Jesus Teaches of the Last Days

JesusTeachingI’ve been reading Isaiah Decoded by Avraham Gileadi. I just started it Friday (thanks for the recommendation, Roy). I’m halfway through the book and hope to finish it this week. I have mixed feelings about what I’m reading. I’m not ready to review it yet but it got me thinking about some things relating to the last days, especially what the Savior taught in Matthew 24.

Sign of the Son of Man

You know Matthew 24 is a fairly important chapter. Joseph “enhanced” it enough that we include it in the Pearl of Great Price as a chapter worthy of independent study. It contains a bit of a roadmap to the last days, one of my favorite subjects. It’s also in Matthew 24 that we find the phrase, “…the sign of the Son of Man in heaven…” Joseph called it “…one grand sign…”

False Prophets – Signs and Wonders

I often wonder what it must have been like to sit at the feet of Jesus as he taught his disciples privately about the last days. They specifically asked, “…what is the sign of thy coming…?” He gave them so much more as he answered their questions. He spoke of false Christs and false prophets who shall show great signs and wonders. What do you think – have we seen this yet?

Return of City of Enoch

He made it clear that His return shall be seen by all the world, accompanied with power and great glory. He tells us elsewhere in the Pearl of Great Price (Moses 7:62-63) that he will be accompanied by the City of Enoch. That is going to be one amazing sight. I don’t know that we talk about it much. Can you imagine looking up and seeing part of a planet coming toward you?

All People Shall See It

Joseph was also impressed by this. He must have seen it in vision. As he described the scene, he said, “What will the world do? They will say it is a planet, a comet…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.” D&C 88:93 confirms “all people shall see it together.” Amazing.

A Planet – Looks Like a Comet

Joseph didn’t say the world’s assessment of the scene would be incorrect. He simply confirmed that the sign could indeed appear to be a planet or a comet. In other words, the scientists will tell us a comet is approaching. As it gets closer, it will become obvious it is a small planet or part of a planet. We have no idea how large the City of Enoch was. I’ll bet it’s a good-sized chunk.

Accompanied by Great Destruction

John wrote in Revelation (8:8-10) about meteors crashing into the sea before the Lord returned. He called one “…a great mountain burning with fire,” and the other “…a star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp…” The Lord spoke many times of the sun being darkened, the moon being darkened and later glowing red as blood, unable to dissipate heat, and other stars falling.

Nobody But Father Knows When

He told his disciples that no one but Heavenly Father knows exactly when this shall happen. I will say something about Avraham Gileadi’s interpretation of the events of the last days (I have that book as well). He mentions possible nuclear holocausts. I don’t believe the Lord will allow that to happen. He doesn’t need to. With one EMP he can wipe out all man-made weapons.

EMP or Fire From the Sky

Of course my friend Phil Plait (The Bad Astronomer) will tell you the chances of an EMP hitting the earth are slim to none (see Death From the Skies). He also tells us the idea of fire from the sky as in fire and brimstone a la Sodom and Gomorrah is nonsense. In fact, he dismisses as bunk most all the cosmological events foretold by the Savior in the scriptures at the time of his return.

Media Seeks Expert Opinions

But to whom will the media turn when they want an expert opinion on what it is that is coming towards us? They will turn to people like Phil Plait and other scientists. Now, I know many good scientists do believe the signs foretold by the Savior will happen and will accept them for what they are: signs of the return of Christ. But if their opinions are sought out, they will be mocked.

Stuff Hitting Planet More Common

Why is it so hard to accept the things the Savior taught us in the scriptures about his advent? I suppose it’s because we haven’t seen anything like it in our day. It’s rare to see news footage of something from space hitting the planet. When it does, as we saw last year in Russia, it’s notable. The day will come when such events will be more common as we get closer to the Lord’s return.

Secular Versus Revealed Knowledge

Don’t get me wrong. I like Phil Plait. I read his stuff all the time. I love science, especially as our knowledge of the cosmos expands. Of course there are those at the other end of the spectrum, who ignore science in favor of what they believe in sincere faith. There will always be those who take both sides to the extreme. I seek a balance between science and the words of the prophets.

The Sound of the Trump

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read Matthew 24 and overlooked the obvious implications of verse 31. Have you ever wondered why the sound of trumpets accompanies the second advent of the Lord? It is because when two celestial bodies come close together, they oscillate back and forth with electromagnetic vibrations that grow louder and louder the closer they get to the other.

