Would you be surprised to find out that the prophecy about the ancient record mentioned in Isaiah 29 and 2nd Nephi 27 is not referring to the record Joseph Smith translated known to day as the Book of Mormon that came forth from the unsealed portion of the plates back in the 1800's?
In this post I want to discuss why I believe-
- 2nd Nephi 27 is speaking about the 3rd watch and not the 2nd watch and why verse 9 is speaking about the Seer and the Spokesman
- The recent activity in volcanoes in foreign lands may be an indicator that the Servants are about to return very soon with additional records that will be published.
- The coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the additional content contained in the sealed portion represents a THREE PART event which takes place during THREE SEPARATE AND DISTINCT PERIODS OF TIME. The first part of the event took place during the 2nd watch when the unsealed portion came forth. The second part will take place at the beginning of the 3rd watch with the coming forth of the "unsealed words" contained in the sealed portion of the book. The last and final part of the event takes place towards the later part of the 3rd watch when the "sealed words" contained in the sealed portion come forth. That portion of the sealed book contains a vision of the events from the beginning of the earth to the ending thereof.
One day while pondering about the recent volcano activity, the following scripture came into my mind.
"Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be heard of fires, and tempests, and vapors of smoke in foreign lands"
It is found in Mormon 8.
Notice how the 8th Chapter of Moroni seems to equate these volcanic events with the coming forth of the words from the sealed book during the Marvleous Work.
Interpretations in brackets (and sometimes not in brackets) are provided by yours truly-
Search the prophecies of Isaiah. Behold, I cannot write them. Yea, behold I say unto you, that those saints who have gone before me, who have possessed this land, shall cry, yea, even from the dust will they cry unto the Lord; and as the Lord liveth he will remember the covenant which he hath made with them. (When the Lord visited the Nephites in 3rd Nephi, and other Nephite prophets he promised them that he would remember his covenant with them and the entire house of Israel in the last days. Contrary to popular belief, he did not complete his covenant with them at that time… the fulfilling of the covenant was to be a future event during the marvelous work… See . 3 Ne. 16: 5, 11-12, 3 Ne. 20: 12, 19, 22, 25-27, 29, 460
And he knoweth their prayers, that they were in behalf of their brethren. And he knoweth their faith, for in his name could they remove mountains; and in his name could they cause the earth to shake; and by the power of his word did they cause prisons to tumble to the earth; yea, even the fiery furnace could not harm them, neither wild beasts nor poisonous serpents, because of the power of his word.
And behold, their prayers were also in behalf of him that the Lord should suffer to bring these things forth.
From the above verse we find that the ancient Nephites have been praying from the dust for Joseph Smith to return because they understand that he holds the keys to begin the Marvelous Work in the 3rd watch and to gather in and restore the covenant with the Nephites and all of Israel. see D&C 14, 35:25, 39:11, 86:11, 90:6-10, 103:16-17
And no one need say they shall not come, for they surely shall, for the Lord hath spoken it; for out of the earth shall they come, by the hand of the Lord, and none can stay it; and it shall come in a day when it shall be said that miracles are done away; and it shall come even as if one should speak from the dead. [ this prophecy has a dual fulfillment, Moroni was speaking from the dead in the 2nd watch AND Joseph Smith will indeed verily return and will speak from the dead in the 3rd watch]
And it shall come in a day when the blood of saints shall cry unto the Lord, because of secret combinations and the works of darkness. [He is speaking about a prolonged period of time, to the Saints of the 2nd watch leading up to the Saints of the 3rd watch prophesying that they will have secret combinations and works of darkness among themselves within the Church]
Yea, it shall come in a day when the power of God shall be denied, and churches become defiled and be lifted up in the pride of their hearts; yea, even in a day when leaders of churches and teachers shall rise in the pride of their hearts, even to the envying of them who belong to their churches. [again, the time period spoken of appears to covers four generations of time, from the restoration of the church until the Marvelous Work begins. It began back in Kirtland and Nauvoo. It was then that the church became defiled not now. The church has been defiled for over 160 years!]
Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be heard of fires, and tempests, and vapors of smoke in foreign lands;
[This is a great key. We know that the four generation time period during which the book begins to come forth began back in Kirtland and Nauvoo when the church was restored and then became defiled, but when do the words of the sealed portion finally begin to come forth?
It appears as if it is four generations later, when fires, tempests and vapors of smoke are heard of in Foreign lands!!!!!
And there shall also be heard of wars, rumors of wars, and earthquakes in divers places.
It seems like there have been wars and rumors of wars for a prolonged period of time, which, of by themselves do not constitute a significant sign of the times.
