description of the angel of the Lord, and throughout the Old Testament, oftentimes when the angel of the Lord appears, this angel of the Lord is actually Jesus Christ. And I believe that that's exactly what happened here. Jesus Christ is appearing to Asanath and anoints her and gives her a new name, and all of these things are things that are significant to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And this is one of the reasons I why when I read this apocryphal text, I believe that you know this is true. So just to close the loop on this story, the angel of the Lord then appears to Joseph. And you know, Joseph is still you know out and about on the Pharaoh's errand, and the angel of the Lord says, Joseph, I want you to go back to Athenath's house, because I have chosen her to be your wife. Now, Joseph, he's not going to argue with the Lord. And in fact, because the Lord has chosen a wife for him, yeah, obviously he's become a man and he's he's you know lonely, right? He's yeah, everybody loves him, but you know, he wants someone who can partner with him in worshiping the Lord. And here the Lord is coming to him and saying, Asenath is the woman that I am choosing for you. So he does a 180 and rides you know as fast as he can in his golden chariot back to Pentapris's house. And when he gets there, Asanath is there and she is in her bride's dress, and she comes down because she, you know, the the Lord tells her that she will be Joseph's wife. And so when Joseph comes in to the house, you know, they immediately embrace and you know they are just you know taken with each other, and when uh Asenath's father comes, he is just so over the moon that his house is going to be joined with Joseph's house. Now, Pharaoh's son was not happy about this at all. He wanted to marry Asanath, but Joseph went to Pharaoh and asked for Asenath's hand, and Pharaoh said, Joseph, you have done so much for this country, of course, and you know, I will give her to you, and you will be as my own son. And that is how that is the story of Joseph and Asenath, and of course, Asenath's son becomes the birthright heir of the promises of Israel. So the birthright went from Abraham to Isaac to Jacob, who thought for it his entire life. You remember that when the angel of the Lord came when he was in his 90s, he grabbed on to the angel of the Lord and would not let him go until he was assured of the birthright blessing. And that is when the angel of the Lord, A, forgave him of his sins, and b changed his name, gave him a new name, and from that day forward Jacob became Israel. So that same birthright, which normally would have fallen to the eldest son, goes to Asanath's second born son, Ephraim. And of course, Manazah is right up there with Ephraim, but according, if we're being totally technical, Ephraim is the birthright heir. And you know, that's that is really cool. And so Asanath has to be one heck of a lady. And Joseph obviously was a total stallion himself, but Asanath's new name is the city of refuge. And so the New Jerusalem is named after Asanath. So this makes some of the scriptures that talk about the New Jerusalem make a lot more sense. And let me read you a passage so you know that, so you know what I'm talking about. Okay, this passage comes from Ether chapter 13, and I'm going to bounce around a little bit, but I'm going to start in verse 3. And that it was the place, meaning America, was the place of the new Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven. Okay, so Ether is prophesying that the new Jerusalem will be established in America and that it will come down out of heaven. And then we go into verse 7. Or no, sorry, verse 6. And again, he's referring to America here, and that a new Jerusalem should be built up upon this land. Now, notice the difference here. In verse 3, he said that the new Jerusalem should come down out of heaven, and in verse 6, he said that it should be built upon this land. So there's two things going on. There is a at least a city center that is descending out of heaven, and then the inhabitants of the land, the righteous inhabitants, will build it out from there. So let's keep going in verse 6. So this New Jerusalem should be built up upon this land unto a remnant of the seed of Joseph, for which thing there has been a type, meaning the New Jerusalem is the inheritance of Joseph. Now, verse 7. For as Joseph brought his father down in the land of Egypt, even so he died there. Wherefore the Lord brought a remnant of the seed of Joseph out of the land of Jerusalem, that he might be merciful unto the seed of Joseph, that they should not perish, even as he was merciful unto the father of Joseph, meaning he was merciful unto Jacob, so that Jacob's posterity shouldn't perish. Now in verse 8, wherefore the remnant of the house of Joseph shall be built up upon this land, meaning North America is going to be the land of Joseph, and it shall be a land of their inheritance, and they shall build up a holy city unto the Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old, and they shall no more be confounded until