2 Nephi 23

2 Nephi 23:6–13. “The Day of the Lord”
The second coming is to “come as a destruction from the Almighty” (v. 6). It is a day when “he shall destroy the sinners thereof out  of [the land]” (v. 9). The following verses describe changes that will occur just before the Savior’s second coming.

2 Nephi 23:10 For the astars of heaven and the bconstellations thereof shall not give their clight; the dsun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

D&C 88:87 For not many days hence and the aearth shall btremble and reel to and fro as a drunken man; and the csun shall dhide his face, and shall refuse to give light; and the moon shall be bathed in eblood; and the stars shall become exceedingly angry, and shall fcast themselves down as a fig that falleth from off a fig-tree.

2 Nephi 23:13 Therefore, I will ashake the heavens, and the earth shall bremove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of Hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

D&C 88:89–91 89 For after your testimony cometh the testimony of aearthquakes, that shall cause groanings in the midst of her, and men shall fall upon the ground and shall not be able to stand. 90 And also cometh the testimony of the avoice 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. \ 91 And all things shall be in acommotion; and surely, men’s bhearts shall fail them; for fear shall come upon all people.

2 Nephi 23:13–22. Judgments Predicted for the Wicked
The Lord said, “I will be merciful unto my people [the righteous], but the wicked shall perish” (v22). Those who oppose the Lord will witness great devastation prior to and at the Second Coming. Those “joined to the wicked shall fall by the sword” (v. 15), and “their houses shall be spoiled” (v. 16). Their children and wives will also suffer greatly (see vv. 15–16). This is Isaiah’s depiction of the great judgments that John the Revelator later saw (see Revelation 9, 11, 16–18).

Babylon has both literal and spiritual meaning (see 2 Nephi   23:19–22), so there is a dual fulfillment for this prophecy.

Babylon became one of the most glorious cities during reign of Nebuchadnezzar, ~ 600 B.C. It fell to the Medes and Persians in 539 B.C. and began a long decline. By the time of Christ, Babylon was inhabited only by a few Jews exiled by Roman decree. A hundred years later it was totally desolate and has remained uninhabited to this day. Babylon is also the name for Satan’s kingdom, or the world (see D&C 1:16). In the great judgments that will immediately precede the Second Coming, spiritual Babylon, also known as the church of the devil or the great whore of the earth (see 1 Nephi 14:10, Revelation 17:1–5), will be destroyed and remain in utter desolation during the Millennium.