Gospel topic
Destruction of the Wicked: Fire at the Second Coming
Tagged content
-
Quote
Charles W
Charles W. Penrose
.
-
Quote
After all nations have heard the proclamation, there will be silence in the heavens, and I do not know but on the earth too; for the people will doubtless be overpowered with astonishment to see an angel, the sound of whose trump shall pierce the ears of all living. After this, I say, there will be silence in heaven for half-an-hour. Then, after the wicked begin to recover and get a little strength, behold and lo! The curtain of heaven will be unfolded as a scroll that is rolled up. You know how our great maps are rolled out to expose their contents to the people; and the Lord has said the heavens shall be unfolded as a scroll that is rolled up is unfolded. What will be seen when this takes place? Our Savior, our Redeemer, will unveil his face. That Being who was born in Bethlehem—that being who has saved the world by offering his own life, how will he appear? Will he come as a common man? Or how will he make his appearance? He will appear as a being whose splendor and glory will cause the sun to hide his face with shame. The sun is a very glorious body; and when you look upon it, so great is the light, that you can scarcely see surrounding objects; but the light of the sun is nothing to be compared with the glory of that personage who shall appear when the heavens shall be unveiled, or unfolded like a scroll. The light of the sun will dwindle away, and he shall hide his face with shame. Who will be with Jesus when he appears? The decree has gone forth, saying, Mine Apostles who were with me in Jerusalem shall be clothed in glory and be with me. The brightness of their countenance will shine forth with all that refulgence and fulness of splendor that shall surround the Son of Man when he appears. There will be all those personages to whom he alludes. There will be all the former-day Saints, Enoch and his city, with all the greatness and splendor that surround them: there will be Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as they sit upon their thrones, together with all the persons that have been redeemed and brought near unto the presence of God. All will be unfolded and unveiled, and all this will be for the wicked to look upon, as well as the righteous; for the wicked will not as yet have been destroyed. When this takes place, there will be Latter-day Saints living upon the earth, and they will ascend and mingle themselves with that vast throng; for they will be filled with anxiety to go where the Saints of the Church of the Firstborn are, and the Church of the Firstborn will feel an anxiety to come and meet with the Saints on earth, and this will bring the general assembly of the redeemed into one; and thus will be fulfilled the saying of Paul, “That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.” About the same time that the Latter-day Saints are quickened (not immortalized), there will be Saints that have slumbered and slept for ages, and they are to be quickened and taken up into the heavens. Now the wicked are to see all these things; and if power of language could be given to them, what would they say? They would turn to the rocks and the mountains, and say, O mountains and rocks, fall upon us and hide us from the presence of Him that sits upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. And I have no doubt but they will have the power to say it. But they must endure the sight. After which, they must be consumed according to that which is spoken, and the heathen nations must be redeemed, and the way be prepared for the Lord to dwell upon the earth. The mortal Saints will then be transfigured and sanctified, but not immortalized. They will be prepared for the millennial reign. The tables will then be spread, and the Latter-day and Former-day Saints will be together to partake of the sacrament just as it is this afternoon, only more perfectly prepared. This is my object in thus portraying these things before you this afternoon, for as often as we do this we show forth the Lord's death till he come. When that time comes, he will partake of the fruit of the vine with us; and with him will be Moroni, Mormon, and Lehi, and all the inhabitants of this vast American continent who have been saved through the Gospel. There will be Enoch's city, the Former-day Saints, and the vast throng of resurrected Saints to sit down and partake of the supper of the great Bridegroom, and he will administer in the midst of his brethren. I hope and pray that I may be prepared to be one of that joyful throng to be assembled there with a pure heart, and one that is upright before God. I also hope that my brethren will be with me, and that we shall have the privilege of celebrating the marriage supper of the Lamb, for that will be a happy day.
Elder Orson Pratt
.
-
Quote
It would seem that not only man, but other creations of God respond to this law. The earth upon which we dwell had its birth out of the waters. And, when the debasing, corrupting sins of man defiled the face thereof, they were remitted—swept away by immersion. The windows of heaven being opened and the fountains of the deep broken up, the earth was literally baptized in water, as hereafter, abiding the law of its creation it will be literally baptized in fire and the
Elder Moses Thatcher
.
-
Quote
Just as surely as Jesus was born in Bethlehem, just so surely will he come again, a resurrected, glorified being, and with him will come hosts, and there will be many spectacular changes. It will not be the end of the world in the sense of annihilation, but the end of its present relationships, and there will be many, many changes. Beginning with the bridegroom's coming will come the celestializing of this earth and tremendous changes which we can hardly think of or believe. There are many people in the kingdom today who say, "Oh, they have been looking for the Savior ever since Peter and Paul, and he has not come yet." But he is coming, and the end of time is not too far away. I suppose it depends considerably on what we are doing and the preparations we are making for the closing scene. The world has to hear the gospel; we must preach it. We are the only ones who can. There are things we must do before the end does come, and perhaps that controls it to some extent. At any rate, not anyone in this building knows when the end is coming or when the Christ will come, any more than did the ten virgins. But there were five who were wise, and they were prepared. "But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." (Matthew 24:37.).. As it [the Flood] was a real drowning, there will be a real burning at this next great event when the end of the world comes, and the wicked will be burned. And, of course, we know that that is possible now. We did not know that when I was a child, that the earth could burn. We thought only material ordinarily considered combustible could be burned, but we find that everything can burn and melt. Since Hiroshima and Nagasaki we know that bombs can start a great conflagration, and other things can melt with fervent heat. And so the time is coming. I do not know when it will be. I only hope that when the examination is put on the blackboard, we will all be able to answer the questions satisfactorily.
Elder Spencer W. Kimball
.
-
Quote
This time he shall come in flaming fire, the vineyard shall be burned, and every living soul on earth shall know that a new order, of worldwide dimensions, has been ushered in. Thus saith the holy word: ‘‘The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.”’ (2 Thes. 1:7-8.) In flaming fire! What kind of fire? Flaming fire is flaming fire. It is actual literal fire that burns trees, melts ore, and consumes corruption.
Elder Bruce R. McConkie
.