A Compendium of the Doctrines of the Gospel 49

A Compendium of the Doctrines of the Gospel 49

MILLENNIAL REIGN.

 

The inspired writings teach us that, at the second coming of Christ,

his reign of a thousand years, on the earth, will commence. A veritable

kingdom of the house of Israel will have been prepared to receive him.

 

"The Son of man shall come down in heaven, clothed in the brightness of

his glory, to meet the kingdom of God which is set up on the earth;"

_Doc. & Cov_. 65. 5. The kingdom of God in heaven and on the earth will

then unite and constitute but one kingdom. "The kingdoms of this world

are become _the_ kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall

reign for ever and ever;" _Rev_. 11. 15.

 

Those that have part in the first resurrection, "Shall be priests of

God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years;" 20. 6.

 

The earth will go through a purifying process to fit it for the

residence of its millennial inhabitants. "Behold, I create new heavens

and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered;" _Isa_. 65.

17. That this passage refers to the preparation for the millennium

is evident by the twentieth verse: "There shall be no more thence an

infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the

child shall die a hundred years old; but the sinner _being_ a hundred

years old shall be accursed."

 

This view of the subject is also presented to us in a revelation to

Joseph, the Seer: "Old things shall pass away, and all things become

new. * * * And he that liveth when the Lord shall come, and has kept

the faith, blessed is he; nevertheless it is appointed to him to die at

the age of man; wherefore children shall grow up until they become old,

old men shall die;" _Doc. & Cov_. 63. 49-51.

 

There are three conditions of the earth spoken of in the inspired

writings--the present, in which everything pertaining to it must go

through a change which we call death; the millennial condition in which

it will be sanctified for the residence of purer intelligences, some

mortal and some immortal, and the celestial condition spoken of in the

twenty-first and twenty-second chapters of Revelation, which will be

one of immortality and eternal life.

 

When Christ's reign is fully established on the earth, there will be

two capitals to his immense empire--Jerusalem on the eastern hemisphere

and Zion on the western. "When the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount

Zion, and in Jerusalem;" _Isa_. 24. 23. "For out of Zion shall go forth

the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem;" 2. 3.

 

In this, "The fulness of times when Christ shall have subdued all

enemies under his feet, and shall have perfected his work, when he

shall deliver up the kingdom, and present it to the Father spotless,

then shall he be crowned with the crown of his glory, to sit on the

throne of his power to reign forever and ever;" _Doc. & Cov_., 76.

106-108.

 

The prophet Daniel speaks of this great event:

 

"I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man came

with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they

brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and

glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should

serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not

pass away, and his kingdom _that_ which shall not be destroyed;" 7. 13,

14. This passage evidences that Christ's reign on the earth will be

real and tangible; and that his kingdom will embrace a great variety of

nations and peoples, and that he is also subservient to his Father.

 

The following passage, with its context, is a beautiful description of

the final coming of our Lord, and of his reign on the earth:

 

"That my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the

time of my coming; for there shall be my Tabernacle, and it shall be

called ZION, a New Jerusalem. 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 space of a thousand

years shall the earth rest.

 

"And it came to pass 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

space of a thousand years;" _P. of G. P., page_ 22.

 

Bible.

 

_Isa_. 52. 7 that saith unto Zion, thy God reigneth.

 

_Jer_. 23. 5 a king shall reign and shall execute justice and judgment.

6.

 

_Mic_. 4. 7 the Lord shall reign over them in Zion forever.

 

Luke 1. 33 and he shall reign over the house of Israel forever.

 

_Rom_. 15. 12 he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles.

 

1 _Cor_. 15. 25 till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

 

2 _Tim_. 2. 12 if we suffer, we shall also reign with him.

 

_Rev_. 5. 10 made us kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth.

 

20. 4 they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

 

21. 22, 27 description of the celestial earth.

 

Doctrine and Covenants.

 

_Sec_. 1. 36 the Lord shall reign in the midst of his Saints.

