The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is an event that many Christians throughout the world are fully aware of and often discuss. However, there are components that not all Christians are aware of. Did you know that the Savior will make several appearances before His Second Coming to all the world. Modern day revelation teaches us the following:
#1) Appearance at Adam-Ondi-Amhan
Christ will come in private to his prophet and to the apostles then living. Those who have held keys and powers and authorities in all ages from Adam to the present will also be present” (Bruce R. McConkie, The Millennial Messiah,578–79).
“Daniel in his seventh chapter speaks of the Ancient of Days; he means the oldest man, our Father Adam, Michael, he [who] will call his children together and hold a council with them to prepare them for the coming of the Son of Man. He (Adam) is the father of the human family, and presides over the spirits of all men, and all that have had the keys must stand before him in this grand council. This may take place before some of us leave this stage of action. The Son of Man stands before him, and there is given him glory and dominion. Adam delivers up his stewardship to Christ, that which was delivered to him as holding the keys of the universe, but retains his standing as head of the human family” (Joseph Smith, Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, 157).
#2) Appearance at the New Jerusalem (Western Hemisphere)
Christ's next appearance will be to the righteous Saints who have gathered to the New Jerusalem (all land west of the Missippi River). In this place of refuge they will be safe from the wrath of the Lord, which will be poured out without measure on all nations.
#3) Appearance at Jerusalem (Eastern Hemisphere)
“[Christ’s] next appearance [after his appearance in the New Jerusalem] will be among the distressed and nearly vanquished sons of Judah. At the crisis of their fate, when the hostile troops of several nations are ravaging the city and all the horrors of war are overwhelming the people of Jerusalem, he will set his feet upon the Mount of Olives, which will cleave and part asunder at his touch. Attended by a host from heaven, he will overthrow and destroy the combined armies of the Gentiles, and appear to the worshipping Jews as the mighty Deliverer and Conquerer so long expected by their race; and while love, gratitude, awe, and admiration swell their bosoms, the Deliverer will show them the tokens of his crucifixion and disclose himself as Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had reviled and whom their fathers put to death. Then will unbelief depart from their souls, and ‘the blindness in part which has happened unto Israel’ be removed” (Charles W. Penrose, “The Second Advent,” Millennial Star, 10 Sept. 1859, 583).
#4) Appearance to the World at His Second Coming
“The great and crowning advent of the Lord will be subsequent to these two appearances [to the New Jerusalem and to the Jews]; but who can describe it in the language of mortals? The tongue of man falters, and the pen drops from the hand of the writer, as the mind is rapt in contemplation of the sublime and awful majesty of his coming to take vengeance on the ungodly and to reign as King of the whole earth.
"...it will be an event that will be seen by all—all flesh shall see the glory of the Lord; when he reveals himself the second time, every eye, not only those living at that time in the flesh, in mortality on the earth, but also the very dead themselves, they also who pierced him, those who lived eighteen hundred years ago, who were engaged in the cruel act of piercing his hands and his feet and his side, will also see him at that time” (Orson Pratt, in Journal of Discourses, 18:170).
“At the time appointed by the Father, the Son of Man will come in the clouds of heaven. It is an unknown day in the beginning of the seventh thousand years of the earth’s temporal continuance. War, such as has not been known from the beginning of time, is in progress. All nations are assembled at Armageddon.
“All things are in commotion. Never has there been such a day as this. The newspapers of the world, as well as radio and television, speak only of war and calamity and the dread that hangs like a millstone around every neck. …
“And the signs in heaven above are like nothing man has ever seen. Blood is everywhere; fire and vapors of smoke fill the atmospheric heavens. No man has seen a rainbow this year. …
“And above all are the vexing words of those Mormon Elders! They are everywhere preaching their strange doctrine, saying that the coming of the Lord is near, and that unless men repent and believe the gospel they will be destroyed by the brightness of his coming.
“In this setting, as these and ten thousand like things are in progress, suddenly, quickly, as from the midst of eternity, He comes! Fire burns before him; tempests spread destruction; the earth trembles and reels to and fro as a drunken man. Every corruptible thing is consumed. He sets his foot on the Mount called Olivet; it cleaves in twain. The Lord has returned and the great millennium is here! The year of his redeemed has arrived!” (McConkie, Millennial Messiah, 21–22).
