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The Moon Shall Turn to Blood
A Short Compilation of Gospel Writers
The Prophecy of Joel 2:30-31

Companion to Your Study of the Doctrine and Covenants, vol. 2
Daniel H. Ludlow, Second Coming
Understanding the Signs of the Times
Donald W. Parry, Jay A. Parry
Millennial Messiah: The Second Coming of the Son of Man
Bruce R. McConkie
Seventy's Course in Theology, vol. 2
B. H. Roberts

Companion to Your Study of the Doctrine and Covenants, vol. 2
Daniel H. Ludlow, Second Coming
One specific calamity mentioned is that "the hour . . . is nigh at
hand, when peace shall be taken from the earth, and the devil shall
have power over his dominion." (1:35.)
Other warnings of calamities are included in other revelations,
including a desolating scourge that will cover the land (5:19;
45:31), wars in the United States and in other lands (45:26, 63;
63:33; 87:1-8), the sea will heave itself beyond its bounds,
engulfing mighty cities (88:90), great destructions will be caused
by lightnings, thunders, and earthquakes (43:25; 45:33; 87:6;
88:89-90), the sun will be darkened and the moon turned into blood
(29:14; 34:9; 45:42; 88:87; 133:49), a great hailstorm will be sent
forth to destroy the crops of the earth (29:16; 43:25; 109:30), and
flies and maggots shall eat the flesh of the inhabitants of the
earth (29:18).
Understanding the Signs of the Times
Donald W. Parry, Jay A. Parry
Chapter 9
Signs and Wonders in the Heavens and in the Earth
There was a great earthquake. The great earthquake identified in
Rev. 6:12 will be a testimony and a warning voice to earth's people
that the Lord is God. The earthquake (and possible accompanying
phenomena) may cause the sun to become black and the moon to look
like blood. Other earthquakes are identified in Revelation 11:13;
16:17-20.
Sun became black as sackcloth. The sun will look as if it is covered
with black sackcloth, which is made from the hair of black goats.
Sackcloth often symbolizes mourning, and its connection with the
darkened sun implies that all God's creations are in mourning over
the wickedness of the world. As seen by the inhabitants of the
earth, the sun may appear to be darkened on account of volcanic ash,
dust, smoke, or other such things. This darkening may be a result of
the "great earthquake," or some other cause. We must remember that
"the events of that day shall be so unprecedented and so beyond
human experience, that the prophets are and have been at an almost
total loss for words to describe those realities pressed in upon
them by the spirit of revelation." 6 Many prophecies have testified
of this great event: "the sun shall be turned into darkness" (Joel
2:31) "shall the sun be darkened" (Matt. 24:29; JS 1:33); "the sun
shall be darkened" (D&C 29:14; 34:9; 45:42) "the sun shall hide his
face, and shall refuse to give light" (D&C 88:87).
Moon became as blood. The moon does not become actual blood but
becomes "as blood," probably meaning that it will look red to the
inhabitants of the earth. This change in the appearance of the moon
may be the result of the great earthquake spoken of in Rev. 6:12,
which would send a great amount of dust and debris into the
atmosphere. Such airborne particles could make the moon appear red
"as blood." Many prophets have foretold this event, using such
phrases as "the moon into blood" (Joel 2:31; Acts 2:20), "the moon
shall be turned into blood" (D&C 29:14), "the moon be turned into
blood" (D&C 34:9; 45:42), and "the moon shall be bathed in blood"
(D&C 88:87). Though we may not know the actual cause in the change
of the appearance of the moon—as well as any symbolism the Lord
intended with this imagery—we can have confidence that this sign
will somehow be given and that all the world will see it and fear.
Rev. 6:13 Stars of heaven fell unto the earth. Many of the stars
that we see in the sky are much larger than our sun, and their size
alone, not to mention their extreme heat, would pulverize and melt
the earth should they come in forceful contact with it. That will
almost certainly not happen. Elder Bruce R. McConkie explained:
"Such an earthquake [as the one prophesied in the sixth seal] has
never before been known (Rev. 16:17-21), and it shall appear to man
on earth as though the stars in the sidereal heavens are falling.
