Have you noticed the numbers of LDS related YouTube channels or podcast that have spring up in recent years? It appears that many of us have been feeling the urgency of the moment, some are driven to create second coming related content and other are subscribing to the various channels etc.
Some of you are aware that I’ve been creating second coming related content for close to sixteen years and so I guess you could say that I’ve already been around the block a time or two… and to be honest, the biggest problem I see with many content creators is that they aren’t nearly as scripture or standard works oriented as they should be. And without question, I see the best work coming from those who are scripture oriented… from those who are seeking to know what the Lord himself has had to say about his second coming.
Realizing that the best way to reach today’s LDS audience is some sort of video based content I’ve initiated the Millennial Dawn YouTube channel where I’ll be uploading regularly. The new introduction video get’s right to the point, no beating around the bush or dragging things out.
If you want to know where we are in the timeline and how long we have before the you know what hit’s the fan please watch this video, subscribe to the channel and share a with others. Do we have years to go? No, I think we’re looking at only months at this point!
Christendom as a whole, base their expectations on what the bible says about the Lord’s return and so when they see conflicts that involve the Jews and Jerusalem they begin to see that it might not be long before the Messiah will come.
Latter-day Saints on the other hand have a great deal more scripture, along with the words of modern day prophets to base their conclusions on and we also know that the Lord will make his first appearance here in America… this is something that other Christians have no clue about and so they don’t see events that unfold here in America from the same perspective that we do.
So, as Latter-day Saints we should be paying particular attention to current events that will soon lead to the cleansing of America just before the Lord comes to AOA. Speaking of current events we go to 2 Nephi 10 and read:
11 And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles.
12 And I will fortify this land against all other nations.
13 And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God.
14 For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words.
15 Wherefore, for this cause, that my covenants may be fulfilled which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh, I must needs destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations.
16 Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth; for they who are not for me are against me, saith our God.
You would have to blind or have your head in the sand not to notice that the wicked Gentiles or the current administration is doing all they can to overthrow freedom and establish a totalitarian state of some kind… something that the Lord apparently knew they would attempt. However, the Lord says above… “he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish” and then he says, “for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king”.
So, the wicked gentiles are making their attempt to overthrow freedom and raise up a king so to speak RIGHT NOW! It’s on the news every day Latter-Day Saints… open your eyes! However, they won’t succeed because the Lord is about to take them out and replace them… says he, “for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words.” If that isn’t the Lord telling us that he’s about to come I don’t know what is… Of this situation Ezra Taft Benson said:
“But on the other hand, if the gentiles on this land reject the word of God and conspire to overthrow liberty and the Constitution, then their doom is fixed, and they “. . . shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant”. (1 Nephi 14:6; 3 Nephi 21:11, 14, 21; D&C 84:114-115, 117)
“The great destructive force which was to be turned loose on the earth and which the prophets for centuries have been calling the “abomination of desolation” is vividly described by those who saw it in vision. Ours is the first generation to realize how literally these prophecies can be fulfilled now that God, through science, has unlocked the secret to thermonuclear reaction. (Oct. general conference, 1961)
If you watched the Tucker Carlson’s interview with Putin where he offered to re-start peace negations you know that it’s not Putin that’s prolonging the conflict in Ukraine… it’s the west and the present U.S. administration, these are the guys who are continually upping the anti… and they will no doubt push this conflict to it’s prophesied nuclear conclusion.
So, the wicked gentile’s “doom is fixed” and “ they “. . . shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant”! When this happens and the “abomination of desolation” unfolds here in America… the sequence we have all been waiting for will manifest, from JSM we read:
32 And again shall the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, be fulfilled.
33 And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken…
36 And, as I said before, after the tribulation of those days, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, then shall appear the sign of the son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory;
37 And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived, for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
It’s worth noting that when the Lord sends his angels to gather his elect they will still be scattered among all the nations of the earth just like we are now… no sign here that we will have already built the earthly New Jerusalem, is there?
Also, the gospel will only go to the heathen nations after the Lord appears to the Jews according to D&C 45:54 and so we need not think that the gospel has to go to all the world before the Lord makes his first appearance to his elect here in America.
These events, including the second coming are not ten year or five years or two years away… they are upon us now! When the prophesied nuclear abomination of desolation is poured out upon America in the months ahead the Lord will come with the heavenly New Jerusalem (See Rev 21:2-3) and rescue the elect… are you wise, can you feel it, are you ready?
