Christians, This Should Concern You: The Last-Days Prophecies Your Church Isn’t Looking For

I want to say something to my Christian friends, and I want to say it with love, but I also want to say it plainly: you should be VERY concerned.

The Bible doesn’t just tell us that Jesus Christ will come again. It tells us what will happen BEFORE He comes. It describes specific events, specific messengers, specific works that God will do among His people in the last days. Malachi, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, Amos, Peter, Paul, and John all point forward to a time of restoration, revelation, gathering, and preparation.

So here’s the question I’d ask any Bible-believing Christian to sit with for a minute: where are those things happening in your church?

Not “can my pastor explain them away.” Not “does my study Bible footnote say they were fulfilled in the first century.” I mean: where is Elijah’s return? Where is the angel with the everlasting gospel? Where is the stick of Joseph? Where are the prophets? Where is the house of the Lord in the top of the mountains, with all nations flowing to it?

If the honest answer is “nowhere, and we’re not expecting any of it,” that is a red flag. Because every one of those things HAS happened, and is happening, in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Let’s walk through them one at a time, with the King James text quoted word for word, so you can check every line yourself.

1. Elijah Must Come Before the Great and Dreadful Day

This is the last prophecy of the Old Testament, the final words before four hundred years of silence:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Malachi 4:5-6)

Notice the timing. Not just before the Messiah’s first coming, but before “the great and dreadful day of the LORD.” That’s Second Coming language. Elijah has a job to do before Christ returns in glory, and the stakes are spelled out: if it doesn’t happen, the earth is smitten with a curse.

Most Christians are taught that John the Baptist fulfilled this, and yes, John came “in the spirit and power of Elias” (Luke 1:17). But John himself, when asked “Art thou Elias?”, answered “I am not” (John 1:21). And the great and dreadful day did not arrive in John’s lifetime. The prophecy still points forward.

How it was fulfilled: On April 3, 1836, in the Kirtland Temple in Ohio, Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery. The record in Doctrine and Covenants 110 reads:

“After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said: Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come— To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse— Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors.” (D&C 110:13-16)

And here’s something worth noticing: the section heading records that this happened on Easter Sunday. That same season, Jewish families around the world were observing Passover, many of them setting a place and opening the door for Elijah. He came. Just not where most people were looking.

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2. An Angel Flying With the Everlasting Gospel

John the Revelator saw this in vision:

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (Revelation 14:6-7)

Think about what this means. If the gospel had been continuously and fully on the earth, why would an ANGEL need to bring it back? And when does this happen? When “the hour of his judgment is come.” This is a last-days restoration delivered by heavenly messenger.

How it was fulfilled: On the night of September 21, 1823, the angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith. In Joseph Smith—History, Joseph records:

“He said there was a book deposited, written upon gold plates, giving an account of the former inhabitants of this continent, and the source from whence they sprang. He also said that the fulness of the everlasting Gospel was contained in it, as delivered by the Savior to the ancient inhabitants;” (Joseph Smith—History 1:34)

An angel. The everlasting gospel. For every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Today the Book of Mormon is printed in well over a hundred languages and carried by missionaries across the globe. That’s not a metaphor. That’s a fulfillment.

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3. The Times of Restitution of All Things

Peter, preaching in the temple after Pentecost, said this:

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” (Acts 3:19-21)

Read that carefully. Heaven “MUST receive” Jesus “UNTIL” the times of restitution of all things. In other words, Christ does not return until there is a restitution, a restoration, of ALL things. Not some things. All things God has spoken by all His holy prophets.

You can’t restore something that was never lost. Peter is telling you that before the Second Coming, there must be a restoration. If your church teaches that nothing was ever lost and nothing needs restoring, then by Peter’s own words, it is not preparing for the event that comes before Christ’s return.

How it was fulfilled: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints exists because of a restoration: priesthood authority restored by heavenly messengers, apostles and prophets, temples and their ordinances, additional scripture, and the keys described in D&C 110. That’s exactly the kind of “restitution of all things” Peter described.

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4. The Stick of Judah and the Stick of Joseph

Ezekiel was given a striking object lesson:

“The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.” (Ezekiel 37:15-19)

Two records. One for Judah. One for Joseph. Joined into one in God’s hand.

Christians have the stick of Judah: the Bible, which came to us through the Jews. So here’s the obvious question: where is the stick of Joseph? Where is the record of the descendants of Joseph, through Ephraim and Manasseh, that God promised to put together with it?

How it was fulfilled: The Book of Mormon is a record of a family of the tribe of Joseph (Lehi was a descendant of Manasseh, Alma 10:3) who left Jerusalem around 600 B.C. It was published in 1830, and today Latter-day Saints carry it right alongside the Bible, two records, one testimony of Jesus Christ. Every other church I know of says there’s only one stick. Ezekiel said there would be two.

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5. A Sealed Book and a Marvellous Work

Isaiah 29 is one of the most remarkable chapters in the Old Testament:

“And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.” (Isaiah 29:11-14)

A book. A learned man who says “I cannot; for it is sealed.” An unlearned man to whom the book is delivered. And then, a “marvellous work and a wonder” in a day when people honour God with their lips but are taught “by the precept of men.”