And in addition, as here recorded, some heavenly meteors or other
objects, appearing as stars, will fall 'unto the earth.'" 7
Millennial Messiah: The Second Coming of the Son of Man
Bruce R. McConkie
Chapter 35
The Promised Signs and Wonders
Signs and Wonders in Heaven and on Earth
The nations and kingdoms of the world, with all their leadership and
power, shall not know where to turn or what to do. Their leaders
will be perplexed. Shall they align themselves with these nations or
with those? What alliances will best serve their own national
interests? Rumors of war are everywhere. What is to be done to find
peace and security? Or to add glory and renown to their nation? No
human power can give the answers.
And amid it all, natural disasters shall be everywhere, "the sea and
the waves roaring"—there shall be no safety upon the waters in the
last days—"men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after
those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven
shall be shaken." Ought not men's hearts to fail them for fear when
they see the volcanic eruptions, the earthquakes, the famine, the
pestilence, the plagues, and the disease? It is as though the very
human race is about to be destroyed. Is this to be the end of the
earth and of all life upon its face? "And then shall they see the
Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." And among
all the inhabitants of the earth, only the Latter-day Saints will
have any peace of mind. Jesus' next words are addressed to them:
"And when these things begin to come to pass"—and we are seeing some
of them now, though the great day of fulfillment lies ahead—"then
look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."
(Luke 21:25-28.)
In revealing to us some of the things he said to the apostles on
Olivet, the Lord said: "And it shall come to pass that he that
feareth me"—meaning the faithful saints—"shall be looking forth for
the great day of the Lord to come, even for the signs of the coming
of the Son of Man." With all our hearts we seek to know and
understand these signs. "And they shall see signs and wonders, for
they shall be shown forth in the heavens above, and in the earth
beneath." Some of these signs we have seen; most of them lie in
futurity. "And they shall behold blood, and fire, and vapors of
smoke." The blood and fire and vapors of smoke could all be
man-made. Atomic bombs—dealing death, shedding blood, spreading
fire, and rising in great clouds of smoke—could bring this to pass.
In full measure it must refer to the fire and brimstone to be rained
upon men at Armageddon, but it may be that even this will be the
result of man's doings. "And before the day of the Lord shall come,
the sun shall be darkened, and the moon be turned into blood, and
the stars fall from heaven. . . . And then they shall look for me,
and, behold, I will come." (D&C 45:39-44.)
These words are more specific than those in Luke. One, at least, of
the "signs in the sun" is that it shall be darkened. It is not hard
to envision how this shall come to pass. Samuel the Lamanite gave
the Nephites a sign—separated as they were by an ocean from the
actual events—whereby they would know of the death of Christ. "In
that day that he shall suffer death," was the prophetic word; "the
sun shall be darkened and refuse to give his light unto you; and
also the moon and the stars; and there shall be no light upon the
face of this land, even from the time that he shall suffer death,
for the space of three days, to the time that he shall rise again
from the dead." (Hel. 14:20.)
The fulfillment of Samuel's prophetic word is recorded in these
words of scripture: "There was thick darkness upon all the face of
the land, insomuch that the inhabitants thereof who had not fallen
could feel the vapor of darkness; And there could be no light,
because of the darkness, neither candles, neither torches; neither
could there be fire kindled with their fine and exceedingly dry
wood, so that there could not be any light at all; And there was not
any light seen, neither fire, nor glimmer, neither the sun, nor the
moon, nor the stars, for so great were the mists of darkness which
were upon the face of the land. And it came to pass that it did last
for the space of three days that there was no light seen." (3 Ne.
8:19-23.) This darkness came upon the Americas along with the great
destructions that caused the whole continents to become deformed and
changed. It is reasonable to suppose that some equivalent thing will
cause darkness to cover the earth in the last days.
One, at least, of the signs "in the moon" is that the moon shall be
turned into blood. It is not difficult to envision a scene, amid the
fires and burnings that shall ravage the earth, in which the moon,
viewed through the smoke and polluted atmospheric conditions, would
appear as red as blood. Little previews of this, when conditions are
just right, are occasionally seen on earth even now. As to the stars
falling from heaven, we shall have more to say shortly.