Science Can Support Prophecy

Now science will tell you that Kepler’s laws of planetary motion will not allow two planets to come close together. Once inside the Roche limit of the larger planet, the smaller body would begin to break up. We saw that with the Shoemaker-Levy comet hitting Jupiter. What science does not take into account, at least some scientists, is the attraction of electromagnetic energy.

The Electric Universe Trumps Gravity

If you want a fascinating alternative view to the worship of gravity as the God of the universe, take a look at what the proponents of the Electric Universe have been proposing and attempting to demonstrate for years. It is a growing body of scientists who understand the laws of physics but have added the additional knowledge that electromagnetic energy is a much larger force.

The Abomination of Desolation

I wonder if I dare end this post on this note. Don’t stone me for this. I know it’s controversial. I’ve written about the Abomination of Desolation before. The Lord specifically mentions it in Matthew 24. I have recently come to a different conclusion as to what it is. Besides, scripture can be interpreted in multiple ways. It can also be fulfilled at different points in time through history.

Gay Marriages in the Temples

I’ll leave you with this quote: “When an abomination that renders sexual relations desolate (they don’t produce offspring) occurs in the holy place, you can know the promised destruction is soon at hand.” I know of individuals who are gifted with dreams and visions. They tell of having seen court orders presented at temples to enforce the law of the land – gay marriages in the temples.

Look to the skies for the signs

I know this will anger some folks, especially of the younger generation. Just remember, I’m an old guy. I am convinced gay marriages in the temple are inevitable, in spite of what the Church recently published on the subject. I read the disclaimers from those advocating gay marriage, that such a thing will never happen. I disagree. When it does, Matthew 24 will be fulfilled in earnest.

An Open Invitation to Dialog

What do you think? I’ve written about signs of the times many times. In this post I put a few of them together in ways I hadn’t thought of before. It all started with pondering Matthew 24.

For more information on these unusual interpretations of the signs of the last days, see:

Website – http://mormonprophecy.com/
Videos – http://youtube.com/user/toeknee1943/
Blog – http://mormonprophecy.blogspot.com/
Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/keystomormonprophecy
Scribd – http://www.scribd.com/anthonyelarson

16 thoughts on “Jesus Teaches of the Last Days”

  1. You left out the most important part us, Tim: The redemption of Zion and the building of the holy city, New Jerusalem. How is that going to happen in the middle of the U.S.?

    1. I have changed my opinion of where and when the City of Zion is going to be built. My answer is short and can be found here:

      https://www.latterdaycommentary.com/2013/06/01/in-the-tops-of-the-mountains/

      Yep, I’m a reprobate. I don’t concur anymore with the standard LDS teachings of where we will gather. I’m a dissenter in my private views. But you won’t find me teaching this in church. I will always teach from the approved curriculum because I love the members and leaders of my ward and stake. I sustain the direction of the apostles and prophets and will only teach the approved doctrine.

      I’m of the opinion there will be much destruction before the Lord comes. Specifically, cosmological catastrophes. In my dream on the subject I saw thirty years of more passing between the first wave of destruction that destroyed the nations and the time when the Lord came down with the City of Enoch for all the world to see.

      This concurs with what we read in the Book of Revelation. So the scene I’m describing of a planet coming towards us is preceded by the burning mountain falling into the sea and the onslaught of burning hail. We’re talking years of events that will destroy manmade institutions and most of civilizations. We will break into tribes fighting for territory.

      The Book of Revelation tells us the majority of the people world will be killed by the terrible destruction. It will come upon us suddenly. The gathering to Zion is a work done by the angels not by any institution. Yes, I just went against what the church teaches in a small way.

      I love this church and pray with all my heart for the good people in it, but unless we are individually ministered to and gathered by angels, we will not assist with the building of the New Jerusalem. It’s time to step up and advance up the ladder to become what the Lord requires of us – Sons of God. We need to be gathered by angels.

      As with most people who study the last days, I am still sorting out the timing of events that we read in Matthew 24, The Book of Revelation, the writings of Joel, Daniel and others. Everybody has an opinion of what fits where. Some occur concurrently. Some are specifically prophesied to occur after certain other events.

