Doctrine and Covenants 77b
Doctrine and Covenants 77:10 — Opening of the Sixth Seal
Verse 10
Q. What time are the things spoken of in this chapter to be accomplished?
A. They are to be accomplished in the sixth thousand years, or the opening of the sixth seal. Read D&C 77:10
Scripture Block Revelation 6:1
“And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.” Read Revelation 6:1
Doctrinal Summary
The events and symbols explained in this chapter—Seals, Angels, Trumpets—begin to unfold in the sixth thousand years, meaning when the sixth seal of John’s scroll is broken. This places the Restoration’s key judgments and the gathering of Israel before the final upheavals of the seventh seal, emphasizing that Christ’s preparatory judgments precede His Second Coming.
Language & Cultural Insights
“sixth thousand years”
Hebrew אֶלֶף (’elep̄, “unit under leadership”) denotes a large company rather than a strict “1,000.”
Greek χίλιοι (chilioi, “thousands”) also signals “a thousand” indicating a large number.
Reflects the ancient millennial schema (seven × “‘elaps” or “thousands”) tied to Sabbath imagery (e.g., Exodus 31:17).
“opening of the sixth seal”
Greek σφραγίζω (sphragizō, “to seal” / “unseal”).
The “opening” marks the inauguration of a new prophetic epoch (cf. Revelation 6:1).
“to be accomplished”
Reflection Questions
What significance do you find in the Restoration occurring under the sixth rather than the seventh seal?
How does the imagery of a “seal” being opened inform your understanding of divine revelation and prophetic timeframes?
In what ways does the “noise of thunder” in Revelation 6:1 resonate with modern announcements of the gospel?
Cross-References
Scriptures:
Exodus 31:17 — Sabbath rest as a model for the earth’s seven-thousand-year span.
Revelation 6:1–8 — The first four seals and their judgments.
D&C 88:95–98 — The earth “abides the law of a celestial kingdom.”
Conference Talks:
“The Millennium” — Elder Russell M. Nelson (Oct 1993).
“Prophets, Seers, and Revelators” — Elder Dallin H. Oaks (Apr 1997).
Church History:
Joseph Smith’s discourse on the seven-thousand-year framework (W.W. Phelps, March 1832).
D&C 109:24 — Understanding “days” as millennial periods.
Doctrine and Covenants 77:11 — Sealing the 144,000
Verse 11:
Q. What are we to understand by sealing the one hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel—twelve thousand out of every tribe?
A. We are to understand that those who are sealed are high priests, ordained unto the holy order of God, to administer the everlasting gospel; for they are they who are ordained out of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, by the angels to whom is given power over the nations of the earth, to bring as many as will come to the church of the Firstborn.” Read D&C 77:11
Scripture Block
Revelation 7:4 “And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed 144,000 of all the tribes of the children of Israel, 12,000 of every tribe.” Read Revelation 7:4
Doctrinal Summary
The “144,000” are not a literal headcount but symbolic of a select body of high priests—12,000 representing each tribe—who preside over the larger host of baptized Saints. These leaders, “ordained out of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people,” carry the everlasting gospel to gather Israel and prepare the world for Christ’s return.
Language & Cultural Insights
Numerical symbolism
Ancient Hebrew lacked a place‐value numeral for “1,000.” the word אֶלֶף (’elep̄, “a unit under leadership”) conveyed a large company (see 1 Sam 17:28).
Greek χίλιοι (chilioi, “thousands”) similarly denoted “a large number” rather than exactly 1,000
Our modern “1,000” with “000” derives from later Arabic numerals (7th–8th c. AD).
“144,000” & “12,000 of every tribe”
12 signifies divine governance (12 tribes, 12 apostles). 12 × 12 (squared) conveys a fullness of priesthood authority, and “× 1,000” magnifies that perfection.
The 24 elders around God’s throne (Revelation 4:4) mirror this pattern: two groups of 12 presiding over the innumerable host (cf. Revelation 7:9).
“sealed”
Hebrew חָתַם (ḥātham) – marking for divine authority and protection.
Sealings in the temple ordinances “make your calling and election sure” (cf. D&C 132:49).
Reflection Questions
How does understanding the symbolic nature of “144,000” affect your view of divine calling and priesthood leadership?
In what ways do the 12 × 12 and 24 elders patterns in Revelation emphasize both order and abundance in God’s Kingdom?
What does it mean for you personally to be sealed in your covenants and to help “bring as many as will come” into Christ’s fold?
Cross-References
Scriptures:
Revelation 4:4 – 24 elders around the throne.
D&C 27:13–14 – Gospel “committed unto angels.”
D&C 132:49 – Sealings as making election sure.
