Unveiling Jesus Christ

Unveiling Jesus Christ

por John Cassinat

[§190] The First Estate from Spirit Creation to the Grand Council

This podcast describes the grand council in heaven that was convened on the premortal spirit world called Kolob. The Prophet Joseph Smith authored a poem in 1843 describing Kolob as the place where this grand council was held. God the Father presided over the council and it was here that he implemented the plan of salvation, which is also the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the same plan that was implemented in every generation of spirit creations throughout eternity. All God's children were present in the council, including Jehovah (Jesus Christ), who would be chosen the Redeemer and creator. Lucifer (Satan) was also present. He was a Son of the Morning and had authority in the presence of God. During the council, Lucifer arrogantly offered to be the Redeemer, but he wanted God’s glory and honor in return. He proposed to redeem all God's children by taking away their agency and forcing their obedience. His plan was rejected, and he rebelled with one third of God's premortal children on Kolob. Lucifer and his followers committed the unpardonable sin because they rebelled against great light and truth. On the day of their rebellion, they kept not their first estate, which means they were denied bodies in a second mortal estate.

[§189] Kolob Is the Spirit World Within This Earth

This podcast discusses the premortal first estate from the time of the spirit creation to the time of the grand council in heaven on Kolob. The first estate lasted for eons of time from the spirit creation until our birth in mortality. Before the grand council our time in the first estate was spent on the glorified and resurrected celestial world of our Father in heaven where we were born as his spirit children. This was a time of purity and innocence when our spirit bodies grew and matured. It was a time where we were educated and tutored by our heavenly parents. We had our agency to make choices, but there was no accountability for sin or temptation until the Father implemented the plan of salvation‒which is the gospel of Jesus Christ‒during the grand council on Kolob. When the gospel was implemented, God’s spirit children became accountable and could exercise their agency to accept the gospel by covenant or they could reject the plan. Lucifer and his followers rebelled against the plan. At that time, sin and wickedness were introduced on Kolob. When Lucifer fell, God’s spirit children fell spiritually in the same way that all of creation fell on this physical earth when Adam fell in the garden of Eden.

[§188] God Created Kolob as the First Celestial Spirit World

Kolob was the first premortal spirit world created by God the father in this generation. During the physical creation, Kolob became the inward spirit world of this earth. This podcast explains and gives various reasons why Kolob is the spirit world within this earth. This view is not a universally recognized doctrine of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The scriptural details concerning Kolob can be found in The Pearl of Great Price, including Abraham chapters 2-3 and the Joseph Smith explanations of the hieroglyphic images in Facsimile 2. These sources support the conclusion that Kolob is the spirit world within this earth. For example, members of the Church generally accept that this resurrected earth will become a celestial kingdom for worthy people of this earth and that Kolob will be the earth they inherit as their celestial kingdom. Church members also generally accept that Kolob was the premortal spirit world for God's spirit children who have and will reside on this earth in mortality. They generally believe that Kolob was also the location for the gathering of all God's spirit children during the premortal grand Council in heaven. Kolob and this earth are also connected because they share the same reckoning of time, which is celestial time. One day on Kolob is as 1000 years on earth. Kolob is also the postmortal spirit world for disembodied spirits who lived upon this earth during their mortality. This postmortal spirit world is located within or on this earth. When people die, it is said they return to the spirit world to await the resurrection. If they return to where they have already been, then Kolob is both the premortal and postmortal spirit world of this earth. Christ was born on this earth and carried out the infinite atonement here, which indicates that the greatest of all spirit worlds must be within this earth for these singular events to occur on this earth. Jesus Christ will rule over all the worlds he has created from this resurrected earth because he possesses the keys of the universe. This is consistent with the scriptural definition of Kolob as the great governing star of the universe and the first in government.

[§187] Spirit Worlds Are Created According to the Order of Creation

This podcast explains the meaning and background of Kolob, which is identified in Abraham 3 and Facsimile 2 in The Pearl of Great Price. Kolob was the first spirit world created by God the father during the spirit creation. It possessed more intelligence (light or truth) than all other spirit worlds created by God. After God created Kolob as the first spirit world in this generation, it became the spirit world within this earth, which Jesus Christ created last among all the physical worlds of his creation. Kolob is, in many respects, in the similitude of Jesus Christ. Figure 1 in facsimile number 2 is an Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol that depicts Kolob. Through the spirit of Revelation, Joseph Smith explained that this image signifies Kolob, which was the first spirit creation nearest to the throne and celestial residence of God. It is a great governing star, first in government and last pertaining to the measurement of time. According to God’s reckoning of time, one day on Kolob is equal to a thousand earth years. Kolob and this earth shared the same reckoning of celestial time until the fall of Adam. After the resurrection of this earth, both will again be governed by celestial time and this earth with Kolob as its inward spirit will again be filled with glory as the great governing star of the universe.