In the previous post we looked a sequence that John says will be in the sixth seal and will lead up to the Lord’s first appearance… the appearance where He gathers and appears to His elect, let’s take a minute to review, from Rev 6 we read:
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
This is the same sequence portrayed in D&C 88:87-93 but today we want to consider a different question, which is.
When the quaking starts and the sun is darkened and the moon turns to blood, will these great and tumultuous events motivate those of our friends and family who have fallen away and are on the wrong path to reconsider their ways and return? In April conference of 2019 President Nelson pleaded:
“Now, as President of His Church, I plead with you who have distanced yourselves from the Church and with you who have not yet really sought to know that the Savior’s Church has been restored. Do the spiritual work to find out for yourselves, and please do it now. Time is running out.”
Now, I personally believe that time has all but run out as those of you who have followed my posts may know… but again… will they return and will the Lord still be willing to receive them? To answer that question we go to 3 Nephi 9 where we read:
12 And many great destructions have I caused to come upon this land, and upon this people, because of their wickedness and their abominations.
13 O all ye that are spared because ye were more righteous than they, will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you?
14 Yea, verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life. Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me.
We should never give up on those who have fallen off the path or let go of the iron rod and as difficult as the coming trials will be… one sliver lining I believe is that many will be humbled and turn their hearts once again to Christ, their savior and redeemer. We should continually hope and pray that they will.
We close with the words of Nephi:
19 O the greatness of the mercy of our God, the Holy One of Israel! For he delivereth his saints from that awful monster the devil, and death, and hell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.
20 O how great the holiness of our God! For he knoweth all things, and there is not anything save he knows it.
21 And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam. (2 Nephi 9:19-20)
I have pondered Joseph Smiths prophecy of the rainbow for many years and even wrote a book entitled “A year with no rainbow” and so I’ve collected a number of Joseph Smith quotes on this topic. But recently my thought have turned more to the cause than to the year, realizing that there’s got to be a cause or affect that influences atmospheric conditions in some way and so the following quote from the prophet has helped me see things differently:
Joseph Smith also says, “The Lord hath set the bow in the cloud for a sign that while it shall be seen, seed time and harvest, summer and winter shall not fail; but when it shall disappear, woe to that generation, for behold the end cometh quickly” (Joseph Fielding Smith, “Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith,” Section Six 1843-44).
In this statement Bro Joseph doesn’t use the Y word at all and the problem with the Y word is that you will most likely interpret this prophecy based on your own concept of what a year is… and when it starts and ends. For example, if you think in terms of the Gregorian calendar you would come to one conclusion but if you think in terms of the Hebrew calendar (Jewish calendar), you would come to a completely different conclusion. So we are going to focus on the cause today rather than a calendar and we will be looking for our answers in the standard works.
Our first passage is from Rev. 6 where we read:
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
This passage serves our purpose well because we learn that late in the “sixth seal” there is to be “a great earthquake” that will darken the sun and turn moon blood red… and in this case, “every mountain and island were moved out of their places” which we would expect to trigger numerous volcanic reactions causing megatons of material be cast up into the upper atmosphere… So, no sun, no rainbow… this event could easily be the cause we are looking for, don’t you think?
The other thing we learn here is that many classes of people “hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains” saying, “hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb… For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” So it’s pretty obvious that the folks who see these signs will have reason to believe the Lord is about to appear. Are you starting to see the connection here… earthquake = darkness = the Lord comes… earthquake = darkness = no rainbow = the Lord comes.
We now go to section 88 where we get yet another view of this sequence, we read:
87 For not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man; and the sun shall hide his face, and shall refuse to give light; and the moon shall be bathed in blood; and the stars shall become exceedingly angry, and shall cast themselves down as a fig that falleth from off a fig tree.
88 And after your testimony cometh wrath and indignation upon the people.
89 For after your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand.
90 And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds.
91 And all things shall be in commotion; and surely, men’s hearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people.
92 And angels shall fly through the midst of heaven, crying with a loud voice, sounding the trump of God, saying: Prepare ye, prepare ye, O inhabitants of the earth; for the judgment of our God is come. Behold, and lo, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
93 And immediately there shall appear a great sign in heaven, and all people shall see it together.
We read from verse 87 that “the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man; and the sun shall hide his face, and shall refuse to give light; and the moon shall be bathed in blood” which is exactly the same circumstances that we read about in Rev 6:12. And verses 88-93 give us additional light and understanding regarding this sequence, with verse 93 being the sign of the Son of Man.