Conference Talks:
“The Powers of the Priesthood” — Elder Dallin H. Oaks (Apr 2018).
Church History:
The Book of Mormon’s prophecy on “twelve tribes” as ‘sealed’ in the last days (1 Nephi 14:2).
Early temple sealing practices in Kirtland (D&C 110:13–16).
Doctrine and Covenants 77:12–13 — Sounding of the Trumpets
Verse 12
Q. What are we to understand by the sounding of the trumpets, mentioned in the 8th chapter of Revelation?
A. We are to understand that as God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day he finished his work, and sanctified it, and also formed man out of the dust of the earth, even so, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years will the Lord God sanctify the earth, and complete the salvation of man, and judge all things, and shall redeem all things, except that which he hath not put into his power, when he shall have sealed all things, unto the end of all things; and the sounding of the trumpets of the seven angels are the preparing and finishing of his work, in the beginning of the seventh thousand years—the preparing of the way before the time of his coming.” Read D&C 77:12
Verse 13
Q. When are the things to be accomplished, which are written in the 9th chapter of Revelation?
A. They are to be accomplished after the opening of the seventh seal, before the coming of Christ.” Read D&C 77:13
Scripture Block
Revelation 8:2–13
“And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets…
2 And the first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood…
6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound…
13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth …” Read Revelation 8:2–13
Doctrinal Summary
The seven trumpets of Revelation 8–11 mirror the seven days of creation: in the “seventh thousand years,” the Lord will sanctify the earth, complete the salvation of man, judge and redeem all things, and seal the faithful unto the end of all things —“preparing and finishing” His redemptive work before the final woes of Revelation 9 and the Second Coming.
Language & Cultural Insights
“trumpets”
Hebrew שֹׁפָר (shofar, “ram’s horn”), חֲצֹצְרָה (chătsôtsᵉrâh “tumpet”), יוֹבֵל (yôwbêl jubilee), תָּקוֹעַ tâqôwaʻ “shouting, alarm, blowing, signal”) — Leviticus 23:23–25
Greek σάλπιγξ (salpinx, “trumpet”) — Revelation 8:2–13
The Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruach) on the first of Tishri heralded new beginnings and rest.
Creation-Rest Cycle
Sabbath as sign: Exodus 31:17 describes the seventh-day rest as holy.
The seven-thousand-year pattern echoes six days of labor + seventh day of rest.
“prepare the way”
John the Baptist’s voice “in the wilderness” uses a musical metaphor: Isaiah 40:3–5.
Reflection Questions
How does linking the trumpets to creation’s completion deepen your sense of the Restoration’s timing?
In what ways do temple ordinances and conference sessions echo the ancient Feast of Trumpets?
How can you “prepare the way” for the Lord’s coming in your own life, as prophesied in Revelation 8?
Cross-References
Leviticus 23:23–25 (Feast of Trumpets)
Exodus 31:17 (Sabbath rest as perpetual sign, symbol of the Millenium)
Isaiah 40:3–5 (Prepare the way)
Revelation 8:2–13 (Sounding of first four trumpets)
D&C 88:95–98 (Earth “abides the law of a celestial kingdom”)
Doctrine and Covenants 77:14 — Little Book Eaten by John
Verse 14:
Q. What are we to understand by the little book which was eaten by John, as mentioned in the 10th chapter of Revelation?
A. We are to understand that it was a mission and an ordinance for him to gather the tribes of Israel; behold, this is Elias, who, as it is written, must come and restore all things. Read D&C 77:14
Scripture Block
Revelation 10:9–10
“And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.” Read Revelation 10:9–10
Doctrinal Summary
John’s act of eating the little book symbolizes accepting a divinely given mission and ordinance: to gather Israel as an Elias-type messenger and to restore all things. The book’s dual taste—sweet in the mouth (the joy of divine commission) and bitter in the belly (the sorrow and sacrifice inherent in prophetic service)—captures the emotional cost of God’s work.
Language & Cultural Insights
“eat the little book”
Biblical parallel:
Ezekiel 3:3 – “eat this roll, and go speak… bitterness”
Jeremiah 15:16 – “thy words were [my] joy and rejoicing…”
“sweet as honey… bitter”
Proverbs 27:7 – “The full soul loatheth an honeycomb; but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.”
Alma 36:21 – Amulek: “my soul was swallowed up in the pains of hell…and my tongue became parched.”
“mission and ordinance”
Compare Jesus sending the Twelve (Matthew 10).
Elias
Elijah in Jewish tradition fasted for 40 days (1 Kings 19:8) and was a forerunner of the Messiah (cf. Malachi 4:5-6). John is likewise compared to Elias as a forerunner of Christ.
