2 Ne 6:2 I,
Jacob, having been called of God, and ordained after the manner of his holy
order
When
Jacob was still young, he received his calling directly from the Lord. Lehi
explained that Joseph had seen the Lord, thou hast
beheld in thy youth his glory (2 Ne 2:4). This is a good example of a
prophet who received his calling directly from the Lord, And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is
called of God, as was Aaron (Heb 5:4). Because of his
righteousness, he was ordained after the manner of
his holy order.
The
phrase “his holy order” is reminiscent of the full name of the Melchizedek
priesthood, or the Holy Priesthood after the
Order of the Son of God (DC 107:3). This was the priesthood held by
the Nephites. Although there were descendants of Manasseh (Lehi), Ephraim
(Ishmael), and Judah (Mulek) among the Nephites, there was not any of the blood
of Levi. Therefore, they did not hold the Levitical or Aaronic priesthood.
“It
should be noted that those consecrated priests and teachers among the Nephites
were not receiving offices in the lesser priesthood, for there was no Aaronic
Priesthood among the Nephites from the time Lehi left Jerusalem down to the
ministry of Christ among them.” (Mormon Doctrine, 776)
2 Ne 6:4 I will
read you the words of Isaiah
The Bible Dictionary states:
“Isaiah is the most quoted of all the
prophets, being more frequently quoted by Jesus, Paul, Peter, and John (in his
Revelation) than any other O.T. prophet. Likewise the Book of Mormon and the
Doctrine and Covenants quote from Isaiah more than from any other prophet. The
Lord told the Nephites that ‘great are the words of
Isaiah,’ and that all things Isaiah spoke of the house of Israel and of
the gentiles would be fulfilled (3 Ne 23:1-3).
“….The reader today has no greater
written commentary and guide to understanding Isaiah than the Book of Mormon
and the Doctrine and Covenants. As one understands these works better he will
understand Isaiah better, and as one understands Isaiah better, he more fully
comprehends the mission of the Savior, and the meaning of the covenant that was
placed upon Abraham and his seed by which all the families of the earth would
be blessed.”
2 Ne 6:5 Isaiah
spake concerning all the house of Israel
One of the major themes of Isaiah’s
writings is the gathering and restoration of the Jews in the latter days. This
may be because he spent so much time prophesying of the imminent destruction of
the Northern Kingdom, that he longed for a better day—a day when Israel would again
be blessed and protected by the Lord. This blessing won’t come to full fruition
until the Lord himself sets his foot on the Mount of Olives and begins to fight
Israel’s battles. Therefore, the
writings of Isaiah are full of hopeful, optimistic, and happy representations
of what things will be like in that day when the Lord saves Israel, The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb…the earth shall be
full of the knowledge of the Lord…the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting
light…Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim…they shall
beat their swords into plowshares…he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall
be called holy…the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with
songs and everlasting joy upon their heads…they that wait upon the Lord shall
run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint…with everlasting
kindness will I have mercy on thee…Break forth into joy, sing together, ye
waste places of Jerusalem: for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath
redeemed Jerusalem.
2 Ne 6:6 I
will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard
“The Lord prophesied through Isaiah
that in the last days he would set up his standard to the people of the earth.
This ‘standard’ evidently refers to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints, as is indicated in this statement by President Marion G. Romney:
‘This Church is the standard which
Isaiah said the Lord would set up for the people in the latter days. This
Church was given to be a light to the world and to be a standard for God's
people and for the Gentiles to seek to. This Church is the ensign on the
mountain spoken of by the Old Testament prophets. It is the way, the truth, and
the life.’ (Conference Report, April 1961, p. 119)” (Daniel Ludlow, A
Companion to Your Study of the Book of Mormon, p. 135)
2 Ne 6:6 they
shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon
their shoulders
Jacob begins quoting Isaiah from the end
of Isaiah 49. This chapter was recorded in its entirety in 1 Nephi 21. Jacob
begins by quoting verses 22-23 and then commenting on them. Nephi also gave an
explanation of their meaning in 1 Nephi 22:6-9. Nephi explains that this
prophecy has both a temporal and a figurative, or spiritual, meaning. The
temporal meaning is that the Gentiles will gather the house of Israel to the
lands of their inheritance (1 Ne 22:6). The spiritual meaning is that the
gospel will be restored through the Gentiles and be taken to all the house of
Israel:
The Lord God will raise up
a mighty nation
among the Gentiles…And after our seed is scattered
the Lord God will proceed to do a marvelous work among the Gentiles, which
shall be of great worth unto our seed; wherefore, it is likened unto their
being nourished by the Gentiles and being carried in their arms and upon their
shoulders…unto the making known of the covenants of the Father of heaven unto
Abraham, saying: In thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
2 Ne 6:8 those
who were at Jerusalem…have been slain and carried away captive.
