Discourse, 8 April 1843, as Reported by William Clayton–A
Source Note
JS, Discourse, , Hancock Co., IL, 8 Apr. 1843; handwriting of ; notation in unidentified handwriting; docket in handwriting of ; three pages; JS Collection, CHL.
John heard the words they said. God could understand every languag they talked— the beasts were intelligent being[s] giving glory. Darling religion says that the beasts represent kingdoms very well on the same principle the 24 Er represent beast— said the earth <arg[ument]> was flat as a pan-cake— calculate to overthrow the technicalities of the world. Again— there is no Rev. to prove (& we never can comprehend) without Rev.) if we spiritualise no authority) Ye Ers of Israel hearken to my voice and when ye are sent into the world to preach repent ye for the k. of h is at hand— never meddle with the beasts & subjects you do not understand. when you go to dont say any thing about the beast the Lord read Rev. c 13 verse 2— they say the beast that received the wound was nebuchadnezer— What John saw in relation to this beast they have used the term Devil for dragon— it was a beast that John saw in heaven— what was shortly to come to pass. the beast was an actual b to which power was to be given an intelligent being in heaven— to have power given— John saw it had been wounded— All the world wondered after the b and if the beast was the world how could the world wonder after the beast— nebucha & constantine not excepted— it must have been a been [beast] that the human beings wondered after. When God gives power to a beast to destroy all will wonder. read verse 4— the inhabitants declared who is able to make war & they worshiped the dragon— some say it means the k’s of the [[world]] dont mean the k of the saints— suppose it means the k’s of the [[world]] what propriety is there in saying who is able to make war with myself— If these interpretations are true the book contradicts itself in almost every verse— but they are not true.
There is a mistranslation— the original word means the devil instead of the dragon— verse 9 ch 12— That old serpent called the devil every thing that we have not a key word to we will take it as it reads. The beasts were being[s] in h that were to have power I give this as a key to the Ers— [p. [3]]