Post by Jacob –
I’ve shared some of the writings of Isaiah so you can understand the covenants made by the Lord with the house of Israel. Consider a covenant as a promise or contract and the ordinances that we preform as the signature on that contract.
I can’t imagine however that with all the prophesies about events hundreds and thousands of years in the future, you are not like me sometimes asking – “What does that have to do with me?” Here are some of my thoughts. My feelings are very strong on this topic so please bear with me through the whole thing.
Christ has made covenants with the house of Israel as a large body of His children, about scattering and gathering back to lands of promise and lands of inheritances. Consider for a moment how that same covenant is made with each of us personally. Let me tell you about the personal gathering. Hopefully you will rejoice like I have, as you come to understand how personally glorious this personal covenant is.
Now, we know we will all die. Yet, look at the promise given to us. We’re told that just as our bodies will waste away, we will see God in the flesh. My first response when I learned this was “His flesh or our flesh?” Well, both and in a couple different ways. Let me explain. It is imperative that Christ will show Himself to those in Jerusalem a few hundred years from now. The scriptures say it like this. “for it behooveth the great Creator that he suffereth himself to become subject unto man in the flesh, and die for all men, that all men might become subject unto him.”
Death has and will pass upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of our great Creator. Therefore there needs to be a power to return from death, that is called the resurrection. The reason we all die and will need this resurrection is because of the fall; and the fall came because of transgression; and because of the transgression we were cut off from the presence of the Lord.
So lets relate this all to this notion of scattering and gathering that Isaiah and Nephi talk so much about. God created this earth for us – a land of our inheritance or a promised land lets say. Then He places our first father and mother, Adam and Eve on this earth. They transgressed a law bringing with it this separation from the presence of the Lord. Lets call that the scattering. We as mortal children of God, leave His presence in a pre-mortal world and are scattered both physically and spiritually across this great creation of His, the earth. A process of gathering was then required if God ever wanted us back. The prophets refer to this key tool, for individual as well as global gathering, as an atonement. So lets refer to the atonement as the gathering tool.
Let me again quote the scripture directly. “Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.”
In other words because of the fall there is an initial judgement placing all mankind in a state of corruptibility, a state of mortality, where we are separated from God and are subject to all the challenges of of having a corruptible mortal body. As well as a corruptible spirit. I don’t consider this a punishment per se. Its more like a vital step in a several step process to become like God. That is the objective by the way – to become like God.
Consider for a moment how wonderful God really is.
Consider His great wisdom, His mercy and grace! Think about it. If the flesh were to rise no more, our spirits would have to become subject to Satan who fell from before the presence of our Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more. Our spirits would have become like his, and we would become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like Satan that same being who beguiled our first parents, who transformed himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirs up the children of men to secret combinations of murder and all sorts of secret works of darkness.
Consider His great goodness! God prepared a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; the monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit. Because of the deliverance of our God, who is the Holy One of Israel, this death, which is the temporal death, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave. The spiritual death, will also deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; therefore, death and hell will deliver up their dead, and hell will deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored back together. This is a personal gathering that is accomplished only by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.
Consider His great plan! This personal gathering is not just for the wicked who find themselves in hell. The paradise of God must also deliver up the spirits of the righteous, and the grave deliver up the body of the righteous; and the spirit and the body of the righteous will be restored to itself again, and all men become incorruptible, and immortal, and we are living souls, having a perfect knowledge.
I am talking about a perfect knowledge of all our guilt, and our uncleanness, and our nakedness; and the righteous shall have a perfect knowledge of their enjoyment, and their righteousness, being clothed with purity, clothed with the robe of righteousness.
When we’ve been gathered personally and have passed from this first death unto life, and have become immortal, we will appear before the judgment–seat of God, where we’ll be judged according to the holy judgment of God. God assures us that when all is said and done, the righteous will be righteous still, and those who are filthy will be filthy still; the filthy are the devil and his angels; and they will go away into everlasting fire, prepared for them; and their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose flame ascendeth up forever and ever and has no end.
Consider His greatness and His justice! We know He executes all his words. Whatever comes out of His mouth, and whatever He declares as His law must be fulfilled. This is a profoundly marvelous blessing for the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel. For those who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever. This is such a comforting and encouraging promise from the Lord.
Consider the greatness of the mercy of our God. He delivers His saints from that awful monster the devil, and death, and hell, and that lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment.
Consider the great holiness of our God! For he knows all things, and there is not anything that He does not know. He will come into the world that He may save all men if they will listen and obey His voice. He will suffer the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam. He will suffer this that the resurrection will pass upon all men, that all might stand before him at the great and judgment day.
He commands all men to repent, and be baptized in His name, having perfect faith in the Holy One of Israel, or they won’t be saved in the kingdom of God. If they won’t repent and believe in his name, and be baptized in his name, and endure to the end, they will surely be damned. Just as I mentioned earlier, if God has spoken it, it will come to pass. Good or bad we can depend on it.
