"For I, the Almighty, have laid my hands upon the nations, to scourge them for their wickedness.
And plagues shall go forth, and they shall not be taken from the earth until I have completed my work, which shall be cut short in righteousness—
Until all shall know me, who remain, even from the least unto the greatest, and shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and shall see eye to eye, and shall lift up their voice, and with the voice together sing this new song, saying:"
Doctrine and Covenants 84:96-98
This is an interesting mix of sad and awesome. We know already that the world is going to go through a scary time before the second coming, and that part is sad and scary... reminding us that we need to get our lives right, because we don't know what will happen or when, and we need to be ready. The use of the word "until" makes it sound less like the flood in Noah's time (in terms of mass destruction), and more like the pruning of the vineyard that it talks about in Jacob 5. Pruning the bad branches away as the good ones grow, to make room.
On the good side, the idea of a world where *everyone* knows God, and where we are all on the same page... that's amazing. Being filled with the knowledge of the Lord sounds awesome as well. I would like to live in a world where we can sing about the establishment of Zion as something that has already happened. :) (That is mentioned in the verses right after this... it isn't just saying a new song, but it actually gives the words. So cool. Now we just need the music that goes along with it.)
It's hard to measure destruction and say, this destruction was worth this peace... and as mere humans, that's an impossible call to make. But our true natures are immortal, rather than mortal, and God knows the timing best, and he is able to give all of us a real chance to be part of his happy ending. Let's do what it takes in our lives, today, to make sure that we aren't the bad branches that need to be pruned away because they are harming the good branches. Let's make the world better, and influence each other for good, and be there on that great day when we get to sing together about the redemption of the world, and know that we were part of it.
And plagues shall go forth, and they shall not be taken from the earth until I have completed my work, which shall be cut short in righteousness—
Until all shall know me, who remain, even from the least unto the greatest, and shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and shall see eye to eye, and shall lift up their voice, and with the voice together sing this new song, saying:"
Doctrine and Covenants 84:96-98
This is an interesting mix of sad and awesome. We know already that the world is going to go through a scary time before the second coming, and that part is sad and scary... reminding us that we need to get our lives right, because we don't know what will happen or when, and we need to be ready. The use of the word "until" makes it sound less like the flood in Noah's time (in terms of mass destruction), and more like the pruning of the vineyard that it talks about in Jacob 5. Pruning the bad branches away as the good ones grow, to make room.
On the good side, the idea of a world where *everyone* knows God, and where we are all on the same page... that's amazing. Being filled with the knowledge of the Lord sounds awesome as well. I would like to live in a world where we can sing about the establishment of Zion as something that has already happened. :) (That is mentioned in the verses right after this... it isn't just saying a new song, but it actually gives the words. So cool. Now we just need the music that goes along with it.)
It's hard to measure destruction and say, this destruction was worth this peace... and as mere humans, that's an impossible call to make. But our true natures are immortal, rather than mortal, and God knows the timing best, and he is able to give all of us a real chance to be part of his happy ending. Let's do what it takes in our lives, today, to make sure that we aren't the bad branches that need to be pruned away because they are harming the good branches. Let's make the world better, and influence each other for good, and be there on that great day when we get to sing together about the redemption of the world, and know that we were part of it.
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