However, wars and rumors of wars lining up at the same time as an increase in large earthquakes along with great oil spills and pollutions along with the activity of volcanoes that are billowing enough vapors to temporarily cancel thousands of flights might just be a very unusual and significant correlation of events which is alluded to in prophecy!
Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth; there shall be murders, and robbing, and lying, and deceivings, and whoredoms, and all manner of abominations; when there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last day. But wo unto such, for they are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity.
Yea, it shall come in a day when there shall be churches built up that shall say: Come unto me, and for your money you shall be forgiven of your sins.
O ye wicked and perverse and stiffnecked people, why have ye built up churches unto yourselves to get gain? Why have ye transfigured the holy word of God, that ye might bring damnation upon your souls? Behold, look ye unto the revelations of God; for behold, the time cometh at that day when all these things must be fulfilled.
Behold, the Lord hath shown unto me great and marvelous things concerning that which must shortly come, at that day when these things [wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, pollutions, volcanoes and ancient records] shall come forth among you.
Behold, I speak unto you as if ye were present, and yet ye are not. But behold, Jesus Christ hath shown you unto me, and I know your doing.
And I know that ye do walk in the pride of your hearts; and there are none save a few only who do not lift themselves up in the pride of their hearts, unto the wearing of very fine apparel, unto envying, and strifes, and malice, and persecutions, and all manner of iniquities; and your churches, yea, even every one, have become polluted because of the pride of your hearts.
For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted.
O ye pollutions, ye hypocrites, ye teachers, who sell yourselves for that which will canker, why have ye polluted the holy church of God? Why are ye ashamed to take upon you the name of Christ? Why do ye not think that greater is the value of an endless happiness than that misery which never dies—because of the praise of the world?
Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?
Yea, why do ye build up your secret abominations to get gain, and cause that widows should mourn before the Lord, and also orphans to mourn before the Lord, and also the blood of their fathers and their husbands to cry unto the Lord from the ground, for vengeance upon your heads?
Behold, the sword of vengeance hangeth over you; and the time soon cometh that he avengeth the blood of the saints upon you, for he will not suffer their cries any longer.
Moroni 8 seems to be speaking to all five generations of Saints, from those living during the generation of time that the time the church was restored and the fulness was rejected, to those living in this generation, four generations later. Yet the time that the book comes forth is identified by very specific signs that are all present NOW.
It was the amazing information contained in Mormon 8 that led me to another passage of scripture that seems much more focused on our current time and the beginning of the Marvelous Work.
If we do a key word search of "tempest" and "fire" to find related prophesies pertaining to the storyline contained within Mormon 8, we are led to the The Book of Mormon version of Isaiah 29 which has been misinterpreted by some latter day saints. Many believe it is prophesying about the coming forth of the Book of Mormon back in 1829 because of the dual fulfillment and parallels having to do with the foundation work back when the foundation of the Marvelous Work was being laid.
Again, many have assumed that much or all of this chapter is referring to the early period of the LDS restoration movement in the 1830's when the foundation of the Marvelous Work was being laid.
However, the first three verses of this chapter reveal that it is taking place AFTER the 2nd watch, in the beginning of the 3rd watch!
Furthermore, the entire chapter is speaking categorically about the contents within the SEALED BOOK, it never mentions the unsealed portion of the book!
A strict literal chronological rendering of this chapter provides the following profile of events in light of modern revelation. Some parts of this profile provided by modern revelation (according to my interpretation of it) are put in brackets.
I invite you to re-read 2nd Nephi 27 while reviewing the following interpretation and see if you don't agree that this chapter is almost exclusively speaking about the Marvelous Work in the 3rd Watch-
1- In the last days of the Gentiles, all nations of the Gentiles and Jews will be drunken with iniquity and abominations (verse 1)
2- They will be visited by the Lord [including the return of his servants] at a time when earthquakes, storms, tempest and the flame of devouring fire are taking place, as signs of his return [as he returns for the third time in secret as a thief in the night, before his final coming in glory] (verse 2)
3- After his servants return and establish the kingdom of God on earth (Zion)] A multitude of Nations will fight against Zion and distress her, but to no avail!
4- All of the first generation Saints who lived at the time of the foundation movement and those that followed afterwards during the following four generations that have rejected the prophets [Seer & Spokesman] by closing their eyes to the truths that were revealed through them shall stay themselves and wonder and stagger in wonderment and confusion. Our deep sleep of apostasy was put upon us by the Lord because of our rejection of the truth. (verses 4-5)
5- AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS [in other words, at a future time, AFTER the servants return and Zion is established], the Lord will bring forth the words of a book which IS sealed. He doesn't unseal the book and bring forth the words, he brings forth some of the words of the book while the book is sealed!