“When the Lord comes in his glory, in flaming fire, that fire will both cleanse the vineyard and burn the earth. In that day, so intense shall be the heat and so universal the burning, the very elements of which this earth is composed shall melt. The mountains, high and glorious and made of solid rock, shall melt like wax. They shall become molten and flow down into the valleys below. The very earth itself, as now constituted, shall be dissolved. All things shall burn with fervent heat. And out of it all shall come new heavens and a new earth whereon dwelleth righteousness” (McConkie, Millennial Messiah, 526–27).
Who Gets "Raptured"?
So, just who will be caught up to meet him when he comes? Many Christians speak of a rapture in which the righteous in Christ will be taken from the earth and spared the destruction that comes upon the wicked at His final coming. This is based on the scripture 1 Thessalonians 4:17
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
In Latter-day Saint doctrine, we refer to this event as the Resurrection. We believe that the righteous will remain on the earth during the tribulations but many will be protected through their faith and power of their covenants. The Resurrection then precedes and heralds in the Second Coming and the destruction of the wicked. The Faithful Saints or "First Fruits" on both sides of the veil will be caught up to meet the Lord when he returns. They will descend with Him upon the earth at His coming.
“Christ’s, the first fruits—who are they? They are all those who were with him in his resurrection. They are all those of Enoch’s city, a righteous people who first were translated and who then gained full immortality when Christ rose from his tomb. They are all those of ages past who have burst the bands of death. They are the living saints who are quickened by the power of God and are caught up to meet their Lord in the air. They are the righteous dead who shall come forth in this, the morning of the first resurrection, to receive an inheritance of eternal life and to be one with their glorious Lord. All these shall have an inheritance of exaltation in the highest heaven of the celestial world. All these shall ‘behold’ their Lord’s ‘face in righteousness,’ for they shall ‘awake’ with his ‘likeness.’ (Ps. 17:15.)” (McConkie, Millennial Messiah, 636).
Many Latter-day Saints are familiar with the promise of coming forth in the morning of the First Resurrection. This is a promise I have personally received in my own blessing. Just what does it mean? And will all good people who believe in Christ be caught up to meet him when he comes? The following is from an article on LDSLiving.com
Elder Bruce R. McConkie of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles wrote, “Nothing is more absolutely universal than the Resurrection.” Though all people will be resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:22), not all will be resurrected at the same time. Technically speaking, there are four resurrections.
The Morning of the First Resurrection: This resurrection began with Christ’s Resurrection and will continue in and through the Millennium. This resurrection is reserved for those who have lived righteously. It is reserved for those who are destined to be heirs of the Celestial kingdom. (The covenant makers and keepers who have remained faithful and endured to the end). Those who sacrificed, and devoted their time and talents to building up the Kingdom of God.
The Afternoon of the First Resurrection: This resurrection starts once the Millennium has begun and will carry on throughout the thousand years of the Millennium. It is reserved for those who have lived good lives but were not necessarily valiant. Those who strayed from the covenant path or never walked it. This resurrection is reserved for those who are destined to inherit the Terrestrial kingdom.
The Morning of the Second Resurrection: This resurrection begins at the end of the Millennium. It is reserved for those who have lived sinful lives, for those who have lived contrary to the dictates for their conscience and the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Those who come forth in this resurrection will inherit the Telestial kingdom, the lowest of the three degrees of glory. Those who inherit this glory will not spend eternity in the presence of Satan and his minions. However, they will be eternally shut out of the presence of God and Christ.
The Afternoon of the Second Resurrection: This resurrection will take place after all others have been resurrected. It is reserved for the sons and daughters of perdition, for those who will spend eternity with the devil and his angels because, in mortality, they did the work of the devil and his angels. It is the only one of the four resurrections that provides its recipients with no glory whatsoever. Hence, the eternal abode for those who come forth in this resurrection is known as “outer darkness” (Alma 40:13), where God’s light never shines (D&C 88:6–13).
Thus, what does it mean if your patriarchal blessing promises you that you will “come forth in the morning of the First Resurrection”? One stake patriarch suggested that it means you will be resurrected “at the first opportunity you are able to be.” It certainly means that if you are true to your covenants, you will be exalted. It is the promise that, through your faithfulness and through Christ’s Atonement, you are going to make it to the celestial kingdom, where you will preside over your posterity for eternity, doing what God does, because you will have become what He is. Could there be any greater promise that God could make to any of His children?
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