To what we have already seen about the signs shown forth by the sun,
moon, and stars, let us add this verse from an early revelation:
"Behold, I say unto you," saith the Lord, "that before this great
day"—'my second coming'—"shall come the sun shall be darkened, and
the moon shall be turned into blood, and the stars shall fall from
heaven, and there shall be greater signs in heaven above and in the
earth beneath." (D&C 29:14.) This divine word seems to say that yet
unnamed signs—to be shown forth in heaven above and on the earth
beneath—shall exceed in magnitude and glory even those of which we
have been speaking. What these are remains to be seen.
Both Isaiah and Joel speak of these signs to be shown forth in the
sun, moon, and stars, and seem to place the promised events in the
midst of war and desolation. Isaiah says: "Behold, the day of the
Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land
desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it."
Truly, it is the great and dreadful day of the Lord, the day of
vengeance that was in his heart, the day when the wicked shall be
burned. "For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof
shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going
forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine." The new
emphasis here, for our purposes, is on the moon and the stellar
constellations being darkened as well as the sun. Obviously, if the
sun is darkened, such will be the case also with the moon, for this
lesser light is but a reflection of the greater; and if great
darkening mists blot out the nearby brilliance of the sun, they will
surely do the same for the twinkling glimmerings of the distant
stars. "And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked
for their iniquity," the holy word continues, thus keeping the
heavenly signs in their setting, "and I will cause the arrogancy of
the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the
terrible." (Isa. 13:9-11.)
Joel adds a new dimension by giving the word in this way: "And I
will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire,
and pillars of smoke." All this we have heretofore considered. "The
sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood." This,
too, we have duly noted. But then Joel says, with reference to the
whole matter, that it shall come to pass "before the great and
terrible day of the Lord come." (Joel 2:30-31.) Then, almost
immediately, he launches into a prophecy about Armageddon and its
dire destructions. This lets us know that although, as Isaiah seems
to say, the desolations are in progress when the signs are given,
yet the fulness of the day of wrath, meaning the final day of
burning and destruction, shall not come until after the signs are
shown forth. This accords with and amplifies what we have quoted
from latter-day revelation.
Now let us come to the matter of the stars falling or being hurled
from heaven. Our latter-day revelation speaks of the coming of the
Lord and says that "so great shall be the glory of his presence that
the sun shall hide his face in shame, and the moon shall withhold
its light, and the stars shall be hurled from their places." (D&C
133:49.) From this account we conclude that the stars shall fall
from heaven at the time of his arrival rather than before. In
another passage, heretofore quoted in another connection, the Lord
says: "Not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to
and fro as a drunken man; and the sun shall hide his face, and shall
refuse to give light; and the moon shall be bathed in blood; and the
stars shall become exceedingly angry, and shall cast themselves down
as a fig falleth from off a fig-tree." (D&C 88:87.) Other passages
also speak of the earth trembling and reeling to and fro and specify
that it shall be when the Lord sets his foot again upon the Mount of
Olives. (D&C 45:48.) Employing the strong language and graphic
imagery that he alone can use with such power, Isaiah says: "The
earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the
earth is moved exceedingly." He is talking of the new heaven and the
new earth that shall come into being when the elements melt with
fervent heat. "The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and
shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall
be heavy upon it." This, we repeat, is in the day of burning. "And
it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the
host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth
upon the earth." (Isa. 24:19-21.)
Knowing that the earth is to reel to and fro, knowing that the
mighty deep shall return to its place in the north, knowing that the
continents and islands shall join again, what about the stars and
their fall from heaven? Our answer is that it will seem to men on
earth as though the stars—those great suns in the sidereal heavens
around which other planets revolve—are falling because the earth
reels. The great fixed stars will continue in their assigned orbits
and spheres. The sun also will continue to give light, but it will
appear to men to be darkened; and the moon will remain as she has
been since the creation, but it will seem to mortal eyes as though
she is bathed in blood.
