Jesus the Christ Part 82

The inauguration of Christ's reign on earth is to be the beginning of a period that shall be distinct in many important particulars from all precedent and subsequent time; and the Lord shall reign with His people a thousand years. The government of individuals, communities and nations throughout this Millennium is to be that of a perfect theocracy, with Jesus the Christ as Lord and King. The more wicked part of the race shall have been destroyed; and during the period Satan shall be bound "that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled"; while the just shall share with Christ in rightful rule and dominion. The righteous dead shall have come forth from their graves, while the wicked shall remain unresurrected until the thousand years be past.[1587] Men yet in the flesh shall mingle with immortalized beings; children shall grow to maturity and then die in peace or be changed to immortality "in the twinkling of an eye."[1588] There shall be surcease of enmity between man and beast; the venom of serpents and the ferocity of the brute creation shall be done away, and love shall be the dominant power of control. Among the earliest revelations on the subject is that given to Enoch; and in this the return of that prophet and his righteous people with Christ in the last days was thus a.s.sured:

"And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other; And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the s.p.a.ce of a thousand years the earth shall rest. And it came to pa.s.s that Enoch saw the day of the coming of the Son of Man, in the last days, to dwell on the earth in righteousness for the s.p.a.ce of a thousand years."[1589]

In these latter days the Lord has thus spoken, requiring preparation for the Millennial era, and describing in part the glories thereof:

"And prepare for the revelation which is to come, when the veil of the covering of my temple, in my tabernacle, which hideth the earth, shall be taken off, and all flesh shall see me together.

And every corruptible thing, both of man, or of the beasts of the field, or of the fowls of the heavens, or of the fish of the sea, that dwell upon all the face of the earth, shall be consumed; And also that of element shall melt with fervent heat; and all things shall become new, that my knowledge and glory may dwell upon all the earth. And in that day the enmity of man, and the enmity of beasts, yea, the enmity of all flesh, shall cease from before my face. And in that day whatsoever any man shall ask, it shall be given unto him. And in that day Satan shall not have power to tempt any man. And there shall be no sorrow because there is no death. In that day an infant shall not die until he is old, and his life shall be as the age of a tree, and when he dies he shall not sleep, (that is to say in the earth,) but shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and shall be caught up, and his rest shall be glorious. Yea, verily I say unto you, in that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal all things."[1590]

The Millennium is to precede the time designated in scriptural phrase "the end of the world." When the thousand years are pa.s.sed, Satan shall be loosed for a little season, and the final test of man's integrity to G.o.d shall ensue. Such as are p.r.o.ne to impurity of heart shall yield to temptation while the righteous shall endure to the end.[1591] A revelation to this effect was given the Church in 1831, in part as follows:

"For the great Millennium, of which I have spoken by the mouth of my servants, shall come; For Satan shall be bound, and when he is loosed again, he shall only reign for a little season, and then cometh the end of the earth; And he that liveth in righteousness shall be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and the earth shall pa.s.s away so as by fire; And the wicked shall go away into unquenchable fire, and their end no man knoweth on earth, nor ever shall know, until they come before me in judgment. Hearken ye to these words: Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. Treasure these things up in your hearts, and let the solemnities of eternity rest upon your minds."[1592]

THE CELESTIAL CONSUMMATION.

The vanquishment of Satan and his hosts shall be complete. The dead, small and great, all who have breathed the breath of life on earth, shall be resurrected--every soul that has tabernacled in flesh, whether good or evil--and shall stand before G.o.d, to be judged according to the record as written in the books.[1593] So shall be brought to glorious consummation the mission of the Christ. "Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to G.o.d, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet."[1594] Then shall the Lord Jesus "deliver up the kingdom, and present it unto the Father spotless, saying--I have overcome and have trodden the wine-press alone, even the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of Almighty G.o.d. Then shall he be crowned with the crown of his glory, to sit on the throne of his power to reign for ever and ever."[1595] The earth shall pa.s.s to its glorified and celestialized condition, an eternal abode for the exalted sons and daughters of G.o.d.[1596] Forever shall they reign, kings and priests to the Most High, redeemed, sanctified, and exalted through their Lord and G.o.d

JESUS THE CHRIST.

NOTES TO CHAPTER 42.

1. Enoch, spoken of by Jude as "the seventh from Adam." was the father of Methuselah. In Genesis 5:24 we read: "And Enoch walked with G.o.d; and he was not; for G.o.d took him." From the Lord's revelation to Moses we learn that Enoch was a mighty man, favored of G.o.d because of his righteousness, and a leader of and revelator to his people. Through his agency a city was built, the inhabitants of which excelled in righteous living to such an extent that they were of one heart and one mind and had no poor among them. It was called the City of Holiness or Zion. The residue of the race were all corrupt in the sight of the Lord. Enoch and his people were taken from the earth and are to return with Christ at His coming. (P. of G.P., Moses 7:12-21, 68, 69; compare Doc. and Cov.