When we compare verse 92 to Rev. 6:15-17 above, it’s not difficult at all to see why they hide in the rocks and caves because angels are announcing the Lord’s coming… this is how they know what is about to happen.
We can say for certain that the events portrayed in these two passages above lead directly to the Lord appearance, as does the disappearance of the rainbow… and it doesn’t require a huge stretch to believe that they are all related, does it?
So, when the events that cause the rainbow to disappear unfold, we will know that the Lord is about to make His appearance and that He will come within a years time… Joseph Smith says, “but when it shall disappear, woe to that generation, for behold the end cometh quickly” which could even mean that it will be much less than a year… but for sure the world will see associated trials and tribulations… as Joseph Smith says, “woe to that generation”… and then the Lord will come.
The Lord will soon gather the elect, make His first appearance and bring Zion down from above… we, brother and sisters, wether we realize it or not, are about to witness the fall of the great and abominable church or whore of all the earth. This whore seeks to resist the Lord’s plan for the American Zion, the New Jerusalem and His second coming… she fights against Zion. You see this every day on the news as “the whore of all the earth” attempts to overthrow freedom here in the land of the brave. Nephi says this about the whore who is among the nations of the gentiles:
11 And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land,who shall raise up unto the Gentiles.
12 And I will fortify this land against all other nations.
13 And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God.
14 For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, FOR I, THE LORD, THE KING OF HEAVEN, WILL BE THEIR KING, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words.
15 Wherefore, for this cause, that my covenants may be fulfilled which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh, I must needs destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations.
16 Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth; for they who are not for me are against me, saith our God.
We are witnessing the whore as she excercizes her power in an effort to destroy the very foundations of freedom, liberty and the constitution as well as persecuting people of faith… the Lord knew this was going to happen as evidenced in the above verses and says, “For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the lord, the king of heaven, will be their king”.
The wicked gentiles who hold the reigns of power shall fail in their efforts and “shall perish” and the void created by their demise will be filled by the Lord and those whom He shall appoint! He says, “for I, the lord, the king of heaven, will be their king”! And by the way, the demise of the whore who is among the nations of the gentiles will bring an end to the day of the gentiles.
If you want to know how and under what circumstances the Lord’s second coming will unfold, please pray and ponder upon the words of Nephi as they relate to what is unfolding in America today. I don’t know of any place in scripture where you will find a more clear and straight forward answer as to the specific circumstances that will lead to the Lord’s first appearance here in America, do you? The Lord will soon come and we are witnesses to these events!
If we are going to comprehend the abomination of desolation here in the last days, we first need to understand who the whore of all the earth is, because she is separate and distinct from those who will lay siege against Jerusalem at the battle of Armageddon and we will see her destruction just before the Lord makes His first appearance here in America. From 1 Nephi 14 we read:
9 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose founder is the devil.
10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.
11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.
12 And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.
13 And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.
From the above passage we learn that the “great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations” is also “the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters” and then we learn that this whore is “among all the nations of the Gentiles” that “fight against the Lamb of God.”
The two best identifiers of just who this whore is are 1- She was “among all the nations of the Gentiles” that “fight against the Lamb of God” and… 2- That “she sat upon many waters”. When we look at the nations that Nephi saw we notice that one particular nation stands out from among all the nations of the gentiles and that is the British… it is true that other European nations also had imperialistic ambitions but their reach and influence paled in comparison to the British, of whom it has been said, “the sun never sets on the British Empire”.
So what was so bad about the British Empire besides the fact that they went around the globe imposing their will and enriching themselves at the expense numerous other nations? Well, they were the original globalists and they were the forerunners of today’s globalists!
Nephi says of these original globalists:
16 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.
17 And I beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle against them.
18 And I beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered together against them to battle.
19 And I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the hands of all other nations.
So we can say that the Lord delivered the American colonies from a war with the “great and abominable church” or “whore of all the earth” that “sat upon many waters”. The Lord also raised up our founding fathers who understood the cunning, ambitious and warring nature of those whom America sprung from and they gave us the American constitution as a protection against being brought under bondage again… so how has that worked out?
