This John, the son of Zebedee and Salome, is also known as “The disciple whom Jesus loved.” He was the youngest of the Twelve. He is called the Apostle of Love. (John 21:20-25). He was by birth a first cousin to the Lord, on his mother's side, and was recognized as one of the three pillars (Peter, James and John) of the ancient church. He was the one to whom the Lord, while on the Cross, delivered the care of Mary, His mother. He, and his brother James, were called the Sons of Thunder. (Mark 3:16-17). Unto these two brothers and to Peter were given the “Keys of the Kingdom” of Christ, (Matthew 16:13-28). His brother James suffered violent death under Herod.
Peter filled his mission and died as a martyr in his old age according to his early request and prophecy of Christ. (John 21:18-19), but John requested that he be allowed to tarry in mortality until the end of the world that he might be the means of bringing many souls unto the Lord. This request was granted by Christ. Now this John was also bitterly persecuted after Peter's death by the pagan Emperor Domitian. He finally immersed John in a cauldron of boiling oil, but being unable to kill him, through a miraculous deliverance, the Emperor banished John to the Isle of Patmos to work in the salt mines. (Terlullian, Praescript adv. haeret. c. 36; and Jerome; Rev. 1:9). While on Patmos he received the visions as recorded in the Book of Revelation.
Fox, in his Book of Martyrs, p. 19. tells us:
“Being at Ephesus, he was ordered by the emperor Domitian to be sent bound to Rome, where he was condemned to be cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. But here a miracle appeared in his favor; the oil did him no injury, and Domitian, therefore, not being able to put him to death, banished him to Patinas to work at the mines. He was however recalled by Nerva” (about A. D. 97). “who succeeded Domitian; but was deemed a Martyr on account of his having undergone an execution, though it did not take effect.” Polycrates. Bishop of Ephesus, A. D. 200, also refers to John as a martyr. (Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. V. 24).
The Gospel of John makes it clear that Christ did not say that John would not die, but that he would tarry (remain) on the earth until Christ came again. From the following passage from the Book of Mormon, we see that Christ granted the three Nephite disciples the same blessing given to John the Apostle, and makes it clear that they will remain in mortality; they will remain in the flesh:
“And when he had spoken unto them, he turned himself unto the three, and said unto them: What will ye that I should do unto you, when I am gone unto the Father? And they sorrowed in their hearts, for they durst not speak unto him the thing which they desired. And he said unto them: Behold, I know your thoughts, and ye have desired the thing which John, my beloved, who was with me in my ministry, before that I was lifted up by the Jews, desired of me. Therefore, more blessed are ye, for ye shall never taste of death; but ye shall live to behold all the doings of the Father unto the children of men, even until all things shall be fulfilled according to the will of the Father, when I shall come in my glory with the powers of heaven. And ye shall never endure the pains of death; but when I shall come in my glory ye shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality; and then shall ye be blessed in the kingdom of my Father. And again, ye shall not have pain while ye shall dwell in the flesh, neither sorrow save it be for the sins of the world; and all this will I do because of the thing which ye have desired of me, for ye have desired that ye might bring the souls of men unto me, while the world shall stand.” (3 Nephi 28:4-8).
Never does He say that they will not die, but He does state that they will not “taste of death”. Interestingly enough, this is the same promise given to “those who die in the Lord”. “And it shall come to pass that those who die in me shall not taste of death, it shall be sweet unto them.” (D&C 42:46). One possible explanation for these seeming contradictions is that they all could have lived multiple lifetimes. We don't have time to go into this idea in depth here, but I have written an article entitled “The Case for Multiple Lifetimes”, where I explore this more fully.
The promise to John caused Peter to weigh John's promised blessings with his own. A certain conversation took place at the third visitation of Christ to the Eleven after His resurrection. It was on this occasion that Christ asked Peter three consecutive times “loveth thou me more than these” and the Lord's instruction to him to immediately follow Him. In doing so Peter looked back and saw John following. I quote John's record of the continuation of this conversation:
“Then Peter, turning about. seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; …Peter seeing him said to Jesus. Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus said unto him, if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me. Then went the saying abroad among the brethren that that disciple should not die. Yet Jesus said not unto him, He shall not die, but if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?” (John. 21:20-23).
Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery had a question about the interpretation of this passage, so they prayed and received the following revelation:
“Revelation given to Joseph Smith the Prophet, and Oliver Cowdery, at Harmony, Pennsylvania, April, 1829, when they inquired through the Urim and Thummim as to whether John, the beloved disciple, tarried in the flesh or had died. The revelation is the Translated version of the record made on parchment by John and hidden up by himself,” (HC 1:35-36)..
“And the Lord said unto me: John, my beloved, what desireth thou? For if you shall ask what you will, it shall be granted unto you. And I said unto him: Lord, give unto me power over death, that I may live and bring souls unto thee. And the Lord said unto me: Verily, verily, I say unto thee, because thou desirest this thou shalt tarry until I come in my glory, and shalt prophesy before nations, kindreds, tongues and people. And for this cause the Lord said unto Peter: If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? For he desired of me that he might bring souls unto me but thou desiredst that thou mightest speedily come unto me in my kingdom. I say unto thee, Peter, this was a good desire; but my beloved has desired that he might do more, or a greater work yet among men than what he has before done. Yea, he has undertaken a greater work; therefore I will make him as flaming fire and a ministering angel; he shall minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation who dwell on the earth, And I will make thee to minister for him and for thy brother James: and unto you three I will give this power and the keys of this ministry until I come, Verily I say unto you, ye shall both have according to your desires, for ye both joy in that which ye have desired.” (D&C 7:1-8).
From this sacred record, written by John himself, we learn that he has remained here in mortality, and is doing a great work. But, note that the Lord states that John “desired to perform a greater work than what he had previously done.” What could this possibly mean? Looking only superficially at the New Testament, at the time this conversation took place and at the time John was granted his request, he had not written his Gospel and had not yet performed his duties as a leader in the early church, so what could this passage mean? If you accept the premise that he would remain on the earth through multiple lifetimes, perhaps John had previously lived on the earth and performed great missions for the Lord in the past as well as in the future.
The House of God is a house of order and the senior member in the Priesthood presides. John still belongs to this world, as he has not tasted death, He is according to Joseph Smith's revelations that “descendant of Jesse, as well as of Joseph, unto whom rightly belongs the Priesthood, and the Keys of the Kingdom for an ensign, and for the gathering of my people in the last days,” (D&C 113:6; 77:14; Isaiah 11:10. See Chap. Root of Jesse).
We should also bear in mind that when John the Baptist delivered the keys and authority of the Aaronic Priesthood unto Joseph Smith, that he stated he was laboring under the direction of Peter, James, and John. From other revelations we know that these three apostles are laboring directly under Adam, or Michael, who holds the keys of the plan of Salvation directly under Jesus Christ (D&C 78:15-16). It is therefore plain that John will come back among us with mighty power, “As flaming fire and a ministering angel he shall minister for those who shall he heirs of salvation who dwell on the earth. And I will make thee (Peter) to minister for him and for thy brother James; and unto you three will I give this power and the keys of this ministry UNTIL I COME.” (D&C 7:6-8).
In the 27th section of Doctrine and Covenants the Lord reviewed the giving of Priesthood rights, keys and the visitations to Joseph Smith of various ancient prophets and apostles who formerly held the Keys of the Gospel in their day. I quote that portion pertaining to John the Revelator:
“And also with Peter, and James, and John. whom I have sent unto you, by whom I have ordained you and confirmed you to be apostles, and especial witnesses of my name, and bear the keys of your ministry and of the same things which I revealed unto them; Unto whom I have committed the keys of my kingdom, and a dispensation of the gospel for the last times; and for the fullness of times, in the which I will gather together in one all things, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth.” D&C 27:12-13. (D&C 128:20).
In a revelation given to Joseph Smith, March, 1832, which was three years after the restoration of the Priesthood to Joseph Smith by Peter, James and John, the Lord explained in plain language a portion of John's writings, as recorded in the “Book of Revelation,” I quote in part:
“What are we to understand by the little book which was eaten by John, as mentioned in the 10th chapter of Revelation? 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.” (D&C 77:14).
John is to be that certain latter day Elias who is to come and restore all things. The magnitude of John's mission, and the angels, holding power over life and death, who are to assist him, are referred to in other chapters.