the end come when the earth shall pass away. And there shall be a new heaven and a new earth, and they shall be like unto the old, save the old shall have passed away, and all things have become new. And then cometh the new Jerusalem. And blessed are they who dwell therein, for it is they whose garments are white through the blood of the Lamb, and they are they who are numbered amongst the remnant of the seed of Joseph. Okay, there's some important information here pertaining to the New Jerusalem. So the New Jerusalem, based upon this prophecy, we don't start building out the New Jerusalem until the city center descends from heaven. Meaning there is a portion of the New Jerusalem that is already built. And then once it descends out of heaven, the righteous, and it specifically says that it will be a remnant of the seed of Joseph. Now, why would it say that it would that it's a remnant of the seed of Joseph rather than being more inclusive by saying it's the whole seed of Joseph? Well, in order to understand this, you really need to understand the prophecies that Jesus Christ gave the Nephites in 3 Nephi. And these prophecies, I've talked a lot about these, but these prophecies, they really kick in in 3 Nephi chapter 15, starting in verse 10, and they go through at chapter 17 through verse 4. And that's when Christ stops and says, Listen, I can see that you guys are really tired, your eyes are glazing over. I know that I've been quoting a lot of Isaiah to you. So go home and pray to the Father that he will open your minds that you can understand this stuff, because it's important for you to understand it. And I'll come back tomorrow and I'll pick up this message that my father has commanded me to give you. And then the next day, he does just that. And we can read that in 3rd Nephi chapter 20, verse 10. But the part that I want to talk about here is when Christ talks about the New Jerusalem, and he talks about the New Jerusalem in the context of North America being completely cleaned of all wickedness in advance of this. And the bulk of his message is all about this. He says that, hey, listen, in that day, any of the Gentiles that are living uh in America, if they reject my gospel and they reject me, Jesus Christ, then a remnant of the house of Jacob is going to come amongst them as a lion and is going to obliterate them. You're going to completely wipe them out so that only the righteous will remain. And this is what Ether was talking about when he said that a remnant of Joseph would. Inherit the New Jerusalem because everyone in America, by and large, uh America is a nation-state of Joseph. And many people are going to and are rejecting Jesus Christ right now. And many of those people that are rejecting Jesus Christ, they have no idea that the house of the blood of the house of Israel flows in their veins. And more specifically, the blood of Joseph and Asenath row flows in their veins. And yet they're rejecting their heritage by rejecting the gospel of Jesus Christ. And they will rebel against that gospel. And of course, all of these things are going to be black swan events that are taking place. These are things that, you know, like the Antichrist and the Beast and all of the events of Ezra's Eagle. These are going to be incredible sifting events that are going to try the faith of the people on the American continent like they have never been tried before. And this will be deliberate. America is going to be the first place on the entire planet that is going to have peace and will essentially enter into a millennial period of prosperity while the rest of the world is going through hell. Why? Well, because the Antichrist and the Beast are going to be wreaking havoc everywhere and sieging Jerusalem for three and a half years. So that's why everything is going to be crazy except for in America, where they will have been driven out by the ships of Chitam, of which we have already mentioned. So let's go back to some of these passages in Christ's discourse to the Nephites, where he talks about this. So I'm going to read in 3rd Nephite chapter 21, and I'm going to start in verse 11. Therefore it shall come to pass that whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, which the Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he may bring them forth unto the Gentiles. It shall be done even as Moses said. They shall be cut off from amongst my people, who are of my covenant. And my people, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, shall be amongst the Gentiles, yea, in the midst of them, as a lion amongst the beasts of the flock, as a young lion amongst the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through, both teareth down and treadeth in pieces. And I will execute vengeance and fury upon them, even upon the heathen, such as they have not heard. But if they will repent and hearken unto my words and harden not their hearts, I will establish my church amongst them, and they shall come in unto my covenant, and be numbered amongst this remnant of Jacob, unto whom I have given this land for their