The globalist among us have always sought to undermine, modify and re-define the constitution from it’s very conception and have succeeded in far too many instances… But the other major way that globalists have succeeded in gaining power and influence in America was to get us involved in two world wars, the second of which saw the decline of the British empire and the emergence of American global power, the operatives of which claim to justify their warring among the nations by saying that they are making the world safe for democracy, while at the same time doing all they can to undermine democracy, freedom, the constitution, the rule of law, the border, the vote, and an opposition candidate etc. And that of course is exactly what present American administration has dedicated and committed themselves to doing…
This globalist movement extends far beyond England and America… but these two woke nations are at the center and form the core of the whore’s power and influence in our day! And because the Lord’s first appearance will be here in America He has declared that “the whore of all the earth” “shall perish” before the Lord comes and Zion (the New Jerusalem) descends from above. (see Rev 21:2-3) From 2 Nephi we read:
16 Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female,SHALL PERISH; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth; for they who are not for me are against me, saith our God. (see 2 Ne. 10:11-16)
The whore’s demise will come so swiftly and be so wide spread that their shall not be time to bury the dead, we read from section 29:
17 And it shall come to pass, because of the wickedness of the world, that I will take vengeance upon the wicked, for they will not repent; for the cup of mine indignation is full; for behold, my blood shall not cleanse them if they hear me not.
18 Wherefore, I the Lord God will send forth flies upon the face of the earth, which shall take hold of the inhabitants thereof, and shall eat their flesh, and shall cause maggots to come in upon them;
19 And their tongues shall be stayed that they shall not utter against me; and their flesh shall fall from off their bones, and their eyes from their sockets;
20 And it shall come to pass that the beasts of the forest and the fowls of the air shall devour them up.
21 And the great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire, according as it is spoken by the mouth of Ezekiel the prophet, who spoke of these things, which have not come to pass but surely must, as I live, for abominations shall not reign.
Noting that the “the whore of all the earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire” we inquire as to the nature of this fire which leads us to quote Ezra Taft Benson once again, who said:
“But on the other hand, if the gentiles on this land reject the word of God and conspire to overthrow liberty and the Constitution, then their doom is fixed, and they “. . . shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant”. (1 Nephi 14:6; 3 Nephi 21:11, 14, 21; D&C 84:114-115, 117)
“The great destructive force which was to be turned loose on the earth and which the prophets for centuries have been calling the “abomination of desolation” is vividly described by those who saw it in vision. Ours is the first generation to realize how literally these prophecies can be fulfilled now that God, through science, has unlocked the secret to thermonuclear reaction. (Oct. general conference, 1961)
One of the major benefits of understanding the nature and timing of the whore’s demise or the abomination of desolation on the wicked gentiles, is that it basically announces the coming of the Son of Man, from JS Matthew we read:
32 And again shall the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, be fulfilled.
33 And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken…
36 And, as I said before, after the tribulation of those days, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory;
37 And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived, for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
So how long before “the sign of the Son of Man” shall be given? Answer… the gentiles on this land have already rejected the word of God and are conspiring to overthrow liberty and the Constitution… a nuclear abomination of desolation involving “the whore of all the earth” becomes more likely each day as the world becomes more and more embroiled in “wars and roomers of wars”… do we have years? A year? I don’t think so…
There are a number of second coming signs that the average member of the church miss-understands and two in particular which cause many to conclude that the second coming is much further off than it actually is… they are:
1- The gospel going to all the world before Christ comes.
2- The belief that we will build the earthly New Jerusalem before Christ cimes.
Let us start with number one above. It is true that the gospel will be preached in all the world before the Lord will make His third appearance but this is not true of His first two appearances.
For example, the Lord will bring Zion and will make His first appearance to the elect here in America and the gospel will not yet have gone to the Jews and when the Lord does appear to the Jews, this will happen:
51 And then shall the Jews look upon me and say: What are these wounds in thine hands and in thy feet?
52 Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto them: These wounds are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son of God.
53 And then shall they weep because of their iniquities; then shall they lament because they persecuted their king.
54 And then shall the heathen nations be redeemed, and they that knew no law shall have part in the first resurrection; and it shall be tolerable for them. (D&C 45:51-54)
When the Lord appears at Jerusalem and cast down Gog’s army, the heathen nations will come to know that Jesus Christ is God. From Ezekiel 28 we read:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes…
23 Thus will I magnify myself, and sanctify myself; and I will be known in the eyes of many nations, and they shall know that I am the Lord.