I [Bro. Darter referring to himself] studied deeply and pondered long, in those days, over John's mission. Then came that certain night when I was permitted in a dream-vision to see and stand before him. The greatness of his character, the beaming love that emanated from his eyes and face cannot be measured. I there felt to place my soul into his safe-keeping. This is one of the reasons why I love to broadcast his great mission and to defend his divine rights, for I know that he is coming soon.
In 1831, while the Prophet Joseph Smith was speaking on the great mission of John, the Revelator, the historian tells us that “the Spirit of the Lord fell upon Joseph in an unusual manner” when he stated that John the Revelator was then among the Ten Tribes of Israel who had been led away by Salamanca, King of Assyria. preparing them for their return from their long dispersion, to again possess the land of their fathers. The planet on which the Ten Lost Tribes now reside was formerly a part of this earth. (HC 1:176).
The privilege to remain in the flesh until the end of the world was also given by Christ to three ancient Apostles among the white forefathers of the American Indian Church. Christ, just before His ascension, told His disciples in Jerusalem that “other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice: and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” John 10:16. After His ascension in the East, He descended among His faithful in America. The divine history of the American Indian, which is the Book of Mormon, tells us that after the Lord had called twelve disciples and established His Church in America He gave each of the twelve the blessing that they desired. (Note: It is a commonly-held, but mistaken belief that the Savior called and ordained twelve apostles in the Americas. However, a close reading of 3 Nephi shows that nowhere in this book are those referred to as apostles. They are called disciples). Three of them asked and received power and authority to remain alive until the Lord's Second Coming, to do a great work among their own people and also among the Gentiles of this generation. This blessing was similar in part to John's blessing.
Before leaving His disciples in America He informed them that He was going to visit the Ten Lost Tribes, who, says He, are not lost unto the Father, for he knoweth whither he hath taken them.” (3 Nephi 17:1-4). Now the Christ and these disciples and prophets in this ancient American Church foretold that their people would drift into wickedness before their fourth generation and would be cursed with a dark colored skin, no more to build cities and towns, but would become a wild and roaming people. (Mormon 5:12-24). The righteous deeds accomplished among the American Indians, and instructions given to them in miraculous visitations during the past 1500 years by these three Nephite apostles, have had much to do with their faith remaining true to the “Great Spirit” God.
This Restored Gospel, according to the scriptures, was to be given first to the Gentiles (fulfilled through Joseph Smith's mission beginning A. D. 1820), then to the Jews, then it is to go to the American Indian in great power. They will, according to prophecy “in that day”, exercise greater faith than has been exhibited among the Gentile or Jewish branches of the Church. According to the records, John the Revelator and these three Nephite apostles are yet to perform a glorious and far greater mission among all races than their previous work. (D&C 7:5, 3 Nephi 28:12-32).
Before passing to our next theme for further investigation of John's future mission, we should keep in mind that we have now found John, the Revelator to be that certain Elias who is to restore all things and gather Israel at “the restoration of all things” just prior to the Lord's coming, that he now holds the presiding keys of the Kingdom on earth, and that he is fully supported by Peter and James during his entire earthly mission.
Unrest and distress are engulfing the world. Men of the nations, thinking men, and ministers of the land are helpless in solving our problems. It appears that our traditional institutions (political, religious, and educational alike) are failing while their leaders care nothing for the people and their only goal is to remain in power. Extreme political rhetoric on both the Left and the Right is tearing this country apart. Third parties aimed at reform appear and disappear with every election. Extremists of every stripe are vowing to destroy our society and government, while the majority of the population basks in front of the television set in an apathetic stupor. Few, very few people are actually concerned with bettering society as a whole and are seeking the guidance of the Lord to lead us out of this mess.
The stage is set for the reappearance one of the Lord's Mighty Ones who are coming to gather out the righteous unto places of refuge where God can assist and prepare them to live the “United Order” and be further prepared for the Lord's coming. During this time the wicked will be slaying themselves and reaping the fruits of their ungodliness. There will be no permanent rest or place of safety for the pure in heart until after the coming of these prophets to more fully set up the Kingdom of God. Therefore, let us set our hearts right and get in harmony with the plans of God and establish our watch.