Although the dates cannot be known with
certainty, the following is an excellent quote about the stages in which
Babylon sacked Jerusalem:
“Bible scholars recognize two great
deportations. The first took place in the year 596 B.C., four years after the
departure of Lehi from Jerusalem. Lehi was then about half way through the
desert journey, which lasted eight years in all, and Jacob must have been a
baby, since he was born in the desert. Lehi may have had a vision of this
deportation. If so, he would certainly have related that vision to his family
many times.
“On this occasion Nebuchadnezzar
carried away King Jehoiachin and family, the Prophet Ezekiel and thousands of
nobles and craftsmen. He destroyed the sacred vessels in the temple and looted
the treasuries. And, finally, he appointed an uncle of Jehoiachin, Zedekiah,
king in Jerusalem. (2 Kings 24:10–14)
“The second deportation took place in
the year 586 B.C., ten years after the first. On that occasion all monumental
and otherwise valuable buildings in Jerusalem were destroyed by fire.
Everything of value was carried to Babylon. Some of the children of Zedekiah
were cruelly butchered before his eyes, and that was the last thing he saw,
before his eyes were put out. Gedaliah was made ruler in Jerusalem.
“As near as can be judged from Book of
Mormon chronology, Lehi had passed away at that time. The Nephites had
established themselves as an independent colony, and Jacob and Joseph had been
appointed priests and teachers. (See 2 Ne. 5:28) It is more than probable that
the Lord gave Jacob a vision of this second deportation shortly after it had
taken place in the year 586 B.C., as he gave Lehi a vision of the first
deportation. The Prophet Ezekiel and the captives in Babylon were notified by a
special messenger of the epochal event. (Ex. 33:21)” (Reynolds and Sjodahl, Commentary
on the Book of Mormon, vol. 1, p. 282)
2 Ne 6:9 the
Lord has shown unto me that they should return again.
When the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem,
they killed many and others they took as captives to Babylon. Jeremiah clearly
prophesied that the Jews would be captives in Babylon for seventy years and
then they would return to their lands in and around Jerusalem, For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be
accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you,
in causing you to return to this place (Jer 29:10).
2 Ne 6: 10 the day cometh that they
shall be smitten and afflicted
It was not
long after the Jews had hardened their hearts and stiffened their necks against
the Holy One of Israel that severe destructions came upon them. This came
because of their wickedness. That the Lord knew of impending destructions awaiting
this wicked generation is seen in his comment to the weeping daughters of
Jerusalem on the weary path to Golgotha, Daughters
of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children (Lu
23:28). He also taught that the temple would be destroyed, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that
shall not be thrown down (Matt 24:2). Both of these prophecies had
reference to the first Abomination of Desolation, or destruction of Jerusalem,
which occurred at the hands of the Romans in 70 AD. This was the beginning of a
long history of afflictions that the house of Israel was to suffer.
