How will the earth be cleansed by fire? (LDS perspective)
Upvote:2
So which is it? If it's figurative, do we know what the fire represents? If it's literal, do we know what will cause the fire?
The answer is both, but the burning refers neither to fire caused by man nor any natural processes.
Coming of Christ
When Jesus comes again, He will come in power and great glory.
See Matt 24:30, Mark 13:26, Luke 21:27, D&C 45:44, JSM 1:36.
The scriptures speak of different fates for the wicked and the righteous:
1 For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
2 But unto you that fear my name, shall the Son of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves in the stall. 3 Nephi 25:1-2
Transfiguration
To behold the presence of God (or the power of God), a mortal must be transfigured, which transfiguration depends on the will of God, and in this case, the righteousness of that person at the Second Coming. See Transfiguration - lds.org
Evidence of this exists in many places in the scriptures:
Nephi, when filled with the power of God stated, "I am filled with the power of God, even unto the consuming of my flesh; and whoso shall lay his hands upon me shall wither even as a dried reed." 1 Nephi 17:48.
A similar thing happened with Abinadi: Mosiah 13:3
Moses, after seeing God, taught "mine own eyes have beheld God; but not my natural, but my spiritual eyes, for my natural eyes could not have beheld; for I should have withered and died in his presence." Moses 1:11
Cleansing
the earth will be cleansed by fire
This cleansing is what is referred to as the transfiguration of the earth into it's renewed, paradisaical state: Millennium and Glorification of the Earth. Note this is not the final glorification of the earth, when it will be sanctified and celestialized, when the earth "will be made like unto crystal and will be a Urim and Thummim" D&C 130:9, which will occur some time after the Millennium, see D&C 88:19
Elder Bruce R. McConkie clarified the burning heat will have a physical effect on the earth itself:
“When the Lord comes in his glory, in flaming fire, that fire will both cleanse the vineyard and burn the earth. In that day, so intense shall be the heat and so universal the burning, the very elements of which this earth is composed shall melt. The mountains, high and glorious and made of solid rock, shall melt like wax. They shall become molten and flow down into the valleys below. The very earth itself, as now constituted, shall be dissolved. All things shall burn with fervent heat. And out of it all shall come new heavens and a new earth whereon dwelleth righteousness”. McConkie, Millennial Messiah, 526–27
Upvote:3
Fire is often symbolic of the purifying power of the Holy Ghost, and I wouldn't be surprised if the "burning" is both physical and spiritual in this case. For example, missionary work may be one way that the wicked are "burned" (cleansed) and are uprooted from their ways.
More post
- 📝 How do Calvinists understand the argument that only the Ephesian church were elect in the context of Ephesians?
- 📝 Greek or any other language New Testament edition or document(s) predating the Old Latin (Vetus Latina) translation?
- 📝 Was Emperor St. Justinian an Aphthartodocetist?
- 📝 What is the 'Book of David'?
- 📝 When was it first said in Christianity by a Church Father that heretics must be tortured physically?
- 📝 Why does God say we shouldn't eat Crab & Pork but Jesus says that doesn't really matter
- 📝 Does the Catholic word Priest actually mean "Presbyter?" Or is it a conflation of roles?
- 📝 What happened to Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom during his punishment
- 📝 What is an overview of how Christians discern genuine cases of demonic influence from mundane mental health problems?
- 📝 Why do ancient Egyptian records make no mention of the Crossing of the Red Sea narrative?
- 📝 What is the biblical and traditional support for the Catholic Marian devotion?
- 📝 How do people who deny Biblical inerrancy understand this argument on inspiration?
- 📝 What is the significance of the three distinct aspects of the temptation of Eve in the garden?
- 📝 Was it Adino or his army that killed eight hundred at one time?
- 📝 In what form did water exist before the creation of light?
- 📝 During Catholic confirmation, what criteria should be used to choose a saint?
- 📝 Is there consensus between Christian commentators about how Jesus came to be atop the temple when being tempted by Satan in the wilderness?
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church is the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act an unjust law?
- 📝 Cleansing of unclean meat to clean meat interpretation of Acts 10:17-18 and 22-23 in relation to Isaiah 66:17
- 📝 Exodus as justification for political or religious terrorism?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the phrase "God wants the best for us"?
- 📝 Christian Literature In the format of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress
- 📝 How have mainstream Christian denominations interpreted the Acts command to abstain from blood?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for believing that it is sinful to commit illegal actions?
- 📝 Why does the NRSV-CE omit mentioning prayer and fasting in Matthew 17?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the idea that "hell is locked from the inside"?
- 📝 How would Biblical Inerrantists resolve perceived tensions between 2 Timothy 3:16 and Hebrews 7:18?
- 📝 The Beasts in Daniel 7
- 📝 Does Jesus have a last name?
- 📝 Does the Catholic Church have a written rule on the depth of a grave in a cemetery?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 How will the earth be cleansed by fire? (LDS perspective)
- 📝 How do Jehovah Witnesses support scripturely the idea that humans will live on earth after death?
- 📝 How do young earth creationists reconcile the age of the universe with the speed of light, and visible distant objects?
- 📝 How does free will fit with the doctrine of predestination?
- 📝 How does the LDS Church decide what is included in their scriptural canon?
- 📝 On the topic of marriage in heaven, how does the LDS church reconcile Matthew 22:23-33?
- 📝 How do young earth creationists explain the evidence for ice ages?
- 📝 Will God destroy the earth again?
- 📝 When and how was the doctrine of the one divine will established?
- 📝 How does the LDS doctrine of assurance compare to the Methodist doctrine of assurance?
- 📝 According to the LDS Church (Mormons), how specifically did Joseph Smith translate the Book of Mormon?
- 📝 Why does LDS teaching say that the Priesthood returned to earth if John never left?
- 📝 How does one become an Apostle in the LDS Church?
- 📝 How is the 'New Perspective on Paul' different from Catholicism with respect to good works?
- 📝 How will Jesus be recognized at the time of "Second Coming"?
- 📝 How do protestants understand Jesus' statement that unless we eat the flesh of the Son of Man we will have no life?
- 📝 How does our work on this earth transfer into the new earth when God returns?
- 📝 How do Leslie Weatherhead's views on the will of God compare to contemporary Baptist thought?
- 📝 How to interpret C.S. Lewis's use of magic by good moral agents in the Chronicles of Narnia to be acceptable to earth Christians?
- 📝 How was the earth divided? (Gen. 10:25)
- 📝 How do the LDS interpret Matthew 19:12?
- 📝 LDS perspective on the New King James Version?
- 📝 How does the LDS Church handle verses that imply there is no one like God?
- 📝 How has the LDS Word of Wisdom changed since its introduction?
- 📝 How do Young Earth Creationists explain the teeth of animals if there was no death before the fall?
- 📝 From where did the Pearl of Great Price come and how did it become recognized as Scripture in the LDS church?
- 📝 How were the footnotes in LDS scriptures created?
- 📝 What is LDS teaching about how Bible verses came to be in the Book of Mormon?
- 📝 From where did the Book of Abraham come and how did it become part of LDS Scripture?
- 📝 What attributes does Jesus have from an LDS doctrinal perspective that are different from the Jesus in the Holy Trinity?