The Clock of Prophecy: The Last Hour of the Last Dispensation
- C. A. Ayres
- Jun 1
- 7 min read
In 1820, a pillar of light split the sky over a grove in upstate New York. That moment, the First Vision, did not merely restore a boy’s faith—it unsealed a flood of divine activity that has reshaped the entire world. Since then, we have lived in the most accelerated period in human history. Before the Restoration, life had remained largely unchanged for thousands of years. After it, knowledge began to double every few decades—now, it doubles every 12 hours.¹
Electricity, global communication, modern medicine, space travel, and artificial intelligence are not coincidences. They are part of the Lord’s prophetic timing. As Daniel foresaw, “knowledge shall be increased” (Daniel 12:4). President Russell M. Nelson confirmed this divine acceleration in April 2020 when he declared: “The Lord is hastening His work in the most remarkable ways. You and I get to participate in the ongoing Restoration.” ("Go Forward in Faith," General Conference, Apr. 2020).
And again, in April 2025, he urged: “Now is the time for you and for me to prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ.” He further explained that the rapid pace of temple building is not incidental: “Why are we building temples at such an unprecedented pace? Because the Lord has instructed us to do so... These blessings also help to prepare a people who will help prepare the world for the Second Coming of the Lord!” ("The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again," General Conference, Apr. 2025).
This acceleration is not simply temporal—it is deeply spiritual. The Lord is preparing the earth, His people, and His Church to receive Him. The Restoration of all things, prophesied in Acts 3:21, is unfolding in real time. The gathering of Israel is not a symbolic gesture; it is the divine heartbeat of our era. And as temples rise in nearly every land, they signal the nearing of the King. “The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple” (Malachi 3:1). Temples are not monuments of the past—they are sanctuaries of preparation, portals between heaven and earth.
President Nelson has taught, "The temple is the only place you can receive certain ordinances and covenants that are essential to your exaltation." Each temple is a declaration that Zion is being built, stone by stone, covenant by covenant. The covenant path is not just a doctrine—it is a runway for the return of Christ.
There are four major prophesied appearances of Christ in the last days:
To His prophet-leaders at Adam-ondi-Ahman (Daniel 7:13–14; D&C 116): He will gather ancient and modern priesthood leaders in a sacred assembly to return stewardship keys and prepare for His millennial reign.
To the Saints in the New Jerusalem (3 Nephi 21:25; Ether 13:3–10): Christ will come to a covenant people gathered in Jackson County, Missouri, and dwell among them.
To the Jews at the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4; D&C 45:51–53): In a moment of great conflict, He will reveal Himself to the Jews who will recognize Him as the Messiah and Redeemer.
To the world in power and glory (Revelation 1:7; D&C 88:95–96): His final appearance will be universal and undeniable. The elements will tremble, and every eye shall see Him.
Among the most striking images of His return is Christ clothed in red. This is no artistic flourish—it is scriptural prophecy. Doctrine and Covenants 133:48 describes the Lord "red in his apparel," referencing Isaiah 63:2–3, where He declares, "I have trodden the winepress alone... and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments."
This red robe carries layered symbolism:
Judgment: He comes to cleanse the earth of wickedness, a just and holy judge.
Atonement: The red also evokes His suffering in Gethsemane and on Calvary, His blood spilt to redeem mankind.
Victory: Red signifies His triumph over sin, death, and hell.
Revelation 19:13 proclaims, "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God." It is the blood of both justice and mercy. Minerva Teichert, Del Parson, and other LDS Artists famously portrayed this vision, reminding us that Christ comes not just in gentleness, but in glory, authority, and fulfillment.
The world is not randomly unraveling. It is prophetically aligning. Each war, each famine, each earthquake is a note in the symphony of signs. But the greatest signs are spiritual: the restored priesthood, the rise of temples, the spread of the gospel, and the unmistakable voice of living prophets.
As we study Come, Follow Me each week—often immersed in the writings of ancient prophets who foresaw the Second Coming—we may subconsciously assume that these events still lie centuries ahead. After all, people have been saying "the Lord is coming" for generations. But we must not mistake divine mercy for divine delay. Prophecies are not idle threats—they are holy warnings. As President Nelson declared in April 2025: “Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of Israel, leads this, His Church. He is preparing to come again. May we likewise prepare to receive Him.” ("The Lord Jesus Christ Will Come Again," General Conference, Apr. 2025)
If our living prophet bears witness that the Savior is actively preparing to return, then our preparation must also be active—not theoretical, not occasional, not merely symbolic. We must live our covenants, not just believe in them. We must act, repent, consecrate, and hasten. Spiritual procrastination is spiritual blindness. There may be signs and timings we do not yet understand. But the Lord has made one thing unmistakably clear: He is coming. And He expects a people who are ready.