Josephus is
the fundamental historian of the Roman capture of Jerusalem. He records that
the Roman soldiers would capture about 500 Jews a day, then crucify them all,
“So the soldiers, out of the wrath and hatred they bore the Jews, nailed those
they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses, by
way of jest; when their multitude was so great, that room was wanting for the
crosses, and crosses wanting for the bodies.” (Josephus, the Wars of the
Jews, Book V, Chap. XI, v. 1) He describes a terrible famine:
“Then did the
famine widen its progress, and devoured the people by whole houses and
families; the upper rooms were full of women and children that were dying by
famine; and the lanes of the city were full of the dead bodies of the aged…many
died as they were burying others…while yet robbers were still more terrible
than these miseries were themselves; for they brake open those houses which
were no other than graves of dead bodies and plundered them…in order to prove
what mettle they were made of, they thrust some of those through that still lay
alive upon the ground…
“However, when
Titus in going his rounds along those valleys saw them full of dead bodies and
the thick putrefaction running about them, he gave a groan.” (Josephus, the
Wars of the Jews, Book V, Chap. XII, v.3-4)
Josephus, as
an eyewitness to many of these atrocities, described them in gruesome detail. He
records that many starving Jews deserted to the Syrians and Arabians for
protection. However, some Jews had made a practice swallowing as much gold as
possible prior to deserting. Josephus explains their terrible fate:
“Yet did
another plague seize upon those that were thus preserved; for there was found
among the Syrian deserters a certain person who was caught gathering pieces of
gold out of the excrements of the Jews’ bellies; for the deserters used to
swallow such pieces of gold….when this contrivance was discovered in one
instance, the fame of it filled their several camps, that the deserters came to
them full of gold. So the multitude of the Arabians, with the Syrians, cut up
those that came as supplicants, and searched their bellies. Nor does it seem to
me that any misery befell the Jews that was more terrible than this, since in
one night about two thousand of these deserters were thus dissected.” (Josephus,
the Wars of the Jews, Book V, Chap. XIII, v.4)
Josephus
tallied the destruction suffered in this great war, “Now the number of those
that were carried captive during this whole war was collected to be
ninety-seven thousand; as was the number of those that perished during the
whole siege, eleven hundred thousand.” (Josephus, the Wars of the Jews,
Book VI, Chap. IX, v.3) This great destruction brought the following conclusion
from Josephus, “in reality it was God who condemned the whole nation, and
turned every course that was taken for their preservation to their
destruction.” (Josephus, the Wars of the Jews, Book V, Chap. XIII, v.5)
Such was just the beginning of sorrows for the Jews. They have been scattered
and afflicted ever since. As Jacob wrote, they shall
be scattered, and smitten, and hated (v. 11).
2 Ne 6:14 The Messiah…will manifest himself unto them in power and
great glory, unto the destruction of their enemies
Great are the
promises of the Lord unto the House of Israel. The crowning event in their
history will be the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. He will come from the
heavens in power and great glory to deliver Jerusalem from her enemies. By
combining prophecies from different scriptures, we can see a clear picture of
how Jacob’s statement will come to pass:
For I will gather all nations against
Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and
the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity (Zech 14:2).
…for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the
holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
And I will give power unto my two
witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore
days, clothed in sackcloth (Rev 11:2-3).
And there shall be silence in heaven for
the space of half an hour; and immediately after shall the curtain of heaven be
unfolded, as a scroll is unfolded after it is rolled up, and the face of the
Lord shall be unveiled (DC 88:95).
And his feet shall stand in that day upon
the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount
of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the
west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain
shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south (Zech 14:4).
And then shall the Jews look upon me and
say: What are these wounds in thine hands and in thy feet?
Then shall they know that I am the Lord;
for I will say unto them: These wounds are the wounds with which I was wounded
in the house of my friends. I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was
crucified. I am the Son of God.
And then shall they weep because of their
iniquities; then shall they lament because they persecuted their king (DC 45:51-53).
Then shall the Lord go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought
in the day of battle (Zech 14:3).
And this shall be the plague wherewith the
Lord will smite all the people
that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they
stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and
their tongue shall consume away in their mouth (Zech 14:12).
And it shall come to pass in that day, that
I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the
passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the
passengers: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude: and they shall
call it The valley of Hamon-gog.
And seven months shall the house of Israel
be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land (Ezek
39:11-2).
2 Ne 6:15 they that believe not in him shall be destroyed
Here Jacob is
referring to the destruction of the wicked in the last days. The imagery of
Babylon, the whore, and the great and abominable church are used to describe
those who will be destroyed at this time. Revelation 18:2, 8 describes the
destruction in a similar fashion, Babylon the great
is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils…Therefore shall
her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be
utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
2 Ne 6:16 For shall the prey be taken from the mighty
Jacob returns
to Isaiah 49. He will quote the last three verses of the chapter and move on to
chapter 50. The content of these three
verses is fairly self-explanatory. The Lord will deliver the children of Israel
from any affliction in the last days, even if they are imprisoned or taken
captive by the mighty. Zechariah explains that one half of the city of
Jerusalem will be taken into captivity during the siege of Jerusalem which
immediately precedes the Second Coming (Zech 14:2). Release from this captivity
is probably part of the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy.