"Behold, this is wisdom in me; wherefore, marvel not, for the hour cometh that I will drink of the fruit of the vine with you on the earth."--(D. and C. 27:2-5.) Meanwhile the use of water, and the disuse of wine, must continue, until the change predicted in this revelation shall have been divinely ordered; for that is the law governing the Latter-day Saints in this matter--not the law given to other peoples in former dispensations. Signs of the Second Coming.--Jesus prophesied to the Nephites, as he had prophesied to the Jews, concerning the last days and the signs of his second coming. Those who would be wise upon this subject, or who desire to refresh their memories in relation thereto, should read the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, especially Joseph Smith's rendering, as it appears in the Pearl of Great Price. Read also the fifteenth, sixteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first chapters of Third Nephi. Consecration.--The Savior having ascended into heaven, his servants, bearing the priesthood, and filled with the Holy Ghost, carried forward the mighty work he had inaugurated. The Gospel was preached, and the Church built up, as he had commanded, upon both hemispheres. Among Jews and among Nephites was introduced and practiced the law of consecration, the permanent establishment of which, in the days of Enoch, had resulted so gloriously. The Jewish record tells us: "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. * * * "Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, "And laid them down at the apostles' feet; and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need."--(Acts 4: 32, 34, 35). The Book of Mormon thus testifies: "And it came to pass in the thirty and sixth year, the people were all converted unto the Lord, upon all the face of the land, both Nephites and Lamanites, and there were no contentions and disputations among them, and every man did deal justly one with another; "And they had all things common among them, therefore they were not rich and poor, bond and free, but they were all made free, and partakers of the heavenly gift."--(IV Ne. 1:2, 3.) The Apostasy.--Then came the universal apostasy--a departure from the pure, primitive faith, as general and as worldwide as the known promulgation of its principles; and the Gospel and the Priesthood were taken back to heaven, to await the decreed time of their final restoration. This apostasy, foretold by Paul and other apostles, is represented symbolically in the Revelation of St. John, the twelfth and thirteenth chapters of which are particularly pertinent in this connection. CHAPTER VIII. Dawn of the Last Dispensation THE MESSENGER OF MORN.