Second Coming, The
The ancient prophets focused on two events as the primary burden of all prophecy: (1) The coming of the Lord into the world to make the sacrifice as a Redeemer, and (2) His return in glory to judge the world. All the prophecies that dealt with the Lord’s first coming described a single generation in which all the events would take place. Likewise, the prophecies about His return focus upon events that will occur in a single generation that will see the fulfillment of the prophecies and the Lord’s return in glory to judge the world. The first coming of the Lord was so insignificant that even today people debate about the authenticity of the record of Him coming because it was so unheralded in the halls of Alexandria and Rome and elsewhere in the world; the gospel writers were there — front and center — and witnessed it, but it was a very local event. Just like His birth, the prophecies about His Second Coming and the events that will take place during that second, concentrated, prophetic foretelling is not going to be something that is unlike the first. It will be easy for the world to not notice. If one is not looking for the signs, it will be upon you like a thief in the night — unwelcome, unheralded, unexpected. But if one takes the prophecies to heart, one can recognize when that generation arrives and when His coming is near, even at the doorsteps. In commemorating and celebrating the birth of Christ, one ought to be grateful not only for His first coming but for the promises of His second advent.1
The evidence and information concerning the Second Coming is not secret, exclusive, mysterious, or hermetic but is available to all: I, the Lord, am willing to make these things known unto all flesh (T&C 54:6). The speculative and astonishing proclamations of millennialists (in these last days, as well as in previous centuries) that expect immediate results are soundly refuted by modern revelation. Although fear and anxiety may attend the unfolding of sudden and terrifying events, there is great hope for those who are working to put up the new stage, even while others are striking down the old. The events will bear everything out. Search these commandments, for they are true and faithful, and the prophecies and promises which are in them shall all be fulfilled (T&C 54:7). One can accept that proposition, but not until one has “search[ed] these commandments.” Christ warned that the day is soon at hand when the earth will be ripe, and all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble, and I will burn them up, that wickedness shall not be upon the earth (T&C 9:3). It is an unconditional declaration that will not be ignored: That which was spoken by mine apostles must be fulfilled, for as they spoke, so shall it come to pass (ibid.).
The concern today is what must be faced before that day. The scriptures foretell of catastrophic cosmic and global events leading up to the time when the cup of [the Lord’s] indignation is full (T&C 9:5). There is no lack of signs for those who want to investigate. Jesus was asked about the signs which would accompany His return, and He answered in Luke 12:17:
The Lord has described His future coming in many ways, but only once did He describe the event as His second coming (T&C 17:1). In a subsequent revelation, He said, I will come, and they shall see me in the clouds of Heaven, clothed with power and great glory, with all the holy angels (T&C 31:9). Those four descriptors (cloud, power, glory, and angels)2 are the most common words He uses to characterize what is generally referred to simply as “my coming.” He adds that He will come in judgment, He will wear red clothing as a symbol of that judgment, and He will appear recognizable (still bearing the wounds in His hands and feet as the slain and resurrected Son of God). The Lord’s coming in “the glory of the Father,” signifies a change in the Lord’s relationship with mankind. Whereas with His first coming He came not to judge the world, but to save the world (John 8:6), when the Lord comes again, it will be to judge the wicked and deliver those who have waited on him.3 He comes as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Christ, when He returns, will have the legal and lawful right to possess the earth, to rule it, and to govern it. And He will come to govern.4 For the wicked, it will be a day of dread from which they will desire relief, wanting the mountains to cover them. For His church (defined as those who repent and come unto Christ), it is that great day referred to as the “coming of the Bridegroom.” Of that day, the scriptures say that the Lord will come suddenly, quickly, and as a thief in the night, and only those wise virgins with oil in their vessels will go in with Him to the marriage.
The Lord defines that period of time and calls it “today.” Behold, now it is calledtoday (until the coming of the Son of Man )… (T&C 51:7). And in the same scripture, speaking after the manner of the Lord, He declares that after today comes the burning. His Second Coming ends the period of time called “today” and begins the period called “tomorrow.” For truly I say,tomorrow all the proud and they that do wickedly shall be as stubble, and I will burn them up, for I am the Lord of Hosts and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon. Wherefore, if you believe me, you will labor while it is calledtoday(ibid.).
“Tomorrow” is also referred to in scripture as “the day of the Lord.” But neither “today” nor “the day of the Lord” are 24-hour periods. They are rather substantial periods of time. Today is a day of repentance, sacrifice, and labor; a day for the “wheat” to develop. When the wheat is fully ripe, the Lord will return (T&C 159:25). Tomorrow is a day of harvest for the wheat and a day of binding and burning for the tares: a day in which repentance is no longer possible for some. When the Lord comes again, He will show Himself first to a gathered remnant at a place that God has prepared in the boundaries of the everlasting hills. It will be Zion and the place where a Holy city, the New Jerusalem, will be built. The remnant shall be gathered unto this place. And then they shall look for me, and behold, I will come, and they shall see me in the clouds of Heaven (T&C 31:9).
