The Wrath of God

 

1 Nephi 14:15 - 17, NC 1 Nephi 3 par. 29

And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth. And as there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying, Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots, and behold, thou seest all these things. And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots — which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose foundation is the Devil — then at that day the work of the Father shall commence in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel.

The Stick of Joseph in the Hand of Ephraim, 1 Nefi 3 par. 29

And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of Elohim was poured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth. And as there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel spoke unto me, saying, Behold, the wrath of Elohim is upon the mother of harlots, and behold, you see all these things. And when the day comes that the wrath of Elohim is poured out upon the mother of harlots — which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose foundation is HaSatan — then at that day the work of the Father shall commence in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants which he has made to his people who are of the house of Isra’el.

To share my present understanding of what Nephi is recording here I would like to insert again a prophecy that was declared on September 03, 2017 to begin.

Those who have entered faithfully into the covenant this day are going to notice some things. The spirit of God is withdrawing from the world. Men are increasingly more angry without good cause. The hearts of men are waxing cold. There is increasing anger and resentment of gentiles. In political terms, it’s rejection of white privilege. Language of scriptures gives a description of the events now underway and calls it the end of the times of the gentiles. This process with the spirit withdrawing, will end on this continent, as it did with two prior civilization in fratricidal and genocidal warfare. For the rest of the world, it will be as in the days of Noah in which, as that light becomes eclipsed, the coldness of men’s hearts is going to result in a constant scene of violence and bloodshed. The wicked will destroy the wicked. (Closing Remarks, Covenant of Christ Conference, September 03, 2017, Denver Snuffer, pg. 1)

I have mentioned in an earlier post that I believe that the "wrath" of God is manifest by God withdrawing, or in other words, the spirit of God ceases to strive with a person or a people or a nation or in this case, with what Nephi is witnessing, the majority of the living human family on the earth.

The above prophecy speaks of this "wrath".

As we look at world history and especially the scriptures can we detect that once the spirit of the Lord withdraws warfare and bloodshed rush in?

Does this cycle have to run until it is completed?

Is there anywhere in the scriptures where we can see that the Lord would have stopped this cycle of withdrawal once it had begun?

What about these words from the prophet Mormon?

Do they declare that Christ would have stopped the withdrawal?

And my soul was rent with anguish because of the slain of my people, and I cried, O ye fair ones, how could ye have departed from the ways of the Lord? O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you? Behold, if ye had not done this, ye would not have fallen. But behold, ye are fallen, and I mourn your loss. O ye fair sons and daughters, ye fathers and mothers, ye husbands and wives, ye fair ones, how is it that ye could have fallen? But behold, ye are gone, and my sorrows cannot bring your return. And the day soon cometh that your mortal must put on immortality, and these bodies which are now moldering in corruption must soon become incorruptible bodies. And then ye must stand before the judgment seat of Christ to be judged according to your works. And if it so be that ye are righteous, then are ye blessed with your fathers who have gone before you. Oh that ye had repented before this great destruction had come upon you. But behold, ye are gone, and the Father, yea, the Eternal Father of Heaven, knoweth your state, and he doeth with you according to his justice and mercy. (Mormon 6:16 - 22, NC Mormon 3 par. 4)

What about these words from the prophet Isaiah?

He saw our day and prophesied of it.  The following is concerning the judgments in our day.

For wickedness burneth as the fire; it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forests, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke. Through the wrath of the Lord of Hosts is the land darkened, and the people shall be as the fuel of the fire; no man shall spare his brother. And he shall snatch on the right hand and be hungry, and he shall eat on the left hand and they shall not be satisfied. They shall eat, every man, the flesh of his own arm: Manasseh, Ephraim; and Ephraim, Manasseh; they together shall be against Judah. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand stretched out still.  Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees and that write grievousness which they have prescribed, to turn aside the needy from judgment and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey and that they may rob the fatherless. And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? To whom will ye flee for help? And where will ye leave your glory? Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners, and they shall fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand stretched out still. (2 Nephi 19:18 - 20:4, NC 2 Nephi 9 pars. 14 - 15)

Isiah even uses the term "wrath of the Lord of Hosts" when he is declaring why the land is darkened.  It is darkened because of the withdrawal of the spirit of the Lord of Hosts. 

Isaiah is declaring that because of the withdrawal of the Lord's spirit the people of the land have become the fuel of the fire.  They will be so angry with each other that Isaiah says that no man shall even spare his brother.  Isaiah declares that because the spirit of the Lord has withdrawn they will even commit cannibalism, "They shall eat, every man, the flesh of his own arm".