inheritance. And they shall assist my people, the remnant of Jacob, and also as many of the house of Israel as shall come, that they may build a new city which shall be called the New Jerusalem. And they shall assist my people, that they may be gathered in, who are scattered upon all the face of the land, unto this new Jerusalem. So what do we learn here? Well, like I said previously, a remnant of Jacob is going to come to America and wipe out all of the unbelieving and rebellious, so that only those that are covenant keepers and makers will remain, and then this remnant of Jacob that will be here will be in charge of this new Jerusalem. Now, as we mentioned previously, a portion of the new Jerusalem is going to descend from heaven and then it will be built out from there. And this remnant of Jacob is going to oversee this process, but the remnant of Joseph will inherit it. And that is pretty awesome. Now, I know that most of you are not going to have heard this story, so I want to share a really interesting account that a Russian man had pertaining to the New Jerusalem. Now, this man is Ivan Moiseyev. Now, Ivan was a Russian soldier during the Cold War, and this account is taken from a transcription from a voice-recorded interview with Ivan by his family while he was on leave in May of 1972. And, you know, Ivan, he was a devout Christian during a time when it was not popular to be a Christian in the Russian military. And because of his Christian beliefs, he was persecuted. And ultimately, he was beaten to death by fellow Russian soldiers because of his beliefs. And this incredible experience that he had happened because uh he wouldn't deny his faith. And he was training in Siberia in the winter time. And because he wouldn't deny his faith, his commanding officer required him to take the night watch in Siberia in winter without his winter gear on. And so he was freezing. And then when he he finally was relieved to go to bed, he goes into his barracks. Of course, everyone else is you know fast asleep, and he's just you know lying in his his bed, you know, freezing, and then he has this experience, which comes from this a transcription of this recorded interview from his family. Suddenly an angel appeared to me and said, Vanya. Now his name was Vanya, but he went by Ivan. Vanya, get up. I thought it was a dream. I got up and I don't remember how I dressed. I flew off with him, meaning this angel, upwards. We did not fly through the door or window, but the ceiling and the roof of the barracks opened up before us, and we flew together to another planet. And the angel said to me, On this planet, you will follow behind me, since here you do not know or have any knowledge of how things are. I consented and followed after him. We went over a great expanse of grass and arrived at a brook. The angel crossed the brook, but I was afraid. He asked me, Why do you fear? Serpents, I said, Don't be afraid, you are with me. Here it is not as it is on earth. Here there are no serpents. I crossed over after him. There he showed me the apostle John. He flew over to me and told me, through the angel, how life was on this planet. This life was illuminated better than any on earth in the daytime, though I saw no sun anywhere. When we went further, the angel said, We have travelled a long way, and you are tired. We sat under a large tree and rested. The angel told me, I wish to show you the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, but if you actually see it as it is, you cannot remain alive. There is still much work for you left on earth. We will fly together to another planet, and I will show you only the light of this city, so that you will know, while yet alive, that there actually is a new Jerusalem. We flew to the other planet, and I saw high mountains. Between the mountains was a deep canyon. The angel lowered me into this canyon and said, Look upward, and you will see this light. I looked and I saw a light brighter than the sun, brighter than the arc of an electric welder. I really thought I would be blinded, but the angel said that nothing would happen to me, and I looked. This is taken from Vanya, a true story by Myrna Grant, pages 154 and 155. So this account is really interesting to me because this angel comes and descends through the roof of the barrack. Now this reminds me of when Angel Moroni came to Joseph Smith when he was 17 years old in his family's cabin. Moroni descended through the roof of the cabin and ascended, you know, right back up through it. There was a conduit that opened up and enabled him to do this. And this sounds exactly like what Ivan experienced in this encounter. Now, this heavenly being takes Ivan to another planet and he meets John the Revelator, the Apostle John, which is very interesting because most Christians believe that John died not long after all of the other apostles died. But in the LDS tradition, we believe that John was translated. And in fact, we have an account of this in Doctrine and Covenants section seven. Now, this account shows John alive on another planet that is filled with light. And