By Frank M. Keele
In an article in the April Ensign, that is also currently linked to via the Church web site, President Nelson declares that the Lord’s second coming is His appearance to the Jews, said he:
“The Second Coming
The Lord will return to the land that He made holy by His mission there in mortality. In triumph, He will come again to Jerusalem. In royal robes of red to symbolize His blood, which oozed from every pore, He shall return to the Holy City . There and elsewhere, “the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” . His “name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace”
Of course, we in the church know that the second coming is also a process and is to include more that one appearance. It was Ezra Taft Benson said:
“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)
So, it should be obvious to all that we must pass through a series of events, including the Lord’s first appearance to His saints before He shall make His appearance to the Jews and I’m going to say that these events are a part of “the continuing process of the restoration” of which President Nelson has spoken repeatedly.
But be warned, this first appearance is to be preceded by a series of events that will shake up the world and get their attention for sure. And as for the saints… there is plenty going on currently that should have already caused you to sit up and pay attention, right? In 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;
The abomination of desolation, the darkening of the sun, the moon not giving her light, the stars falling from heaven and the powers of heaven being shaken must occur before this first appearance… and so we are in for some exciting times that will include much more than the limited scope of this post.
And so let us prepare ourselves for conference and resolve to comply with every directive given us by our leaders as we move forward. I’ll leave you with a video segment of President Thomas S. Monson from the October conference of 2011, from which I took the title of this post…
I don’t know how it all works, but just when I think I have actually figured something out on my own and have a little grip on what’s to come, darn if you don’t post something on your blog that is along the same line that I am pondering as well. Truly enjoyed this post, as I have all of them. And truly think if we are “reading between the lines” all that is not being said, we are being told exactly what we need to know and what to be expecting. This pandemic is just the beginning and Mother Earth is not done with us by any means. Thank you SO much for sharing your thoughts, feelings and scripture quotes with us. I completely enjoy your blog more than you can imagine!! Blessings to you and yours.
Thanks Franzez, we are rounding the bend to events that the vast majority of the church can’t really get their head around at the moment… I suspect that conference will open the eyes of the elect for sure…
Am afraid that again, you’re right. I get a tiny bit frustrated not being able to discuss/talk with others about all that is right in our face, as they aren’t even up to speed with anything yet, which is one of the reasons we enjoy your posts so much. My daughter and I feel like there “is” someone that is seeing, hearing, reading, and seeking, as we are. The signs are all right there, plain sight, happening right now and yet so many still have the, “All is well in Zion” attitude and we’re afraid, they will not be prepared for what is really coming. We’re just being blessed right now to learn what we are short on, what we haven’t remembered to have ready, how to deal with situation, and really to find out if our own hearts are where they are suppose to be! We, for the first time, really do understand that preparedness eliminates fear. My daughter and I have listened for years, taken it all to heart, and did the work. This pandemic hit and there was no concern, no fear, and we had the ability to help others. It’s been a good education and dry run. Now….for the rest of the story, eh? Thanks again Brother Keele for your posts, we do so enjoy them. Blessings to you and yours.
I want to speak of something that is a little frustrating to me about this, about what is to be considered the “Second Coming” for our calendars, out of all of these Second Comings, so to speak, so we can know that the Millennium has actually opened meaningfully for the Saints. I get it that it is all meaningful, but that is not what I mean. Is it the Coming to the Jews the “Second Coming” that opens the Millennium for our calendars? I don’t mean to be dense, but I just don’t know what the “Millennium” actually will start, and have never figured it out. Besides what you speak of, the Lord’s coming according to certain sources also includes an appearance to the Saints in Salt Lake, and an appearance at Adam Ondi Ahman. Ezekiel speaks of at least 7 years that it takes for the Jews to burn the fuel from the stuff left over from Armageddon. We have had 7 decades between the time that Israel was established till now, and so the “process” of the “restoration” so to speak, has been ongoing since the time of Joseph Smith. And that is frustrating for trying to nail down what will be meaningful for a Calendar to mark an appearance of the Savior that marks the “opening of the Millennium”. Is it then the appearance to the Jews that marks it, because President Nelson speaks of it as if that is a “hinge event” for the “Second Comings”? Do you see how frustrating it is to nail down something that is kind of like jello? Doctrinally, in the Doctrine in Covenants, it speaks of the fact that people live until they are 100, and will not see death, but will be changed. My kids’ patriarchal blessings state that they will *see death, and spend time in the Spirit World*. They are quite young, and my wife’s Patriarchal Blessing states she will spend time in the Spirit World. So, as you can see, it seems that even my Millennial and Generation Z children are included in the generation that will *see death* before the Burning (because it is after the Burning of the earth when people are “Twinkled” [changed in a twinkling to not see death]). Yet, as I say, President Nelson speaks of the “Second Coming” as if it is “soon”. No doubt he is referring to the appearance to the Jews, since the signs are around us. Therefore, I assume that the Burning is not in my lifetime, nor my children’s lifetimes, yet I assume that the Millennium (as a date on the Calendar) starts with the appearance to the Jews, since it is a “hinge event” among Second Comings. This is my reasoning. Please give me your thoughts on this.
Hi Ed, the answers to your questions are really very approachable according to my understanding of the sequence of the second coming… however, if I’m going to take the time to come up with a written response to your questions, I’d rather do it in the form of a blog where others would be more likely to see it and be able to gleen answers to their questions as well.
Alternately we could speak on the phone if you like. Email me and let me know what you want to do… [email protected] 😉