Four resurrections in the beginning of the 7th thousand year

[friendsofthe]

From my blog.

Today’s subject will delve into uncharted waters, however it is hoped that by the time you get to the end of the blog you will be able to see how plainly this doctrine is taught in modern day scripture.

We traditionally think of the resurrection associated the Lord’s Second Coming as that which takes place when he comes in his glory, when the righteous are caught up to meet him. This resurrection is well document, in the 88th section of the D&C we read:

95 And there shall be silence in heaven for the space of half an hour; and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the Lord shall be unveiled;
96 And the saints that are upon the earth, who are alive, shall be quickened and be caught up to meet him.
97 And they who have slept in their graves shall come forth, for their graves shall be opened; and they also shall be caught up to meet him in the midst of the pillar of heaven—
98 They are Christ's, the first fruits, they who shall descend with him first, and they who are on the earth and in their graves, who are first caught up to meet him; and all this by the voice of the sounding of the trump of the angel of God.
99 And after this another angel shall sound, which is the second trump; and then cometh the redemption of those who are Christ's at his coming; who have received their part in that prison which is prepared for them, that they might receive the gospel, and be judged according to men in the flesh.

Most of us are locked into the idea that this is the one and only time of mass resurrection at the Lord’s coming. This way of thinking is the very thing that keeps us from understanding some of the Lord’s most plain and precious declarations in modern day scripture. By opening our minds to the possibility of multiple resurrections, much of the confusion that exists surrounding the Second Coming can be eliminated.

We shall introduce the other three resurrections by working our way back in time to the beginning of the millennium. Our next stop is the Lord’s appearance at the time of the battle of Armageddon. The armies of Gog have killed two prophets who have successfully defended Jerusalem for 42 months. Their dead bodies lie in the streets for 3 ½ days. We pick up on what the Lord told his apostles about what would happen next from the 45th section of the Doctrine and Covenants, it is purely chronological, we read:

43 And the remnant shall be gathered unto this place;
44 And then they shall look for me, and, behold, I will come; and they shall see me in the clouds of heaven, clothed with power and great glory; with all the holy angels; and he that watches not for me shall be cut off.
45 But before the arm of the Lord shall fall, an angel shall sound his trump, and the saints that have slept shall come forth to meet me in the cloud.
46 Wherefore, if ye have slept in peace blessed are you; for as you now behold me and know that I am, even so shall ye come unto me and your souls shall live, and your redemption shall be perfected; and the saints shall come forth from the four quarters of the earth.
47 Then shall the arm of the Lord fall upon the nations.
48 And then shall the Lord set his foot upon this mount, and it shall cleave in twain, and the earth shall tremble, and reel to and fro, and the heavens also shall shake.
49 And the Lord shall utter his voice, and all the ends of the earth shall hear it; and the nations of the earth shall mourn, and they that have laughed shall see their folly.
50 And calamity shall cover the mocker, and the scorner shall be consumed; and they that have watched for iniquity shall be hewn down and cast into the fire.
51 And then shall the Jews look upon me and say: What are these wounds in thine hands and in thy feet?
52 Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto them: These wounds are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son of God.

Now, wasn’t that profound, simple and strait forward? If you will receive it, here the Lord says what he means and means what he says, as he had promised to do back in verses 15 & 16 where he had declared “Wherefore, hearken and I will reason with you, and I will speak unto you and prophesy, as unto men in days of old. And I will show it plainly as I showed it unto my disciples as I stood before them in the flesh”

That’s what we have here brother and sisters, a plain, straight forward, chronological prophecy of Christ’s appearance to the Jews at the battle of Armageddon and a resurrection is part of the sequence. All that is required of us is the faith to believe the Lord’s words.

Coming to understand that there are resurrections associated with the Lords appearance to the Jews and when he comes in his glory should cause us to inquire about his appearance at Adam-Ondi-Ahman and the New Jerusalem as well. The Lord has given us the clues we seek in the Doctrine and Covenants. First we go to the 29th section, we read:

11 For I will reveal myself from heaven with power and great glory, with all the hosts thereof, and dwell in righteousness with men on earth a thousand years, and the wicked shall not stand.
12 And again, verily, verily, I say unto you, and it hath gone forth in a firm decree, by the will of the Father, that mine apostles, the Twelve which were with me in my ministry at Jerusalem, shall stand at my right hand at the day of my coming in a pillar of fire, being clothed with robes of righteousness, with crowns upon their heads, in glory even as I am, to judge the whole house of Israel, even as many as have loved me and kept my commandments, and none else.
13 For a trump shall sound both long and loud, even as upon Mount Sinai, and all the earth shall quake, and they shall come forth—yea, even the dead which died in me, to receive a crown of righteousness, and to be clothed upon, even as I am, to be with me, that we may be one.