The Lord expounds further on this in section 90:
10 And then cometh the day when the arm of the Lord shall be revealed in power (at Armageddon) in convincing the nations, the heathen nations, the house of Joseph, of the gospel of their salvation.
11 For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language, through those who are ordained unto this power, by the administration of the Comforter, shed forth upon them for the revelation of Jesus Christ.
It’s pretty obvious that the gospel will continue to be preached well beyond the Lord’s first two appearance, right? So, we aught never again default to thinking that the Lord can’t come this year or at any time soon because the the gospel has not yet gone to all the world, right?
The other deterrent to thinking that the Lord could come very soon is the belief that we will build the earthly New Jerusalem before Christ comes. If this were the case it would mean that we would have to trek back to Missouri in mass, perhaps even calling upon resources from around the globe in order to establish an enormous building program that could take many years to accomplish.
It’s easy to see why so many believe this, many of us still have it in our minds that we must accomplish what the early saints were not able to accomplish… but the problem with this perspective is that it ignores and looks right past what the Lord himself said to His deciples about His coming while on the mount of olives. From JS Matt we read:
32 And again shall the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, be fulfilled.
33 And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken…
36 And, as I said before, after the tribulation of those days, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory;
37 And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived, for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
So, according to what the Lord tells us here, the elect (His saints) will still be scattered around the globe, “from one end of heaven to the other”, rather than in Missouri when He comes and He will send His angels to gather us from our present disbursed condition… so nothing more needs to be done… we are already in place for the Lord’s coming! All we need to do is accept what the Lord told His deciples on the mount… nothing has changed, the Lord makes no mistakes, no update is needed, this has always been the Lords plan.
To understand this better we go to Rev 21 and read:
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
When the Lord comes to His elect, “the holy city, new Jerusalem” will come “down… out of heaven” with Him and if you continue to read further in this chapter you will find that it is more than large enough to accommodate all of the elect and more. The bottom line is that everything needed for our gathering and protection will be provided by the Lord when He makes this first appearance to His elect!
The purpose of this post was to illustrate that neither the gospel being preached in all the world or the building of the earthly New Jerusalem stand in the way of the Lord coming tomorrow… we need not say, “My lord delayeth his coming”.
After reviewing the previous post and pondering upon the nearness of the Lord’s appearance to His elect, I feel the desire to expound upon the sequence that will follow just after the abomination of desolation upon the wicked gentiles of this nation.
Much of that sequence has been revealed in the standard works and statements of the prophets and thankfully a central theme of that sequence is the preservation of the elect according to the covenant. As the events of the second coming unfold the church will see exponential growth and will need an army of missionary and ordnance minded workers… so we need to stay involved in building the kingdom because the Lord will have need of such individuals. And as the world is falling apart it’s nice to know that you are a valued member of the winning team!
Central to the Lord’s first appearance are the events that are to unfold at Adam Ondi Ahman and although there have been differing views as to who shall be there, I find the following description given by Elder Bruce R. McConkie to be in complete harmony with the standard works, said he:
“The Father called all spirits before Him at the creation of man, and organized them.” This was the grand council in heaven of which we so often speak. “He (Adam) is the head, and was told to multiply.” He, under Christ, was at the head in preexistence; and he, under Christ, is at the head so far as all things pertaining to this earth are concerned. “The keys were first given to him, and by him to others. He will have to give an account of his stewardship, and they to him.” And as all the spirits of men attended the grand council in preexistence, so all the righteous shall attend a like council at adam-ondi-ahman before the winding up scenes. (The Millennial Messiah: The Second Coming of the Son of Man, p.578-588)
I find the above to be perfectly in harmony with scripture, however, it does raise the question as to how the elect, still scattered among the nations of the earth will make their way to the location of this great assembly… do we find an answer in the standard works? We go to JS Matt and read:
32 And again shall the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, be fulfilled.
33 And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken…
36 And, as I said before, after the tribulation of those days, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory;
37 And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived, for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
We find the answer to our inquiry in verse 37 where we learn that angels “shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” And we need to make note that the Lord “shall send his angels before him” so that those so gathered will arrive in time to participate in the business of this great assembly which this author believes will unfold during the feast of Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles if you will receive it. Joseph Smith said of this great assembly:
“Daniel in his seventh chapter speaks of the Ancient of Days; he means the oldest man, our Father Adam, Michael, he [who] will call his children together and hold a council with them to prepare them for the coming of the Son of Man. He (Adam) is the father of the human family, and presides over the spirits of all men, and all that have had the keys must stand before him in this grand council. This may take place before some of us leave this stage of action. The Son of Man stands before him, and there is given him glory and dominion.Adam delivers up his stewardship to Christ, that which was delivered to him as holding the keys of the universe, but retains his standing as head of the human family” (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 157).