Many scriptures speak of earthquakes as one of the signs of the
times. We have noted this, somewhat repetitiously, as it has been
associated with other matters. The clear inference is that for some
reason as yet unknown to man, earthquakes have been and are destined
to increase both in number and intensity in the last days. Certainly
they shall increase in terror and destructive power simply because
there are more people and more man-made structures on earth than at
any previous time. And clearly the crowning earthquake—the
earthquake of earthquakes—is the one that shall occur as the earth
reels to and fro and the stars seem to fall from their places in the
sidereal heavens.
As we consider the reeling of the earth to and fro and the total
realignment of its land masses incident to the Second Coming, and as
we consider the burning of the vineyard by fire to destroy the
wicked, as they were once destroyed by water in the days of Noah, we
are faced with a somewhat difficult problem relative to the rainbow.
We say difficult because not all things relative to it have been
revealed, and we have only a few slivers of divine truth upon which
to build our house of understanding. In the eternal sense nothing is
difficult once the whole matter has been revealed to minds prepared
and qualified to receive and understand. Let us lay a foundation for
the place the rainbow is destined to play in the Second Coming by
recounting the circumstances under which it apparently came into
being.
Seed time and harvest, in the sense of one season following another,
exist because the axis of the earth is tilted twenty-three and a
half degrees from the upright. This is the reason we have summer and
winter, spring and fall. The first reference in the scriptures to
seasons as we know them is in connection with the flood of Noah.
There is a presumption that prior to the flood there were no seasons
because the axis of the earth was upright, and a similar presumption
that when the Millennium comes and the earth returns to its original
paradisiacal state, once again the seasons as we know them will
cease and that seed time and harvest will go on concurrently at all
times. The whole earth at all times will be a garden as it was in
the days of Eden.
Whatever the case may be with reference to these things, something
apparently happened with reference to the rainbow in Noah's day, and
something is certainly going to happen with reference to it in
connection with the Lord's return. We are left to speculate relative
to some of these matters, which is not all bad as long as any
expressed views are clearly identified for what they are. In fact,
in our present state of spiritual enlightenment the Lord
deliberately leaves us to ponder and wonder about many things
connected with his coming; in this way our hearts are centered upon
him so that we will qualify in due course to receive absolute and
clear revelation on many things.
It is clear from the foregoing that there is some relationship
between the destruction of the world by water in Noah's day, the
destruction by fire in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the
placing of the rainbow in the heavens as a token of a covenant that
involved both the flood and the Second Coming. Joseph Smith, with
characteristic spiritual insight, ties the whole matter together by
statements made on two different occasions. "The Lord deals with
this people as a tender parent with a child," the Prophet said,
"communicating light and intelligence and the knowledge of his ways
as they can bear it. The inhabitants of the earth are asleep; they
know not the day of their visitation. The Lord hath set the bow in
the cloud for a sign that while it shall be seen, seed time and
harvest, summer and winter shall not fail; but when it shall
disappear, woe to that generation, for behold the end cometh
quickly." (Teachings, p. 305.)
"I have asked of the Lord concerning His coming," the Prophet also
said, "and while asking the Lord, He gave a sign and said, 'In the
days of Noah I set a bow in the heavens as a sign and token that in
any year that the bow should be seen the Lord would not come; but
there should be seed time and harvest during that year: but whenever
you see the bow withdrawn, it shall be a token that there shall be
famine, pestilence, and great distress among the nations, and that
the coming of the Messiah is not far distant.' But I will take the
responsibility upon myself to prophesy in the name of the Lord, that
Christ will not come this year, . . . for we have seen the bow."
(Teachings, pp 340-41.)
When shall all these things come to pass? When will the sun and the
moon and the stars play their portentous part in the coming of
Christ? When will the glimmering beauty of the bow in heaven cease
to portray its span of colors to men? When will the sign of the
coming of the Son of Man be given? We have already shown that the
seven last plagues shall be poured out after the opening of the
seventh seal, and thus in the beginning of the seventh thousand
years. It is then that Armageddon shall be fought; it is then that
Jerusalem shall again reap the fate that once was hers; it is then
that the abomination that maketh desolate shall utterly destroy the
wicked within her walls. All this, of course, will come after Judah
returns, after the Jerusalem temple is built, after the Jews have
begun to believe in their true Messiah.