 

29. 11 and dwell in righteousness with me on the earth a thousand years.

 

43. 30 for the great Millennium of which I have spoken shall come.

 

45. 59 the Lord shall be their king and lawgiver.

 

56. 18 shall see the kingdom of God come in power and great glory.

 

58. 22 until he reigns whose right it is to rule.

 

133. 25 the Savior shall reign over all flesh.

 

_See Sermon by B. Young, J. of D., Vol. 1, page_ 198.

 

" " _O. Pratt, " " 16, " 312_.

 

" " " " " _18, " 314_.

 

" " " " " " " _335_.

 

_Article Mil. Star, Vol. 1, pages 4 and 73_.

 

" _by. O. Pratt, Mil. Star, Vol. 28, page 561_.

 

 

 

DESTRUCTION OF THE WICKED.

 

Passages are numerous in the inspired writings which assert that the

wicked shall be destroyed. The prophet Isaiah, speaking of the latter

times, says, "Zion shall be redeemed with judgment, and her converts

with righteousness. And the destruction of the transgressors and of

the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be

consumed;" 1. 27, 28.

 

The Lord further declared through the same prophet, that, because the

inhabitants of the earth had defiled it, the curse had devoured it;

"And they that dwell therein are desolate;" 24. 5, 6. "For, behold, the

Lord cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for

their iniquity;" 26. 21.

 

Many of the sayings concerning the destruction of the wicked are

general in their application, to all times in which wickedness is

prevalent. But there are many passages in the inspired writings which

point to the latter times for a general destruction of the ungodly, and

the cleansing of the earth from wickedness.

 

The following from Isaiah are of this character. "For the indignation

of the Lord is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies. *

* For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompense

for the controversy of Zion;" 34. 2-8.

 

"For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and

the slain of the Lord shall be many;" 66. 16.

 

The Book of _Doc. & Cov_. being a record of revelations concerning

the dispensation of the fulness of times, it says much concerning the

destruction of the wicked, and the redemption of man, and of the earth.

 

It is evident that the visions of the prophet Joseph were vivid and

well defined on this subject, for the Lord said through him, "The hour

is nigh, and the day soon at hand when the earth is ripe: and all the

proud, and they that do wickedly, shall be as stubble, and I will burn

them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that wickedness shall not be upon the

earth;" 29. 9, 14-21. _Sec_. 64. 24.

 

The records of the times are a daily testimony of the fulfilment of the

following: "And in that day shall be heard of wars and rumors of wars,

and the whole earth shall be in commotion, and men's hearts shall fail

them;" _sec_. 45. 26. And men shall be standing in that generation in

which these things shall appear, "That shall not pass, until they shall

see an overflowing scourge; for a desolating sickness shall cover the

land;" _verse_ 31.

 

"Among the wicked, men shall lift up their voices, and curse God and

die. And there shall be earthquakes also in divers places, and many

desolations; yet men will harden their hearts against me, and they

will take up the sword, one against another, and they will kill one

another;" _verses_ 32, 34.

 

The testimony of the elders is the great preparatory work for the

destruction of the wicked in this dispensation. Their labors are "To

bind up the law and seal up the testimony, and to prepare the saints

for the hour of judgment which is to come;" _sec_. 88. 84. And, after

their testimony, "cometh wrath and indignation upon the people;"

_verse_ 88.

 

The testimonies that will follow the testimony of the elders are

fearful to contemplate: "For after your testimony cometh the testimony

of earthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her (the

earth), and men shall fall to the ground, and shall not be able to

stand. And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and

the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of

the waves of the sea, heaving themselves beyond their bounds. And all

things shall be in commotion; and surely men's hearts shall fail them;

for fear shall come upon all people;" _sec_. 88. 89-91.

 

These testimonies are becoming historical facts. The words of the ancient prophets are being fulfilled. That Joseph Smith, Jun., saw and predicted their fulfilment, evidences the divinity of his mission.