6-This enables people to view some of the content within the sealed book without being able to see the inside of the book itself. The Saints of the 3rd watch have to exercise faith and be tested just as the Saints of the 2nd watch were tested! This is why it is so important to treasure up the word of God and take the Holy Spirit as your guide because you will be required to discern if the words are true! The THINGS which are in the book shall be kept from those who are unbelieving and wicked. It is possible that false books will be coming forth by false prophets at this time to make the the great test even more of a challenge. (6-8)
7- But the Book shall be delivered to a man [the Seer] and he shall deliver some of the words to another man [the Spokesman]. Take a close look at verse 9!
I believe this incredible passage is referring to the seer and the Spokesman and the synergistic relationship between them and the roles between them when the marvelous Work and the Wonder begins!
The Seer brings the words forth, but he Spokesman declares them!
Documentation for the interpretation of the above passage is provided in both the Book of Mormon AND modern revelation;
18 And the Lord said unto me also: I will raise up unto the fruit of thy loins; and I will make for him a spokesman. And I, behold, I will give unto him that he shall write the writing of the fruit of thy loins, unto the fruit of thy loins; and the spokesman of thy loins shall DECLARE it. 2nd Nephi 3:17-18
Realizing that the Spokesman is responsible to DECLARE the words from the sealed book, look again at the Book of Mormon clarification of Isaiah 52- (3 nephi 21)
"
8 And when that day shall come, it shall come to pass that kings shall shut their mouths; for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
9 For in that day, for my sake shall the Father work a work, which shall be a great and a marvelous work among them; and there shall be among them those who will not believe it, although a man shall DECLARE it unto them.
10 But behold, the life of my servant shall be in my hand; therefore they shall not hurt him, although he shall be marred because of them. Yet I will heal him, for I will show unto them that my wisdom is greater than the cunning of the devil.
Jeremiah notes that it is at the time of the fall of Babylon that the word is DECLARED
1 The word that the Lord spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.
2 DECLARE ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.
3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast. Jeremiah 50
6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense.
7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the Lord's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
10 The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us DECLARE in Zion the work of the Lord our God.
11 Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance of his temple.
12 Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the Lord hath both devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon.
Modern revelation agrees with ancient prophecy, Sidney and his associates RECEIVE the word from Joseph.
The word will GO FORTH to the ends of the earth from Sidney and his associates.
6 And again, verily I say unto thy brethren, Sidney Rigdon and Frederick G. Williams, their sins are forgiven them also, and they are accounted as equal with thee in holding the keys of this last kingdom;
7 As also through your administration the keys of the school of the prophets, which I have commanded to be organized;
8 That thereby they may be perfected in their ministry for the salvation of Zion, and of the nations of Israel, and of the Gentiles, as many as will believe;
9 That through your administration they may receive the word, and through their administration the word may go forth unto the ends of the earth, unto the Gentiles first, and then, behold, and lo, they shall turn unto the Jews.
10 And then cometh the day when the arm of the Lord shall be arevealed in power in convincing the nations, the heathen nations, the house of Joseph, of the gospel of their salvation.
11 For it shall come to pass in that day, that every man shall hear the fulness of the gospel in his own tongue, and in his own language, through those who are ordained unto this power, by the administration of the Comforter, shed forth upon them for the revelation of Jesus Christ. ( D&C 90:6-10)
Sidney is to "proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the gospel of Salvation (90:93)
Sidney is to be the SPOKESMAN and to be mighty in expounding all scripture.
"But a commandment I give unto you, that ye shall declare whatsoever thing ye declare in my name, in solemnity of heart, in the spirit of meekness, in all things.
8 And I give unto you this promise, that inasmuch as ye do this the Holy Ghost shall be shed forth in bearing record unto all things whatsoever ye shall say.
9 And it is expedient in me that you, my servant Sidney, should be a spokesman unto this people; yea, verily, I will ordain you unto this calling, even to be a spokesman unto my servant Joseph.