John okay Ivan to see the light emanating from the New Jerusalem. Now, I'm reading you this account from volume one of the book of Enoch commentary that I wrote. It's part of a three-volume series. If you're interested in reading more about this, this account comes. I first start discussing this on page 130 of that book. But in that the book of Enoch, Enoch is taken to a planet that has these tall mountains and these very deep valleys. And it's filled with all of these gemstones, and they're the same kinds of gemstones that the walls of the New Jerusalem are made out of. And that's very interesting because I think that Ivan was taken to the same city that Enoch saw. And so here we learn that, yes, there is a part of the New Jerusalem that has already been constructed and it's glorious. And that is how we can have people like Ether give us these prophecies that the New Jerusalem is going to descend from the heavens in the last days, and then have other prophecies that say we are going to build it out because it's just the city center that's coming down. And then ultimately it's going to be built out to fill the entirety of the North American continent. Now, let me read to you a very interesting account from actually John the Revelator, wherein he had a similar experience to Ivan, where an angel came and showed him the new Jerusalem. So this account comes from Revelation chapter 21, verses 10 through 14 and 18 through 23. Listen to this. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal, and it had a wall, great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. On the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, and the building of the wall of it was of jasper, and the city was of pure gold, likened to clear glass, and the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was of jasper, the second of sapphire, the third of Chelteny, the fourth was an emerald, the fifth Sardonyx, the sixth Sardis, the seventh Chrysalite, the eighth Beryl, the ninth a Topaz, the tenth Chrysophoras, the eleventh a Jacinth, and the twelfth an amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, every several gate was one pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were, transparent glass, and I saw no temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it, and the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamb is the light thereof. That's John the Revelator's account of this. And you know it's it's similar to Ivan's account of this in that Ivan didn't see a sun. The light was just coming from somewhere else. And then he was taken to this other world, and the light from the city itself was magnificent to behold. So the city is itself a very impressive structure. At least what John was describing here, this is the city center. It's surrounded by these walls, and within the city, you know, are it's you know made of pure gold, the streets are of pure gold, there's buildings, those buildings were not described, but John said that he didn't see any kind of temple there, that God the Father and Jesus Christ, they are the temple thereof. By this we're to understand that they live in the center, city center. And when we hear of in the Father's kingdom there are many mansions, well, if you read in the Pearl of Great Price in Moses chapter seven, God tells Enoch that he is going to make his city and the new Jerusalem his abode forever, and that both of these things will be restored to the earth in the last days. Now, I know that some of you are not familiar with this particular prophecy, so I'm going to read it to you because you know it's it is really interesting. So this comes from Moses chapter seven, and it's a conversation between Enoch and God. Now, as part of this conversation, God is showing, you know, Enoch and his entire city have been lifted up, and they've been ministering to the inhabitants of other worlds. If you read in the book of Enoch in chapter 12, verses 1 and 2, Enoch states that after he was taken up, that he had ministered to the watchers. And according to the LDS tradition, Enoch and all of the inhabitants of the entire city were translated. And Joseph Smith taught some really interesting things pertaining to people that were translated. Let me read this to you. This comes from the Joseph Smith papers, volume C1, you know, for the period of time from the 2nd of November, 1838 to July 31st, 1842. And this is this particular account is taken from page 17 of that volume. Many have supposed that the doctrine of translation was a doctrine whereby men were taken immediately into the presence of God and into such eternal fullness. But this is a mistaken idea. Such characters God held in reserve to be ministering angels unto many planets, and as yet have not entered into so great a fullness as those who are resurrected from the dead. So here Joseph Smith teaches that when people are translated, they're translated for a reason, and that reason is to enable them to administer the gospel ordinances to the inhabitants of many worlds. Now, this makes some of the prophecies within Moses chapter 7 all the