I had a zombie apocalypse dream last night. But, I bet you never heard one like this before. (I never watch zombie movies or shows.)
In my dream, my family and I were preparing for a sign that the zombie apocalypse would begin. Everyone knew that on a night that was coming, you couldn’t go out in the dark at all. We also knew you shouldn’t look outside. Even if you only saw people that looked normal, it was a ruse. You can’t be touched by them, or you become one. The night came, and my son looked out, even though we had warned him not to. He only saw people who looked normal, and was enticed to go outside. He was touched, and we didn’t know at first. He came back inside. We discovered he was sick, and I touched him about the same time.
Then, it was as if I pulled on my spiritual armor, and confidence in God, as I decided that this was not going to be our story. I had power to change it. In my head, I heard Brandon Briggs (Last Days Youtube) voice declaring, “All things are possible to him who believes!!!” (Mark 9:23) over and over. Then, I said it with as much fervor as he did. And I knew we were going to be okay.
We can change our course! We can totally alter our beliefs to be more filled with light and trust that Father will shield His people! I learned to refocus my thought patterns, and immerse myself in the promises of God, in the blessings that will come when the tribulation starts. His people will be gathered at that time.
Let us look at the promises for the righteous when the Tribulation begins.
Revelation 6
12 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood,13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.
14 The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
15 Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,
16 calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,
17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
In the above passage, there are some key markers of the events that are coming during the 6th Seal. We should expect a great earthquake that will move every mountain and island, and cause everyone who is not shielded by the Lord, to hide in caves and rocks. There will also be signs in the heavens, with the sun being darkened, the moon as blood, the stars falling and the sky vanishing like a scroll. With this information, we can relate these events to other passages of scripture which will help us have a greater comprehension of the coming events.
John continues this same prophecy in Revelation 7:
Revelation 7
1 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree.
2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea,
3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel:
5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,
10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,
12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?”
14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
The events described in Revelation 7, immediately follow the earth shaking, sky rolling, star falling, rock hiding events described previously. This is the great gathering at Adam ondi Ahman, where the Lord comes and becomes their Shepherd, and wipes every tear from their eyes. His throne is not in the heavens, but in a remote county in Missouri.
Please note the four angels, holding four winds at the beginning of chapter 7. This prophecy, and the passage from Revelation 6 directly relate to this passage in Matthew:
Matthew 24
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
Do you recall the prophecy that the Lord will come as a thief in the night? Also the Lord’s parable of the 10 virgins, with five of them not having any oil in their lamps? We are also told that the time of His coming is a time when we think not.
Matthew 24 describes the darkening of the sun and the stars falling from heaven, and that “the powers of the heavens will be shaken.” This aligns with the passage from Revelation 6. In Revelation 6, it describes how after these big events, that all the people will be afraid of something and hide. That, Matthew tells us, is the “sign of the Son of Man.” The wicked will mourn as they cower in the cracks of the earth. I love that Matthew then declares that Jesus will send out those angels (remember there are four according to Revelation 7), to gather his elect from the four winds.
The first coming of Jesus Christ happens in the 6th Seal!
Our Savior will be on earth directing the 144000 from place to place to gather out the “daughter of Zion” who was left with chains around her neck. The events of the 7th Seal are designed to purge them and purify them, so they can be gathered, one by one, to Zion by the Servants of the Son of God.
There are many other scriptural passages, that support this understanding, in the Standard Works. But, I will close with two relevant prophecies from the Nemenhah:
1 Pah Nahtahn 3
16 Behold, whenever people gather together to save themselves from the dangers and perils of the world, belief in the Sahnhehmpeht who is to come must form the foundation and purpose for their gathering.
17 For, any man may build a house and hedge it round about. And that place of refuge is as safe from the perils of the wild world as are the walls of this city. And behold, he may set his sons to guard it day and night, and it is as safe as this great city.
18 But, the day comes when the earth shall reel to and fro. Yea, there comes a day when, should a man find himself upon the road, he will not see his way and the earth shall rise up under his feet and cast him down. In that day, shall these walls save him?
19 Yea, a day comes when, should a woman find herself at the well, she will not see her way and the earth rising up shall cast her down. In that day, shall these walls save her? And when all creation shall shake with a fury, and this great city is burned with a fire come down out of heaven, shall the man and the woman be preserved? It is a question.
20 Shall a man and a woman heap to themselves riches and costly things to hedge up the wilderness And with such a hedge, shall they think to bring safety unto themselves and their children? I ask you does their rich and costly things protect them from any risk or peril?
21 In the day of tribulation, what shall their riches buy them? When the earth has thrown down the crop, shall they buy meal? When the fire has burned the city, shall they buy shelter? I say unto you, nay. For the day of their salvation is at hand.
These verses tell of the times that are described in Revelation 6 where the earth reels to and fro, and when the riches heaped of will be of little use. Isaiah tells us that these precious things will be “cast to the moles and bats” which will be in the caves and rocks where the people go to hide, when they see the Son of Man coming.
This final reference is Tsi Muhayl’s prophecy to the Nemenhah people. A part of his story is recorded in the Book of Mormon as Samuel the Lamanite. Verse 28 describes when Jesus came to visit the Nephites of His resurrection. There was terrible destruction of the most wicked among the people. It is a type and shadow of what will happen when the great and terrible events of the Sixth Seal unfold.
2 Tsi Muhayl 12
28 And behold, when all things were in commotion and the hearts of men had waxed cold, yea, and when the Peacemaker did call His fury down out of heaven to destroy the wickedness from off the face of the earth, behold, we did see the sign and were filled with joy. Yea, when all others quailed in the smoke and darkness of destruction, we did raise up a song of praise and of thanksgiving.
29 You live in such perilous times. Yet may you also look up with joy and with thanksgiving. In faith you may take up that covenant which your forefathers made and again establish Tsiahn (Zion) in the land.