Nephi prophesied saying, after the Messiah shall come there shall be signs given unto my people of his birth, and also of his death and resurrection; and great and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked, for they shall perish; and they perish because they cast out the prophets, and the saints, and stone them, and slay them; wherefore the cry of the blood of the saints shall ascend up to God from the ground against them (2 Nephi 26:3).
John taught that there are three things which bear witness in the earth, and one of them is blood (1 Jn 5:8). The blood of the righteous, spilt on Mother Earth, testifies against the wicked. This blood speaks as if with a voice. The Lord asked Cain, What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground (Gen 4:10). Similarly, the earth is polluted by this blood and wearied with the wickedness of men, Enoch looked upon the earth; and he heard a voice from the bowels thereof, saying: Wo, wo is me, the mother of men; I am pained, I am weary, because of the wickedness of my children. When shall I rest, and be cleansed from the filthiness which is gone forth out of me? (Moses 7:48).
Even after the blood of the righteous is cleaned up, the stain never leaves until there is retribution. The earth continues to be pained and wearied and the voice of that blood continues to testify until the wicked are punished. Accordingly, the Savior warned the Jews, That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias…whom ye slew between the altar (Matt 23:35). The destructions which befell that generation of Jews cleansed the earth from the righteous blood previously spilt. Among the Nephites, the same process was taking place. The earth was being cleansed from the blood of the prophets and the saints among the Nephites. The voice of their blood would not be silenced until their cities had been buried, burned, or sunk.