As mentioned above, I believe that the events of Adam Ondi Ahman will unfold in conjunction with the fall feasts or Trumpets, Atonement and Tabernacles of this year (from Oct 3 to Oct 23) and that the sign of the Son of Man or Zion, the city of Enoch, the New Jerusalem or God’s tabernacle will return during Tabernacles. See the Wandle Mace quote below:
“Wandle Mace, a trustworthy Church member in Nauvoo, reported that he heard Joseph Smith ‘speak of the sign of the coming of the Son of Man, which all should see’ and that it would be ‘the return of the City of Enoch to the earth.’ [Sayings of Joseph Smith as reported by those who claimed to hear him make the statements, LDS Church History Library]
And since we have brought the sign of the Son of Man into the discussion, it’s only fitting that we refer to Joseph Smith’s statements regarding the Lord’s appearance, we read:
The Prophet Joseph Smith stated: “Then will appear one grand sign of the Son of Man in heaven. But what will the world do? They will say it is a planet, a comet, etc. But the Son of Man will come as the sign of the coming of the Son of Man, which will be as the light of the morning cometh out of the east” (Teachings: Joseph Smith, 252–53).
“How are we to see it Ans. As the lighting up of the morning or the dawning of the morning cometh from the east and shineth unto the west—So also is the comeing of the Son of Man. The dawning of the morning makes its appearance in the east and moves along gradualy so also will the comeing of the Son of Man be… it will be small at its first appearance and gradually becomes larger untill every eye shall see it. Shall the Saints understand it Oh yes. Paul says so…It will be small at first and will grow larger and larger untill it will be all in a blaze so that every eye shall see it.” (Joseph Smith, General Conference, April 6, 1843)
So, are we really so close to the Lord’s return that we need to be looking for “a planet, a comet, etc”? With our modern technology we are able to locate and predict the arrival of heavenly bodies many months ahead of their arrival… do we have reports of any such heavenly bodies due to arrive near the time of the feast of Tabernacles this year?
The answer is a resounding yes! Comet C2023 A3 Tsuchinshan ATLAS is due to make it’s nearest approach to the earth in mid October of this year… please see the following video titled ”THE BIGGEST COMET in decades”which was posted nine months ago:
From Wikipedia we read… C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan–ATLAS) is a comet from the Oort cloud discovered by ATLAS South Africa on 22 February 2023 and independently found in images by the Purple Mountain Observatory taken on 9 January 2023. The comet will pass perihelion at a distance of 0.39 AU (58 million km; 36 million mi) on 27 September 2024,[1][3] when it is expected to become visible by naked eye.[5][6][7] As of May 2023, the comet is currently 6.7 AU (1.00 billion km; 620 million mi) from the Sun, approaching at 16.3 km/s, with an uncertainty region of ±20,000 km.
Remember what Joseph Smith said above… “It will be small at first and will grow larger and larger untill it will be all in a blaze so that every eye shall see it.” Wikipedia expects C/2023 A3 to become viable to the naked eye by Sept 27 of this year… that’s just 20 days before the feast of Tabernacles will commence… kind of sounds like Joseph Smith and Wikipedia are on the same page, doesn’t it?
The signs of the second coming are mounting all around us… evil in the world has reached it’s climax, the satanic, lying, evil, woke, anti-Christ, anti-freedom, anti-constitution, king makers are about to find out what the Lord means when He says… “he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish… Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth”.
We close this post with the words of Russell M. Nelson (Oct 2022 general conference, Overcome the World and Find Rest)
“As I have stated before, the gathering of Israel is the most important work taking place on earth today. One crucial element of this gathering is preparing a people who are able, ready, and worthy to receive the Lord when He comes again, a people who have already chosen Jesus Christ over this fallen world, a people who rejoice in their agency to live the higher, holier laws of Jesus Christ.
