4 For if God spared not the aangels
that sinned, but cast them down to
bhella, and
delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto
cjudgmentb;
5 And spared not the old world, but saved
aNoah the eighth person, a preacher of
brighteousness, bringing in the cflood
upon the world of the ungodly;
6 And turning the cities of aSodom
and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making
them an bensample unto those that after should live
ungodly;
7 And delivered just aLot,
bvexed with the cfilthy conversation of
the wicked:
8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in
seeing and hearing, avexed his righteous soul from
day to day with their unlawful deeds;)
9 The Lord knoweth how to adeliver
the bgodly out of ctemptations, and to
dreserve the unjust unto the day of
ejudgment to be punished:
The Lost Record
In today's the Bible we have no complete record of the events of the
preexistence. We do have, however, many references to such with such
common familiarity presumed to evidence that such a detailed scriptural
record and knowledge was existant as late as the days of the Apostles.
Just when and where these more complete accounts have be lost and or hiden is
no longer known, there only remains the threads of common reference being
made to such generally known and held understandings remain. (Isaiah 14:12-15,
Zechariah 3:1-10, Luke 10:18, 2 Peter 2:4, Revelation 12:7-9) Even Lehi, who
did search and study the plates of brass from beginning to end seems to
indicated that such a more complete record had been existant at the time of
the captivity in Babylon. (2 Nephi 2:17-18)
Our modern revelations of today do also confirm the events. (D&C 29:36,
D&C 76:25) And according to the Joseph Smith Inspired Translation of the
Bible, Moses was also aware of the matter (Moses 4:3). But perhaps the
most telling record of all is that of the Book of Abraham. Abraham states
that he had in his possession access to the records of the fathers givning
an acount of the creation, even from the beinning. Abraham states that it
was his intent to give his own account from the beginning within his own
writtings, thus in the latter end of Abraham 3 and the first part of Abraham
4, we have just such an abbreviated account given.
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4a God spared not the angels that sinned,
but cast them down to hell Peter references the preexistence and
the war in heaven when Lucifer and those who followed after him were cast
out of heaven. So common was this understanding concerning the events of the
preexistence that those who speak of it in the scriptures do so with little
thought to having to give full explanation of wherewith they speak. This
seems to point to the existence of a fuller record of such being available
even as late as the days of the Apostles after Christ.
4b delivered them into chains of darkness,
to be reserved unto judgment The realm of Satan and his angels,
though about us, is quite different in its state and status before the Lord.
They have been permenantly removed from the presence and light of God. They
are even so remain in this state forever more. They have been delivered into
the chains of darkness and only brought forth at the time of final judgement
when their further eternal fate will be sealed upon them, being cast forever
into the sides of the pit. They are without hope and misery is their name
forevermore and their only course it to attempt to bring down man to make him
miserable like unto themselves.
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