The event eluded to above in verse 12 where the Lord says, “mine apostles, the Twelve which were with me in my ministry at Jerusalem, shall stand at my right hand at the day… to judge the whole house of Israel” will be at the time of his appearance at Adam-ondi-Ahman. Of this event and it’s place and time Elder Bruce R. McConkie has said:

Daniel's account of the great latter-day council at Adam-ondi-Ahman includes these words: "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened." (Dan. 7:9-10.) Thrones are cast down: the kingdoms of this world cease; it is the day when the Lord makes a full end of all nations. He alone shall be exalted in that day. The Ancient of Days, the oldest and most ancient of men, Adam our father, sits in judgment over the righteous of his race. Be it remembered that the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, who were with the Lord in his ministry in Jerusalem, shall judge the whole house of Israel, meaning that portion of Israel who have kept the commandments, "and none else." (D&C 29:12.) There will be a great hierarchy of judges in that great day, of whom Adam, under Christ, will be the chief of all. Those judges will judge the righteous ones under their jurisdiction, but Christ himself, he alone, will judge the wicked. All this we have heretofore set forth; now we are seeing Adam sitting in his judicial capacity. And the scene is glorious indeed
(Bruce R. McConkie, The Millennial Messiah: The Second Coming of the Son of Man, pg. 584.)

Having established that the judgment spoken of in verse 12 takes place when the Lord appears at Adam-Ondi-Ahman, we now turn to verse 13 where we learn of something else that will take place at this time. We read, “and they shall come forth—yea, even the dead which died in me, to receive a crown of righteousness, and to be clothed upon, even as I am, to be with me that we may be one”.

Next we go to D&C 133 where we pick up even more details about the Lords appearance at Adam-Ondi-Ahman and the attendant resurrection. Verses 46-56 constitute a sequence that will take place at that time. We read:

46 And it shall be said: Who is this that cometh down from God in heaven with dyed garments; yea, from the regions which are not known, clothed in his glorious apparel, traveling in the greatness of his strength?
47 And he shall say: I am he who spake in righteousness, mighty to save.
48 And the Lord shall be red in his apparel, and his garments like him that treadeth in the wine-vat.
49 And so great shall be the glory of his presence that the sun shall hide his face in shame, and the moon shall withhold its light, and the stars shall be hurled from their places.
50 And his voice shall be heard: I have trodden the wine-press alone, and have brought judgment upon all people; and none were with me;
51 And I have trampled them in my fury, and I did tread upon them in mine anger, and their blood have I sprinkled upon my garments, and stained all my raiment; for this was the day of vengeance which was in my heart.
52 And now the year of my redeemed is come; and they shall mention the loving kindness of their Lord, and all that he has bestowed upon them according to his goodness, and according to his loving kindness, forever and ever.
53 In all their afflictions he was afflicted. And the angel of his presence saved them; and in his love, and in his pity, he redeemed them, and bore them, and carried them all the days of old;
54 Yea, and Enoch also, and they who were with him; the prophets who were before him; and Noah also, and they who were before him; and Moses also, and they who were before him;
55 And from Moses to Elijah, and from Elijah to John, who were with Christ in his resurrection, and the holy apostles, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, shall be in the presence of the Lamb.
56 And the graves of the saints shall be opened; and they shall come forth and stand on the right hand of the Lamb, when he shall stand upon Mount Zion, and upon the holy city, the New Jerusalem; and they shall sing the song of the Lamb, day and night forever and ever.

So here in verse 56 we learn that there shall be resurrections when “he shall stand upon Mount Zion” and “upon the holy city, the New Jerusalem”.

One of the keys to understanding this sequence is in verse 49 where it says, “the sun shall hide his face in shame, and the moon shall withhold its light, and the stars shall be hurled from their places”. This is a condition that will exist when the Lord appears at Adam-Ondi-Ahman and is reminiscent of his appearance in 3rd Nephi. In some similar passages we read that the moon is “as blood” and in others it “shall withhold its light” as stated above. It is obviously a sequence, “as blood” first and “withhold(ing) its light” second. These conditions are a result of events that take place at the very end of the 6th seal and the resulting darkness will prevail when the Lord appears at Adam-Ondi-Ahman, thus opening the 7th seal.

In Rev. 6:12-13 John says, “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind” so we know this is a 6th seal event, right up to and including the point were the earth is in darkness.

Also reminiscent of 3rd Ne. are his words in verses 50-51 where “his voice shall be heard” to say to a world that lies in ruins, “I have trodden the wine-press alone, and have brought judgment upon all people; and none were with me; And I have trampled them in my fury, and I did tread upon them in mine anger, and their blood have I sprinkled upon my garments, and stained all my raiment; for this was the day of vengeance which was in my heart”.

Understanding this important concept of multiple resurrections in the beginning of the 7th seal helps to lessen the confusion surrounding the dawning of our Lord’s millennial reign. It helps us to see that there is a sequence in some sections of scripture where we had not noticed it before. By understanding this concept, passages that appeared to be jumping from event to event in our old way of thinking are rendered as pure and simple chronology.

[NoGreaterLove]

Still digesting it.

[Like]

Still digesting it.

Me too! Thanks Frank for posting this.....

[Squally]

Still digesting it.

Digestion is complete and I think it's pretty good stuff.

Thanks.