The Second Coming of Jesus Christ

Zephaniah

            The people in the days of Zephaniah were wicked. They have turned their backs to the Lord and they do not seek the Lord. In the first chapter of Zephaniah the Lord says multiple times that he will “consume all things from off the land” and “also will I punish all those that leap on the threshold, which fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.” Among these wicked people though there are those who are righteous. To these people the Lord will stretch out his hand to them and protect them. This compares to our day very well. We have those who are wicked and who turn away from the Lord, and these people will be punished for their sins. We also have those who are very righteous, who are turning towards the Lord and who try to live their lives how Christ did. To these souls, the Lord will stretch out his hand to them and will protect them.

            These scriptures also talk about the Second Coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. Zephaniah 1:14 says, “The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteneth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.” We could read on to verse 15 that says, “That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness.”

            It is through these verses that we can recognize the significance and the parallel to the present day. The day that Christ comes again is coming and it is near. If we are faithful we will be protected and we will be hid from his wrath and the destruction. If we are wicked and turn away from the Lord then we will face his wrath.

            Now, this could be a cause of concern, worry, and fear for a lot of people. Even if we are living our life as best as we can and are truly trying to be Christlike and to live our lives accordingly, we often feel like we are inadequate and like we are not good enough. The thought of the second coming can be scary if we are not living our lives how we should be and if we are not prepared. Being prepared is the key. What are some other ways that we can be prepared for the Second Coming of the Lord?

            Zephaniah 2:1-3 gives us some great answers to that question. We need to gather ourselves together. We need to gather around those who are also trying to live their lives as Christ did. This will help us stay with those who will help us push ourselves to become better and become the person we know we can become. We also need to seek the Lord, seek meekness, and seek righteousness. Verse 3 says that if we do these things “ye shall be hid in the day of the Lord’s anger.” We also need to be humble. Staying humble will allow us to see when we need to change something. It will allow us to become more Christlike and it will help us stay prepared for the Second Coming of the Lord.

           

            Lets focus on the Second Coming and what it entails. One question that comes to mind is how will the Lord destroy the wicked? This is not an easy question to answer for me but I will share with you a couple scriptures that help clarify this for me. We learn in D&C 5:19 that there will be a desolating scourge and it shall go forth among the inhabitants of the earth. If the people don’t repent then the inhabitants of the earth will be consumed away and be utterly destroyed by the brightness of his coming. The wicked that are not destroyed before the Second Coming will not be able to withstand the Lord’s power and glory and cannot dwell in righteousness. We also learn in Joseph Smith—History 1:27 that the earth will burn as an oven and those that are wicked will burn as stubble. That doesn’t sound pleasant at all. I will definitely do what I can right now so when the Lord comes again I will not be burned with the wicked.

            Zephaniah 3:9 teaches that Christ will “turn to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the Lord, to serve him with one content.” At first I wondered if it could mean that we will all speak one language, one that we currently have or a new language, or be able to understand every language. This is important for missionary work as well as being able to come together as children of God and serve him. At the end of the verse it says the purpose of having this pure language is so that we serve him, the Lord, with one content. Content in this context means unity. Having a pure language that everyone can understand helps us be able to come together in unity and serve him as one. This is very important.

            A phrase that is said in Zephaniah a few times is  “… be glad and rejoice with all the heart…” Why will we be able to rejoice? We can be glad and rejoice because the Lord will take away our judgments and cast out our enemy and we will not see evil anymore. This is definitely something to be glad and rejoice about! No judgment. No more evil will be seen! That is huge!

            The last question that I would like to bring up is, where will the Lord be? This seems like an obvious answer to me but I thought that it is an important concept to bring up. The Lord will be in the midst of us. He will save us, and rejoice over us with joy, he will rest in his love, and he will joy over thee with singing (Zephaniah 3:17).  During this time, the millennium, the Lord will not only be with us as he is now, he will be in the midst of us. How comforting and exciting is that thought. We will be around us, rejoice with us, love us and he will “turn back [our] captivity before [our] eyes” (Zephaniah 3:20).

            The Second Coming is near and we have no need to fear if we are prepared. There will be much destruction for the wicked, but if we are righteous we will be hid from the Lord’s wrath and destruction. During the millennium we will be united and work together to serve the Lord. And I know that the Lord will always be with us, helping us, guiding us, counseling us, loving us, and rooting for our success. I know that he will soon be in the midst of us. I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that he loves me more than I can comprehend. I know that I want to be just like him and be the best that I know, and he knows, that I can be. I love my Savior and am so thankful for his sacrifice for my sake and for the sake of those whom I love dearly. I know that he lives and that he is my Redeemer.