The Prophet Joseph saw the same thing. 

The time is soon coming, when no man will have any peace but in Zion and her stakes.

I saw men hunting the lives of their own sons, and brother murdering brother, women killing their own daughters, and daughters seeking the lives of their mothers. I saw armies arrayed against armies. I saw blood, desolation, fires. The Son of Man has said that the mother shall be against the

daughter, and the daughter against the mother. These things are at our doors. They will follow the Saints of God from city to city. Satan will rage, and the spirit of the devil is now enraged.  I know not how soon these things will take place; but with a view of them, shall I cry peace? No; I will lift up my voice and testify of them. How long you will have good crops, and the famine be kept off, I do not know; when the fig tree leaves, know then that the summer is nigh at hand. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pg. 161)

Didn't we see the Nephites coming to this point of anger and warfare and bloodshed to the point that they committed cannibalism at the close of their history?

Isaiah declares that among the people of the land there is no escape from this, yet in both paragraphs the word of the Lord through Isaiah is "his hand stretched out still."

Doesn't that describe the Lord still offering, even in the midst of this horrible carnage and destruction and cannibalism, to stop this cycle upon condition of repentance?

What about the Lord's own words to the Nephites following the great destruction on the land of the Americas following His death?

And it came to pass that there came a voice again unto the people, and all the people did hear and did witness of it, saying, O ye people of these great cities which have fallen, who are descendants of Jacob, yea, who are of the house of Israel, O ye people of the house of Israel, how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have nourished you! And again, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, yea, O ye people of the house of Israel who have fallen! Yea, O ye people of the house of Israel, ye that dwell at Jerusalem as ye that have fallen, yea, how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not! O ye house of Israel whom I have spared, how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose of heart! But if not, O house of Israel, the places of your dwellings shall become desolate until the time of the fulfilling of the covenant to your fathers. (3 Nephi 10:3 - 7, NC 3 Nephi 4 par. 9)

Doesn't the Lord's question to the remaining Nephites, following His report to them of the cities that He had destroyed, cause us to see that He would have spared them at any moment if they had turned to Him?

I do not believe that the Lord has any desire to have such bloodshed among all the nations kindreds tongues and people who are overcome by the whore of all the earth.

I do believe, however, that it is a natural consequence that He must allow to occur because of continued unrepentant sin.

When wickedness overcomes people who have been taught to be better, it is a natural progression for them to be destroyed. The Book of Mormon has been available for nearly two centuries. It warns us and our ancestors of the following: “we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall serve God or they shall be swept off when the fullness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fullness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity. For behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands. Wherefore, he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off, for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fullness of iniquity among the children of the land that they are swept off. And this cometh unto you, O ye gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God, that ye may repent and not continue in your iniquities until the fullness be come, that ye may not bring down the fullness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land hath hitherto done. Behold, this is a choice land; and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under Heaven if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who has been manifested by the things which we have written.” Ether 1:7RE ("Destruction and Rejoicing," DenverSnuffer.com, Jan 10, 2021)

Can we look at the United States and at the nations at large and see continued unrepentant sin?

Isn't the following just one example of a multitude of our national unrepented sins?

It is estimated that in January and February of this year the greatest cause of death in the United States has come from one of our great evils of abortion. An estimated 141,000 abortions in those two months, added to the estimated 51,000,000 slain since 1973. Abortion is the leading cause of death in the US. By tolerating this mass killing we are not unlike those who anciently killed their children sacrificing them to the false god Molech. The Lord repeatedly condemned this: “And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Again, you shall say to the children of Israel, Whoever he is, of the children of Israel or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that gives any of his seed unto Molech, he shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people because he has given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary and to profane my holy name. And if the people of the land do in any way hide their eyes from the man when he gives of his seed unto Molech and kill him not, then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go whoring after him to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.” “that no man might make his son or his daughter to pass through the fire to Molech.” “to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech, which I commanded them not;” 

What kind of a society allows killing 51,000,000 innocent children to continue uninterrupted over 47 years? As we have been told, “Nevertheless, when the wicked rule, the people mourn. Wherefore, honest men and wise men should be sought for diligently, and good men and wise men you should observe to uphold; otherwise, whatever is less than these comes of evil.”7 We have elected and upheld men and women who have tolerated this obscenity for 47 years. The United States will be punished for this. By and by you will see the “chastening hand of an Almighty God, until the consumption decreed has made a full end of all nations.” That full end of nations will include the US. ("The Heavens Are Open, (And Therefore We Have Work to Do)",Denver Snuffer, Hurricane, Utah, March 22, 2020, pgs. 1 - 2)

Is it any wonder that the loss of the Lord's spirit will cause even familial acts of violence and cannibalism when, even before the withdrawal of the Lord's spirit from this nation, we condoned the slaughter of so many innocent children?