Thus, Jesus on Olivet spoke of the gospel of the kingdom being
preached in all the world in the last days and of a second
"abomination of desolation" being "fulfilled." Then, using language
that establishes a definite time frame and that sets forth an order
of chronology, he said: "And immediately after the tribulation of
those days"—the plagues and wars and abominable desolation that
shall destroy again the city of Jerusalem in the final great
war—"the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her
light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of
heaven shall be shaken." He is speaking thus of the final great
signs, the wonders and marvels that are yet to be, the final signs
that shall be shown forth in heaven and on earth.
And then comes this word: "And, as I said before, after the
tribulation of those days, and the powers of heaven shall be
shaken"—with some deliberation and by emphasis born of repetition he
is identifying the time frame—"then shall appear the sign of the Son
of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn;
and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven,
with power and great glory." (JS-M 1:31-36.)
On another occasion the Prophet, after reciting that before our Lord
returns, Jerusalem and her temple must be built and the waters of
the Dead Sea healed, continued by saying: "There will be wars and
rumors of wars, signs in the heavens above and on the earth beneath,
the sun turned into darkness and the moon to blood, earthquakes in
divers places, the seas heaving beyond their bounds; then"—meaning
after all these things—"then will appear one grand sign of the Son
of Man in heaven. But what will the world do? They will say it is a
planet, a comet, etc. But the Son of Man will come as the sign of
the coming of the Son of Man, which will be as the light of the
morning cometh out of the east." (Teachings, pp. 286-87.)
All people shall see it together! It shall spread over all the earth
as the morning light! "For as the light of the morning cometh out of
the east, and shineth even unto the west, and covereth the whole
earth, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be." (JS-M 1:26.)
Surely this is that of which Isaiah said: "And the glory of the Lord
shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the
mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." (Isa. 40:5.) Surely this is that
of which our revelation speaks: "Prepare for the revelation which is
to come, when the veil of the covering of my temple, in my
tabernacle, which hideth the earth, shall be taken off, and all
flesh shall see me together." (D&C 101:23.) Surely this is that day
of which Zechariah prophesied: "The Lord my God shall come, and all
the saints with thee. And it shall come to pass in that day, that
the light shall not be clear, nor dark: But it shall be one day
which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall
come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light. . . . And the
Lord shall be king over all the earth." (Zech. 14:5-9.)
And thus all the promised signs shall come to pass and the Great
God, who is Lord of all, shall come and reign on earth; and for the
space of a thousand years the earth shall rest.
Seventy's Course in Theology, vol. 2
B. H. Roberts
LESSON XXVIII.
CONFLICTING THEORIES.
3. Joel's Great Prophecy of the Dispensation of the Last Days: Of
the special passages before referred to, and which I said would
receive separate consideration, the first is Peter's quotation from
the Prophet Joel, concerning the outpouring of the Spirit of God
upon "all flesh in the last days." This quotation from Joel is
regarded as identifying the days in which the Apostle was speaking,
as "the last days;" and the dispensation in which he was living as
the Dispensation of the Last Days and of the Fullness of Times. The
conditions existing when Peter was speaking, and the prophecy of
Joel, however, admit of no such interpretation. The circumstances
were as follows: The Holy Ghost in an extraordinary manner rested
upon the Apostles and gave them the power of speaking in other
languages than those they had learned. Some in the listening
multitude attributed this singular manifestation to drunkenness,
whereupon the Apostle Peter arose and refuted the slander, saying:
"These are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third
hour of the day. But this is that which was spoken by the Prophet
Joel; and it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will
pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and
your old men shall dream dreams: and on my servants and on my
handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they
shall prophesy; and I will show wonders in heaven above, and signs
in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: the sun
shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before that
great and notable day of the Lord come: and it shall come to pass,
that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." 5
"For," to finish the passage as it stands in Joel, but which is not
in Peter's quotation, "for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be
deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord
shall call." 6
Because Peter, referring to the Spirit that was then resting upon
