After Armageddon

Synopsis

What will the end of the world be like?

Who will fight in the prophesied Battle of Armageddon? What will the world look like when Christ comes again? These questions are being asked and pondered more and more as the world seems to spin faster, with current events and global unrest becoming ever more chaotic and uncertain.

In After Armageddon: The Tribulations Before the Coming of Christ, respected scriptorian and author Clay McConkie, Ph.D. draws on years of experience searching and unfolding sacred writings to paint a dramatic picture of the decade between Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ. These tribulations of the faithful have been foretold for centuries, but are only partially understood even now.

Learn revealed details concerning the return of the lost t​ribes, the building and rebuilding of Temples in Jerusalem and Zion, the splitting of the Mount of Olives, and much more in this fascinating study of the end of the world.

Preface

The purpose of the following pages is to show that the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will not occur at the time he stands upon the Mount of Olives, cleaving the mountain in two and bring the Battle of Armageddon to a close. A common belief is that the dramatic termination of battle is when the Lord comes with a multitude of angels and initiates the Millennium. Yet this is not the view of the pages that follow.

Subsequent to what happens on the Mount of Olives, at least ten events will occur before Jesus comes a second time. His future appearance has nothing to do with war and disruption but will be long after the notorious battle has ended. The scriptures make it clear that the Second Coming will commence with the sound of a trumpet, announcing that something very important is about to take place.

At the moment of the Lord's return, he will bring with him a host of angels and certain people that have been resurrected in the past, including the apostles who were with him during his earthly ministry in Palestine. Righteous people around the world will be quickened on this occasion, allowing them to rise and meet the heavenly throng. At the same time, graves around the world will open as righteous people, many of whom have been dead for centuries, come from the Spirit World and ascend to meet Jesus and those accompanying him.

It is a happy time, far removed from what takes place at the Mount of Olives. Rather than a time of Armageddon, it will be a time of beauty and resplendence, apart from any scenes of conflict or battle. Yet before any of this happens, there will be several specific occurrences following the battle.

One of these is the rebuilding of a temple—one that will be erected by the Jewish people, destroyed in the Battle of Armageddon, and then rebuilt again before Christ comes. As recorded in modern scripture, the abomination of desolation that took place in 70 AD, when the Romans destroyed the temple and the city of Jerusalem, is again to be fulfilled. After the battle the temple must be rebuilt, once more according to prophecy, prior to the Second Coming.

The ten occurrences following Christ's appearance on the mountain will take considerable time—as much as several years. This emphasizes that the Second Coming will be well beyond the Lord's appearance upon the Mount, when he goes forth to fight against the nations, "as when he fought in the day of battle." (Zechariah 14:3)

Introduction

Among potential dangers facing the American people, very few compare with a future military conflict. When a nation shows interest in developing nuclear energy, especially with the idea of destroying a country like Israel, a veritable powder keg exists, and a dangerous fuse becomes a reality.

At a time in history when nations have developed weaponry capable of destroying one another, it is possible for a single individual to cause a disaster. It would take but one person to light the fuse. The "man with a briefcase," whatever country he might represent, finally has the science and technology to commence mass destruction by merely pressing a button!

The United States is committed to helping Israeli people if Israel is militarily attacked and its existence as a nation is seriously threatened. An obligation to assist this particular group is an ethical and religious matter, as well as political; there is a divine mandate to side with a society that, for centuries, has been persecuted and oppressed.

The fragile situation between Israel and its neighbors in the Middle East cannot continue forever without something happening on the international scene. Other countries being poised on the perimeter, waiting to be drawn into a conflict—either willingly or reluctantly—strongly suggests a conflict in the future. Indeed, at this time in world affairs, especially with the nation of Israel involved, it is definitely a time of Armageddon.

Whatever happens, the Israelis very likely will be at the center of it. There will be a time, according to prophecy, when all nations are gathered against the Jewish people in Palestine. Although the conflict will be worldwide in many ways, the battle will focus on action and circumstances between the Valley of Armageddon, or Jezreel, in the north and the city of Jerusalem fifty miles to the south. On soil that has been a battleground for centuries, the contending armies will struggle against one another, always threatening the use of atomic and nuclear weapons.

Military action will involve all, or most of the nations of the world. In a vast logistical operation, a huge amount of personnel and equipment will converge on an area in northern Palestine, coming in from all directions at the instigation of a worldwide mania, compelling influences urging people to assemble in a remote and distant valley. "For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. . . . And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon."

The impending battle is unprecedented, the kind of war that has never happened before. Whether it is the type of weapons used or the fervor and intensity of combat, it is reputed to be the battle of the ages, the final conflict before the Second Coming of Christ and the end of the world.

It is generally believed that Jesus, or Jehovah, will come during the latter part of the Battle of Armageddon. At the height of the conflict, he will appear suddenly atop the Mount of Olives east of Jerusalem. A massive earthquake will strike at that time, and the mount will split in two, one part shifting to the north, and the other to the south. The dramatic occurrence will abruptly bring the war to a close.

This event is believed by many people to be the Second Coming, the time when Christ appears, accompanied by a host of angels. He comes in glory, not only to end the devastating war but to initiate a period of peace and the thousand years of the Millennium. His appearance on the Mount of Olives is an announcement to the world that the war and devastation culminating in the Battle of Armageddon will never happen again. No longer will enmity exist on earth nor mankind be in opposition with one another.

Yet this is incorrect! Too many things need to happen following the Lord's appearance on the Mount. Several years in fact, will be required for necessary events and circumstances to occur.

Prior to Armageddon, the Jewish people will build a temple in Jerusalem—but it will be destroyed during the battle, according to prophecy, and then rebuilt. The prophesy was made in 1843 by Joseph Smith, the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints. His prediction states that before Christ comes, the temple definitely will be reconstructed.

In a prophecy that might be subject to multiple fulfillments, Joseph Smith said, "Judah must return, Jerusalem must be rebuilt, and the temple, and water come out from under the temple, and the waters of the Dead Sea be healed. It will take some time to rebuild the walls of the city, and the temple, etc.; and all this must be done before the Son of Man will make his appearance." Obviously, the temple reconstruction will require considerable time following the battle.

Religious prophecy states that at least ten occurrences are scheduled to occur between the Battle of Armageddon and the time Jesus returns. These will be immediately prior to his first official appearance among the people. The number of years for the events to happen is undetermined, but their existence is unmistakable in light of the evidence that exists. They are the final things that separate the notorious battle from the resplendent time of the Second Coming and the First Resurrection.

But before any of this happens—events during the years after the time of Armageddon—it is requisite first to consider important events and circumstances before that time. This pertains to what occurs between 2014, when this book was written, and the commencement of the Armageddon conflict, theoretically many years yet in the future.