[§186] The Order of Creation

This podcast explains the order of creation involving countless worlds of spirit by God the Father. These worlds of spirit were created in descending order of intelligence. Intelligence is an uncreated and eternal spirit element with the attributes of light or truth. Intelligence before the spirit creation and they could act independent in their sphere. They also possessed a measure of agency, which gave rise to differing gradations of intelligence. Light and truth are also attributes of God the father. It thus appears that the gradations or differences in intelligence exist because of an inherent ability or quality in some intelligence to assimilate or absorb the light and truth that emanates from God. The first worlds of the spirit creation are called celestial spirit worlds. They possess the highest measure of intelligence of all other worlds and they have the capability to abide and obey celestial law. By doing so, they fill the measure of their creation without transgressing celestial law. In the resurrection, these worlds will be resurrected to the glory of the celestial kingdom and only people who live and abide celestial law can dwell upon them as their eternal inheritance. After the creation of celestial worlds in their descending order of intelligence, the Father created worlds of lesser intelligence as terrestrial spirit worlds and telestial spirit worlds. These worlds had to be created physically, but people do not dwell upon these worlds during their mortal probation because all humans can abide celestial law and therefore work out their salvation on physical worlds that have an inward celestial spirit world. People who fail to live celestial lives during their mortal probation, will be removed from the earth of their mortal dwelling after their resurrection. They will dwell on the other worlds created by God that exist as uninhabited physical worlds that will be resurrected as worlds with lesser glory and lesser intelligence in the terrestrial and telestial kingdoms.

[§185] Spirit Creations Are Multi-generational

This podcast explains the Order of Creation, which is a shorthand way to describe all the laws, processes, functions, and sequence of creation in all three stages of creation among all four classes of creation. The three stages of creation are the premortal spirit creation, the physical creation, and the resurrection. The four classes of creation are the kingdoms of mankind, animals, plants and minerals. In each stage of the creation, the order or sequence is reversed. Thus, in the spirit creation, the sequence is from the highest to lowest intelligence. In the physical creation, the sequence is from the lowest intelligence to the highest. In the resurrection the sequence is again from highest to lowest, which is from celestial, to terrestrial, to telestial, to sons of perdition and then to all other creations in descending order of intelligence. The Order of Creation is dictated or governed by the eternal law of obedience. The creative processes and sequence are not haphazard or matters of chance. All creation is a matter of intelligent design, based on a perfect plan and process of creation that has been followed by the Gods in many generations, and is carried out in a systematic manner. Based on the Order of Creation, Jehovah (Christ) was the first of all God's creations during the spirit creation because he was the most obedient intelligence with the greatest measure of light or truth at the time his spirit body was created through an act of procreation by our Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother. There is no such thing as an ex nihilo creation of something from nothing. The spirit creation involved the organization of uncreated and eternally existing spirit matter or spirit element called intelligence, which possesses the attribute of light or truth in differing amounts. The physical creation was the organization of uncreated and eternally existing physical element or matter. The resurrection involves the immortality and/or glorification of both spirit matter and physical matter. Each stage of the creation is in the likeness of the other stages. Thus, the creations in one stage are in the likeness of creations in every other stage of creation. The number of creations in this generation is fixed. That is, there was a beginning and an end to the number of God's creations, including the number of his spirit offspring, which is fixed, as well as the number of his created worlds of spirit.

[§184] An Overview of Revelation 12 and the JST Changes

This podcast explains the perfect pattern and process of creation that is multi-generational throughout the eternities. In any single generation of creations by the same creator, there are both beginnings and endings in the creative process. However, multigenerational creations collectively have no beginning and have no end. Creation begins in each generation with a spirit creation. In this generation, God the Father created spirit bodies for animals, plants, and worlds from eternally existing materials called spirit matter, spirit element or intelligence. The father did not create spirit bodies from nothing. The creation of spirit bodies for humans involved an act of procreation by our Father in Heaven and our Mother in Heaven. The spirit creation of all things occurred prior to the Grand Council in heaven which John describes in Revelation 12:1-4. Through the creative acts of Jesus Christ during the physical creation, all spirit creations become the inward spirit that gives life to their physical bodies, including this earth. Spirit bodies have the same form and appearance as their physical body. Since creation is multigenerational, there is a plurality of Gods. God the Father has an exalted Father. The exalted children of our Heavenly Father will become Gods to the creations in their generation. The multigenerational aspect of creation is expressed in the following couplet: "As man now is, God once was; As God now is, man may be." The scriptures refer to this as the continuation of seeds or the continuation of the lives. The children of God in this generation become Gods to their own spirit offspring only as they enter into and keep the sacred covenants of the sealing ordinance in the temple. The work of God in his generation is to bring about the immortality and eternal life of his spirit children. (Moses 1:39) In addition to this work (singular), God's creative activities or works (plural) include those of the Gods that came before him and the Gods that come after him. (See Moses 4:1, 38) Based on the eternal law of consecration, the work of every God in his own generation is carried out on worlds without number. But this work (singular) becomes the works (plural) of Gods from all generations. Thus the work of God in a single generation has a beginning and an end, while the works of Gods in multiple generations are endless on worlds without end.