Isn't this a dire situation?

Are we in the midst of the cycle?

Can we look around us now and see that we are approaching the threshold of what Nephi is being shown here in vision?

Why don't we wake up?

The cycle of wickedness and destruction often includes a complete inability of the wicked to detect their grave errors. They have their religion, and are comfortable with it. They think their pretenses are enough...How odd it is that the self-proclaimed “righteous” are almost without exception those who are most wicked, fallen, abominable and proud. You rarely encounter a corrupt group in the Book of Mormon who are not also quite involved in a false religion. The false religions in the Book of Mormon frequently teach that the followers are righteous and highly favored of God. (See, e.g., Alma 31: 14-18.)

Wouldn’t it be amazing if this kind of mistake could be made again by people who think themselves holy, better than others who do not enjoy the fullness of God’s favor/Gospel, and destined for salvation while all others were doomed to an inferior kingdom? It’s almost too ridiculous to even consider. Those things are behind us now, aren’t they? Because we are promised salvation, and for us to fail would be for God to fail, and we know He’s not going to do that. ("Wickedness and Destruction," Denversnuffer.com, December 20, 2011)

Wasn't the above the condition that existed among the Jews at the time Lehi prophesied to them; they were too "righteous" to see their wickedness?

Is it possible that such was the condition that existed among the Nephites when Mormon recorded that the "day of grace" had passed for them?

Does there come a point when, because of wickedness, a person or a people or a nation or all nations become slaves to their anger and their wickedness so that their "day of grace" is past?

To have the "day of grace" be passed, does that mean that the Lord is unwilling to accept repentance at that point?

I don't believe so.

From everything I have read in the scriptures, my present understanding is that at any point these people in the scriptures could have repented and the Lord would have accepted it.

Is there anything that can be done to escape this coming global catastrophe of  bloodshed?

Lehi and others warned their contemporaries that they “must repent or the great city Jerusalem must be destroyed.” 1 Ne. 1:2RE Although he made the warning, he prayed for the people he had been warning, “even with all his heart in behalf of his people.” Id., paragraph 3. This should make us ask, who exactly were “his people?”

While praying on behalf of “his people” a pillar of fire descended “and he saw and heard much.” Id. This overcame him, and he went home and collapsed. As he laid on his bed, he was “carried away in a vision.” Id. In the vision he was shown “concerning Jerusalem: that it should be destroyed and the inhabitants thereof; many should perish by the sword and many should be carried away captive into Babylon.” Id.

Terrible destruction was just around the corner. His city and many of its residents would die, and the rest would go into captivity. But Lehi’s response seems oddly out of place. Instead of being sorrowful at what he saw instead, “he did exclaim many things unto the Lord, such as, Great and marvelous are thy works, O Lord God Almighty! Thy throne is high in the Heavens, and thy power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and because thou art merciful, thou wilt not suffer those who come unto thee that they shall perish!” Id. Why this reaction?

Destruction was coming, but that had nothing to do with those who “come unto” the Lord. People were to be destroyed and enslaved, but Lehi’s prayer on behalf of “his people” gave him assurance that “they shall not perish” because they had come unto the Lord.

...destruction does not await those whom the Lord has promised by covenant that: “And you shall be called the children of the Most High God, and I will preserve you against the harvest. And the angels sent to harvest the world will gather the wicked into bundles to be burned, but will pass over you as my peculiar treasure.” T&C 158:17-18

So there is reason to fear coming judgments upon the wicked, but also reason to exclaim, like Lehi: Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God Almighty! Your throne is high in the Heavens, and your power, and goodness, and mercy are over all the inhabitants of the earth; and because you are merciful, you will not suffer those who come unto you that they shall perish! ("Destruction and Rejoicing," DenverSnuffer.com, Jan 10, 2021)

The Lord is working a work right at this moment on the earth that is open to every living man, woman, and child. 

Anyone, anywhere in the world, who believes in the doctrine of Christ can manifest repentance by requesting baptism by someone who has had authority given to them directly from Jesus Christ.  They need only go to www.bornofwater.org and request baptism and someone will contact them and perform the ordinance free of charge.

I invite everyone to come unto Christ and believe on Him and partake of His ordinances and obey His commandments so that as the Lord withdraws His spirit from among the nations His spirit will not be withdrawn from you.  And in that way you will escape the judgments to come upon the wicked.

