Unfolding the Revelations of John

Course Manual

“

Behold, when ye shall rend that veil of unbelief which doth cause you to remain in your awful state of wickedness, and hardness of heart, and blindness of mind, then shall the great and marvelous things which have been hid up from the foundation of the world from you;

Yea, when ye shall call upon the Father in my name, with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, then shall ye know that the Father hath remembered the covenant which he made unto your fathers, O house of Israel;

And then shall my revelations which I have caused to be written by my servant John be unfolded in the eyes of all the people.

”

– YHVH, see Ether 1:111-113 (RLDS) or 4:15-16 (LDS)

Written for use in the School of the Prophets

The Church of Jesus Christ in Christian Fellowship

More Info: https://school.ofprophets.org/

About this course

This course is intended to help those who participate to unfold the Revelation of St John the Divine as written in the New Testament.   It approaches the book with the assumption that the Visions of Zenos as received from the Plates of Brass are to be used as a companion to the Revelation of John, and that the two can be used to unfold one another by sharing the same vision from two very different vantage points, thus giving the reader new depth and clarity that will result in its being “unfolded in the eyes” of those who approach it with a broken heart and contrite spirit.

Participants need not be “believers” but should be honest seekers open to truth and not seeking to convince one another, nor destroy or disapprove of each other’s “incorrect” ideas.

The discussions are intended to be approached by a small group of interested participants (half a dozen?) who have read the reading, compared the comparable sections, considered the suggested questions, and formulated their own questions and opinions about the content so that by gathering as a group and discussing the content, we can all benefit from the insight and opinion and curiosity of each other,  thus turning the key of unity to unlock the door of understanding.

The discussions are NOT intended to be limited to exactly one gathering.  They are not even broken down with the hope that each topic will take approximately one hour to discuss.   The breakdown of the topics is such that entire concepts can be explored without needless boundaries, and is divided mostly based on chapter boundaries for convenience.   After each gathering, the group should decide whether or not the topics for the discussion have been satisfied, or if they need further exploration before moving on.  

As groups are formed that choose to study this material together, when possible, try to include a person who has studied this course previously, so that the best of the ideas from previous discussions are spread out to ever increasing numbers of people, and the understanding of the overall group will become brighter over time.

Course Materials

Each discussion included in the course has its own study guide / reading packet which includes all of the text from the original sources that is covered in that discussion.  In the places where the student is encouraged to compare multiple sources, those sources are arranged side-by-side for convenience.  We encourage all students to obtain their own copies of the original works from the original author/publisher, especially if they find the material to be of value.

Primary Texts:

• The Vision of Zenos, from the Plates of Brass
  • All 12 chapters of Zenos will be covered in this course.
  • The Vision of Zenos is available in the Tsohar, a collection of books published in a single volume by the Church of Jesus Christ in Christian Fellowship.  It is available in a freely downloadable PDF.  A hard copy can be purchased on Amazon if desired.

• The Revelations of St John, from the Bible
  • All 22 chapters of Revelation will be covered in this course.
  • The study guide / reading packets use the King James Version, but any translation of the bible would be appropriate for use in this class.  In fact, students are encouraged to draw upon other versions and share the differences as part of the discussion.

Secondary Texts:

• The Book of Mormon
  • Lehi’s vision of the Tree of Life, and Nephi’s vision of the Tree of Life and its interpretation, and the vision of the future of God’s work in the Americas is included.
  • The study guide / reading packets use the chapter and verse annotations as published in the Universal Book of Mormon to avoid chapter and verse numbering concerns.  The student should be able to use those verse numbers to find references in whatever copy of the Book of Mormon they prefer to use. “RAV” refers to the “Revised Authorized Version”, as published by the Community of Christ, and the “OPV” refers to the “Orson Pratt Versing” as published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

• Other writings of Joseph Smith
  • Joseph Smith’s Questions and Answers about the Book of Revelation (commonly available today in the LDS Doctrine and Covenants as Section 77) is quoted throughout the course.
  • This content is also available in the Doctrines of the Saints Section 45a.

Fair Use Disclaimer

Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. The Study Guide is for the purpose of serving the needs of a specified educational program. This is a nonprofit work. Students are not charged a fee specifically or directly for the materials. Only those portions of the work relevant to the educational objectives of the course are used in the Study Guide material. Short excerpts from larger works and images are used to illustrate the lesson material. The text relies heavily on works of art which are intended as a means to better communicate ideas and concepts. The effect of any copyrighted work is to exhibit and promote in a positive way the work of the author or creator. References are included where possible to assist the student to locate and study the original work.

For additional information please contact The Church of Jesus Christ in Christian Fellowship.