#20 "...and though the wicked MAR him for a little season..."

Following up on the patriarchal blessing given to Joseph through Oliver, I want to show that the patriarchal blessing given to Joseph through his father also prophecies that Joseph will return to complete the second part of his ministry.

"...and though the wicked mar him for a little season, he shall be like one rising up in the heat of wine, he shall roar in his strength, and the Lord shall put to flight his persecutors...

Thou shalt stand upon the earth when it shall reel to and fro as a drunken man, and be removed out of its place: thou shalt stand when the mighty judgments go forth to the destruction of the wicked:

thou shalt stand on Mount Zion when the tribes of Jacob come shouting from the north, and with thy brethren, the sons of Ephraim, crown them in the name of Jesus Christ.."

This is really exciting.. not only does this blessing reveal that Joseph returns to stand on the earth during the events of the last generation mentioned in Matthew 24 and to crown the inhabitants of Zion as mentioned in section 133, it actually alludes to the possibility that the "marred servant" mentioned in Isaiah 52 is in fact Joseph Smith!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elder David Patten, President of the 12 also gave a discourse identifying Joseph Smith as the "marred servant" in Isaiah 52. (see HC 3:49)

Isaiah appears to be speaking about Joseph Smith as the Marred Servant:

"Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: So shall he sprinkle [gather] many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider."

This provides another awesome witness of the Marvelous Work to take place in the future and the continuing role of Joseph Smith in it!

#18 "Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist, and also of another who should come and restore all things..."

Understanding the role of Joseph Smith is critical in understanding the events of the Marvelous Work.

I started off the first two entries of this blog quoting from the JS Translation of the Bible because it unlocks many of the mysteries pertaining to the events of the last days. I will devote a future entry to the importance of the Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible.

For now I want to focus on yet another great mystery pertaining to the last days that is revealed in the JST of the Bible.

In JST Matthew 17, after Peter James and John go up on the Mount of Transfiguration with the Savior and see Christ ministered to by Moses and Elias, Christ revealed the amazing secret that there were to be two primary messengers in the last days that would come in the spirit and power of Elijah, he referred to them as Elijah the Preparer and Elijah the Restorer!

(Elias is the Greek translation for Elijah, referring to Elijah the Prophet of the Old Testament who came back to earth as John the Baptist in the Meridian of Time to prepare the way of Christ.... see JST Mark 9:3)

Elijah the Preparer was John the Baptist, who came to prepare the way for Christ in the 1st watch and came again in the 2nd watch to prepare the way for the restoration of the Gospel by bringing the Priesthood to Joseph and Oliver.

Elijah the Restorer is Joseph Smith who will come to restore all things.

In the future I will delicate an entry focusing on the fact that virtually all prophecies have a dual fulfillment. One is usually a "shadow" fulfillment and the other is a "literal fulfillment"

Elijah the Preparer came to Joseph Smith in the Kirtland Temple to proclaim that he had previously revealed the priesthood and transferred the keys of the spirit and calling of Elijah over to him completing the "shadow" fulfillment of the prophecy in Malachi. This enables Joseph Smith to return in the spirit and calling of Elijah when the appointed time of the Marvelous Work begins!

Here is the amazing account in Matthew where the Savior reveals that there are two separate and distinct individuals that come in the spirit and calling of Elijah:

"And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were afraid. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only.

And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things, as the prophets have written.

And again I say unto you that Elias has come already, concerning whom it is written, Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and they knew him not, and have done unto him, whatsoever they listed.

Likewise shall also the Son of Man suffer of them.

But I say unto you, Who is Elias? Behold, this is Elias, whom I send to prepare the way before me. Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist, and also of another who should come and restore all things, as it is written by the prophets."

Here is the account of Elijah the Prophet transferring the keys of Elijah over to Joseph:

"After this vision had closed, another great and glorious vision burst upon us; for Elijah the prophet, who was taken to heaven without tasting death, stood before us, and said:

Behold, the time has fully come, which was spoken of by the mouth of Malachi—testifying that he [Elijah] should be sent, before the great and dreadful day of the Lord come—

To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the children to the fathers, lest the whole earth be smitten with a curse—

Therefore, the keys of this dispensation are committed into your hands; and by this ye may know that the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near, even at the doors"

Truly the time had already come... the first fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy had been consummated when John the Baptist revealed the priesthood to Joseph by the laying on of hands.... Now, John was acknowledging that the keys pertaining to his calling of Elijah had now been giving over to Joseph so that he could return and restore all things in the spirit and power of Elijah when the appointed time of the third watch and Marvelous Work should arrive!

