From a patriarchal blessing and from a conference talk we have already shown it appears that Joseph Smith is the Marred Servant in Isaiah 52. But now we are going to find some other prophesies in Isaiah that speak about Joseph Smith… and we are going to find them by doing some key word searching in the scriptures
In section 45 the Lord makes the following declaration:
“And even so I have sent mine everlasting covenant into the world, to be a light to the world, and to be a standard for my people, and for the Gentiles to seek to it, and to be a messenger before my face to prepare the way before me.” (D&C 45:9)
Have you ever wondered what the everlasting covenant is that the Lord is speaking of in this verse?
I would guess that most Latter day Saints would say that the everlasting covenant is Jesus Christ or the Gospel of Jesus Christ… perhaps a more specific term might be the baptismal covenant or the sealing ordinances or Celestial Marriage, or the Book of Mormon, some might perceive it to be referring to the Law of Zion (consecration), etc.
All of the above are true, however, what if I were to tell you the everlasting covenant is also a mortal person.... a prophet of God... a messenger of Jesus Christ.... even the prophet that restores the everlasting covenant!
Lets do a key word search and see what we find. Go to http://scriptures.lds.org and punch in the following two key words taken from the above verse: light AND gentiles.
Then read each of the entries to see which ones are given in the same context with the same theme and the same key words.
Two of the entries that the search engine will bring up that are clearly speaking in the same context are Isaiah 42 and Isaiah 49. I’ll discuss Isaiah 49 in my next entry but for now, lets see what the relevant verse in Isaiah 42 has to say:
“I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house” (Isa 42:6)
Bingo! In section 45 the Lord is referring to a person when he says he has sent his everlasting covenant into the world but you might not pick that up unless you were SEARCHING the scriptures.
Do you search the scriptures?
Reading is not the same as studying and studying is not the same as searching. (perhaps this is why we have been commanded to SEARCH the scriptures.
It appears that there are some hidden treasures in the scriptures that are seldom discovered via casual reading and even a general study session.
I have come to believe that the reason that God uses similar terms in the four standard works is so that we can search topics much easier. With word crunching computer technology today we can do an in depth topic search in the standard works in a matter of minutes that would have taken days.. months.. years to do from manual reading and searching.
Section 45 tells us that this person that God gives to the Gentiles as a covenant is a “messenger sent to prepare the way”.
Does this ring a bell? Remember, in a previous post we showed that Joseph Smith now holds the keys of the spirit and calling of Elijah. In the JS Translation The Savior defines the Spirit and Calling of Elijah as one who prepares the way.
I realize that many of you think that the Everlasting Covenant is Jesus Christ. And that is true also…. But here is the incredible secret that Christ gave to the Nephites about the words of Isaiah;
“And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea, a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah.
For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel; therefore it must needs be that he must speak also to the Gentiles.
And all things that he spake have been and shall be, even according to the words which he spake.” (3 Nephi 23 1-3)
From this we learn that all of the prophecies in Isaiah have a dual fulfillment. One fulfillment takes place before Christ visited the Nephites and one takes place after he visited the Nephites.
As you study prophecy you will come to realize that virtually all prophecies have a dual fulfillment.
In fact many of them have multiple fulfillment's… three or four! At least one is a “shadow fulfillment” which vaguely resembles the details in the prophecy and there is always one that is a “literal fulfillment” that matches the details of the prophecy to the letter.
So yes, Jesus Christ is a fulfillment of the person called the everlasting covenant that prepares the way in the first watch (meridian of time) just as John the Baptist was a shadow fulfillment of this prophecy as well, but clearly there was to be another one that would come after Christ visited the Nephites, he is to come in the end times to prepare the way. A servant that would bring the message of the gospel covenant and that would in fact act as a covenant and intercessor between God and his people.
We know that the literal fulfillment of this prophecy is not Christ but rather it is Joseph Smith, a servant of Christ. We know that it is not referring to Christ as the literal fulfillment of this prophecy for several reasons. One is because the text makes is clear that it is talking about the end times, after Christ visited the Nephites.
Another reason is that we also know that the word “LORD” when in CAPS in the King James version of the Old Testament is translated from the word Jehovah who is the God of the Old Testament and according to latter day revelation, Jesus Christ is Jehovah, the God of the Old Testament. Therefore the literal rendering of the verse in Isaiah 42 is:
“I, Jesus Christ, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house” (Isa 42:6)
We also know that Joseph Smith is the literal fulfillment this prophecy is referring to in the end times because he told us that he and his brethren would be the ones to bring the prisoners out of the prison houses, referring to Isaiah 42 (See D&C 128:22)
I realize that it may sound a little blasphemous to refer to a mortal man as the everlasting covenant, but look at the following verse that refers to Joseph Smith as the light unto the Gentiles who will be a savior to Israel;
“Therefore your life and the priesthood have remained, and must needs remain through you and your lineage until the restoration of all things spoken by the mouths of all the holy prophets since the world began.
Therefore, blessed are ye if ye continue in my goodness, a light unto the Gentiles, and through this priesthood, a savior unto my people Israel. The Lord hath said it. Amen.” D&C 86:9-11
Ok… now that we have laid a little bit of a foundation. Go read all of Isaiah 42. It is incredible. And be sure to note the footnote in verse 19 indicating the following correction in the JST;
“…for I will send my servant unto YOU WHO ARE BLIND…”
Isaiah 42 is another witness that the Marvelous Work takes place in the end times when Gods servant is sent to those who are blind and when Gods servant releases the prisoners from the prison houses.
We are now ready to go to the next level in understanding the role Joseph Smith plays as Gods last prophet that laid the foundation for the Marvelous Work to begin and will come back to usher it in.
The next entry will discuss Isaiah 49. It is what we call a Davidic Lamentation.
Why does Gods last witness lament?
Because it appears that he labored in vain and spent his strength but failed to gather Israel in his first commission... however don't despair, the Davidic Lamentation in Isaiah 49 has a happy ending... its a great story line... go and read it now before I do a post about it and you can see if I pick something up that you don't... and If you pick something up that I don't, you can enlighten me...
BTW, remember when Joseph referred to himself as a polished shaft in the quiver of the almighty?
"Thus I will become a smooth and polished shaft in the quiver of the Almighty” (See Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 304). ...
Keep that statement in mind as you read Isaiah 49.
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