The actual appearance of Christ at the Second Coming is described as a singular event. The Lord will come within the light of a heavenly sign,5 a sign that all the world sees, for He “will come as the sign of the coming of the Son of Man.”6 And during this period known as the “day of the Lord,” He will visit all his people Israel:… upon the mount of Olivet and upon the mighty ocean, even the great deep, and upon the islands of the sea, and upon the land of Zion (T&C 58:3).7
The people misapprehended what God was doing and what the first mission of the Lord would be — but people misapprehend what the Lord is doing and how the Lord is going to accomplish His purposes now, at the end of times, as well. The ability of God to accomplish a matter (while He is also concealing the matter from the understanding of the world) should never be questioned, because that is exactly how He has accomplished, over and over again, the things that He said He intended to do.8 Mankind is approaching the moment in which the Lord is about to return. All of the signs that He speaks of will occur in one single generation, and the signs have begun to appear. This means those now alive are living within a generation in which a great deal is to occur. As it was in the days of Noah, so is it about to be — on the one hand, dreadful things are coming; but it also means that prophets are again going to be among man, people with messages that come from the Lord.9 The coming of the Lord in the future will not bring an immediate resurrection — just as the resurrection of Christ did not empty the world of spirits of even the righteous dead. Those who will be prepared at His coming will remain comparatively few still. Hence, the great need to turn the hearts of the children to the fathers and the fathers to the children — and this too by covenant and sealing through the Holy Spirit of Promise.10
God intends to re-establish a civilization on the other side of the Second Coming that will finally be one in which men are at peace with one another and with nature. And that accomplishment needs to be achieved with a population of people that He preserves, that He has watched over, and that He intends to use to rebuild His kingdom on Earth. “So, don’t think — wherever you are — that you’re not in plain sight of the Lord and that the Lord isn’t keenly aware of you, with an intention to include you in what His future plans are — because God is more aware of you individually than maybe you are even of Him.”11See also SIGNS OF THE TIMES.
1 Podcast 50: “Celebrating Christ,” December 15, 2018, Sandy, UT, original content, transcript, 6–7.
2 See T&C 9:3; 17:2; 43:7; 102:3; 157:31; 160:1; Daniel 7:4; Matthew 9:3; 11:19; Mark 5:4; 6:8; Luke 7:4; 12:17, 18; Revelation 1:3; 1 Nephi 7:5; 2 Nephi 5:5.
3 T&C 160:4; “Christ’s Second Coming is the largest star field on the ecliptic. He will return to pour out judgment, blessing those who follow Him and destroying those who rebel. The destruction of the wicked is what Christ identified as the end of the world (Matthew 11:2 RE). Aquarius has two outflows from the Water Bearer’s urn.” One represents water (giving life), and the other represents fire (or purging).
“Our Divine Parents,” March 25, 2018, transcript, 15.
4 Denver C. Snuffer, The Teachings of Denver C. Snuffer, Jr., Vol. 1, 2007-2013, (Restoration Archive, 2019), preface, 6.
5 T&C 160:1; Joseph Smith also gives a description: “Read Mathew 24 [Matthew 11 RE] and all the Prophets. He says then shall they see the sign of the coming of the Son of Man in the clouds of Heaven. How are we to see it? Answer: As the lighting up of the morning or the dawning of the morning cometh from the east and shineth unto the west—So also is the coming of the Son of Man. The dawning of the morning makes its appearance in the east and moves along gradually; so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. It will be small at its first appearance and gradually becomes larger until every eye shall see it. Shall the Saints understand it? Oh yes; Paul says so. Shall the wicked understand? Oh no, they attribute it to a natural cause.” JSP, Documents, March—July 1843, Vol. 12:173–174, “Discourse, 6 April 1843–B, as Reported by James Burgess,” pp. [4–7]; see also WJS, 180–181, spelling corrected.
6 Matthew 11:6; TPJS, 286–287.
7
See also Zechariah 1:38; T&C 31:10–11; “The definition of an isle of the sea” includes everything that is not part of the great Euro-Asian-African land mass. Although we regard North America as a continent, in the Book of Mormon vernacular it is an “isle of the sea” (2 Nephi 7:5).
“2 Nephi 29:6–7,” August 11, 2010, blog post.
8 “Christmas Fireside,” December 20, 2020, Lehi, UT, transcript, 11.
9 500th Year Reformation Talk One, Sept. 21, 2017, Los Angeles, CA, transcript, 11.
10 “Plural Marriage,” March 22, 2015, Sandy, UT, transcript, 42.
11 “Remaining Restoration,” December 9, 2022, blog post.