“Shortly” is an ambiguous term in prophetic passages. It has been 2,600 years since Nephi predicted that these things would “shortly” occur. Will this prophecy have a millennial fulfillment, perhaps with some preliminary points of fulfillment along the way? Because prophecy compresses time, Nephi may be referring to the Atoning Messiah’s arrival in the New World, which was accompanied by fire, smoke, and the destruction of many wicked. Or perhaps he collapsed Christ’s first coming and his second. Perhaps in the prophetic mode, the prophets, like Yahweh, “reside… on a globe like a sea of glass and fire, where… past, present, and future… are continually before the Lord” (D&C 130:7).