more interesting. Because as I mentioned, in this chapter, God is showing Enoch what has happened upon the earth since he and his city were lifted up, and the earth has become exceedingly wicked. In fact, God tells Enoch that it is, has become the most wicked of all of his creations. And as a result, God the Father begins to weep. And Enoch seeing this says this. And Enoch said unto the Lord, How is it that thou canst weep, seeing thou art holy, from all eternity to all eternity? And were it possible that man could number the particles of the earth, yea, millions of earths like this, it would not be a beginning to the number of thy creations. And thy curtains are stretched out still, and yet thou art there, and thy bosom is there, and also thou art just and thou art merciful and kind forever. And thou hast taken Zion, which is Enoch's city, to thine own bosom, from all thy creations, from all eternity to all eternity. So here Enoch is saying that his city has been joined from people from all of God's creations, from all eternity to all eternity. That goes hand in hand with Joseph Smith's statement that translated beings are translated so that they can administer gospel ordinances to people of other worlds. Now this gets us to the part of the prophecy that I wanted to share with you, but you needed that context. So here, you know, when Enoch sees how wicked the wor the humans on earth are, he cries out to the Lord and says, Well, when are you going to allow the earth to rest from all of this wickedness? In other words, when are you going to wipe it clean so that only the righteous remain? And this is the Lord's response. And he says, This is in verse 63 and verse 64. And the Lord said unto Enoch, Then shall thou and all thy city, meaning the city of Zion, meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us, and we shall fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other, and there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth from all the creations which I have made, and the earth shall rest for the space of a thousand years. And now I am jumping to verse sixty-two. 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, his resurrection from the dead, yea, also the resurrection of all men, 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, an holy city, meaning God is going to prepare the city centre of this holy city, that my people may gird up their loins and be looking forth for the time of my coming, for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a new Jerusalem. Okay, so here we get two accounts of two separate cities that are going to descend from the heavens to the earth. One of these is Zion, as in the city of Enoch, and the other is Zion, as in the New Jerusalem. Now, for people that do not have a background in the LDS tradition, Joseph Smith taught that Enoch and his city were built in the North American continent, in where the current Gulf of America is located. And you know, that this was in the time when all of the Earth's continents were combined. This was during the time of Pangaea. And so it was one supercontinent there, and this landmass that you know was taken up into heaven, and it left a big gaping hole that you know presumably became the Gulf of America when the continents were divided. Joseph Smith said that in the last days, this city of Zion is going to return to the Gulf of America. In Joseph's day, it was called the Gulf of Mexico, but it's going to occupy that space. And Joseph Smith further taught that the New Jerusalem, its city center, is going to be located in what is now current-day independence, Missouri. And you know, these two cities are ultimately going to merge into one and occupy the entire North American continent. When John the Revelator gives the dimensions of the New Jerusalem, he says that it's like 1600 furlongs by 1600 furlongs by 1600 furlongs. That's essentially the entire North American continent in a cube shape, which is very curious because when we look at verse 64, you know, already we saw that the city of Enoch, which has been, you know, is occupying some place out in the cosmos right now as a separate landmass. And you know, who knows? Maybe that is where Ivan was taken to, the first location that he was taken to. The second location seems to be altogether different and is described in the book of Enoch in great detail as having this mountain range that is entirely comprised of gemstones and these deep. Deep ravines and rivers of fire, and that this location is at the end, the edge of the known universe, and that it overlooks presently outer darkness. That seems like a very bizarre location for the New Jerusalem to be located, but apparently it is the intense pressure of that kind of insane environment that enables essentially all of the elements that are there to be transformed into gemstones. Think about how a diamond is formed. A diamond is you you take carbon and you compress it under hellacious pressure and for an extended period of time. And that incredible pressure transforms the molecular structure of carbon so that the atoms align