I do believe that the Lord allows this judgment to occur among the wicked for a couple of purposes.

1) When the wicked have been allowed to destroy each other, and in that manner wickedness is swept from off of the face of the land, the land becomes cleansed.

2) I believe that the secret combinations that seek to destroy the freedom of all men will find that during this time of judgment they will lose their control and their best laid plans will come to naught.

3) To demonstrate #3 I would like to misapply part of a vision contained in the Teachings and Commandments.

Among those who waited, however, was a man who knelt and prayed, and waited patiently for his Lord. After a great time, the Lord came to this man and took him by the hand and led him into the pass where the great beast guarded the way. As the Lord led, however, the beast was ever occupied with attacking others, and therefore its back was turned to the Lord and the man. And so they passed by unnoticed, safely to the top. The Lord sent the man to the Fathers who, when they saw the man, inquired of him, How came you to be here and yet mortal; the last who came here were brothers who had been slain, and you are yet alive? And the man answered, I waited on the Lord and he brought me here safely. (T&C 163 par. 4)

My misapplication is in applying the role of the nations of the earth overcome by the whore all warring with each other to the beast and those being attacked by the beast and applying the role of the man led by the Lord to the miniscule group who repent and follow the Lord.

As the wicked destroy the wicked among all nations of the earth the work of the Lord among the small miniscule group of people will pass by the unnoticed.

I do not believe that the Lord intends for His people who repent to have a head on confrontation with the rest of the world.

I do believe that as those who play the role of the beast and those being attacked complete their part that obstructions to the work of the Father, borders, armies, national regulations on travel, etc., will fall away because of the all encompassing bloodshed which will occur.

Zion is the answer to the question of where to find peace as the Lord withdraws His spirit; manifesting His wrath among the nations overcome by the whore of all the earth.

And it shall come to pass among the wicked that every man that will not take his sword against his neighbor must needs flee unto Zion for safety, and there shall be gathered unto it out of every nation under heaven, and it shall be the only people that shall not be at war one with another. And it shall be said among the wicked, Let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible, wherefore we cannot stand. And it shall come to pass that the righteous shall be gathered out from among all nations, and shall come to Zion singing with songs of everlasting joy. (D&C 45:68 - 71, T&C 31 par. 15) 

Please consider the following.

In the book of Matthew, chapter 24 is Christ’s most extensive prophecy about the future events including the time of His Second Coming. While He gives some details in Matthew chapter 24 there is a statement that He makes: “As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Matthew 24:37) He makes an analogy between the events that occurred during Noah’s time and what we will see on the earth at the time of his return. Let me read you a description of the events at the time of Noah —and these are the kinds of events with which we typically associate the days of Noah: “And God saw that the wickedness of men had become great in the earth; and every man was lifted up in the imagination of the thoughts of his heart, being only evil continually. The earth was corrupt before God, and it was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah: The end of all flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with violence, and behold I will destroy all flesh from off the earth.” (See, Genesis 1:5-7; Moses 8:22, 28-30) Ominous. Terrible. Reason for concern. That is what we generally think of. But there’s another side to that. That other side includes obviously Noah. You can’t have the days of Noah without having a Noah. Another contemporary who lived at the same time with Noah was Enoch, who built a city of righteousness where people gathered together to worship the only true God, who were then in turn taken up to heaven. That group of people, taken up to heaven, are going to return with the Lord when He comes again in glory. Book of Jude –there is only one chapter in there. “Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these things saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints.” (Jude 1:14) There were those that were taken up into the heavens numbering in the tens of thousands who will return with him. So if there is reason for pessimism when Christ predicts that, “As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be at the time of His return,” (Matthew 24:37) there is also extraordinary reason for optimism because we are going to see things like Noah and his family –that included Shem, who would be renamed Melchizedek, about whom the apostle Paul had a great deal to say in the book of Hebrews even comparing that man, a son of Noah, to the Lord Himself –actually we ought to flip that. He compares the Lord Himself to that man. And then there is Enoch. And so while we tend to look at the prophecy Christ gave concerning His coming negatively, about how far degenerate the world is going to go, those are the tares ripening. ("Christian Talk 1, Cerritos California," Denver Snuffer, September 21, 2017, pgs. 1-2)

I testify that just as in the days of Noah there is a servant of God on the earth right now, like unto Noah, who is authorized by having God's message to teach.  I also testify that God has restored ordinances, including a covenant He has established, that is available to all people everywhere. 

May we awake to our terrible predicament and repent.