“The Lord Shall Reign”

Micah; Nahum

Micah was a prophet in Judah and he prophesied from around 737 to 696 BC. He is considered one of the twelve minor prophets of the Old Testament and was from southwest Judah. Micah prophesied during the reigns of kings Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah of Judah and his messages were directed chiefly toward Jerusalem.”

Micah prophesied that Jerusalem and Samaria would face destruction. “The mountains shall be molten under him”, “the valleys shall be cleft”, “Samaria as an heap of the field”, “I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.” He goes on to teach us that the graven images will be “beaten to pieces.”

The people would “covet fields, and take them by violence; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage (Micah 2:2).” Micah continues to tell us in verse 10, “Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your rest: because it its polluted, it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction.”

How could these people deserve so much destruction? Why did these things happen to them?

They prepare war against the Lord

They cut the Lord and his influence out of their lives

The prophets preached false doctrine

“The seers are ashamed, the diviners confounded”

“They built up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity (Micah 3:10).”

The judge’s judge for reward

The priests teach for hire

The prophets are divine for money

After Micah preaches of the destruction that will come and why the destruction is coming he talks about the last days. I find this really fascinating because its applicable to us right now. Micah teaches us that in the last days there will be temples and they will be on the mountaintops for all to see, and most importantly “…and people shall flow unto it (Micah 4:1).” It goes on to talk about missionary work and how the Lord’s gospel will be heard and taught to all. We will know of His ways and “we will walk in his paths (verse 2).” Then he preaches of the Millennial era in verse 3, “… nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

Micah prophesied of many very important events; Christ’s birth, the last days and the millennium. He was truly a man of God and received revelation from God often.

Micah 4:2, about halfway down it says, “…for the law shall go forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” We learn that this is likely referring to the constitutional form of government of the United States of America. Here is a quote from the institute student manual that explains this statement further.

“We pray that kings and rulers and the peoples of all nations under heaven may be persuaded of the blessings enjoyed by the people of this land by reason of their freedom under thy guidance and be constrained to adopt similar governmental systems, thus to fulfill the ancient prophecy of Isaiah and Micah that “. . . out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.”’ (Improvement Era, Oct. 1945, p. 504.)”

This explains that people will want to migrate to America or develop a government like ours, because of our freedoms. It is an interesting though to ponder. 

We can find hope and guidance through Micah 4:5-8. (I added the Italics)

 5. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever.

 6. In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted;

 7. And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.

 8. And thou, O tower of the flock, the strong hold of the daughter of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem.

We can also find hope through D&C 45:66-71, these verses talk about the blessings and hope that can come to us in we are righteous.

66 And it shall be called the New Jerusalem, a land of peace, a city of refuge, a place of safety for the saints of the Most High God;

 67 And the glory of the Lord shall be there, and the terror of the Lord also shall be there, insomuch that the wicked will not come unto it, and it shall be called Zion.

 68 And it shall come to pass among the wicked, that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety.

 69 And there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven; and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another.

 70 And it shall be said among the wicked: Let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we cannot stand.

 71 And it shall come to pass that the righteous shall be gathered out from among all nations, and shall come to Zion, singing with songs of everlasting joy.

Summarize the teachings in Micah 4:12; Isaiah 55:8–9

These verses teach us that we will not know or understand the thoughts of the Lord, because ‘his thoughts are not our thoughts’ and ‘his ways are higher than our ways’. We need to trust in him and live our lives as he did, or at least try the best that we can. We also need to remember that although things will not always go our way, or how we want them to, things will always go according to the Lord’s plan. This brings me comfort.

Micah 5:1-4 is one of the best-known messianic prophecies in the Old Testament. It is, in fact, the one quoted by Matthew in the New Testament as having been fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God

“But Thou, Bethlehem, ... out of Thee Shall He Come ... That Is to Be Ruler in Israel,”

I find it fascinating that Micah prophesied of this and then it, in fact, came true. This increases my testimony to see prophesies coming true. I know that there are prophets in the bible and that they are true prophets. I also know that we have modern-day prophets to help guide us as well.

In the last chapter of Micah and a few verses in the first chapter of Nahum there is some great insight into the second coming and how we will be judged. It also teaches us what should be doing. We should look unto the Lord for our salvation and he will hear us. We should rejoice unto the Lord and we can rise even when we fall. The Lord will argue for us and execute our judgment for us, through the atonement. We need to truly trust in the Lord, in his plans, and in his timing. Some verses that really comfort me are Nahum 1:3, 7.

“The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked.”

“The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.”

I know this was really long and had a lot of information. If you made it this far I want to say thank you! I have to talk about a certain number of topics for this to qualify for an assignment for school and this week’s had a lot of questions and directions. Thank you again for reading my insights, I hope you learned something!