16 The Righteous Saints to be Protected

1 Nephi 14

1 Nephi 22

Revelation

1 Nephi 14:Verse 14

14 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.

1 Nephi 22:Verse 15

15 For behold, saith the prophet, the time cometh speedily that Satan shall have no more power over the hearts of the children of men; for the day soon cometh that all the proud and they who do wickedly shall be as stubble; and the day cometh that they must be burned.

1 Nephi 22:Verse 16

16 For the time soon cometh that the fulness of the wrath of God shall be poured out upon all the children of men; for he will not suffer that the wicked shall destroy the righteous.

1 Nephi 22:Verse 17

17 Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire.

1 Nephi 22:Verse 19

19 For behold, the righteous shall not perish; for the time surely must come that all they who fight against Zion shall be cut off.

Revelation 17:Verse 14

14 ¶ These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him [are] called, and chosen, and faithful.

The saints that will usher in this time of tribulation, with the natural upheavals of nature, the wars and rumors of wars, the great destructions and deaths caused by nature or man, will be protected by the arm of the Lord. Satan seeks to encompass the saints both spiritually and physically, and would do so if it were not for the divine intervention that is promised to the righteous saints in the last days. The prophet Nephi declared that the righteous will be preserved by the power of the Lord, even "unto the destruction of their enemies by fire" (1 Nephi 22:17). This time of destruction will be so terrible that many of the righteous shall die, the Lord has said that "the saints also shall hardly escape; nevertheless, I, the Lord, am with them, and will come down in heaven from the presence of my Father and consume the wicked with unquenchable fire" (D&C 63:34). As in the parable of the "Ten Virgins" half of those waiting for the bridegroom are not prepared for his return and are found on his left hand, and are cast out with the goats (Matt 25:1-12). The Book of Mormon is the pattern of the last-days and there we see that only the more part of the righteous were spared, and made it through the upheavals of nature and the death and destruction associated with those days. However, many of the righteous die during the time of destruction, but the Lord promises in the Doctrine and Covenants, "that those that die in me shall not taste of death, for it shall be sweet unto them; and they that die not in me, wo unto them, for their death is bitter (D&C 42:46-47). (See also sections 19a, 19b, in The Last Days and the Book of Revelation for other scriptural references.)

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