Given that Easter is connected to and had it’s beginning with Passover, the day that Jehovah delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt and then later as the Chris, delivered all of mankind from the chains of the grave, we look forward to yet other days of deliverance. In D&C 103 the Lord says:
15 Behold, I say unto you, the redemption of Zion must needs come by power;
16 Therefore, I will raise up unto my people a man, who shall lead them like as Moses led the children of Israel.
17 For ye are the children of Israel, and of the seed of Abraham, and ye must needs be led out of bondage by power, and with a stretched-out arm.
18 And as your fathers were led at the first, even so shall the redemption of Zion be.
Is it true, do we as “the children of Israel, and of the seed of Abraham” and modern day Israel need to “be led out of bondage by power, and with a stretched-out arm” just as ancient Israel was? The Lord states above that “the redemption of Zion must needs come by power… and with a stretched-out arm”, but how shall this be and when?
The redemption of Zion must come at the expense of the wicked among the Gentiles, said Ezra Taft Benson:
“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)
He also said:
“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 as bad as this “thermonuclear reaction” sounds, “it will be necessary”, both as a means of destroying “the secret works of darkness” and preserving the Lord’s covenant people. Was this what Isaiah had in mind when he said:
20 ¶ Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
21 For, behold, the Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.
Staying inside would certainly be wise considering the nature of the means used to “punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity”. And what about the timing, is it possible that there is significance to the word “overpast” in this case. Is Isaiah hinting that we too shall be delivered on Passover? Would that be consistent with what the Lord says in D&C 103 above? “For ye are the children of Israel, and of the seed of Abraham, and ye must needs be led out of bondage by power, and with a stretched-out arm. And as your fathers were led at the first, even so shall the redemption of Zion be”?
Would it surprise you to know that Isaiah places the destruction of America or “the land shadowing with wings” in the spring of the year? Says he in chapter 18:
5 For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches.
6 They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth: and the fowls shall summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter upon them.
This passage along with Orson Pratt’s commentary on the same is covered in chapter 14 of “The Bridegroom Cometh” if you would like more background regarding it. Returning to D&C 103 we read:
19 Therefore, let not your hearts faint, for I say not unto you as I said unto your fathers: Mine angel shall go up before you, but not my presence.
20 But I say unto you: Mine angels shall go up before you, and also my presence, and in time ye shall possess the goodly land.
So the one difference between ancient Israel being led to their promised land and us being led to our “goodly land” or Zion, is that in our case the Lord says, “Mine angels shall go up before you, and also my presence”. What… the Lord’s going to come to the Rocky Mountains and lead us back to Zion? Joseph Smith stated:
“This people will go into the Rocky Mountains; they will there build temples to the Most High. They will raise up a posterity there, and the Latter-day Saints who dwell in these mountains will stand in the flesh until the coming of the Son of Man. The Son of Man will come to them while in the Rocky Mountains.” (Wilford Woodruff, Conference Report, April 1898, p. 57.)
And what shall be the condition of this nation when this occurs? Orson Pratt said:
“Well then, to return to the prophesying, when the time shall come that the Lord shall waste away this nation, he will give commandment to this people to return and possess their own inheritance which they purchased some forty-four years ago in the state of Missouri”. (Gerald N. Lund, The Coming of the Lord ,110.)
So it appears that our deliverance will take place in the spring of the year, giving us the summer months to make the trek back to Missouri and the events to unfold at Adam Ondi Ahman. And what shall that look like, shall it coincide with the fall feasts and conclude with the feast of Tabernacles? John gives us a view of this great day, from Rev. 21 we 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.
It is on this great day, the day when “they”, the saints “shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” that “the tabernacle of God is with men” which is the city of Enoch. We get yet another view of this day form D&C 133 where we learn just who shall be “in the presence of the Lamb” when he comes, we read:
54 Yea, and Enoch also, and they who were with him; the prophets who were before him; and Noah also, and they who were before him; and Moses also, and they who were before him;
55 And from Moses to Elijah, and from Elijah to John, who were with Christ in his resurrection, and the holy apostles, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, shall be in the presence of the Lamb.
56 And the graves of the saints shall be opened; and they shall come forth and stand on the right hand of the Lamb, when he shall stand upon Mount Zion, and upon the holy city, the New Jerusalem; and they shall sing the song of the Lamb, day and night forever and ever.
The key here is that “Enoch also, and they who were with him” and thus “the tabernacle of God”… shall be in the presence of the Lamb” when he comes. It is on that day that “the graves of the saints shall be opened; and they shall come forth and stand on the right hand of the Lamb, when he shall stand upon Mount Zion, and upon the holy city, the New Jerusalem”.
What a day this will be! We speak today of Easter and the promise of the resurrection but in a day not distant at all, a new reality shall burst upon us when we shall stand in the presence of Enoch, Noah, Moses, and others. But by far, the most tender and heart mending reunions will come when we as mortals shall again embrace a spouse, a child, a parent or other for whom our hearts hold a special yearning when the worlds the mortal and immortal combine at the coming of Zion!
It’s hoped that you have found this article to be enlightening, edifying and uplifting. Please take a moment to download “The Bridegroom Cometh” from the link below, it’s free. Just click on the image of the book. May God bless us to stand firm in the days ahead!