Yet with all these divine manifestations, many still sleep through the hour of preparation. Spiritual apathy is the adversary's counterfeit for peace. Every day we delay entering the covenant path is a day less of practicing eternity. Each neglected temple recommend, each postponed ordinance, each distracted Sabbath is a missed rehearsal for exaltation. The Lord is commanding temples to rise in record numbers, and yet some hearts remain unmoved.
The Savior warned of this very moment in the parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25). Five were wise and prepared, five were foolish and delayed. When the Bridegroom came, it was too late to borrow light. The door was shut. And the chilling words followed: “Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”
We can walk into the temple a thousand times, but if we are not seeking the fulness of the priesthood President Nelson has spoken often of—which includes the ordinances, covenants, and ultimately the Calling and Election made sure—we are walking past the very promises that exalt us. The Lord is not merely calling us to attend; He is inviting us to ascend.
The fulness of the priesthood is the power to become like God, to inherit all He has, and to serve in eternity as kings and queens, priests and priestesses. This is the doctrine of eternal progression: that men and women can grow from grace to grace, line upon line, until they receive of His fulness (see D&C 93:19–20). As President Nelson declared, the temple is the only place we receive the ordinances essential to exaltation—not just salvation. Every day we delay these covenants is one less day of practicing eternity—of preparing our souls to step into divine inheritance and godly stewardship. We prepare not by fear, but by covenant.
If you know me, you know I have been studying the Second Coming and the Lord’s plan for us my entire life. I don’t know everything—but the more I learn, the more I see that the pieces of the puzzle fit together too perfectly to ignore. We cannot afford apathy. We cannot keep chasing pleasures that end with the day while ignoring covenants that shape eternity. Every day we delay the sacred commitments we were born to make, we are not just postponing—we are choosing. And each choice is counted. Not against the Lord—but against ourselves.
We know not the hour of the Lord’s return—just as we know not the hour of our own departure. Every sunrise is a divine delay on our behalf, a sacred window of mercy to repent, to covenant, and to rise. For if we meet our mortal end tomorrow, that day becomes our personal Second Coming—a sacred crossing when our probation ends and our preparation is sealed—when the veil parts not for all humanity, but for us alone. And in that moment, the only oil in our lamps will be what we have already gathered.
Just as there are four great and prophesied appearances of Christ during the Second Coming—first at Adam-ondi-Ahman, then in the New Jerusalem, then to the Jews at the Mount of Olives, and finally to the world in glory—so too are there sacred milestones in our personal journey toward Him. Our death is not the final judgment, but it marks the end of our probation and the sealing of our readiness. In that moment, we symbolically experience our own Mount of Olives—our eyes opened, our hearts pierced, our Savior revealed.
As the time for our resurrection depends on worthiness, our time is now. Whether we stand in a crowd at His global return or meet Him privately beyond the veil, we will each face our own appointed hour. There will be no more rehearsals, no more deferrals—only truth, light, and the Lord’s gaze.
This is my testimony of the latter days. The time for hesitation is past. As an author, I agree with C.S. Lewis, who wrote in Mere Christianity, "When the author walks onstage, the play is over." Christ is not delayed; He is deliberate.
The clock of prophecy moves by the Lord’s hand, and we are the generation foretold to see it strike. This is not poetic metaphor; it is covenant reality. Every fulfilled prophecy, every rising temple, every warning from the watchmen on the towers confirms that the hour is later than we think.
Let us not merely believe in His coming—let us live in such a way that we hasten it. When the Bridegroom spoke the chilling words, “I know you not,” to the five foolish virgins, it was not merely about oil. It was about intimacy. The oil symbolized preparation, yes—but more deeply, it reflected relationship. They had lamps, but they had not walked with Him. They had expectations, but they lacked covenant connection. Heaven is not reserved for those who simply recognize the Bridegroom—it is for those the Bridegroom recognizes. And recognition comes not from moments of convenience but from lives of consecration. The question is not whether our lamps are full—it is whether our hearts are known.
Let us not watch the clock; let us become the reason it strikes. For this is the last hour of the last dispensation, and heaven is no longer whispering—it is knocking.
¹ IBM Global Data Science Report, 2020. Supported by Brookings Institution and World Bank data on knowledge acceleration and global development.
Comments