6 For as death hath passed upon all men, to fulfil the merciful plan of the great Creator, there must needs be a power of resurrection, and the resurrection must needs come unto man by reason of the fall; and the fall came by reason of transgression; and because man became fallen they were cut off from the presence of the Lord.
7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.
7 Wherefore, it must needs be an infinite atonement—save it should be an infinite atonement this corruption could not put on incorruption. Wherefore, the first judgment which came upon man must needs have remained to an endless duration. And if so, this flesh must have laid down to rot and to crumble to its mother earth, to rise no more.
2 Nephi 9:6-7 (Emphasis mine)
Through the fall we all must die. Not only do we die, we are cut off from God's presence. This was not God's plan for us. He wants us to return to His presence. This can only come about through the atonement and resurrection.
The resurrection is an essential part of this "infinite atonement." (v7) Without this, we would have returned to the dust from which we were made and we would rise no more. That's it. It's over. We wold have no hope.
8 There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it.
Ecclesiastes 8:8
22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1 Corinthians 15:22
8 O the wisdom of God, his mercy and grace! For behold, if the flesh should rise no more our spirits must become subject to that angel who fell from before the presence of the Eternal God, and became the devil, to rise no more.
9 And our spirits must have become alike unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.
9 And our spirits must have become alike unto him, and we become devils, angels to a devil, to be shut out from the presence of our God, and to remain with the father of lies, in misery, like unto himself; yea, to that being who beguiled our first parents, who transformeth himself nigh unto an angel of light, and stirreth up the children of men unto secret combinations of murder and all manner of secret works of darkness.
2 Nephi 9:8-9 (Emphasis mine)
What are the consequences of there being no resurrection? We will not only become subject to the devil, but we will become angels to the devil. This is the consequence of what happened when the devil beguiled Adam and Eve in the Garden. (The word beguiled come from the Middle English bigilen [bi-, be- + gilen - to deceive]). (The Free Dictionary, accessed April 7, 2011.)
To make matters worse, we will remain "in misery" (v9) like the devil. (When I was growing up, my mother used to say "Misery doesn't love company. It insists upon it! The devil demands we share in his misery for all eternity.) All in all, it is not a pleasant outcome.
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
Revelation 12:9 (Emphasis mine)
10 O how great the goodness of our God, who prepareth a way for our escape from the grasp of this awful monster; yea, that monster, death and hell, which I call the death of the body, and also the death of the spirit.
11 And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.
12 And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.
11 And because of the way of deliverance of our God, the Holy One of Israel, this death, of which I have spoken, which is the temporal, shall deliver up its dead; which death is the grave.
12 And this death of which I have spoken, which is the spiritual death, shall deliver up its dead; which spiritual death is hell; wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it is by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.
2 Nephi 9:10-12 (Emphasis mine)
We read very discouraging words is vs. 8-9; Jacob now reveals the truth, and a powerful truth it is. Through the atonement and resurrection, God has prepared a way for us to escape from the clutches of the devil. Death is no longer final. The grave (temporal death) will "deliver up its dead." (v11)
More importantly, hell must deliver its dead, those who suffer a spiritual death. Because of the atonement and resurrection, being cutoff from the presence of God is no longer forever. The day will come when it will end and we will return to His presence. The day will come when we will be fully restored through the power of Christ's resurrection.
I really like the title, "the Holy One of Israel." (v12) It emphasizes that a mere man cannot achieve this. It requires a unique, special, and powerful individual. And that individual must be holy (that is, divine). Only Christ could have offered himself a willing sacrifice for our sins. We can, someday, return to the presence of the Lord.
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