His Rending or Redeeming Return

 

His Rending or Redeeming Return

As I was studying today about the Lord’s prophesied return to the Mount of Olives, as recorded in (D&C 45:48, Zechariah 14:4) it struck me the profound significance of that event, and at least one reason why His return there is such an important event prior to His global appearance to the entire world.

“And then shall the Lord set his foot upon this mount, and it shall cleave in twain, and the earth shall tremble, and reel to and fro, and the heavens shall shake.  And the Lord shall utter his voice, and all the ends of the earth shall hear it: and the nations of the earth shall mourn, and the that have laughed shall see their folly.  And calamity shall cover the mocker, and the scorner shall be consumed; and they that have watched for iniquity shall be hewn down and cast into the fire.  And then shall the Jews look upon me and say; What are these wounds in thine hands and in thy feet?  Then shall they know that I am the Lord; for I will say unto them; These are the wounds with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.  I am he who was lifted up.  I am Jesus that was crucified.  I am the Son of God.  And then shall they weep because of their iniquities; then shall they lament because the persecuted their king.” – Doctrine & Covenants 45:48-53

 

Just consider this event.  It will come at the very time when Jerusalem has fallen to the invading armies.  His two prophesied prophets who have valiantly defended the city of Jerusalem for 3 ½ years will have been slain and lain in the streets for 3 days, and the remnants of the Jews who remain will be fleeing for their lives from the wicked host who has finally overcome them.

In this very moment, Christ will appear in a glorious descent from heaven.  His now glorified and resurrected feet will once again touch the soil of the Mount of Olives.  This is the very ground which his feet have not touched since he sweat great drops of blood from every pore as he writhed in agony in the garden called Gethsemane, as he suffered for the sins and afflictions of all creation (including the earth itself).  This ground to which his precious blood dropped in an atoning act of redemption, will now be touched once again by the glorious Master which has redeemed it… And the soil and rock will shudder and cleave in twain as result of that utter contrasting touch of agony and suffering, compared with His fulness of glory and triumph over all foes as He redeems the earth, sweeps away wickedness and ushers in His Millennial reign.

The Jews whom He redeemed spiritually when His mortal atonement was performed, will now be redeemed physically as He becomes their true King and Messiah, and they will weep at the recognition and understanding of Who He truly is compared to who they thought He was.

 

As we consider how this ground and people will react at his coming with the acknowledgement of who He was then in mortality - compared to Who He truly is now in His glory as King of Kings - it might also be good to ask, how will we react at His coming?

 

If the recognition of rock and soil shudders and shatters at His glorious touch and presence, how will our bodies and souls react when we finally stand before Him?

We will not stand at all… but in that moment every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that He is the Christ!

How that moment for us will be determined mostly by how our relationship is with Him right here and right now, each and every day.  It will be a day of broken and shattered hearts weeping tears of sorrow in recognition of who He is and how we have failed to know Him, or a day of sweet redemption filled with tears of joy and His loving embrace as we welcome Him as the One we have already come to know.

Is he far from the thoughts and intents of our hearts, or is He at the very center and purpose of all that we do?

Are we caught up and consumed in the affairs of Babylon and the worldly things around us, or are we doing all we do out of love and worship of Him and to love and serve those around us in His behalf?

Certainly, we all have room for repentance and improvement when it comes to our relationship with Him.  It is so easy to get distracted and forgetful in the disruption of daily divisions and disasters.  But with the chaos and calamity in the world around us, it is all the more important for us to heed His loving call now to, “Come Unto Me.”

When the day of His coming happens for us, how will it be… heart-rending or redeeming?

Is it any wonder why our prophet, Russell M. Nelson urged us to, “Do the spiritual work to find out for yourselves, and please do it now. Time is running out!”

 

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are true followers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen.” – Moroni 7:48