[§224] Rev 13:8: All That Dwell on Earth Worship Satan

This Podcast explains the symbolism used by John to explain the religious conditions and form of worship during the Great Apostasy in Revelation 13:8, where he said that “All that dwell upon the earth shall worship [Satan], whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” This verse affirms that the true Church of Jesus Christ was not upon the earth. The correct doctrines, priesthood, and prescribed ordinances had been lost worldwide in Satan’s war against the Saints such that it could be said that all who dwelt upon the earth during the 1260-year Great Apostasy worshipped Satan. To worship Satan means simply that in one degree or another, people failed to worship God in truth and in spirit. This occurred because many were forced to practice an apostate form of Christianity or because they simply did not realize that they were misled in their religious observances. According to John, people who lived during the Great Apostasy did not have their names written in the book of the life of the Lamb from the foundation of the world. This means they did not receive a conditional promise of exaltation and eternal life when they were premortal spirits before their birth, nor did they have the means to qualify for exaltation and eternal life in mortality because the gospel was not present on the earth during the Great Apostasy. These topics and others are discussed in this podcast.