      There’s one thing I know – we MUST be gathered by the angels to participate in the building of Zion in the Tops of the Mountains. That is NOT in Independence, Missouri or Salt Lake City Utah. You can read more in these sources:

      http://denversnuffer.blogspot.com/2010/09/remnant-part-iv.html

      http://denversnuffer.blogspot.com/2010/07/3-nephi-21-27-28.html

      http://denversnuffer.blogspot.com/2010/06/3-neph-16-11.html

      http://denversnuffer.blogspot.com/2010/07/discussion-of-gentiles-and-remnant.html

      http://denversnuffer.blogspot.com/2012/07/clearing-off-some-pending-questions.html (Skip down to Zion)

      And especially this one I linked to in the post:

      http://denversnuffer.blogspot.com/2012/02/zion.html

      My apologies to those who think I’ve lost it. I promise you I have studied this out and prayed in great earnestness. You may believe I am deceived about the timing and the location. That’s your right to believe as the church teaches. I used to believe that. After all, my wife served her mission in Independence Missouri. I no longer do. But I will teach what I am told to teach when called upon to do so.

  2. According to Joseph Smith, New Jerusalem, and the Mountain of the Lord’s House, shall be built in Central America.

    President J Smith arose and said it is impossible to continue the subject that I spoke upon yesterday in Consequence of the weekness of my lungs. Yet I have a proclamation to make to the Elders you know the Lord has led the Church untill the present time I have now a great proclamation for the Elders to teach the Church hereafter which is in relation to Zion, The whole of North and South America is Zion, the mountain of the Lords House is in the Centre of North & South America, when the House is done, Baptism font erectd and finished & the worthy are washed, anointed, endowed & ordained Kings & priests, which must be done in this life, when the place is prepared you must go through all the ordinances of the house of the Lord so that you who have any dead friends must go through all the ordinances for them the same as for yourselves; then the Elders are to go through all America & build up Churches untill all Zion is built up, but not to commence to do this untill the Temple is built up here and the Elders endowed then go forth & accomplish the work & build up stakes in all North and South America, Their will be some place ordained for the redeeming of the dead I think this place will be the one, so their will be gathering fast enough here. President Smith lungs failed him and he appointed Elder G. J. Adams to occupy the time during the foornoon He however remarked that his proclamation just made was the greatest ever made as all could not come here; but it was necessary that enoughshould come to build up the temple & get an endowment so that the work could spread abroad. – WJS, p. 282

    There was a second witness to this sermon.

    Prest. J. Smith said he must give up the subject of yesterday. Made a proclamation.—I have another great and grand Revelation—great discussion where Zion is.— The whole America is Zion that is the Zion where the Mountain of the Lords house shall be. about the central part of N. & South America.— soon as the Temple is finished.—Lord hath ordained where these last & most important ordinances must be in a house.—provided for the purpose.—when we can get a house built first there is the place.—Bap. washed. anointed, sealed &c for the dead the same as for themselves.— from henceforth the elders shall build churches where ever the people receive the gospel sufficient. then build stakes to this place. I verily believe that God will establish this place for the salvation of the dead. —those who want to save their dead can come hither. those who do not wish to come hither to live can bring their families and attend the ordinances and return. – WJS, p. 282

    The temple spoken of in these quotes is Nauvoo, which was never completed.

    In light of this, this quote becomes very interesting.

    Last sunday I had the privilege of attending meeting and in the forenoon listening to a very interesting discourse by Pres. J. Smith He took for his subject the words of the Savior to wit. “O Jerusalm thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto you! How oft would I have gatherred you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings and you would not!” He beautifully and in a most powerful manner, illustrated the necessity of the gathering and the building of the Temple that those ordinances may be administered which are necessary preparations for the world to come: he exhorted the people in impressive terms to be diligent—to be up and doing lest the tabernacle pass over to another people and we lose the blessing. – WJS, p. 182

    The temple spoken of here is, again, Nauvoo.

    This appears to dovetail nicely with John Sorenson’s observations that the geographical details in the text of the Book of Mormon only fit a Central American setting.

    Which makes these things extremely interesting.

    3 Nephi 20:22
    22 And behold, this people will I establish in this land, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with your father Jacob; and it shall be a New Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you.

    D&C 93
    24 And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come;

    25 And whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning.

    How many of our traditions are false? How much of what we do, as a Church, is based on these false traditions?

    1. Tim, I don’t agree with you, but can you tell me why the private records of this sermon take precedence over the history of the church and the revelations in the Doctrine & Covenants, or do I have to wade through all those Snuffer links to find the answer?