in a beautiful crystalline structure that transforms the element into a diamond that is incredibly valuable and you know one of the hardest substances that we know of on planet Earth. Well, he says that you know because of the conditions that this uh planet is in, the essentially the entire planet has become a home of incredible gemstones. And that is where I think that the New Jerusalem is being built and will be brought to North America from that point. Now, also within the book of Enoch, Enoch talked about twelve portals upon the North American continent, three in the north, three in the east, three in the south, and three in the west. That is curiously similar to the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem, which has you know three on the north, south, east, and west. Each of these gates is named after one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Now, I think, as strange as this sounds, when you read and study the book of Enoch, when he's talking about portals, he's literally talking about gateways to other worlds. So these gateways seem to be ways that the inhabitants of other worlds can enter into the New Jerusalem from where they are. Now, these gates are protected by angels. Now, anyone can come willy-nilly into this. This isn't like the borders under the Biden uh administration. This is like the borders under Trump. They are safeguarded and the city is sacred. The entire city itself is a temple. There is no structure of a temple because of uh the presence of God the Father, they sanctify the entire North American continent so that I believe that temple ordinances will probably be able to be performed anywhere within the New Jerusalem because of how holy and sacred it is. And one of the reasons that it's described as a cube going you know 1,600 furlongs into the air, which would definitely put it into a space. I mean, space essentially uh starts around 80,000 feet above sea level, and you know, we're talking well over a thousand miles above sea level. So I think that the reason that we were given those kinds of dimensions is because the new Jerusalem is going to interact with the heavens in ways that our current cities do not. And indeed, in Moses chapter 7, uh verse 64, the Lord said that he will make Zion his abode, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made, meaning that the millennium is going to be a cosmic event for the inhabitants on planet Earth. Now, this brings me to another very, very curious revelation in the Doctrine and Covenants. Let me read this one to you. This starts in section 88, verse 51. Now, in this revelation, Jesus Christ is talking about the cosmos. And he says, Listen, there is nowhere out in space where there isn't some kind of kingdom. And then he wants to expound it so that the elders of Israel can understand it. And this is how he does so. Listen to verse 51. I'm again, I'll start in fifty-one. Behold, I will liken these kingdoms unto a man having a field. And he set forth his servants into the field to dig in the field. And he said unto the first, Go ye and labor in the field. And in the first hour I will come unto you, and ye shall behold the joy of my countenance. And he said unto the second, Go ye into the field, and in the second hour I will visit you with the joy of my countenance, and also unto the third, saying, I will visit you, and unto the fourth, and so on unto the twelfth. And the Lord of the field went unto the first in the first hour, and tarried with him all that hour, and he was made glad with the light and countenance of his Lord. And then he withdrew from the first that he might visit the second, and also the third, and he went forth so on unto the twelfth. And thus they all received the light of the countenance of their Lord, every man in his hour, and in his time and in his season, beginning at the first, and so on unto the last, and from the last unto the first, and from the first unto the last, every man in his own order, unto his until his hour is finished, even according as his Lord commanded him, that his Lord might be glorified in him, and he in his Lord, that they might be glorified. Therefore, unto this parable I will liken all these kingdoms, and the inhabitants thereof, every kingdom in its hour, and in its time, and in its season, even according to the decree which God has made. And again, verily I say unto you, my friends, I leave these sayings with you to ponder in your hearts. So Jesus Christ gives this bombshell, where I mean it's it's clear that he's talking about kingdoms in space from verse uh forty-three, which says, And their courses are fixed, even the courses of the heavens and the earth, which comprehendeth the earth and all of the planets, meaning all of the inhabited worlds, because in verse 61 he refers to these as kingdoms and their in the inhabitants thereof. Now, curiously, he divides the heavens into twelve kingdoms in this parable. How many portals were in the New Jerusalem? Twelve. And each of those portals was named for one of the twelve tribes of Israel. And the this the New Jerusalem has