I call upon you, my dear brothers and sisters, to become this righteous people. Cherish and honor your covenants above all other commitments. As you let God prevail in your life, I promise you greater peace, confidence, joy, and yes, rest.”
These signs of the Lord’s return are missed by most of us… we look right past them, not realizing that they are by far the most revealing of all signs!
So, what is the sign that most look right past? Well, it’s in the news every day… we are pummeled with commentary and news reports about it continuously, so much so that we can’t escape hearing about it every single day… so what is the sign?
It is the global effort to destroy, stifle and overthrow freedom and liberty. We see it’s spread in many nations of the world, this Satanic scheme to deny freedom and bind the people down is global, however, when we look more closely we see that Satan’s efforts are more particularly focused on or aimed at America because he knows that this is where the Lord will make His first appearance. This is why Satan and his minions “fighteth against Zion” as the Lord says and when the opposition to Zion reaches It’s apex the Lord will “destroy the secret works of darkness” and establish His millennial kingdom. From 2 Nephi 10 we read:
11 And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles.
12 And I will fortify this land against all other nations.
13 And he that fighteth against Zion shall perish, saith God.
14 For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, that hear my words.
15 Wherefore, for this cause, that my covenants may be fulfilled which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh, I must needs destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations.
16 Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth; for they who are not for me are against me, saith our God.
The Lord’s declaration that, “there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles” assures us that this global cabal will not accomplish it’s ambitions here in America… the Lord declares, “I must needs destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations.” The void created when the unrighteous usurpers of power and authority are gone shall be filled by the Lord and His administrators, He says… “for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king”… and that my friends is the second coming or the establishment of Zion here in America.
The perspective given in the above passage gives us a very clear sequence where the Lord’s first appearance is concerned. First the wicked gentiles attempt to overthrow freedom or liberty and establish a king or dictator or unconstitutional authority… the present administration is doing a dandy job of this by the way… taking it’s unconstitutional totalitarianism to it’s ultimate extreme! Second, the Lord will “destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations”. Third, “the Lord, the king of heaven, will be” our “king”.
It was Ezra Taft Benson who said:
“The Lord has declared that before the second coming of Christ it will be necessary to “. . . destroy the secret works of darkness, . . .” in order to preserve the land of Zion—the Americas”. (2 Nephi 10:11-16.) (Oct. general conference, 1961)
And Elder Benson gave even greater details regarding this situation, said he:
“But on the other hand, if the gentiles on this land reject the word of God and conspire to overthrow liberty and the Constitution, then their doom is fixed, and they “. . . shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant”. (1 Nephi 14:6; 3 Nephi 21:11, 14, 21; D&C 84:114-115, 117)
“The great destructive force which was to be turned loose on the earth and which the prophets for centuries have been calling the “abomination of desolation” is vividly described by those who saw it in vision. Ours is the first generation to realize how literally these prophecies can be fulfilled now that God, through science, has unlocked the secret to thermonuclear reaction. (Oct. general conference, 1961)
So, in these two statements Elder Benson confirms the same sequence that the Lord gave to Nephi above. First the gentiles “conspire to overthrow liberty and the Constitution” and secondly “their doom is fixed, and they “. . . shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant”. Are you beginning to see the pattern here? If we want to understand how close the second coming is… this is the situation we need to be watching most closely!
Nephi sees what John saw, but it is reserved for John to reveal the details.
In 1 Ne. 14, Nephi expounds more upon what we are dealing with today, we read:
11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.
12 And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.
13 And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.
As we continue to read further in this chapter we learn that Nephi is shown the apostle John by an angel and told:
24 And behold, the things which this apostle of the Lamb shall write are many things which thou hast seen; and behold, the remainder shalt thou see.
25 But the things which thou shalt see hereafter thou shalt not write; for the Lord God hath ordained the apostle of the Lamb of God that he should write them.
So even thought Nephi is shown everything that John saw, he is not allowed to give some of the particulars about this situation because they are reserved for John to reveal. If we want to get the full story about “the whore of all the earth” that “sat upon many waters; and… had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people” we have to get it from John. We go to Rev 13 and read:
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
In verse seven we note that this entity was given power “over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations”… just like “the whore of all the earth” that Nephi shows us that “sat upon many waters; and… had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people”. (1 Ne. 14:11)
Knowing that Nephi and John were shown the same visions regarding our present day, it’s no surprise that their terminology matches so closely… is it?
