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Wrapping up the Isaiah chapters this week, with a rod out of the stem of Jesse, a root of Jesse, the death of the king of Babylon, and promises of deliverance.
1 Samuel 16:7
D&C 113:1-6
2 Nephi 23:2
Isaiah 18:3
Isaiah 62:10
Romans 11:7-27
3 Nephi 16:10-11
D&C 133:26-34
3 Nephi 5:24-26
3 Nephi 21:1, 22-24
3 Nephi 20:21-22
Revelation 12:7-8
Moses 4:1-4
John 8:44
Alma 5:40
3 Nephi 11:29
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
https://onewhoiswatching.wordpress.com/2015/10/28/the-vexing-of-ephraim-part-one/
There might be something wrong – I can’t play or download latest podcast episode.
My apologies. I made a mistake when creating the post. Normally I test after publishing just to make sure, but of course, this week I didn’t!
Ether 13 starting in verse 2
after the waters had receded from off the face of this land it became a choice land above all other lands, a chosen land of the Lord; wherefore the Lord would have that all men should serve him who dwell upon the face thereof;
3 And that it was the place of the New Jerusalem, which should come down out of heaven, and the holy sanctuary of the Lord.
4 Behold, Ether saw the days of Christ, and he spake concerning a New Jerusalem upon this land.
5 And he spake also concerning the house of Israel, and the Jerusalem from whence Lehi should come—after it should be destroyed it should be built up again, a holy city unto the Lord; wherefore, it could not be a new Jerusalem for it had been in a time of old; but it should be built up again, and become a holy city of the Lord; and it should be built unto the house of Israel—
6 And that a New Jerusalem should be built up upon this land, unto the remnant of the seed of Joseph, for which things there has been a type.
7 For as Joseph brought his father down into the land of Egypt, even so he died there; wherefore, the Lord brought a remnant of the seed of Joseph out of the land of Jerusalem, that he might be merciful unto the seed of Joseph that they should perish not, even as he was merciful unto the father of Joseph that he should perish not.
8 Wherefore, the remnant of the house of Joseph shall be built upon this land; and it shall be a land of their inheritance; and they shall build up a holy city unto the Lord, like unto the Jerusalem of old; and they shall no more be confounded, until the end come when the earth shall pass away.
9 And there shall be a new heaven and a new earth; and they shall be like unto the old save the old have passed away, and all things have become new.
10 And then cometh the New Jerusalem; and blessed are they who dwell therein, for it is they whose garments are white through the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who are numbered among the remnant of the seed of Joseph, who were of the house of Israel.
11 And then also cometh the Jerusalem of old; and the inhabitants thereof, blessed are they, for they have been washed in the blood of the Lamb; and they are they who were scattered and gathered in from the four quarters of the earth, and from the north countries, and are partakers of the fulfilling of the covenant which God made with their father, Abraham.
I’m not sure how much plainer God could have told Moroni to write that.
Also on the point about whether or not Satan and his followers have a body. In Moses 5:24 God tells Cain that :
For from this time forth thou shalt be the father of his lies; thou shalt be called Perdition; for thou wast also before the world.
That seems to imply he followed Satan in the beginning.
It is truly amazing the light the revelations that Joseph brought forth shed on the Bible. We have everything in the iron rod if we simply search and believe.
I found it interesting that this particular section of Isaiah, you started with talking about a rod, a branch, and a root and chapter 24 ends with a branch (v. 19), a rod (v. 29), and a root (v. 29). However, in this case, they appear to be something to fear. The message of destruction and salvation are closely intertwined, perhaps indicative of a day which is both great and dreadful, depending on which side you find yourself. Do you think these are completely isolated prophecies, using the same imagery, or are they referencing the same end time servant(s) from different perspectives?
The description of a fiery flying serpent is also interesting because this is a description of a dragon (which we associate with the devil). However, we know that Moses made a brazen fiery serpent lifted up on a pole to represent Christ. Is this passage about the coming of Christ, or the appearance of someone else? Any thoughts?
I don’t know. I’ve read commentaries that say those latter verses are referring to the king of Assyria that had recently died, only to be replaced by one that was worse. I’ve seen commentaries that say it was Ahaz, who was succeeded by Hezekiah, who was better. I have no idea how to apply it to the last days. Perhaps someone else has some insight to share.
King Ahaz’s son was Hezekiah, but Hezekiah’s son was Manasseh, who is rumored to have had Isaiah executed by placing him in a log that was sawn in half. If this is our pattern of history, we might be in the Hezekiah era of reform and repentance which could be easily followed by leaders and events that are far worse than we have seen to this point. Hezekiah stopped paying the tribute to the Assyrians, which led to the invasion of his land and the siege of Jerusalem. At which point God killed the Assyrian army and they were freed. After the death of Hezekiah, his successors returned to their idolatry leading to the eventual Babylonian captivity. (Setting the stage for Lehi’s family to be led to a promised land of their own.)
As a parallel, we have a leader who is restructuring international trade agreements and reorganizing government to be less oppressive of the regular citizens. This seems to be leading to prosperity and a sense of hope and renewal. However, if we take the situation as an indication that all is well, and do not do the personal house-cleaning that is needed to maintain the blessings of God, the coming destruction will be far worse than what we have known to this point. With our guard down and our wealth up, we could invite the prophesied devastation on our own heads, including war and natural disasters unlike anything yet experienced.
I would truly like to believe that the days ahead will be beautiful, but the scriptures are all too clear about things that have yet to happen, including the women weeping in the gates and a desolation of men, as well as an earthquake felt around the world. At the same time, I don’t think that people can choose something they have never known. There were several brief periods of unity among the Nephites before their 3 days of darkness led them to a complete recognition of their guilt and prepared them to be taught by Jesus. In the same way, I hope that we can have a period of peace in our country and a cleansing of the corruption so that the judgments might be a result of what we are actually choosing instead of the result of systemic corruption and evil which largely lies outside the awareness of people who just want to go about their lives.