twelve, the walls have twelve foundational layers, and each one of those twelve layers is a different gemstone, and each one of those different layers has the name of one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. The New Jerusalem is affiliated with the house of Israel. And I believe that what the Lord was saying here is that the house of Israel is going to have a role in administering gospel ordinances to the inhabitants of many worlds. And this is why you have the inhabitants of all the creations which the Lord has made coming to the New Jerusalem during the millennium so that they can receive those ordinances. Now, I know that this is not what you learn in Sunday school. Frankly, we we don't really talk about these things in much depth because these things are are really, you know, they're left as little Easter eggs throughout the scriptures. And I believe that that is very intentional from the Lord. Uh at the end of this one parable, he said, Hey, you know, I'm leaving these things for you to ponder upon. And you know, interestingly enough, after he says that, he says this in verse 63 Draw near unto me, and I will draw near unto you. Seek me diligently, and ye shall find me. Ask and ye shall receive, knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Whatsoever ye ask the Father in my name, it shall be given unto you. That is expedient for you. Meaning we are supposed to be responsible for our own spiritual education. And if we are not taking the initiative to ask and seek answers for these kinds of things, then we're not going to receive the answers. We need to be engaged in our spiritual education. And we should be asking for further light and knowledge with regards to these things. And friends, when you start looking at this, you will be astounded at how much the Lord has actually revealed about the New Jerusalem and all of these things. Now, another question that comes up oftentimes when we're talking about the New Jerusalem and the fact that the New Jerusalem is going to be established upon the North American continent, well, that's all fine and dandy for the Americans, but what about everyone else around the world? Are they getting gypped? And the answer to that is no, of course not. Because during the great and terrible day of the Lord, and again, friends, the great and terrible day of the Lord is different from the second coming of the Lord. The great and terrible day of the Lord precedes the second coming and is of a multi-year duration. For example, part of the great and dreadful day of the Lord is this three and a half year siege on Jerusalem. This is the Battle of Armageddon. This is the battle of Gog and Magog, where all of the nations on the planet join with the Antichrist and the beast to fight against Zion. All nations, of course, with the exception of Zion, which will be the only place on earth at that time that people can flee and be at peace. Now, America is the envy of the world because we are surrounded by oceans on both sides. So it's not easy to get here. And furthermore, there are prophecies saying that in the last days the destroyer were destroyer will ride upon the waters and prohibit all but the pure in heart from reaching to Zion. Well, in the Doctrine and Covenants again, and again, friends, you know, I do not think that it is possible to understand any of these things outside of the restored light and knowledge that is found within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's just you just can't do it. There is a revelation included within the Doctrine and Covenants, wherein uh Joseph Smith is told this prophecy about the destroyer riding upon the waters. And then he goes on to say that his servant John, meaning John the Revelator, will be the one that curses the waters. Now, I believe that when you read in the book of Revelation, and indeed you have a question and answer section in the Doctrine of Covenants that talks about the book of Revelation, and it's uh, I believe, section 77. And in there we learn that the fourth ain or the fifth angel that rises from the east, we learn that that is Elias, and that he is in charge of restoring the tribes of Israel and all things. And then we learn in another question that John the revelator is Elias and that he is the one that is going to do these things. So not only is he cursing the earth and making it so that no one can cross the oceans to get to Zion who is unworthy of it, he will also be leading this remnant of Jacob who will be purging America in the first place. Now, in the book of Revelation, you read about the 144,000. Now, these 144,000, according to the book of Revelation, these are the first fruits of the resurrection, and they are all described as being young virgin, young men who were valiant in their testimonies in their day, and you know, they're now resurrected beings, and there's 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes of Israel that will be sent forth throughout all the continents of the earth to gather in the righteous into the new Jerusalem in the last days, into Asanath's city of refuge. And you