By Frank M. Keele
When it comes to understanding the sequence of the Lord’s second coming we Latter-day Saints have a huge advantage over the rest of Christendom. This advantage stems from the fact that we have been blessed both with more of the Lord’s word or a larger cannon of scripture and of course latter day prophets.
As Latter Day Saints we understand that the Lord’s first appearance will be to His saints here in America where Zion or the New Jerusalem will be established for their protection during the escalating wars and conflicts leading up to His second appearance at Jerusalem. (seven years of tribulation) From section 45 we read:
66 And it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God;
67 And the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the terror of the Lord also shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it, and it shall be called Zion.
68 And it shall come to pass among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety.
69 And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another.
70 And it shall be said among the wicked: Let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we cannot stand.
71 And it shall come to pass that the righteous shall be gathered out from among all nations, and shall come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting joy.
From the above passage we learn that the coming of the New Jerusalem will not bring an end to wars, world wide warfare and Zion will co-exist, creating a situation that will greatly contribute to the growth and expansion of Zion. This is the time when the Lord’s latter day kingdom will see exponential growth! The righteous of Israel will find it necessary to flee the warring nations… and as it says above, “there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another.” From 3 Nephi 22 we read:
1 And then shall that which is written come to pass: Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child; for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.
2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not, lengthen thy cords and strengthen thy stakes;
3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left, and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
This is the time when scattered Israel or “the children of the desolate” will come to outnumber those already in the church or “the married wife” and most likely by many times over. This exponential gathering of Israel must take place before the Lord will make His appearance to the Jews as their promised Messiah, which appearance is the Lord’s coming to the world at large, labeled as “that second coming” by President Russell M Nelson who said:
“Today, the Lord’s work in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is moving forward at an accelerated pace. The Church will have an unprecedented, unparalleled future. “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, … the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9; see also Doctrine and Covenants 76:10).
Remember that the fulness of Christ’s ministry lies in the future. The prophecies of His Second Coming have yet to be fulfilled. We are just building up to the climax of this last dispensation—when the Savior’s Second Coming becomes a reality.
A necessary prelude to that Second Coming is the long-awaited gathering of scattered Israel (see 1 Nephi 15:18; see also the title page of the Book of Mormon). This doctrine of the gathering is one of the important teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Lord has declared: “I give unto you a sign … that I shall gather in, from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion” (3 Nephi 21:1). (Ensign, April 2020)
So the sign of the Lord’s second appearance to the Jews is… “that I shall gather in, from their long dispersion, my people, O house of Israel, and shall establish again among them my Zion”, the pralude… as president Nelson has pointd out.
Both of these appearances are a part of the process of the second coming but “the climax” of the Lord’s coming will be at Jerusalem and the Lord’s first appearance to His saints and the establishment of Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be the “prelude” thereto. President Nelson has also said:
“But, my dear brothers and sisters, so many wonderful things are ahead. In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen. Between now and the time He returns “with power and great glory,” He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful.” (Overcome the World and Find Rest, Oct general conf. 2022)
We are surely in need of the “countless privileges, blessings, and miracles” promised “the faithful.” And we also need to understand that the Lord will come to His saints “with power and great glory” as part of the “prelude” 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’ve added emphasis to the five main elements of this passage that we want to discuss, they are…
Abomination of desolation
Signs in the sun, moon, stars and heavens
The sign of the Son of Man
The Lord appears here is “with power and great glory”
The Lord sends angels “before him” to gather the elect “from the four winds”
Now, because this sequence is associated with the Lord gathering of His saints or the elect being gathered via angels, we know that this passage is describing the “prelude”, the Lord’s first appearance and yet, abomination of desolation is the very first element in the sequence. Ponder that for a moment… Those who have spent sufficient time reading about the abomination of desolation from the doctrine and covenants understand that when it repeats, it will be upon the wicked gentiles rather than on the Jews. Ezra Taft Benson has confirmed this, we read:
“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 brothers and sisters, “the gentiles on this land” have already met the conditions that will lead to them being “cut off from among my people of the covenant”! We note that this is a pruning of the wicked from among the “people of the covenant” whom the Lord will preserve. He preserves them because they are righteous and they are co-builders of His kingdom. They will be the teachers, the missionaries and the administers of the ordinances of salvation necessary to the dawning of the millennial day. Ezra Taft Benson has also 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)
This destruction of “the secret works of darkness” in America has been for-told by multiple prophets and is labled as “the abomination of desolation” by ET Benson and in JS Matt above. As you read through JS Matthew you will notice that the elect are mentioned multiple times and the Lord tells us that it (JSM) was given for “the elect’s sake”. In verse 23 we read:
“Behold, I speak these things unto you for the elect’s sake; and you also shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars”
Brother and sisters, if we are living up to our covenants we are “the elect according to the covenant” and if we are able to sift through and understand the “wars, and rumors of wars” abounding around us, we will see the abomination of desolation coming. This is the best indicator we have of the nearness of the Lord’s first appearance, to His saints!
Now, my intent in posting is to share my research and not to scare the bejeebers out of you. After all, we have all known for a long time that there would be some buppie roads ahead, right? And of course the silver lining here is that the Lord will come “immediately after the tribulation of those days”!
I’ll close with this quote from President Nelson. (Oct 22 Conference)
“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.
With the power of the holy apostleship vested in me, I bless you in your quest to overcome this world. I bless you to increase your faith in Jesus Christ and learn better how to draw upon His power. I bless you to be able to discern truth from error. I bless you to care more about the things of God than the things of this world. I bless you to see the needs of those around you and strengthen those you love. Because Jesus Christ overcame this world, you can too. I so testify in the sacred name of Jesus Christ, amen.”