Post by Sam –
I am going out on a limb here and you know that I love Nephi as much as any brother can love a brother. but I am going to try to make sense of something Nephi is teaching us.
Now that we are in the Promised Land and Nephi has been devouring the Brass Plates, he read to us from Isaiah concerning the Lord revealing His purposes to Israel and how they have been chosen in the furnace of affliction and are to go forth from Babylon. Isaiah also talked about how the Messiah will be a light to the Gentiles and will free the prisoners—Israel will be gathered with power in the last days and Kings will be their nursing fathers. There was a lot Isaiah said and Nephi just eats it up because he understands it. Although I get most of it, I actually appreciate Laman and Lemuel from time to time for asking what I am sometimes too embarrassed to ask.
Naturally in the case of Isaiah’s writings, we are bound to ask for clarification. One of the things I wanted to know was whether Isaiah is speaking about things coming to pass spiritually or physically.
Nephi said they were manifest to the prophet by the Spirit, which is how the prophets are always taught, but they are to come to pass according to the flesh. In other words the things taught are both temporal and spiritual. So what is going to happen is, Israel will sooner or later be scattered all over the earth. We know the majority of the tribes of Israel have already been led away and are scattered who know where. Of course the Lord knows.
Nephi says that Isaiah says that many more will be scattered and confounded because they harden their hearts against the Lord. He says they will also be hated by everyone.
So what Isaiah said about these scattered Israelites is the Lord will raise up a mighty nation among the gentiles, even on this promised land and the gentiles will actually do some of the scattering.
After all this scattering has taken place, the Lord God will proceed to do some marvelous work with these gentiles which will be great for Israel. Nephi said it is like the gentiles will nourish them and carry them on their shoulders. Now this is not only good for the House of Israel but it will be good for the gentiles. He says it will make known the covenants that God made with Abraham which is that through Abraham’s seed the whole world would be blessed.
Nephi says this won’t happen unless the Lord bares His arm and His work to all the nations of the earth and brings His covenants and His gospel to the house of Israel. That is when they will all be brought out of captivity, out of darkness and they will know the Lord is their Savior, their Redeemer and the Mighty one of Israel. Hopefully that made sense to you.
What’s cool with all this is that the wicked, the great and abominable church will war among themselves, the sword of their own hands will fall upon their own heads and they will be drunken with their own blood. That sounded awesome to Laman and Lemuel, but I am afraid I see that to be a possibility just with them. Laman and Lemuel seem to be a bit bloodthirsty.
(Book of Mormon | 1 Nephi 22:1 – 13)