But the real payoff is that John gives us details the Nephi was not allowed to reveal. For example, these wicked war mongering modern day gentiles are “given… to continue” for only “forty and two months”. This 42 months is the apex of their power just before they go down, John tells us, “he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword” and so he gives us their fate.
No more fomenting wars for the sake of global power, no moreignoring the constitution, no more abusing the rule of law and the rights of freedom loving people, no more manipulating and corrupting the vote and no more putting others behind bars or attempting to take them off the ballet because they have opposing political views etc, etc, etc. You know… the kind of stuff that these wicked gentiles do every day… the list could be very, very long!
As stated above, John tells us that these wicked gentiles are “given… to continue” for only “forty and two months” and we know that this administration came to power onJan 21, 2021… so it’s pretty obvious that “the whore of all the earth” is about to expire… “their doom is fixed”… and they are about to be “cut off from among my people who are of the covenant” as Moses said. And then the Lord will make His appearance!
Hear what the Lord says in section 29 about “the great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth”:
17 And it shall come to pass, because of the wickedness of the world, that I will take vengeance upon the wicked, for they will not repent; for the cup of mine indignation is full; for behold, my blood shall not cleanse them if they hear me not.
18 Wherefore, I the Lord God will send forth flies upon the face of the earth, which shall take hold of the inhabitants thereof, and shall eat their flesh, and shall cause maggots to come in upon them;
19 And their tongues shall be stayed that they shall not utter against me; and their flesh shall fall from off their bones, and their eyes from their sockets;
20 And it shall come to pass that the beasts of the forest and the fowls of the air shall devour them up.
21 And the great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall be cast down by devouring fire, according as it is spoken by the mouth of Ezekiel the prophet, who spoke of these things, which have not come to pass but surely must, as I live, for abominations shall not reign.
As horrifying and horrendous as the “abomination of desolation” on the wicked gentiles sounds, there is a sliver lining where the Lord’s elect are concerned, from JS Matt we read:
32 And again shall the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, be fulfilled.
33 And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken…
36 And, as I said before, after the tribulation of those days, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory;
37 And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived, for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
From the above passage we learn that “immediately after the tribulation of those days (abomination of desolation that is)… shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven… and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory” and “he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
It is this gathering of the elect via angels and the New Jerusalem descending from above the will bring heaven and earth together in one society. John also speaks of this event, says he:
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. (Rev 21:2-3)
The present situation with the wicked gentiles is the ultimate sing that great changes are about to unfold… we are well into the 42 months and the clock is ticking… the prophecies of Nephi and John will soon see fulfillment which means that the Lord will be here before we know it!
And again… what is the final sequence leading up to the second coming? We find it in JS Matthew, we read:
32And again shall the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, be fulfilled.
33and immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken…
36 And, as I said before, after the tribulation of those days, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, then shall appear the Sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory;
37And whoso treasureth up my word, shall not be deceived, for the Son of Man shall come, and he shall send his angels before him with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
So there we have it… the final sequence leading up to the Lord’s first appearance when He will gather the elect via what we might call the angel express. However, I think many Latter-day Saints have a difficult time understanding how the abomination of desolation will unfold here in America because they have been conditioned to think this is something that is to repeat at Jerusalem, right?
Well, lets just take a moment to see whet the Lord has had to say about this… we go to D&C 84 and read:
114Nevertheless, let the bishop go unto the city of New York, also to the city of Albany, and also to the city of Boston, and warn the people of those cities with the sound of the gospel, with a loud voice, of the desolation and utter abolishment which await them if they do reject these things.
115For if they do reject these things the hour of their judgment is nigh, and their house shall be left unto them desolate.
116Let him trust in me and he shall not be confounded; and a hair of his head shall not fall to the ground unnoticed.
117And verily I say unto you, the rest of my servants, go ye forth as your circumstances shall permit, in your several callings, unto the great and notable cities and villages, reproving the world in righteousness of all their unrighteous and ungodly deeds, setting forth clearly and understandingly the desolation of abomination in the last days.
So, what the Lord says here becomes the working definition “the desolation of abomination in the last days” regardless of what anyone else may have to say about it… unless of course New York, Albany and Boston have been moved to Israel when we weren’t watching.
We will not see the Lord’s first appearance here in America until just after the abomination of desolation upon the wicked gentiles of this nation!