How it was fulfilled: Joseph Smith was a young farmer with little formal schooling. In 1828 Martin Harris took a transcript of characters from the plates to Professor Charles Anthon in New York, and according to Joseph Smith—History 1:63-65, Anthon asked to see the plates, was told part of them were sealed, and replied that he could not read a sealed book. The unlearned man translated the book by the gift and power of God. And “a marvellous work and a wonder” is exactly how Latter-day Saints have described the Restoration from the beginning.

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6. The Gathering of Israel and the Lost Tribes

Isaiah prophesied a SECOND gathering:

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” (Isaiah 11:11-12)

Jeremiah said this gathering would be so great it would eclipse even the Exodus:

“Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.” (Jeremiah 16:14-16)

And Isaiah described the Gentiles helping it happen:

“Thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.” (Isaiah 49:22)

Fishers and hunters, sent out to find Israel on every mountain and hill. An ensign set up for the nations. That’s an ACTIVE, organized, worldwide search.

How it was fulfilled: Remember that Moroni, in 1823, quoted Isaiah 11 to Joseph Smith and said “that it was about to be fulfilled” (Joseph Smith—History 1:40). Then in the Kirtland Temple in 1836:

“After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us; and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north.” (D&C 110:11)

Moses, who led the first gathering out of Egypt, came back and handed over the keys for the second. Since then, tens of thousands of missionaries at a time, mostly young men and women serving at their own expense, have gone out as fishers and hunters into nearly every country that will let them in. The gathering of Israel is not a slogan in the Restored Church. It’s the daily work.

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7. The Mountain of the Lord’s House in the Top of the Mountains

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:2-3)

“In the last days.” A HOUSE of the Lord. In the top of the mountains. All nations flowing to it.

Here’s the uncomfortable part for most of Christianity: the “house of the Lord” in the Bible is a temple. Not a chapel, not a meeting hall, a temple. And most churches today don’t build temples at all and teach that temples are finished.

How it was fulfilled: The early Saints, driven out of Missouri and Illinois, crossed the plains and settled in the valleys of the Rocky Mountains. Within days of arriving in 1847, Brigham Young marked the spot for a temple. The Salt Lake Temple took forty years to build and was dedicated in 1893. Church headquarters sits literally in the top of the mountains, and people from all nations do flow there, and to temples now dotting the earth, to be taught of God’s ways and make covenants to walk in His paths.

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8. Prophets, Apostles, and Revelation

Amos laid down a principle:

“Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.” (Amos 3:7)

Paul explained how long apostles and prophets would be needed in the church:

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;” (Ephesians 4:11-14)

“TILL we all come in the unity of the faith.” Has Christianity reached the unity of the faith? With thousands of denominations disagreeing on baptism, the Godhead, grace, and church government? Then by Paul’s own measuring stick, apostles and prophets are still needed.

And Joel promised an outpouring of revelation in the last days:

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.” (Joel 2:28-29)

Peter quoted Joel at Pentecost, yes. But Moroni also quoted it to Joseph Smith in 1823 and “said that this was not yet fulfilled, but was soon to be” (Joseph Smith—History 1:41). Joel’s prophecy has a last-days fulness.

How it was fulfilled: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is led by a living prophet and Twelve Apostles, the same structure Christ set up in the New Testament. It has an open canon. It teaches that every member can receive personal revelation by the Holy Ghost. The heavens are open, just as Amos said they would be whenever God is doing something.

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9. The Stone Cut Out Without Hands

Daniel interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of a great image of gold, silver, brass, iron, and clay, the succession of world kingdoms:

“Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.” (Daniel 2:34-35)

“And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.” (Daniel 2:44)

A kingdom set up by “the God of heaven,” not by men (“without hands”), that starts small and grows to fill the whole earth, and is never again “left to other people.”

How it was fulfilled: The Restored Church was organized on April 6, 1830, with six members, in a log home in Fayette, New York. It was set up by revelation, not by a reformer’s protest or a council’s vote. From that tiny beginning it has rolled forth into a worldwide church, and Latter-day Saints have long understood it as Daniel’s stone. Notice the phrase “shall not be left to other people.” This is a kingdom that, once restored, will not fall into apostasy again and need another reformation.

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10. A Messenger to Prepare the Way, and the Gospel to All the World

“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:1)

Moroni quoted from this very chapter to Joseph Smith (Joseph Smith—History 1:36). Notice what the Lord comes to: “his temple.” You can’t have the Lord suddenly come to His temple if you don’t have one.

Jesus Himself gave the sign:

“And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Matthew 24:14)

How it was fulfilled: The Lord appeared in the Kirtland Temple in 1836 and accepted it as His house (D&C 110:1-10). Today the Church has temples on every inhabited continent, and its missionary program is organized precisely around Matthew 24:14, taking “this gospel of the kingdom” to every nation as a witness before the end.

