The lessons of Ezra – particularly his lament that the “holy seed” of white Israelites had mixed with the blood of other races – may have been weighing upon Brigham Young’s mind when he warned about the consequences of such an act:
Adding some context to his warning, he made references to Isaiah and other prophecies. Let's take them one by one.
“The nations of the earth have transgressed every law that God has given, they have changed the ordinances and broken every covenant made with the fathers” is a nod to Isaiah 24, which says “it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest... because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left.”
“…and they are like a hungry man that dreameth that he eateth, and he awaketh and behold he is empty” echoes the words of Isaiah 29, which promises that the various peoples who trouble and fight against the descendants of Israel “shall be as a dream of a night vision. It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite.”
“Now also many nations are gathered against thee, that say, Let her be defiled, and let our eye look upon Zion. But they know not the thoughts of the Lord, neither understand they his counsel: for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor. Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion, etc.” is a direct quote from the Book of Micah, which continues:
“Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people... And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.”
“Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion: for I will make thine horn iron, and I will make thy hoofs brass: and thou shalt beat in pieces many people... And the remnant of Jacob shall be among the nations in the midst of many people as a lion among the beasts of the forest, as a young lion among the flocks of sheep: who, if he go through, both treadeth down, and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Thine hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.”
Lastly, “God rules in the armies of Heaven and does his pleasure upon the earth, and no man can help it” has parallels with some of the words of Isaiah 48, which promises that God will help his people to overcome “Babylon,” or the global degeneracy of our times:
“Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The Lord hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon.”
“Mine hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned the heavens: when I call unto them, they stand up together. All ye, assemble yourselves, and hear; which among them hath declared these things? The Lord hath loved him: he will do his pleasure on Babylon.”
This beautiful confluence of ancient prophecies and promises, with all their connections to our situation today and what we're going to do about it, is more than enough to ponder for now. We'll continue tomorrowish.
Although the messages of Isaiah we've looked at so far are certainly important, they comprise only a small part of his words. Jesus's instructions on this topic strongly suggest that there is more information in the Book of Isaiah than the relatively straightforward promises I pointed out above.
Because of this, when I decided it would be worthwhile to write a few closing comments about Isaiah, I sought out some “professional help” – looking for scholars and/or authorities who might shed light on the various chapters that have somewhat less clear meanings.
Because of this, when I decided it would be worthwhile to write a few closing comments about Isaiah, I sought out some “professional help” – looking for scholars and/or authorities who might shed light on the various chapters that have somewhat less clear meanings.
First of all, I naturally wanted to consult the current views of the LDS Church. Every four years, the members of the Church study the Old Testament together; for this reason, there is a Sunday School manual from 2022 with several “lesson outlines” about the contents of Isaiah. I revisited these lessons to see what I may have missed in my own more recent readings.
Quite appropriately, the overwhelming focus of every lesson is on Isaiah's prophecies of Jesus Christ. Other major themes include faith in God's power over the world, the wickedness of nations and individuals, repentance, and the promise of a bright future.
Quite appropriately, the overwhelming focus of every lesson is on Isaiah's prophecies of Jesus Christ. Other major themes include faith in God's power over the world, the wickedness of nations and individuals, repentance, and the promise of a bright future.
But bizarrely – almost hilariously – the manual also repeatedly claims that the Book of Isaiah contains warnings about disobeying prophets. This is pretty strange, given that prophets are directly mentioned only five times in the Book of Isaiah, and every reference to them is negative.
In all the lesson outlines, there is only one brief mention of Chapter 28. Here, according to the manual, when Isaiah said “the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink,” he was using drunkenness as a metaphor for the consequences of disobeying prophets.
In all the lesson outlines, there is only one brief mention of Chapter 28. Here, according to the manual, when Isaiah said “the priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink,” he was using drunkenness as a metaphor for the consequences of disobeying prophets.
In short, everything we might learn through official channels about the Book of Isaiah's teachings is either rudimentary or dishonest, which is a shame but not too surprising, since the same can be said about the Book of Mormon. We see again how the plainest passages are ignored or denied in the most absurd ways.
Outside of strictly official sources, I have become aware of one particular scholar who has dedicated a big chunk of his life to understanding Isaiah's writings. He has provided what may be a sort of “key” to figuring out what Isaiah was hinting at, through ancient analogies, in all those chapters I haven't even touched upon yet. If the “key” is correct, then what's contained in the more difficult (less obvious) portions of the Book of Isaiah parallels many of the clear lessons in the Book of Mormon that I've been highlighting these past few years.
We'll take a look at that next week.
We'll take a look at that next week.
Just the latest preview of what's coming for us in America, if we continue to “sit upon our thrones” and watch our leaders turn this land into another South Africa. (source)
So far we've looked at the relatively plain promises and warnings that can be found in about a dozen chapters across the Book of Isaiah. But there are many other chapters filled with descriptions of various nations warring or allying with one another, migrations, invasions, elites orchestrating works of destruction on a huge scale, God's opposition to those works, and so on. One researcher named Avraham Gileadi has presented a pretty comprehensive explanation of what those ancient writings seem to foreshadow, and why the Book of Mormon urges us so strongly to study Isaiah.
I recently read two of this scholar's works on the subject and was taken aback at the implications. But before diving into that, let me make some introductory remarks about who Avraham Gileadi is.
I recently read two of this scholar's works on the subject and was taken aback at the implications. But before diving into that, let me make some introductory remarks about who Avraham Gileadi is.
Gileadi is a Dutch man who seems to have gone through a bit of a spiritual crisis in his 20's which led him to move to “Israel,” convert to orthodox Judaism, and take up an intensive study of ancient Israelite texts including those we commonly know as the Old Testament. After becoming quite an expert in that field, he happened to encounter a copy of the Book of Mormon one day, and recognized in it the work of the same ancient Israelite people. He left Judaism behind and joined the LDS Church.
As he put it in his own words:
“Before I became a member of the Church, I was privileged to study in a rabbinic school in Jerusalem. There, I learned the utmost respect for the word of God and for the unique way the Jews approach it... The ‘manner of the Jews’ opened my eyes to layers of truth present in all scriptures. Each signifies something important to a prophet's message. Later, academic studies introduced me to poetic features and literary structures, all of which I integrated with the manner of the Jews. I saw that many tools were necessary for analyzing the scriptures, that more was required for studying them than just hoping for inspiration.”
“Before I became a member of the Church, I was privileged to study in a rabbinic school in Jerusalem. There, I learned the utmost respect for the word of God and for the unique way the Jews approach it... The ‘manner of the Jews’ opened my eyes to layers of truth present in all scriptures. Each signifies something important to a prophet's message. Later, academic studies introduced me to poetic features and literary structures, all of which I integrated with the manner of the Jews. I saw that many tools were necessary for analyzing the scriptures, that more was required for studying them than just hoping for inspiration.”