Where, Lord, shall they be taken?

Frank M. Keele

While on the mount of Olives with his deciples, the Lord expounded upon events that would unfold at the time if his Second Coming. Responding to one of their inquires he replied:

44 Then shall be fulfilled that which is written, that in the last days, two shall be in the field, the one shall be taken, and the other left;

45 Two shall be grinding at the mill, the one shall be taken, and the other left; (D&C 45)

Most Christian denominations believe the that Lord is speaking of what they call the rapture in this passage but in reality, his words have reference to an event of which the world at large has no knowledge. That’s because they as yet have not accepted the truths of the restoration and Joseph Smith’s prophetic mission. Ezra Taft Benson taught that the Second Coming was made up of three separate events, said he:

“His first appearance will be to the righteous Saints who have gathered to the New Jerusalem. In this place of refuge they will be safe from the wrath of the Lord, which will be poured out without measure on all nations. . . .

“The second appearance of the Lord will be to the Jews. To these beleaguered sons of Judah, surrounded by hostile Gentile armies, who again threaten to overrun Jerusalem, the Savior-their Messiah-will appear and set His feet on the Mount of Olives, “and it shall cleave in twain, and the earth shall tremble, and reel to and fro, and the heavens shall also shake. (D&C 45:48) The Lord Himself will then rout the Gentile armies, decimating their forces (see Ezek.38,39). Judah will be spared, no longer to be persecuted and scattered. . . .

”The third appearance of Christ will be to the rest of the world. . . . All nations will see Him “in the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and great glory; with all the holy angels. .” (Ezra Taft Benson, New Era, Dec. 1980, pp. 49-50)

The Lord’s words above have reference to his first appearance, that is, to “the righteous Saints who” will “have gathered to the New Jerusalem” in anticipation of his coming as the Bridegroom. Having been obedient to the scriptural mandate, “The Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him”, they will have accomplished the necessary trek in order to be in position when the great event unfoldes, which by the way will be at Adam Ondi Ahman.

And that is when the Lord’s words, “the one shall be taken, and the other left” shall be fulfilled. It is simply the uniting of those saints who have made the trek and have assembled in anticipation of the Lord’s appearance and those who are gathered from around the globe via what we might call the “angel express”. JST Luke 17 makes this perfectly clear, we read:

36 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord, shall they be taken?

37 And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is gathered; or, in other words, whithersoever the saints are gathered, thither will the eagles be gathered together; or, thither will the remainder be gathered together.

38 This he spake, signifying the gathering of his saints; and of angels descending and gathering the remainder unto them; the one from the bed, the other from the grinding, and the other from the field, whithersoever he listeth.

39 For verily there shall be new heavens, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

We learn that this event is to unfold just before the Lord descends, form JS Matthew we read:

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, “he shall send his angels before him” and “they shall gather together the remainder of his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” We note that those who are to be gathered in this fashion and to where the body of the saints shall be, are designates as “the reminder of his elect”.

So for example, if you live down under and are therefore not able to make the trek, no worries… the Lord has a plan for you! Now, I’m going to assume that you’re asking yourself, “but how will I know when to have my bags packed so to speak, how will I know when to expect the angels?”

We find the answer to this inquiry in Mark 13 where we read:

24 ¶ But in those days, after that tribulation, (abomination of desolation) the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.

26 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

27 And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

Here we learn that following the abomination of desolation that “the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light”. So the earth will be in darkness and “then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory”. That’s when you must be ready to go for “then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.”

If you’ve read The Bridegroom Cometh, you already understand the close connection between the abomination of desolation and the Lord’s first appearance and how much time will lapse between the two. The other event you should keep on your calendar is the Feast of Tabernacles which is also discussed in the book. We have a very vivid description as to what will happen on this future feast day in Rev. 21 where 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.

The seven feasts of Israel and other concepts referenced in this blog are more fully expounded upon in “The Bridegroom Cometh”. you are invited to download the free pdf if you haven’t already. Just click the image of the book below. My God bless until the next time!

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