While looking at the cover picture for this post, an obvious realization came to me.
Look closely at that picture. What do you see?
The top of the picture is glorious. You can faintly make out a being in that bright light, coming out of the clouds.
It was the bottom of the picture that caught my attention. One word comes to mind: desolation.
It hit me why desolation and pain and suffering and death and starvation and destruction must happen to the people on this Earth before Christ’s Second Coming. People on earth are so stubborn and prideful. We wouldn’t accept Christ if He came out of the sky right now. With Netflix, food, water, and our comfortable lives, if we saw Him come straight out of the clouds as a bright star, we would be fascinated for as long as we’re fascinated with anything that hits the news.
Many would deny it as some sort of special effects stunt put on by the media.
The collective reaction of Earth seemed to be, “cool.”
How long would Christ’s coming fascinate us if it happened tomorrow? A week? A year? A day? Then it would become old news and we’d move on. Seriously. Seems ridiculous? I think it’s true.
Destruction will make people humble themselves and accept Christ when He comes. It will make some people realize man isn’t great at governing a planet and we need some help from something, anything. For those opposed to God and religion, what happens before the Second Coming may even make them concede we need help from the divine. The destruction of Earth that will come in the last days (these days) will hopefully lead to many realizing Satan’s principles (which now run the world) are destructive. Greed, envy, anger, jealousy, deceit, lust, and revenge cannot run a fruitful society.
The destruction will make people realize they need Jesus Christ. We see it now, today. No one thinks they need Christ in their life. No one cares about God. We’re comfortable. Life is good.
What happens when life isn’t as comfortable? People turn to God.
Life will get drastically less “good” before His coming. Many will cry about how it is unfair and how could a loving God let this happen to us? We let this happen to us. Our choices will lead us to that point.
What is the being in the top of that picture coming to do? What will Jesus Christ be coming to the earth to do? Look at the bottom of the picture again. When the Earth is destroyed, all our comforts and idols that we relied so heavily on gone, when that time comes, He will be coming to heal. He will be coming to fix what is broken. Who can deny we are broken?
While the destruction of the Second Coming can be a frightening topic, for the faithful it will be a bittersweet time to rejoice. While destruction happens around us, we can have faith and confidence that God is keeping all His promises to us, His children.
When that time comes, as fear grips the Earth, we can have joy amidst the world’s uncertainty. We will know our Savior is coming. We will know we can rely on Him. We will know, as long as we put our faith and trust in Him, all will work out for our benefit and for His glory.
As the world falls deeper and deeper into turmoil, what a comfort that is.
I write this as a complement to my testimony of the Book of Mormon as the Word of God.
For the purposes of what I’m writing I will focus on the Old Testament. I would gladly speak on the New Testament, but for simplicity I will focus on the Old.
Let’s look historically at the creation of the Bible. The text of the Old Testament was preserved and handed down by the hands of the Jews. It was protected by the Jews. If not for the Jews, there would be no Old Testament today.
By definition, a gentile is a person who is not Jewish. The Gentiles received the Bible from the Jews. Most of us are gentiles. If you come from Europe, have Catholic, Protestant, or pretty much any other Christian ties in your ancestry, you are most likely considered a gentile. Again, none of us would have the Bible today if it weren’t for the Jews.
It’s those same Gentiles who today say, A Bible, a Bible, we have a Bible! (2 Nephi 29:3). But how do you have the Bible? You have it from the Israelites, from the Jews. You didn’t do anything to gain it.
When Christ was crucified and resurrected the Jews of old who believed in Christ had a difficult time moving past their traditions. If you read about Paul and his missionary efforts, you will see that a major portion of his time was spent fighting Judaizers. Judaizers were “Christians in the primitive church who taught it was necessary to adopt Jewish customs and practices, especially those found in the Law of Moses.”
From History of the Christian Church, 1, 338 regarding Judaizers:
“These men were Christians in name, but narrow-minded and narrow-hearted Jews in fact. They were scrupulous, pedantic, slavish formalists, ritualists, and traditionalists of the malignant type. Circumcision of the flesh was to them more important than circumcision of the heart, or at all events an indispensable condition of salvation. Such men could, of course, not understand and appreciate Paul, but hated and feared him as a dangerous radical and rebel. Envy and jealousy mixed with their religious prejudice. They got alarmed at the rapid progress of the gospel among the unclean Gentiles who threatened to soil the purity of the church…”
For just a couple of examples of Paul’s contention with Judaizers see Acts 15:23-29, Galatians chapters 3 and 4, Acts 21: 20-25. That last example in Acts 21 would be roughly the year AD 58. At this point, 25 years after Christ’s death, there were still thousands of Jewish Christians following the Law of Moses.