11 And I will give unto thee power to be mighty in expounding all scriptures, that thou mayest be a spokesman unto him, and he shall be a revelator unto thee, that thou mayest know the certainty of all things pertaining to the things of my kingdom on the earth. (section 100)
9- The Seer shall not deliver the SEALED BOOK or the SEALED WORDS within the book. However some of the words within the sealed book will not be sealed and will be delivered during the earlier part of the Marvelous Work, as a test for the wicked and as a testimony for the righteous. There are certain WORDS within the sealed book that are SEALED, having to do with the revelation of what happens from the beginning to the end of the earth. In other words, some times these passages speak of the BOOK being SEALED, sometimes they speak of certain WORDS within the book being SEALED! ( Verse 10)
10- At a future time, after the great test, after probation is over and it is too late to repent, all of the words in the sealed book will be read from the housetops by the power of Christ, revealing all of the secret acts of men from the beginning of the world to the end thereof. (verse 11)
11- At the time when the Sealed Book shall be delivered to the Seer, the physical book shall be hidden from the eyes of the world except for THREE WITNESSES! We can only speculate who these three witnesses will be. It could be that Oliver, David and Martin will return and complete their missions as the original three witnesses of the Book of Mormon. It could be that three of the first three High Priests of the dispensation who preside over the Marvelous Work could be the witnesses as well. Another possibility is that it could be that three mortals from our current generation may be called to be witnesses. Wow, what an honor that would be to be a witness of the record! (verse12) One last possibility is that the three witnesses of the 3rd watch are the three Nephites (see 3 Nephi 28) (my speculation is that the three witnesses from the 2nd watch will return and fulfill their callings just as Joseph and the other first elders will.)
12- It is possible that a few others may have the privilege of viewing the sealed book but if so, they apparently don't have the same calling as the three witnesses who are required to testify to the world. (verse 13)
13- It is under these circumstances that the Lord will PROCEED (begin) the process of bringing forth some of the words of the sealed Book! And wo to those who reject that portion of words that are brought forth during the time of wickedness at the beginning of the Marvelous Work in the 3rd watch! (verse 14)
14- Yes, there is going to be a repeat of an event that happened during the 2nd watch which was only a shadow fulfillment of this prophecy! The words will be taken by the Spokesman or one of the witnesses to a "learned" man and he will be asked to read them, but the learned man will only be willing to read them if the book can be produced! It appears that this is because he wants the glory of being able to look at the reformed Egyptian characters or at the physical book and render a professional opinion based on his scholarship and worldly learning as to whether it is a forgery or not. (verses 15- 18) [Update: NEPT brought to my attn that a closer look at the wording of these passages suggests that perhaps 1- the "learned man" is actually "learned men", plural. 2- He also points out that the text makes no mention of Egyptian characters. It is simply the translated passages that the servant is ask the learned men to read. Interesting and important observations! See also the comments emailed to me by Malachi which I have included in the comment section]
15- In summary, the Lord will deliver the book that is sealed AGAIN to the same Seer that he had delivered it to in the 2nd watch, who is not learned. The Lord will tell the Seer that the learned shall not be allowed to see the book because they have rejected the words. The Lord will state that "I am able to do my own work" of translation and I will show you the portion of words that are to go forth, just as I showed them to you in your mind during the work of translation the first time, during the 2nd watch! "Therefore don't touch the things that are sealed". I will bring them forth after the separation of the wheat and the tares. (verses 19- 23)
16- Etc., etc., etc.
Two things really struck me this time while reading the above passages.
First, the words of the sealed book come forth at a time when there are wars and rumors of wars while fires and tempests and vapors of smoke are being reported in foreign lands, which I find to be very exciting because it provides a much more specific way to target when the second portion of the book comes forth!
Second, we learn that in fact, the people of our generation will be tested the exact same way the people of the 2nd watch were tested! We don't get to see the book or even view the characters within the sealed book. We only get to read the translated portion of the words in the book. Joseph's second commission does not begin in POWER, rather in word only, to test the saints.
Words will be published to the world to the condemnation of some and the salvation of others!
They may come forth from someone who is not considered to be a credible source. It may come from a "nobody" who does not hold a high position in life and has not accumulated wealth or been successful according to the world or it may even be a historical figure from the past that is despised by Mormons and non-Mormons alike, perhaps it will be some one whose reputation has been marred that is called upon to be a forerunner to prepare the way for the Seer..
We will have the opportunity to read and discern if the published words are true or not.
The coming forth of records plays a huge part in the Marvelous Work and in the great test that is coming.
Ancient prophecy speaks of a time when God's work will be published to the world-
"Because I will publish the name of the Lord: ascribe ye greatness unto our God". Deut. 32: 3
5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.
6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.
7 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.
8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us http://scriptures.lds.org/en/jer/4/5,16#5
1 The word that the Lord spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.
2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken.
http://scriptures.lds.org/en/jer/50/2#2
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion. http://scriptures.lds.org/en/isa/52/7#7
It seems to me that there are three separate events where the words of the seed of Lehi come forth.