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11. Hearts Turned: The Spirit of Elijah and Family History

Go back to Malachi 4:6: Elijah “shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.” Moroni quoted it this way to Joseph Smith:

“And he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to the fathers, and the hearts of the children shall turn to their fathers. If it were not so, the whole earth would be utterly wasted at his coming.” (Joseph Smith—History 1:39)

How it was fulfilled: After 1836, Latter-day Saints began searching out their ancestors and performing ordinances in temples on their behalf (Paul himself mentions baptism for the dead in 1 Corinthians 15:29). Today the Church operates FamilySearch, one of the largest free genealogical resources in the world, used by people of every faith. Hearts of children are literally turning to their fathers by the millions. And it began right after Elijah came.

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The Scorecard

Prophecy	Bible	Expected in most churches today?	Fulfilled in the restored Church
Elijah returns	Malachi 4:5-6	No	Kirtland Temple, April 3, 1836 (D&C 110:13-16)
Angel with everlasting gospel	Revelation 14:6-7	No	Moroni, 1823 (JS-History 1:33-34)
Restitution of all things	Acts 3:19-21	No	The Restoration, 1820 onward
Stick of Joseph	Ezekiel 37:15-19	No	Book of Mormon, 1830
Sealed book, marvellous work	Isaiah 29:11-14	No	JS-History 1:63-65
Gathering of Israel	Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 16:14-16	No	Keys from Moses (D&C 110:11); worldwide missionaries
House of the Lord in the mountains	Isaiah 2:2-3	No	Salt Lake Temple, 1893
Apostles and prophets	Amos 3:7; Ephesians 4:11-14	No	Living prophet and Twelve Apostles
Stone cut without hands	Daniel 2:34-35, 44	No	Church organized 1830, now worldwide
Lord comes to His temple	Malachi 3:1	No	Kirtland Temple (D&C 110:1-10); temples worldwide
Hearts turned to the fathers	Malachi 4:6	No	Temple and family history work

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Modern Christianity: The Heavens Are Closed

Now here’s the core of the problem. It isn’t just that these prophecies aren’t being fulfilled in most churches. It’s that most churches have formally decided they CAN’T be fulfilled.

Take the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), one of the most influential Protestant confessions ever written and still a doctrinal standard for Presbyterian and Reformed churches. Chapter 1, section 1 ends with these words:

“…which maketh the Holy Scripture to be most necessary; those former ways of God’s revealing his will unto his people being now ceased.”

And chapter 1, section 6:

“The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture: unto which nothing at any time is to be added, whether by new revelations of the Spirit, or traditions of men.”

Read those two lines next to Amos 3:7 and Joel 2:28. “NOW CEASED.” “NOTHING AT ANY TIME is to be added… by new revelations of the Spirit.” That’s not something the Bible says. It’s something a 17th-century assembly of men said about the Bible.

And this mindset isn’t limited to Presbyterians. Ask most evangelical pastors whether God will send a prophet with new revelation, whether an angel will restore the gospel, whether there will be another book of scripture from Joseph, whether God will call apostles today. The answer is almost always no, and often it comes with a warning that anyone claiming such things is a false prophet.

Think about what that means. The Bible says Elijah must come, and they say he won’t. The Bible says an angel will fly with the everlasting gospel, and they say the gospel never left. The Bible says there will be a stick of Joseph, and they say there’s only one book. The Bible says apostles and prophets are given TILL the unity of the faith, and they say those offices are gone. The Bible says a restitution of all things must happen BEFORE Jesus returns, and they say nothing needs restoring.

I’m not saying this to mock anyone. Most of the Christians I know love Jesus deeply and read their Bibles faithfully. But sincerity doesn’t change the timeline God laid out. You can love Jesus and still be looking the wrong way.

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The Red Flag

Here’s why this matters so much.

Remember the Jews at the time of Christ. They had the scriptures. They were waiting for the Messiah. They were sincere, devoted, Bible-reading people. And when He actually came, most of them missed Him, because He didn’t come the way their teachers had told them to expect. Jesus wept over Jerusalem “because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation” (Luke 19:44).

Now apply that to the Second Coming. If the Bible says a list of things must happen before Christ returns, and your church’s official position is that NONE of them will happen, then one of two things is true:

1. The Bible is wrong about what precedes the Second Coming, or
2. Those things are happening somewhere you’ve been taught not to look.

A Christian who believes the Bible can’t pick option one. That leaves option two.

Jesus told the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13). All ten were waiting for the bridegroom. All ten had lamps. The difference was preparation. Five were ready and five were not, and the door was shut. Preparation for the Second Coming isn’t a vague feeling. The scriptures describe it: Elijah’s keys, temples, the gathering, prophets, the gospel to every nation, hearts turned to the fathers. If you deny that ANY of it is supposed to happen, how will you recognize it? And if you don’t recognize it, how will you be ready?

That’s the red flag. Not that your church lacks a program or a ministry. It’s that the very things God said He would do before His Son returns are absent from your church’s teaching, absent from its expectations, and in many cases flatly denied by its creeds.

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