Equally important was the transferring of keys from Moses at that same time. Joseph received the keys to gathering Israel at the time of the Marvelous Work from Moses:

"After this vision closed, the heavens were again opened unto us; and Moses appeared before us, and committed unto us the keys of the gathering of Israel from the four parts of the earth, and the leading of the ten tribes from the land of the north."

Clearly, Joseph Smith held the keys to gather Israel and restore all things.

Here is another section in modern day revelation speaking of the role of Joseph Smith as the Elias (Elijah the Restorer) who oversees the gathering of Israel and the sealing of the 144,000

" Q. What are we to understand by the angel ascending from the east, Revelation 7th chapter and 2nd verse?
A. We are to understand that the angel ascending from the east is he to whom is given the seal of the living God over the twelve tribes of Israel; wherefore, he crieth unto the four angels having the everlasting gospel, saying: Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And, if you will receive it, this is Elias which was to come to gather together the tribes of Israel and restore all things. D&C 77: 9, 14

There are several similarities between the appearance of messengers on the mount of transfiguration and the appearance of messengers in the Kirtland Temple. One of them is that Christ told his disciples to not talk about the vision until the Son of man is risen from the dead.

Conversely, Christ must have commanded Joseph and Oliver to not tell about the vision they had in the Kirtland Temple as well. For they simply had it documented in writing but never openly spoke about it during their lives.

It was not until 40 years after the event that it was published in the D&C.

#9 "...when those tribulations should take place, it should be committed to a man, who should be a witness over the whole world"

On May 12^th 1844 Joseph Smith gave a sermon teaching that at the time that the tribulations of the last generation mentioned in Matthew 24 take place; the gospel would be committed to God’s last witness. He infers very strongly that he is the last witness:

The following is the journal entry without spelling corrections:

“I shall read the 24th. ch of Matthew and give it a litteral rendering and reading, and when it is rightly understood it will be edifying (he then read & translated it from the German) I thought the very oddity of its rendering would be edifying any how--"And it will preached be; the Gospel of the Kingdom in the whole world, to a witness over all people, and then will the end come." I will now read it in German--(which he did, and many Germans who were present said he translated it correct)

the Savior said, when those tribulations should take place, it should be committed to a man, who should be a witness over the whole world, the keys of knowledge, power, and revelations, should be revealed to a witness who should hold the testimony to the world;

it has always been my province to dig up hidden mysteries, new things, for my hearers-- just at the time when some men think that I have no right to the keys of the Priesthood just at that time, I have the greatest right--the Germans are an exalted people.

the old German translators are the most correct; most honest of any of the translators, and therefore I get testimony to bear me out in the revelations that I have preached for the last 14 years--the old German, Latin, Greek and Hebrew translations all say it is true, they cannot be impeached, and therefore I am in good company—

all the testimony is, that the Lord in the last days would commit the keys of the Priesthood to a witness over all people--has the Gospel of the Kingdom commenced in the last days? and will God take it from the man, until he takes him, himself?

I have read it precisely as the words flowed from the lips of Jesus Christ--John the Revelator saw an angel flying thro' the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, &c. the Scripture is ready to be fulfilled when great wars, famines, pestilence, great distress, judgments, &c are ready to be poured out on the Inhabitants of the Earth--John saw the angel having the holy Priesthood who should preach the everlasting gospel to all nations,--God had an angel, a special messenger, ordained, & prepared for that purpose in the last days—"

This is one more witness that the Marvelous Work is a future event.... from the words of Joseph Smith we learn that when the signs and judgments of the last generation spoken of in Matthew 24 are about to take place, the gospel is committed to his servant whose is to be the last witness over all nations.

The above quotes from the sermon Joseph Smith gave provides another evidence that there will be a future work and it will involve Joseph Smith. In a future post, I will provide another similar quote from Joseph Smith, wherein he states that he will be the last prophet of the last dispensation..