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Nine Takeaways from an intense study of the Last Days

I recently undertook an intense study of the Abrahamic Covenant. I learned a lot! It put nearly every doctrine and principle I've learned in a global context. I now see that everything in the gospel of Jesus Christ relates to the covenants the Father made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And I see that God is very interested in Abraham's posterity and in protecting them.

Later I became curious how those covenants pertained to the Last days, and the Millennium. I have read and reread the books of Isaiah, 1st and 2nd Nephi, key Doctrine and Covenants chapters, and a bunch of general conference quotes. Not surprisingly, I realized the Abrahamic Covenant has everything to do with the Millennium. There were a few other significant lessons I learned along the way. Here are my takeaways from this interesting study:
  1. The difficult to understand scriptures are often most critical. The chapters I have often skipped in scriptures due to their difficulty of interpretation, like Isaiah, the Allegory of the Olive Tree by Jacob (quoting Zenos), and many of the 3rd Nephi chapters when the Savior quoted Isaiah, are essential to understanding the Abrahamic Covenant, and the Last Days. 
  2. The difficult to understand scriptures are very simple (usually). The more I read those difficult scriptures, the more I understand (and understand clearly) what they mean. I can truly say with Nephi now that I rejoice in the writings of Isaiah. As a side note, the Savior put us under command to search Isaiah. Curious.
  3. The four standard works (Bible, Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price) create an absolutely solid foundation of doctrine. Each provide important aspects of a single concept, and studying them together is essential in gaining true understanding.
  4. There are SO many prophets who have seen these last days. Why did the Lord see fit to bless each of them with visions of the end times? Because they eagerly wanted to see the wicked Israelites turn to the Lord in righteousness, and serve God, and be blessed of him. Those blessings are fulfilled only in The Last Days. 
  5. The Days of Tribulation are not necessarily upon us yet. Yes, we are beginning to see signs fulfilled, but in my understanding of the scriptural intent behind the phrase, Days of Tribulation, we haven't seen anything yet. The Days of Tribulation have a pretty distinct beginning some point in the future, and have a relatively abrupt end.
  6. Non scriptural sources strongly suggest the end of the sixth seal is this very year, 2015. Jewish calendars which reference blood moons and eclipses reveal this year is astronomically significant. If this has any doctrinal significance, it is likely the days of tribulation will begin at the end of this year, or early in 2016. There is a subtle danger in following these sorts of non-scriptural signs, so, while it is interesting and could have true implications, I don't hang my hat on this one.
  7. The Abrahamic Covenant is not fulfilled yet, and won't be until Christ returns. Abraham struggled with the wickedness of his fathers. He was disappointed that they had abandoned the true faith, their covenants, and had thus broken the line of sealing. He wanted to live in a righteous land (like the City of Enoch many years before him). He wanted the covenant sealing lines to be restored, and to ensure those sealings would go on through his posterity. Only in these last days, and the days immediately before the 2nd Coming will he get that righteous land he always wanted (The new and old Jerusalems, and the lost tribes will gather in their covenant lands as well.) Sealings will bind his family and posterity together throughout the Millennium.
  8. At the onset of the Days of Tribulation, the righteous will be led out from among the wicked (not the other way around). This will be  an actual physical separation. The wicked will then destroy one another while many of the righteous are spared.
  9. Above all, I now see that the Lord is bound to protect his covenant people in these last days, and this is because Abraham was faithful to God. He will also be merciful to those who have not entered into covenants with him (by his authority), but who still do their best to follow him. I love this doctrine, and there are many scriptures that support it (like 1 Ne. 14:14).
I'm a visual learner. I can take things on faith, but when I see it, I understand it better. Here is a graphic I put together showing major events with hyperlinks. It is meant to be used as an interactive study guide, so click the links and go on the journey yourself and have fun learning!





Comments

  1. Very impressive work! Question: What groups of people would be considered the lost tribes?

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  2. Thanks Jules. Revelation 7: 5-8 lists all the tribes. We know Judah has been gathering in Jerusalem, and Ephraim/Menassah (Joseph) has been gathering primarily in the Americas, so the the other tribes are the lost ones. Here is a good talk on the Lost tribes. Unfortunately at this point, there is only speculation on their whereabouts. Bruce R. McConkie has some good quotes on that topic as well.

    http://ldslastdays.com/default.aspx?page=talk_tribes.htm

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  3. I wish we could remove one of the major "news" channels, and broadcast your material instead! To me, this is of epic importance. Thank you for sharing your insights with us Eric.

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    1. Thanks Ryan. And I couldn't agree with you more on the importance of these issues!

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  4. Thank you for the your hard work and effort to inform us of the days of tribulation that will soon be upon us. What you provided is just as valid today as it was nearly three years about when you first published this time sensitive document. A lot of things have happened bringing us closer to the days foretold. I am concerned about the monetary system, economy, political arenas, FBI, Homeland Security, government credibility all the way to the Office of the President. I fear that the corruption is so great that the silent unofficial powers are no longer hiding their presence here and throughout the world.

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  5. I would like to share my testimony of these future events. Particularly the 'Call Out' as you call it. For many, many years my prayer was "Please bless the land of America to remain a land of freedom" yet as I saw the direction our people were taking that prayer changed and became "Please bless that if it is not they will for the entire land of America to remain a land of freedom then please bless that there will be a place of safety & refuge provided for the righteous (including all religions)." Of course that is an edited version of my prayers, yet it gives you an idea. Several years into this type of prayer I was given a scripture (it became my favorite) D&C 98:1-3 It reads: Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your heart be comforted; yea, rejoice evermore, and in everything give thanks; Waiting patiently on the Lord, for your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, and are recorded with this seal and testament-the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they SHALL BE GRANTED. Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name's glory, saith the Lord. That Scripture gave me HOPE and I clung to it. Several more years passed and one day through a series of events (that I will say were answers to prayer) I came upon a couple of books. Each book was by a different author (one male, one female). We live in a world full of deception, yet I believe God hears & answers MY prayers (as well as others). So, I specifically asked if these people were charlatans and I specifically asked about the 'call out'. Heavenly Father answered that prayer and let me know that this event was not only an answer to MY prayers but to the prayers of many, many other people and that that event was the way HE choose to fulfill the answers to our sincere prayer. I am GRATEFUL to people who share the experiences they have had with heaven. It helps build my faith by allowing me to seek answers from the Lord and it gives me GREAT hope. Otherwise, all I could see in our future was darkness. Not anymore, now I have a testimony born of heaven and it is comforting. So thank you Eric and thank your public friend. I am grateful to you and to our Father in Heaven.

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  6. Eric I to have been on a journey of learning and discovery of the last days tribulations and all that comes with it. Its interesting to me that it started out as a physical preperation but evolved into a spiritual one. You cannot have the physical without the spiritual. One without the other.
    I appreciate the gift you have of putting it down on paper, making it easy to understand. It's what I have held in my mind for years. Thank you for your hard work and being in tune with the spirit. I pray we will walk with the Lord as we continue to prepare for the tribulations and becoming sanctified so that we can be a Zion people to prepare for the coming of our Lord and Savior. Praise God!
    Your friend Anna Brown

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