One of the most prominent promises for wearing the temple garment is to avoid the power of the destroyer. Initially, I assumed that “destroyer” meant the adversary, Satan. Then one day while serving as an ordinance worker in initiatories, a new thought dramatically changed my mind.
While pronouncing the blessings of being clothed in the holy garment, my mind flashed to the Passover story in Exodus 11.
4 And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:
5 And all the in the land of Egypt shall die, from the of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.
6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.
7 But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a between the Egyptians and Israel.
Blood on the doorframes distinguished between covenant houses and not.
12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the of Egypt I will execute : I am the Lord.
13 And the blood shall be to you for a upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, out and take you a according to your , and kill the .
22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
23 For the Lord will through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will over the door, and will not the to come in unto your houses to smite you.
24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever.
25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.
26 And it shall come to pass, when your shall say unto you, What mean ye by this service?
27 That ye shall say, It is the of the Lord’s , who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped.
28 And the children of Israel went away, and did as the Lord had Moses and Aaron, so did they.
29 And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord all the in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.
30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one .
Since childhood, I’ve referred to that angel who passed over covenant Israel’s homes as the “destroying angel, ” which according to Exodus 11 is the Lord.
Destruction is sent at God’s command.
The following scriptures similarly convey that a destroyer is sent at God’s command.
Doctrine and Covenants 89:18-21
18 And all saints who remember to keep and do these sayings, walking in obedience to the commandments, receive in their navel and marrow to their bones;
19 And shall and great of , even hidden treasures;
20 And shall and not be , and shall walk and not faint.
21 And I, the Lord, give unto them a promise, that the angel shall by them, as the children of Israel, and not slay them. Amen.
Doctrine and Covenants 105:14-15
14 For behold, I do not require at their hands to fight the battles of Zion; for, as I said in a former commandment, even so will I fulfil—I will your battles.
15 Behold, the I have sent forth to destroy and lay waste mine ; and not many years hence they shall not be left to pollute mine heritage, and to my name upon the lands which I have for the gathering together of my saints.
Doctrine and Covenants 132:13-14
13 And everything that is in the world, whether it be ordained of men, by , or principalities, or powers, or things of name, whatsoever they may be, that are not by me or by my word, saith the Lord, shall be thrown down, and shall after men are dead, neither in nor after the resurrection, saith the Lord your God.
14 For whatsoever things remain are by me; and whatsoever things are not by me shall be shaken and destroyed.
1 Chronicles 21:14-16
So the Lord sent pestilence upon Israel: and there fell of Israel seventy thousand men.
15 God sent an angel unto Jerusalem to destroy it: and as he was destroying, the Lord beheld, and he repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed, It is enough, stay now thine hand. And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
16 And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of the Lord stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces.
2 Kings 19:35
35 ¶ And it came to pass that night, that the of the Lord went out, and in the camp of the an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.
Helaman 13:13
13 But blessed are they who will repent, for them will I spare. But behold, if it were not for the righteous who are in this great city, behold, I would cause that should come down out of heaven and it.
3 Nephi 9:3-12
3 Behold, that great city Zarahemla have I with fire, and the inhabitants thereof.
4 And behold, that great city Moroni have I caused to be in the depths of the sea, and the inhabitants thereof to be drowned.
5 And behold, that great city have I covered with earth, and the inhabitants thereof, to hide their iniquities and their abominations from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints shall not come any more unto me against them. . . .
7 Yea, and the city of Onihah and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of Mocum and the inhabitants thereof, and the city of and the inhabitants thereof; and have I caused to come up in the stead thereof, to hide their wickedness and abominations from before my face, that the of the prophets and the saints shall any more unto me against them. . . .
9 And behold, that great city Jacobugath, which was inhabited by the people of king Jacob, because of their sins and their , which was above all the wickedness of the whole earth, because of their murders and combinations; for it was they that did the peace of my people and the government of the land; therefore I did cause them to be burned, to them from before my face, that the blood of the prophets and the saints should not come up unto me any more against them.
10 And behold, the city of Laman, and the city of Josh, and the city of Gad, and the city of Kishkumen, have I caused to be burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof, because of their wickedness in casting out the prophets, and stoning those whom I did send to declare unto them concerning their wickedness and their abominations.
11 And because they did cast them all out, that there were none righteous among them, I did send down and destroy them, that their wickedness and abominations might be hid from before my , that the blood of the prophets and the saints whom I sent among them might not cry unto me the ground against them.
12 And great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon this people, because of their wickedness and their abominations.
Destroying angels at the end of the world
Endtime prophecies of worldwide destruction abound.
John saw angels unleashing specific destruction on the world at divinely decreed intervals.
Revelation 8
5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and it into the earth: and there were , and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
6 And the seven angels which had the seven prepared themselves to sound.
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became ;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
13 And I beheld, and heard an flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, , woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
Revelation 9
1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: to him was given the key of the .
2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those which have not the of God in their foreheads. . . .
His people call upon His name for repentance and salvation. They are marked as His. Appropriately wearing the temple garment is a distinguishing marking.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound the great river Euphrates.
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. . . .
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
And yet, amidst all of this destruction, He also sends safety and help
God is our and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; (Psalm 46:1-2)
He provides physical places of refuge for covenant Israel.
And we ask thee, Holy Father, that thy servants may go forth from this house armed with thy power, and that thy may be upon them, and thy glory be round about them, and thine have charge over them;
We ask thee, Holy Father, to establish the people that shall worship, and honorably hold a name and standing in this thy house, to all generations and for eternity;
That no weapon against them shall prosper; that he who diggeth a for them shall fall into the same himself;
That no combination of wickedness shall have power to rise up and over thy people upon whom thy shall be put in this house; (Doctrine and Covenants 109:22, 24-26)
He leads His people to Zion’s safety.
And the will create upon every dwelling-place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for upon all the glory of Zion shall be a defence.
And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of , and a covert from storm and from rain. (2 Nephi 14:5-6)
God’s salvation juxtaposes His destruction. He opens a way in the sea, fights the battles, and calms the deep. He also binds His people to Him by covenant, clothes them symbolically and literally with His name, authority, and power, and promises them an inheritance of all He has.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In