know, friends, this is going to be shock and awe in the extreme. I mean, most Christians aren't even thinking about the New Jerusalem. Most members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints think they are going to be walking to Missouri to build the new Jerusalem. Hardly anyone realizes that the New Jerusalem is going to come out of heaven with the city center fully built out and land, and it will be a fully established city of refuge for the righteous. And you know, John the Revelator sees the same thing. He he saw the New Jerusalem descending from heaven as a bride uh adorned for its husband. He also said that within the New Jerusalem are these incredible trees that you know are bearing fruit all the time, and that the leaves of the trees can essentially cure any illness. And you know, the fruit is you're to die for, and you know, that there's water that if you drink of the water, I mean, you it it it changes you, and you you know, so that you're you're no longer an old fogey with all kinds of you know ailments. You're young and spry and you can be you know vibrant during you know this millennium, and you're going to need to be vibrant because the Lord has a work for you know any who wish to participate in the gathering of Israel on both sides of the veil. That is a small part of what will take place during the millennium. I believe that there is going to be a much greater cosmic aspect of this that the people of the city of Enoch have been engaged in for many thousands of years. And you know, the city of Enoch had been joined by other righteous people. Many ten thousands of people have been translated and uh joined the city of Enoch. Just read the Joseph Smith translation of Genesis chapter 14, and you'll know what I'm talking about. So, friends, I hope that this gives you a good overview that the New Jerusalem is a heck of a lot more than most people understand. And when we're talking about these meetings that are going to take place in a place called Adam and Diamond prior to the second coming, I believe that those meetings are largely going to be in preparation of these incredible events that are going to be taking place. It's not going to be done willy-nilly, it's going to be done in order and under proper priesthood keys. You are going to have dispensational leaders present. If you read the book of Enoch, you will know that within that book, we are warned that after 70 generations the watchers are going to return. The God the Father gave the four archangels, which are Uriel, also known as Fanuel, also known as Jesus Christ, Michael, the Archangel, Gabriel, and Raphael, very specific assignments that had to do with the watchers, and that those assignments would span all the way through the millennium because the watchers will be returning. And so when you read a lot of these passages about Michael coming back, and you know, you read these in the book of Daniel, he comes back and there's these burning wheels. I mean, those think you know, the wheels of Chittim. And you know, he uh he kind of oversees the ousting of these things. And I'm I'm sure that uh John is working in conjunction with Michael the Great Prince. So, you know, there are incredibly exciting things ahead of us, things that we should all be incredibly uh grateful to be alive during these this time. And this is one of the reasons that it is so important for us to be able to help our fellow men to retain their faith in Jesus Christ during the days of trial that are shortly to begin in earnest. I mean, in a prior episode, I talked about you know the whore of Babylon is out and about and is waging war and is killing all these whistleblower scientists. I mean, we keep learning, you know, that you know there is more and more of these people being killed. And you know, it it seems that something is the pot is boiling. It's the time is nigh. Something is going to be happening, and it's going to be incredible, and it's going to be incredibly challenging, even for the faithful. So this is where you know Daniel prophesied that in the last days there would be people of understanding that would be able to instruct the people and help them to persevere and endure. I hope that all of the listeners of this podcast can become people of understanding and help their fellow men through the trials that are at our door. And if you don't understand these things, then please ask the Father to help you. For as we've learned, they that seek shall find. Until next time, friends, God bless.

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You have just finished an episode of the Black Swan Rising Podcast, an L10 production, hosted by Michael B. Rush. For show notes, transcriptions, and extras, please visit www.theblackswanrisingpodcast.com. If you enjoyed this episode, click the share button icon and send it to your friends and family. This will help to ensure the continued publication of future content. Michael thanks you in advance for sharing and looks forward to seeing you next time. Until then, keep seeking, for they that seek shall find a lot of the bigger.