Sunday, May 29, 2022

D&C 88:87 as an Example of a Fulfilled Prophecy

In a listing of purported false prophecies of Joseph Smith, Dick Baer offered the following from D&C 88:87 as one example:

 

December 27, 1832.  Doctrine & Covenants, Section 88:87.

 

87.       For not many days hence and the earth shall tremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man; and the sun shall hide his face, and shall refuse to give light; and the moon shall be bathed in blood; and the stars shall become exceedingly angry, and shall cast themselves down as a fig that falleth from off a fig-tree.

 

As of October 10, 1981 more than 54,326 days have come and gone and the moon has not been bathed in blood, the sun has not refused to give light and the stars have not become exceedingly angry and cast themselves down.  I don't know of any way that this prophecy can be made to come true in Joseph Smith's timing (Dick Baer, Letter to Family & Friends)

 

As it turns out, this is not an example of a false prophecy; instead, it is an example of a fulfilled prophecy. As John Tvedtnes noted:

 

This prophecy has actually been fulfilled several times. E.g., when Krakatoa exploded in 1883, the atmosphere was filled with dust and ash which obscured the sun and turned the moon blood-red. There was darkness at noon over a 240-mile radius. A similar darkness covered a 500-mile radius when Tamborain volcano in Sumbawa exploded in 1815. The same phenomenon happened more recently with the explosion of Mt. St. Helens in the USA. If the "stars" are meteorites, then they, too, have fallen in great showers (e.g., the great "falling of the stars" on November 13, 1833, seen by tens of thousands of people all over what was then the United States). If, however, they are real stars, then perhaps this cannot even happen, since this would destroy the universe. If the reference is to real stars, then we must consider that Christ, who first uttered this prophecy (Matt. 24:29), is a false prophet along with Joseph Smith. Perhaps we should also add Joel, whose prophecy in 2:10, 2832; 3:15 was paraphrased by Christ, and Peter, who cited Joel 2:28-32 (Acts 2:17-21). Isaiah used similar wording when he spoke of the coming attack on Babylon by the Medes (see vs. 17) and Persians (which occurred in 539 BC):

 

"For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine." (Isa. 13:10; see also vs. 13) Note vs. 9, "Behold, the day of the Lord cometh..." (In Isa. 24:23, he speaks of the moon being confounded and the sun ashamed when the Lord reigns in Jerusalem.)

 

Christ said that there were some living in his day who would not die before the fulfilment of the prophecy in Joel! Peter said that it was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost! To John (Rev. 6:12-17), the event was yet future. (He based his writing on Isa. 13:9-13; 2:10 and Hos. 10:8; cf. Luke 23:30.) Obviously, the expression "not many days" cannot be taken as literally as Mr. Baer does (he counts the exact number of days up to the time of his "letter"). Prophecies are accomplished in God's time, not man's. (John A. Tvedntes, A Reply to Dick Baer)

 

Further Reading:

 

Resources on Joseph Smith's Prophecies