[§183] Rev 11:19: Introduction to the Final Plagues of the Third Woe

This podcast provides an overview and explanation of Revelation chapter 12. In this chapter, John begins a flashback to the premortal existence, which typifies and foreshadows the conflict between the kingdom of Satan (the dragon) and the kingdom of God that began before the physical creation of this earth. Christ's victory over Satan during the premortal war in heaven typifies and foreshadows Christ's future victory over Satan at the Second Coming. John specifically tells us in the Joseph Smith Translation of Revelation 12:1 that the signs and symbols of events in premortality are in the likeness of events and things on the earth. He identifies a wonder or sign in heaven of a woman in Revelation 12:1. She represents the Church of God in premortality. and her likeness on earth is the ancient church of Jesus Christ in the meridian of time. This podcast will show that there are two parts to Revelation chapter 12. Everything described and depicted in verses 1 to 12 are representations, symbols and explanations of events from the premortal existence. Everything described and depicted in verses 13 to 17 are descriptions and explanations of Satan's war against the primitive church from the crucifixion of Jesus Christ until 70 AD. John uses the same symbols and images to describe the premortal church and the primitive church, but the events are separated by eons of time.

[§182] Rev 11:18: Mortals and Spirits Judged During the Third Woe

This podcast explains the symbolism and imagery used by John in Revelation 11:19 to introduce the seven vial plagues of the third woe. In this verse, John sees the temple of God opened in heaven, which is the heavenly counterpart of the earthly temple in Jerusalem. The heavenly temple is God's residence and his celestial kingdom. When the veil of heaven is drawn back so that John could see into the heavenly temple, he saw the ark of the covenant, which is called the ark of his testament in this verse. The ark is a symbol for Jesus Christ. Therefore, the ark of his testimony represents Jesus Christ himself. The ark also symbolizes the covenants made between God and his faithful children because it contained the stone tablets on which the 10 Commandments had been engraved. The Lord's blessings promised by covenant were conditioned upon faithfulness to God's law represented by the 10 Commandments. The ark also contained a pot of manna in the rod of iron, representing the tokens and symbols of life and mercy. The meaning of these objects inside the ark of the covenant was enhanced by the mercy seat located on the lid of the ark located between two cherubim with outstretched wings. In addition to the symbols of mercy associated with the ark of the covenant, John also saw lightnings, voices, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail representing the seven vile plagues. Thus, while great mercy is extended to the righteous in Revelation 11:19, the destroyers of the earth will be destroyed by the seven final plagues of the third woe.

[§181] Rev 11:16-17: The 24 Elders Worship God [Christ]

This podcast explains the imagery and symbolism used by John as an introduction to the third woe in Revelation 11:18. Wicked nations of the world are angry in this verse because the Lord's wrath is come in the form of the most severe plagues in the history of the world. John refers to this as the time of the dead, meaning that many wicked people will be destroyed in the judgments of God. At the same time, this verse assures righteous people that they will receive the reward of prophets and saints. The righteous dead will rise from their graves in the morning of the first resurrection. Righteous living saints will be taken up to descend with Christ in clouds of glory. They will be protected against the seven vial plagues of the third woe. When the third woe is concluded at the second coming, the Lord will destroy them which destroy the earth. That is, wicked people who live only a telestial law will be destroyed because they corrupt the earth and fill it with their evil works. The destroyers also include disembodied spirits of mortal sons of perdition who have and use their evil influence on the earth. Finally, the destroyers are also unembodied sons of perdition who were cast down to this earth and denied mortal bodies because of their rebellion with Lucifer in the premortal existence, including the war in heaven. All these destroyers, both mortals and spirits, will be destroyed when Christ begins to reign on earth during the third woe and at his second coming.

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