In the New Testaments John the Baptist is explicitly tied to Elijah (Elias):
Malachi 4:5–6 prophesies that “I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.”
Matthew 11:14 – Jesus declares, “And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.”
Matthew 17:10–13 – After the Transfiguration, the disciples ask why Elijah must come first, and Jesus answers that Elijah has already come in John the Baptist.
Luke 1:17 – The angel Gabriel announces to Zacharias that his son “shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias.”
John 1:21 – When priests and Levites ask John “Art thou Elias?” he answers “I am not.” (Jesus later clarifies that John does fulfill Elijah’s role—see Mt 11:14).
Additionally, in Latter-day Scripture:
Musical parallel
Hymn of St. John: Ut queant laxis solmization solfège syllables (Ut–La, later Do–Ti), the basis for the Western Solfège system.
Ut queant laxīs fibrīs– that, so that they may be able with loosened strings/tendons (metaphorically “voices” or “reeds”)
Resonāre – to resound
Mīra gestōrum– wonderful, marvelous of deeds (genitive plural of “deeds”)
Famulī tuōrum – servants/ family (nominative plural) of your (genitive plural)
Solve pollūtī – O loosen, heal, redeem our poluted/ defiled (genitive singular)
Labiī reātum – lips (genitive singular) the guilt, offense (accusative singular)
Sāncte Iohannēs– O holy (vocative) John (vocative)
Arabic Durar Mufaṣṣalāt ("Segregated Pearls") (dāl, rā', mīm, fā', ṣād, lām, tā') alphabetic system: Semitic roots of musical notation echo Revelation’s seven-trumpet, and 12 pearly gates motif.
Similar concepts are also found in Byzantine tradition with the paralaggi, starting with A, like our modern notation system. The solfège notes are: pa (alpha), vu (beta, pronounced v in modern greek), ga (gamma), di (delta), ke (epsilon), zo (zeta), ni (eta).
This 19th-century solfège system traces its roots to much earlier liturgical and notational practices. Beginning as early as the 9th century with the Hagiopolis Octoechos—the “eight modes” of the Holy City of Jerusalem—it grew out of even older oral Hebrew cantillation traditions. In Hebrew, these ancient oral traditions developed into a written cantillation system called the Taʿamim Hamiqra, literally “the taste/flavors of the readings,” from the root qara, “to call” or “to read aloud.”
Before widespread literacy, including access to written texts made possible through inventions such as the Gutenberg printing press, scripture was primarily received orally, and committed to memory through public worship using these ancient melodic recitations. Several renowned Hebrew Musicologists, such as Dr. Joshua Jacobsen, recount that these oral traditions date back to the Second Temple Period, at least, and ancient Talmudic writings clearly state that since the time of Ezra, whenever scripture was read publicly, the tradition clearly indicated that was it should be chanted. These oral traditions were codified and formalized into a written system sometime between the 6th and 10th centuries, this system was codified and incorporated into the earliest complete manuscripts of the Hebrew Tanakh. Several Jewish scholars suggest this written system was, in part, inspired by the Byzantine notation system that was developed by the Christian community.
Modern scholars such as Eric Werner and Abraham Z. Idelsohn have carefully analyzed many of these early chants and hymns, comparing Hebrew and Byzantine systems alongside the Islamic maqām tradition. The striking parallels among them suggest a common origin, with each tradition continually reshaping the others over the centuries. Over time, these modal and mnemonic techniques developed into the Western music traditions we use today—ultimately giving rise to our familiar solfège syllables.
Source Materials:
Nehemiah 8:8 describes how “the people read in the book of the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.” The Hebrew term there, וַיְקַרְקְרוּ (vayqarkeru), implies a musical intonation rather than simple speech. ← Nehemiah 8:8
Megillah 32a (2nd Century) teaches that even when the consonantal text was fixed at Sinai, the precise taʿamim (טְעָמִים)—the cantillation tunes—were handed down orally; reading without them is considered incomplete.
Pesachim 117b (2nd Century) lists the ten principal Temple and synagogue melodies, again emphasizing their oral transmission.
Ezra 7:6–10 portrays Ezra “skilled in the law of Moses,” who “prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.” The next chapter (Neh 8) shows those statutes being chanted.
Idelsohn, Abraham Z, and Arbie Orenstein. Jewish Music : Its Historical Development. New York, Dover Publ, 2013.
Jacobson, Joshua R. Chanting the Hebrew Bible (Student Edition). Jewish Publication Society, 5 Aug. 2005.