the Twelve Apostles, said, "this is that which was spoken by the
Prophet Joel," etc., the very general opinion prevails that Joel's
prophecy was then fulfilled; and hence the last days were come. This
is an entire misapprehension of the purpose of Peter in making the
quotation; as also of the quoted passage itself. Beyond all
controversy, Peter meant only: This Spirit which you now see resting
upon these Apostles of Jesus of Nazareth is that same Spirit which
your Prophet Joel says will, in the last days, be poured out upon
all flesh. Obviously he did not mean that this occasion of the
Apostles receiving the Holy Ghost was a complete fulfillment of
Joel's prediction. To insist upon such an exegesis would be to
charge the chief of the Apostles with palpable ignorance of the
meaning of Joel's prophecy. On the occasion in question the Holy
Ghost was poured out upon the Twelve Apostles, who were given the
power to speak in various tongues; Joel's prophecy for its complete
fulfillment requires that the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Ghost,
shall be poured out upon all flesh; and undoubtedly refers to that
time which shall come in the blessed millenium, when the enmity
shall not only cease between man and man, but even between the
beasts of the forests and of the fields; and between man and beast,
as described by Isaiah in the following language:
"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie
down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling
together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the
bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the
lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling child shall play
on the hole of the asp; and the weaned child shall put his hand on
the cockatrices' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea." 7
Compare these conditions so vividly described with what Joel himself
says of the period when the Spirit of the Lord shall be poured out
upon all flesh, and it will at once be clear that the two Prophets
are dealing with the same period, and not only dealing with the same
period, but that the period itself is certainly far beyond in time
the days of Peter; in fact, is still in the future; for the sum has
not yet been turned into blackness; nor the moon into blood; nor
have the stars withdrawn their shining. It is obvious that the
events upon the day of Pentecost did not fulfill the terms of this
prophecy, except in those particulars already pointed out. The
mention in this prophecy, however, of those special signs which
Jesus refers to as immediately preceding His own second and glorious
coming, clearly demonstrates that Joel was speaking of the last day
indeed, and not of a circumstance that occurred in connection with a
period more properly designated as the Dispensation of the Meridian
of Time. Immediately following his prediction of the outpouring of
God's Spirit upon all flesh, Joel represents the Lord as saying:
"And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and
fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of
the Lord come." And later: "The sun and the moon shall be darkened,
and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar
out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and
the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of His people,
and the strength of the children of Israel."
Compare this with the Saviour's description of conditions in the
earth that will precede His own second coming:
"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and
then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then
shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son
of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and
they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one
end of heaven to the other." 8
The same wonders in heaven and earth; the same changes in sun, and
moon, and stars; the same promises of the gathering of God's people
as are found in the prophecy of Joel. There can be no question,
then, but that the prophecy of Joel refers to the same "last days"
that Jesus here alludes to—the days of the coming of the Son of
Man—and not to the days of Peter and the other Apostles in the
meridian of time.
The sum of the matter then is, that Peter was not living in the
"last days;" that the prophecy of Joel was not in its entirety
fulfilled in the outpouring of God's Spirit upon the Apostles on the
day of Pentecost; that at no time subsequent to the days of the
Apostles has there existed such conditions in the earth as amount to
a complete fulfillment of Joel's prophecy; therefore in some time
future from the days of the Apostles we may look forward to a
universal outpouring of God's Holy Spirit upon all flesh, resulting
in a universal peace and wide-spread knowledge of God, brought
about, unquestionably, by a subsequent dispensation from that in
which Peter wrought—the Dispensation of the Fullness of Times, in
which God promises to "gather together in one all things in Christ,
both which are in heaven and which are on earth; even in Him." 9
Footnotes
1. Mark i: 15.
2. Gal. iv: 4.
3. Heb. i: 1, 2.
4. John ii: 18.
5. Acts ii: 15, 21.
6. Joel ii: 28-32.
7. Isaiah xi: 6-9.
8. Matt. xxiv: 29-31.
9. Eph. i: 10.
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