Devouring Fire and Divine Mercy

In September 1830, Joseph Smith received a revelation in which the Lord described terrible plagues which would precede His return to the earth, including hail, maggots, and devastating illnesses. Finally, He said, “the great and abominable church” will be “cast down by devouring fire, according as it is spoken by the mouth of Ezekiel the prophet, who spoke of these things … for abominations shall not reign” (Doctrine and Covenants 29:21).

He might have said, “Abominations shall not reign forever.” Nephi saw worldly organizations, which he called “the great and abominable church” exercising tremendous power as they sought to destroy the church of God. (See 1 Nephi 13:5, 9; 1 Nephi 14:13.) Eventually, however, he saw “the wrath of God … poured out upon that great and abominable church,” so that the Father could fulfill His covenants with the house of Israel (1 Nephi 14:15-17).

Ezekiel prophesied of the same events, but in his vision, the opposition is personified in the figure of Gog, the leader of Magog—a symbolic representation of nations united against Israel. (See Ezekiel 38:2-13.) Ezekiel said that this attack would arouse “the fury of the Lord,” which would result in the destruction of Gog’s armies. Here is how he describes that destruction:

I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone.

Ezekiel 38:22

The Hebrew word translated “plead” in this passage, shaphat (שָׁפַט), means to “judge” or to “punish,” and most translations of the Bible use those words to describe God’s actions in this verse. But I like this use of the word “plead” in the King James Version. It suggests a divine appeal—a desperate urging from a loving God. It reminds me of the following passage from another revelation received by Joseph Smith:

After your testimony cometh the testimony of earthquakes …

And also cometh the testimony of the voice of thunderings, and the voice of lightnings, and the voice of tempests, and the voice of the waves of the sea heaving themselves beyond their bounds.

Doctrine and Covenants 88:89-90

Howard W. Hunter assured us that the adversity we face in life, including severe crises, “were never intended to do anything but bless the righteous and help those who are less righteous move toward repentance” (“An Anchor to the Souls of Men,” Brigham Young University Devotional Address, 7 February 1993). So instead of thinking of these plagues as punishments, maybe it’s more accurate to think of them as pleadings from a loving Father who wants to persuade His wayward children to repent and make wiser decisions.

One lesson from all of these passages is simply this: God will defend His people. Even when they are severely outnumbered, they need not fear. As Isaiah prophesied, “the multitude of the terrible ones” who attack the followers of God will “be visited of the Lord of hosts with … the flame of devouring fire” (Isaiah 29:5-6, 2 Nephi 27:2). And Nephi assures us that “the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire” (1 Nephi 22:17).

Today, I will be grateful for God’s protection. In spite of the evil influences in this world, I will remember that God’s power is preeminent and that He will prevail over all of His enemies.