Here is something that is important to understand about His perfect mercy and justice. God has given a law, yet where there is no law given there is no punishment. And where there is no punishment there is no condemnation and where there is no condemnation the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him. This is fantastic to me. Think of it, God gives us a commandment and we are absolutely obligated to obey if we want the blessings, yet if we don’t have the commandment, He is so merciful, He will claim us and He will personally satisfy the demands of our violation of law in our behalf. That kind of mercy is unfathomable to my puny mind.
In other words, the atonement of Jesus Christ satisfies the demands of His justice upon all those who don’t have the law given to them, therefore they are delivered from that awful monster, death and hell, and the devil, and the lake of fire and brimstone, which is endless torment; and they are restored to our wonderful God who gave them breath in the first place. I hope you don’t think I am a bit redundant here. This is a doctrine that deserves pondering and contemplation. No wonder we are so overwhelmed with the greatness and goodness and mercy and justice of God.
But at the same time we are contemplating these great promises and this great mercy, the wicked need to watch out. Everyone that has received the law and has all the commandments of God but transgresses them and wastes these days of probation – it is going to be awful! Satan is so cunning. We can be so vain, so frail and so foolish. Many are learned and they think they are wise and they don’t hearken to God’s counsel. They set it aside, supposing they know for themselves, but their wisdom is foolishness and it does them no good and they will perish.
Don’t get me wrong, its good to be learned but only if we hearken to the counsels of God.
God has openly extended a very serious warning to the rich, to the deaf, to the blind, to the uncircumcised of heart, to the liar, to the murderer, to those that commit whoredoms, to those that worship idols and really to all those that do not repent of their sins, the consequences are dire.
This warning is to the rich, who are rich as to the things of the world. Because they are rich they despise the poor, and they persecute the meek, and their hearts are upon their treasures; therefore, their treasure is their god. And behold, their treasure shall perish with them also.
He warns the deaf that will not hear; for they will perish. The blind that will not see; for they will perish also. The uncircumcised of heart need to watch out, for a knowledge of their iniquities will smite them at the last day. God has warned the liar, for he shall be thrust down to hell. And the murderer who deliberately kills, will die. And those who commit whoredoms, will be thrust down to hell. He warns those that worship idols, for the devil of all devils delighteth in them.
God pleads for all those who will not repent because those who die in their sins will return to God, and behold his face, and remain in their sins.
I plead with you to remember the awfulness in transgressing against that Holy God, and also the awfulness of yielding to the enticings of Satan. Remember, to be carnally–minded is death, and to be spiritually–minded is life eternal.
Please remember the greatness of the Lord. Don’t revile against the truth and say this is too hard. I have simply spoken the words of your Maker. I know that the words of truth are hard against all uncleanness; but the righteous don’t fear them, for they love the truth and are not shaken.
I beg you to come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. The way for man is narrow, but it is a straight course and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel. There is no other way back to God except through the gate and that gate is Jesus Christ.
For all those who knock, to them will He open. Its the wise, and the learned, and they that are rich, who are puffed up because of their learning, and their wisdom, and their riches that He despises. Unless they cast these things away, and consider themselves fools before God, and come down in the depths of humility, He will not open the gates for them. They will not experience that happiness which is prepared for the saints.
Please pay attention and remember my words. I know that everyone that reads this blog will not necessarily understand and accept what I’ve written. But I pray to God that He view me with His all–searching eye and know at the last day, when all men shall be judged of their works, that I did my best to encourage and warn you so that I can stand with brightness before him, and am rid of your blood.
If you are not square with God, turn away from your sins; shake off the chains of Satan that would bind you fast; come unto that God who is the rock of your salvation. Right now its not too late to prepare your souls for that glorious day when justice will be administered to the righteous, so you won’t shrink with awful fear; that ye may not remember your awful guilt in perfectness, and be constrained to exclaim: Holy, holy are thy judgments, O Lord God Almighty—but I know my guilt; I transgressed thy law, and my transgressions are mine; and the devil hath obtained me, that I am a prey to his awful misery.
This is a pretty long blog, for which I apologize. But it is essential that you wake up to reality. We have a long way to go. If we were all holy we wouldn’t have to be woken up, we could dwell on holy things. But we are not. That is why I have spoken of the consequences of sin.
I hate sin, I delight in righteousness and I love God. Come, join with me satisfying our hunger and thirst for the things of God. Those vain things of the world that so often we seek can never satisfy, we should never waste our labor on them. Lets rejoice in God’s great mercy, grace, love and kindness.
I am sure I will write about these things again but for now, thanks for enduring this lengthy post.
(Book of Mormon | 2 Nephi 9:1 – 54)
