The Creator's Covenant.—"And the Lord said unto Enoch: As I live, even so will I come in the last days, in the days of wickedness and vengeance, to fulfill the oath which I have made unto you concerning the children of Noah. And the day shall come that the earth shall rest.
"But before that day the heavens shall be darkened, and a veil of darkness shall cover the earth; and the heavens shall shake, and also the earth; and great tribulations shall be among the children of men. But my people will I preserve."[[18]]
Another Zion Promised.—"And righteousness will I send down out of heaven, and truth will I send forth out of the earth, to bear testimony of mine Only Begotten; his resurrection from the dead; yea, and also the resurrection of all men; and righteousness and truth will I cause to sweep the earth as with a flood, to gather out mine elect from the four quarters of the earth, unto a place which I shall prepare, an Holy City, that my people may gird up their loins, and be looking forth for the time of my coming; for there shall be my tabernacle, and it shall be called Zion, a New Jerusalem.
"And the Lord said unto Enoch: Then shalt thou and all thy city meet them there, and we will receive them into our bosom, and they shall see us; and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other:
"And there shall be mine abode, and it shall be Zion, which shall come forth out of all the creations which I have made; and for the space of a thousand years the earth shall rest."[[19]]
Awaiting its Return.—According to these teachings, the City of Enoch is now on a terrestrial plane, awaiting its return to Earth, when the season shall be ripe and the preparation complete for its reception. The change wrought upon its inhabitants by translation not being equivalent to resurrection, they will undergo a further change to prepare them for celestial glory. The Saints remaining on earth to meet the Lord will likewise be changed, not by the "sleep" of death, but "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye," at the time of the Savior's coming.[[20]] When he comes, Enoch's City will come with him, Zion from above blending with Zion from below, as spirit and body in the resurrection.
The Ancient Types the Modern.—The Ancient Zion foreshadowed the Zion of the Last Days, with which it is destined to blend.[[21]] In Enoch's day the Lord's people, consecrating to Him their all, became equal in earthly as in heavenly things; and the righteous unity resulting from that blest condition brought forth the peace and power of sanctity. So shall it be and more when the Lord brings again Zion.
Footnotes
[1]. D. and C. 107:48, 53-56.
[2]. Heb. 11:5.