Signs of the Times
The Signs of the Times are events occuring during the Last Days which have been prophesied as leading up to the Second Coming of Christ. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or Mormon Church, have the prophesies from the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, the Pearl of Great Price, and the prophets from Joseph Smith down to the current day.
The Lord has chosen not to reveal the exact time of the Second Coming:
- But of that day, and hour, no one knoweth; no, not the angels of God in heaven, but my Father only.
- But as it was in the days of Noah, so it shall be also at the coming of the Son of Man;
- For it shall be with them, as it was in the days which were before the flood; for until the day that Noah entered into the ark they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage;
- And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.
The flood is a type of the final destruction of the wicked. Noah preached to the people for many decades, but none would hearken to his warnings of impending doom except his own family. Prophets have warned and continue to warn that the earth will be cleansed of wickedness when Christ comes again. Though no one knew the exact date of the flood, they still had been warned to repent. The Lord has given signs that the Second Coming is approaching to prompt the righteous to prepare, and the wicked to repent.
As recorded in the Book of Matthew in the Bible, the apostles desired to know the signs of Jesus' return:
- And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying: Tell us when shall these things be which thou hast said concerning the destruction of the temple, and the Jews; and what is the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world, or the destruction of the wicked, which is the end of the world (Joseph Smith translation of Matthew:4)? [1]
In response, Jesus revealed to them some of the signs of the times:
- There will be many false Christs that would lead away many.
- False prophets will also arise, the apostles would be killed, and a general [[apostasy would occur.
- Iniquity will abound, causing the love of men to wax cold.
- Jerusalem would be overcome, leading to the "abomination of desolation."
- There will be "wars and rumors of wars." [1]
- There will be famines, pestilences and earthquakes.
- The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give light, the stars shall fall, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
- The sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven.
- ↑ In 1832, Joseph Smith received a revelation now recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants, section 87 [2]: "Verily, thus saith the Lord concerning the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls; And the time will come that war will be poured out upon all nations, beginning at this place. For behold, the Southern States shall be divided against the Northern States, and the Southern States will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain, as it is called, and they shall also call upon other nations, in order to defend themselves against other nations; and then war shall be poured out upon all nations (Doctrine and Covenants 87:1-3)."