I give this historical background to make a comparison to the Christian gentiles of today.
Christians who cannot accept any scripture outside of the Bible are the Jews of old. Holding firm to their traditions, fighting to preserve what they’ve always known, refusing to see the greater blessing of the Gospel right before them.
The Gentiles of today say, “I have a Bible.” By what source have you gotten your Bible?
4 But thus saith the Lord God: O fools, they shall have a Bible; and it shall proceed forth from the Jews, mine ancient covenant people. And what thank they the Jews for the Bible which they receive from them? Yea, what do the Gentiles mean? Do they remember the travails, and the labors, and the pains of the Jews, and their diligence unto me, in bringing forth salvation unto the Gentiles?
5 O ye Gentiles, have ye remembered the Jews, mine ancient covenant people? Nay; but ye have cursed them, and have hated them, and have not sought to recover them. But behold, I will return all these things upon your own heads; for I the Lord have not forgotten my people.
The Jews couldn’t accept further revelation – that Jesus was the Christ and in Him the law was fulfilled. Gentiles today – who have only been shown the mercy of God by being adopted into Christ’s fold – do the same thing. They have a Bible, they need no “other” Bible.
What does this speak of? It speaks of pride. This attitude says – “God has given us all He’s going to give us and now it’s up to ME, MAN to interpret what God is saying.” This pride removes God from the equation. You think God has disowned us? You think He’s given us all He can or will give us? WHY?!?!? God loves His children. Has He abandoned us?
The hard-hearted, prideful, and stubborn attitude of holding onto traditions has kept people from Christ since the start of mankind and it continues today. Let go of pride and accept that God still speaks to man. Pride makes us interpret the Bible how it suits us. Let go of pride and let God guide us.
The denial of modern revelation is the removal of God. It is the denial of either God’s love for us or His power in redeeming His children. How can people who can only accept the Bible not see that? They’ve removed a living God for God’s word. The Bible is God’s word to us, but what good is it if you don’t understand it? What good is it if you kick against the pricks? Let the spirit work within you and accept all truth God will give you. He will enlighten your mind and expand your spirit, but you must let Him, and stop removing Him by saying you have the Bible and that’s all you need.
The great apostle Paul spent his entire missionary career fighting against the Judaizers.
Today modern-day missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints spend so much time fighting modern day Judaizers, traditionalists. We must Bible bash, meanwhile we have a far greater message: GOD STILL LIVES, GOD STILL SPEAKS, REVELATION IS ALIVE. He has provided a new Book of Promise – the Book of Mormon – to help and guide us. Not to replace the Bible but to supplement it. READ IT. And see for yourself if it speaks to your spirit. See for yourself if God still loves His children. See for yourself if Jesus is the Christ and if HE IS STILL redeeming his people. Set aside your pride!
6 Thou fool, that shall say: A Bible, we have got a Bible, and we need no more Bible. Have ye obtained a Bible save it were by the Jews?
7 Know ye not that there are more nations than one? Know ye not that I, the Lord your God, have created all men, and that I remember those who are upon the isles of the sea; and that I rule in the heavens above and in the earth beneath; and I bring forth my word unto the children of men, yea, even upon all the nations of the earth?
8 Wherefore murmur ye, because that ye shall receive more of my word? Know ye not that the testimony of two nations is a witness unto you that I am God, that I remember one nation like unto another? Wherefore, I speak the same words unto one nation like unto another. And when the two nations shall run together the testimony of the two nations shall run together also.
9 And I do this that I may prove unto many that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and that I speak forth my words according to mine own pleasure. And because that I have spoken one word ye need not suppose that I cannot speak another; for my work is not yet finished; neither shall it be until the end of man, neither from that time henceforth and forever.
How accurate are those words written nearly 2600 years ago? Inspired writing. It is my testimony that the Book of Mormon can only bring a person closer to the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. I wish we could all remove our pride and stop being like the Judaizers of the primitive Church. Accept that Christ is as interested in us today as He was when He walked the earth 2000 years ago. Read His word. Hear His word. Feel his word. Accept his words. All of them.
No Coincidences 