45:11, 12.)

2. Heathen in the First Resurrection.--"And then shall the heathen nations be redeemed, and they that knew no law shall have part in the first resurrection; and it shall be tolerable for them." (Doc. and Cov.

45:54.) Such is the word of the Lord with respect to those benighted peoples who live and die in ignorance of the laws of the gospel. This affirmation is sustained by other scriptures, and by a consideration of the principles of true justice according to which humanity is to be judged. Man shall be accounted blameless or guilty according to his deeds as interpreted in the light of the law under which he is required to live. It is inconsistent with our conception of a just G.o.d to believe Him capable of inflicting condemnation upon any one for non-compliance with a requirement of which the person had no knowledge. Nevertheless, the laws of the gospel cannot be suspended even in the case of those who have sinned in darkness and ignorance; but it is reasonable to believe that the plan of redemption shall afford such benighted ones an opportunity of learning the laws of G.o.d; and, as fast as they so learn, will obedience be required on pain of the penalty. See _Articles of Faith_, xxi:33.

3. Regeneration of the Earth.--In speaking of the graded and progressive glories provided for His creations, and of the laws of regeneration and sanctification, the Lord has thus spoken through revelation in the present dispensation: "And again, verily I say unto you, the earth abideth the law of a celestial kingdom, for it filleth the measure of its creation, and transgresseth not the law. Wherefore it shall be sanctified; yea, notwithstanding it shall die, it shall be quickened again, and shall abide the power by which it is quickened, and the righteous shall inherit it." (Doc. and Cov. 88:25, 26.) This appointed change, by which the earth shall pa.s.s to the condition of a celestialized world, is referred to in numerous scriptures as the inst.i.tution of "a new heaven and a new earth" (Rev. 21:1, 3, 4; B. of M., Ether 13:9; Doc. and Cov. 29:23).

FOOTNOTES:

[1551] Acts 1:11.

[1552] Pages 713, 715, 761, and 774; see also Doc. and Cov. 110:8; compare 36:8; 42:36; 97:15, 16; 109:5; 124:27; 133:2.

[1553] Jude 14, 15; compare Gen. 5:18; see next reference following.

[1554] P. of G.P., Moses 7:59, 60, 65. Note 1, end of chapter.

[1555] Isa. 35:4; and 40:10; see also Psalms 50:3; Mal. 3:1; 4:5, 6; compare Note 1 on page 149 herein.

[1556] Matt. 16:27.

[1557] Mark 8:38; compare Luke 9:26.

[1558] Matt. 26:64.

[1559] Matt. 24:3; Mark 13:26; Luke 21:7; Acts 1:6; compare page 149 herein.

[1560] Matt. 24; see chapters 32 and 40 herein.

[1561] See Acts 3:20, 21; 1 Cor. 4:5; 11:26; Philip. 3:20; 1 Thess.

1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:15-18; 2 Thess. 2:1, 8; 1 Tim. 6:14, 15; t.i.tus 2:13; James 5:7, 8; 1 Peter 1:5-7; 4:13; 1 John 2:28; 3:2; Jude 14, etc.

[1562] B. of M., 3 Nephi 26:3, 4.

[1563] B. of M., 3 Nephi 28:7, 8; see also 29:2.

[1564] Doc. and Cov. 29:9-11.

[1565] Doc. and Cov. 33:17, 18.

[1566] Doc. and Cov. 34:4-8.

[1567] Doc. and Cov. 45:37-44; compare this section with Matt. 24, and Luke 21:5-36. See also Doc. and Cov. 49:23-28.

[1568] Doc. and Cov. 64:23-25.

[1569] Matt. 24:36; compare Mark 13:32-37; see pages 575, 696 herein.

[1570] Doc. and Cov. 49:7; the context shows that the words are those of the Father.

[1571] Thess. 5:2; 2 Peter 3:10; compare Matt. 24:43, 44; 25:13; Luke 12:39, 40; page 575 herein.

[1572] Page 573.

[1573] Doc. and Cov. 49:24, 25.

[1574] Doc. and Cov. 45:68-71.

[1575] Doc. and Cov. 133:7-14, 21-35; "Articles of Faith," xviii and xix.

[1576] Doc. and Cov. 88:86-92.

[1577] Doc. and Cov. 110:14, 16; compare Joel 2:31; Mal. 4:5; B. of M., 3 Nephi 25:5.

[1578] Doc and Cov. 29:11-17.

[1579] 1 Thess. 4:14-17.

[1580] B. of M., 3 Nephi 28:8; see page 738 herein.

[1581] Doc. and Cov. 88:95-98.

[1582] Note 2, end of chapter.

[1583] Doc. and Cov. 29:12.