When the millennium comes -- that glorious thousand-year reign of Christ upon the
earth foreseen by prophets, poets and sages -- then will it no longer be said,
"Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the
greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember
their sin no more." (Jeremiah 31:34.) The Lord has promised that "every soul who
forsaketh his sins and cometh unto me, and calleth on my name, and obeyeth my voice, and
keepeth my commandments, shall see my face and know that I am." (D&C
93:1.) Today, many devout followers of Christ have indeed attained this glorious promise.
Nevertheless, they represent a small fraction among even the select circle of those who
aspire to be humble followers of Christ. And yet when the millennium comes, astonishingly
"all shall know me," says the Lord. Just think of it! Today, a minute
few have attained this, but in the millennium all will have attained it.
Something extraordinarily wonderful is going to happen between now and then to bring
about a mighty change among the people as a whole. (Ezk. 36:26.) The kingdom of God will
finally be established upon the earth, "no more to be thrown down." (Dan. 2:44;
D&C 103:13.) The will of God will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matt. 6:10;
D&C 65:6.) Satan and his hosts will be bound for one thousand years. (Rev. 20:2;
D&C 88:110.) Because of "the love of God which [shall] dwell in the hearts of the
people," there shall be no wars nor contentions; but "they shall beat their
swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks." (Isa. 2:4; 4 Ne. 1:15.)
There will be no more death, it being swallowed up through faith in Christ's victory over
the grave. (1 Cor. 15:54; Alma 22:14; D&C 101:29.) Instead, the infant will live to
"the age of a tree" then "be changed in the twinkling of an eye."
(D&C 101:30,31; 1 Cor. 15:51,52; Isa. 65:20,22.) Disease, pain and suffering will
likewise be conquered through faith. (Isa. 55:11; 4 Ne. 1:5; John 14:12.) All things shall
be revealed -- all things. (2 Ne. 30:18; D&C 101:32-34.) The city of Enoch will
descend from its heavenly throne to once again reside on the earth which will have been
purified and received of its paradisiacal glory. (Ether 13:3; AofF 10.) And this telestial
orb will become a terrestrial sphere, where Jesus Christ will personally reign as King of
kings and Lord of lords. (Rev. 19:16.)
This is our glorious destiny. And even this description is insufficient, for "it
is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man,
the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Cor. 2:9; Isa. 64:4; 3
Ne. 17:16; D&C 133:45.) Something great and marvelous is going to happen to elevate us
to this glorious state from where we are now; and it will be centered in the gospel of
Jesus Christ -- in its fulness, not in its currently diluted form. Because of the
characteristic resistance of organized religion to timely revivals of grand proportions,
as history recounts, and as prophecy foretells, we can expect that the new wine of renewed
power will not be able to be contained in the crusty old vessels of religious
traditionalism. Rather, this new level of God's outpouring of his gifts, will grow out of
the current religious systems as a phoenix from the ashes, comparable to how Christianity
sprung from its mother Judaism. Only this time, the result will be the long-sought for
hope of both Judaism and Christianity -- even the hope of all religions of the
earth -- the kingdom of God on the earth; Zion.
According to the grand, chiastic time-line of the Lord, the first shall be last,
and the last shall be first. (Ether 13:12; D&C 29:30.) The children
of Israel, who were the first, to whom the Lord sent Moses to gather to the
promised land for the first time to build his kingdom, later "rejected the stone upon
which they might build and have safe foundation," even Jesus Christ. (Jacob 4:15.)
The Lord said, "In that day when I came unto mine own, no man among you received me,
and you were driven out." (D&C 133:66.) "The kingdom of God" was
therefore "taken from them" and "given to" "the Gentiles,"
who would "bring forth the fruits thereof." (JST-Matt. 21:53.) Then the
Gentiles, who were therefore last, also fell away, resulting in the Dark Ages. It
was then the Gentiles, the last, who were then first to be gathered into the
kingdom as the Lord set his hand the second time to recover his people, in these
latter-days, through Joseph Smith. (BofM Title Page; 1 Ne. 13:42; 3 Ne. 16:7; D&C
137:6.) As the time of the Gentiles is "fulfilled," and they too reject the sure
stone upon which they might build and have safe foundation (D&C 45:28-30; 2 Ne.
28:32), sinning against the fullness of the gospel given to them (3 Ne. 16:10), the gospel
will be taken from them (3 Ne. 16:10), and the kingdom will be given to the house of
Israel (JST-Matt. 21:55; 3 Ne. 16:11), who will therefore become the last. As the
Lord thus sets his hand in this final transition, not the third time, but again
the second time through his servant, and "again there is none to
answer" (D&C 133:67), then "the stone which the builders refused," the
same will finally "become the headstone of their corner" (Ps. 118:22): Lord of
lords and King of kings (Rev. 19:16). "For God hath concluded them all in
unbelief," the Jews first and the Gentiles last, "that he might have mercy upon
all," the Gentiles first and Israel last. (Romans 11:32.) Thus the first shall be
last, and the last shall be first. Emerging from the sackcloth and ashes of a broken heart
and contrite spirit, through the grace of God, the people who finally remain will be
imbued with "a new heart and a new spirit." (Ezk. 36:26.) The LORD shall be
their God, and they shall be his people. (Ezk. 36:28.) There will be a mighty change
of heart, which is a gift of God to all those who come unto him with a broken
heart and contrite spirit. This is what will make all the difference. "This is the
Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes." (Matt. 21:42.)