      Also, I can’t help wondering, if I believed as you do, how I would pray for the Lord’s spirit to attend my teaching of things I didn’t believe, so that both the teacher and the student might be edified?

      How do you do it?

      1. Of all the wonderful comments today on this post, I only have time tonight to answer one (it’s been a long day at work). I chose yours because it’s a great question. Thanks for asking. I have many private beliefs that are not found in our curriculum. I’m sure you know we don’t teach certain things in our classrooms on purpose. I fully sustain the direction of the brethren to not teach what is outside the manuals. There is wisdom in that. To answer your question, that’s how I’m able to teach with the spirit. I teach what is authorized and nothing more.

        A man can have an opinion or an idea of the way something really is or will be. In fact, he can have inspiration, revelation or an open vision for that matter, but he MUST NOT teach what is outside the curriculum. The Brethren have the right to tell us what they want taught in the classrooms. I pray for the spirit to help me make it interesting, arrange it in the manner that will be most helpful and inspirational to those who come to class desiring to be fed. That same can be said for speaking from the podium in Sacrament meeting when called upon to do so. I may have differing opinions, but will teach only from authorized sources.

        I do pray specifically to be edified when I teach. I pray for inspiration in how I arrange the material, how I present the material and even what questions I ask when. Almost always, I prepare way more than I’ll ever use in the allotted 35-40 minutes. Years of teaching seminary taught me the importance of the learner experience over getting through all the material. It’s important to me to have a rapport with those in the classroom or the congregation. Sometimes you have to be a little bit of an entertainer, but mostly I find if I come with the attitude that I’m excited to teach because I’m not exactly sure what will happen, I know the Lord will bless us and yes, we will both be edified together.

        How do I do it? I fast and pray. My wife can attest I spend hours researching and preparing. I take teaching the gospel seriously. I love to teach. But I will not jeopardize the fragile testimonies of those I love in my ward and stake. They come to be nourished by the good word of God. It is my responsibility to feed the sheep and to strengthen them. My personal gospel study and my favorite topics – two of them combined in this post – Last days and Signs of the Times – are for my own edification and spiritual nourishment. I share them on my blog specifically because I want good people like you to ask me the hard questions so I can judge my own feelings and see what I lack yet.

        Forget about Denver Snuffer. He’s not important. What’s important is our personal relationship with the Lord. My goal is to get to the point where I can say what I am doing with my life is pleasing to the Lord. By that I mean, my attitudes toward work, towards my church calling and assignments, my lot in life as far as health or sickness and how well I accept what the Lord places in my path for me to deal with. Only then can I exercise faith unto salvation. A lot of what I write about is not central to the gospel, which is really quite simple – repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Ghost and endure to the end in faith. It would be nice to have a visit from the Lord saying “Today, I have begotten thee. Thou art my son,” or similar words. But it’s almost as good to hear the voice of the Lord in my mind say, “I am not displeased with what you are trying to accomplish of your own free will.” And that, my friend, I can say I have heard, specifically about this blog and the things I write.

        Ideas about where Zion will be are not nearly as important as how we are progressing to become a Zion people, filled with the love of God and of our fellow man. Our words are evidence of how we feel about others. I seek kindness and understanding. I hope you sense that. I appreciate that you read my post and left a comment. Thank you for asking me how I can teach something I don’t believe. We know someday there will be a New Jerusalem built. I don’t care where it is. What I care about is if I will be worthy to meet the Lord there and labor in his vineyard as a resurrected being during the millennium. Like I say, I’m an old man. I’m of the opinion we’re in for some tremendous cosmological upheaval in the near future, but I really don’t care if I’m mortal or immortal when it happens. I just want to be with the Lord and be found worthy to be His faithful servant.

  3. I have that book Abraham Decoded, as a matter of fact I have quite a few new books (kindle and paper), my latest book is is “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Asian. I have only started and it reads well, no commentary yet.

    This is a great post and I have a question. While we are waiting for that “Great and Dreadful” day, what are we to be doing? I hope that as the “lights” of the world, we would be busy about our Fathers work. Going beyond the passive “loving our neighbors” and bring a freezer meal, etc.