Werner, Eric. The Sacred Bridge : The Interdependence of Liturgy and Music in Synagogue and Church during the First Millennium. New York, Ktav Publishing House.
From Ezra through the Masoretes, the pattern is clear: public Scripture was never merely declaimed—it was sung or chanted, preserving both meaning and melody.
Reflection Questions
How do the sweet and bitter tastes of the little book reflect the joys and trials of your own spiritual calling?
How does this information expand your understanding of and appreciation for music in Church worship?
In what ways do you see yourself—like John/Elias—called to “eat” and internalize a divine mission?
How does the imagery of honey, bitterness, and prophetic commissioning inform your understanding of revelation?
Cross-References
Scriptures:
Ezekiel 3:1–3 (“eat this roll”)
Jeremiah 15:16 (“thy words were my joy and rejoicing”)
Proverbs 27:7 (honeycomb and hunger)
Alma 36:21 (bitter pains of hell)
Malachi 4:5 (Elijah to come)
General Conference:
“Hope Ya Know, We Had a Hard Time” – By Elder Quentin L. Cook
Church History:
Joseph Smith’s own bitter-sweet commissioning in the First Vision (JS–H 1).
Early Saints’ experience of revelation as both joy and trial.
Doctrine and Covenants 77:15 — The Two Witnesses to Israel
Verse 15
Q. What is to be understood by the two witnesses, in the eleventh chapter of Revelation?
A. They are two prophets that are to be raised up to the Jewish nation in the last days, at the time of the restoration, and to prophesy to the Jews after they are gathered and have built the city of Jerusalem in the land of their fathers. Read D&C 77:15
Scripture Block
Revelation 11:3–4
“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.” Read Revelation 11:3–4
Doctrinal Summary
The two witnesses of Revelation 11 are literal prophets to the Jewish nation in the last days. Their ministry (1,260 days) occurs after Israel’s regathering and the rebuilding of Jerusalem, yet before Christ’s return. They exercise miraculous authority—calling down judgments and offering protection—ultimately martyred in Jerusalem, then resurrected and exalted, symbolizing the climax of the Restoration among Judah.
Language, Cultural & Historical Insights
“two witnesses” (μάρτυρες / martures)
Greek term for “those who bear public testimony.”
“olive trees” & “candlesticks”
Echoes Zechariah’s vision of Zerubbabel & Joshua as two olive trees supplying oil to God’s lampstand (Zechariah 4).
Jewish Diaspora & Return
By early 19th c., most Jews lived scattered. Historic longing for Zion appears in Isaiah’s regathering prophecies (Isaiah 11:11–12).
Orson Hyde’s 1841 Mission
On August 24, 1841, Orson Hyde offered a dedicatory prayer on the Mount of Olives to consecrate Palestine for the Jewish return, prefiguring these witnesses’ ministry.
Zionist Movement
Proto-Zionists (Kalischer, Alkalai) in the 1840s began championing return.
Eliezer Ben-Yehuda (born Eliezer Yitzhak Perelman on January 7, 1858 in Vilna – died December 16, 1922 in Jerusalem) is universally credited with spearheading the revival of Hebrew as a living, spoken language. Key milestones:
1881: Immigrates to Ottoman Palestine and begins using only Hebrew at home—his wife and infant son become the first native Modern Hebrew–speaking family.
1884: Founds the first Modern Hebrew newspaper, HaẒvi, promoting new Hebrew vocabulary and usage.
1885–1922: Publishes the multi-volume Dictionary of the Ancient and Modern Hebrew Language, standardizing thousands of neologisms for everyday speech.
Eliezer’s work laid the linguistic foundation that enabled Zionist settlers to adopt Hebrew as their common tongue, directly preparing the way for a revived, sovereign Jewish nation.
The First Zionist Congress (Basel, 1897) under Theodor Herzl formalized political Zionism.
Balfour Declaration (1917) and UN Partition (1947) paved the way for Israel’s 1948 independence.
Holocaust & Modern Return
Post-WWII sympathy accelerated Jewish immigration; the state of Israel was declared May 14, 1948.
Reflection Questions
How does the promised ministry of these two prophets to Israel reinforce the global dimension of God’s covenant?
In what ways can Latter-day Saints today emulate Orson Hyde’s example in supporting the Jewish nation in our role to gathering Israel?
How does understanding the Zionist movement’s history deepen your appreciation for Revelation’s regathering biblical prophecies, especially as we are literally watching them unfold?
Cross-References
Church History:
Orson Hyde’s dedicatory prayer, Mount of Olives (Aug 24, 1841).
Modern History:
First Zionist Congress, Basel (1897).
Balfour Declaration (1917).
UN Partition Plan (1947) and establishment of Israel (1948).