    Last week I read where the Chinese government has changed it’s policy concerning married couples having only one child, now they can have two. I almost blew it off, but something nudged me to read a little more. I was not familiar with the details of this practice, and I was sucker punched when I read that during the time of this practice, over 600 million pregnancies were “averted” since 1971.Infanticide of female babies was/is rampant due to a misguided preference for boy babies. A significant amount of “averting” was done as late term abortions and forced sterilizations of unwilling mothers. Now, the projection is that by 2020 there will be approximately 30 million “lone men” in the garden. (So that’s a potential 30 million families waiting to happen, and 60 (2 children each) million souls waiting for a chance to be born to those particular people ( who by the way, chose the Savior’s plan of eternal families in the premortal). I had a strong impression that at some point in the near future, just like the Berlin Wall, China’s wall will come down and we will not be able to “avert” our eyes. It will become something that every believer in God; LDS and everyone else will have to determine how to help. Will the Church be able to move forward in China after this? This sound’s so extreme but I believe that when we all pray to be better servants to God’s children, this will be the example that will “sound loudly in our ears”.

    So, our families are in trouble. Just because most members of the Church have done the work for their kindred dead, will that be enough to prevent the “earth’s curse”. You can get a visual of the curse in China, right now the population in China is not growing, it’s getting older, and as older people die, a family dies, the workforce shrinks, the economy takes a tumble, security is breached.Famine, wars and pestilence and there are no replacements. These are examples of “signs”. Before that great and dreadful day, there will be many signs, There is a lot of work to do and as “the lights of the world”, even as 5 of the 10 virgins, it doesn’t make sense to hotly debate whose “End of the World” theory is right or wrong or even close. Not a sermon…… just saying
    Thanks Tim

  4. Tim, I’m aligning more to your thoughts. I have a couple of statements, maybe to clarify, or not.

    Scenario 1: The Church continues to grow and send the gospel to all the world. Eventually Zion will be built, not sure how all the tribulations will take place.

    Scenario 2: Denver and others are correct. The Gentiles (including the Church) did not accomplish what the Lord wanted, they had their chance.

    Tribulations and destruction, war and pestilence change everything. Angels, the Remnant, and those in the Church of the Firstborn, will start the gathering process anew. Over a period of time Zion is built and is able to withstand and rebuke the aggression of the world, all those who choose to be Zion will be gathered. At the Second Coming, those who are wicked will be burned.

    Log could make 30 pages out of this!

  5. That is, in fact, what I am personally studying right now – trying to get the sequence of the end-times events in the scriptures straight.

    Jacob 5 does not unambiguously support scenario 1, contrary claims notwithstanding. The lord of the vineyard is the Father (3 Nephi 15:15, 20, 3 Nephi 17:4, 3 Nephi 21:26), and the ever-present servant is therefore Christ, pleading the cause of his people (Jacob 5:27, 50; D&C 45:3). The other servants the servant is charged by the lord of the vineyard with calling are brought by him to the lord, and receive their directions from him personally, therefore they are not the missionaries, neither the Brethren.

  6. I’ve read a lot of opinions on the internet lately about the temple being desecrated by a homosexual couple being married in it by court order or something of this nature. Just a couple of thoughts…

    1. If the Church were served with a court order to perform a homosexual marriage in the temple, then why wouldn’t the church simply change the way they perform marriages by having people to be married civilly outside the Temple and then come back to the temple for the sealing ordinance (which wouldn’t be a legal marriage). This would in effect solve the whole issue and would make for a more interesting Mormon wedding might I add.

    2. How do we know this hasn’t already happened in a temple somewhere; e.g., a homosexual man (who has had a sex change to be a woman) has in effect lied to the Church, been baptized, and then has been sealed to his husband in the Temple on the sly.

    3. It’s likely that our temples have already been desecrated to a comparable degree by unworthy members entering therein.

  7. Mark 13:14 has a phrase different than Matthew 24:15: “But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) . . .”

    Luke 17 juxtaposes some interesting passages. The reader can judge whether this is intentional or not:

    “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all” (v. 26-27).

    “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed” (v. 28-30).

    “I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left” (v. 34).

  8. A little something from Isaiah Decoded from Avraham Gileadi, page 177: “As a foretaste of their return home to dwell in his presence, Jehovah manifests himself to his sons / servants on the earth and ministers to them. Just as they had ministered to others spiritually and physically, and as they had been ministered to by angels to prepare them for this moment, so Israel’s God personally ministers to them and they receive his promise of eternal blessedness.” Sounds so familiar – almost exactly what I’ve been reading else from another who claims to have been ministered by the Savior. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

  9. Pingback: Thoughts on the End of the World – Latter-day Commentary – Last Days – Signs of the Times

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