Chapter 26
Christ shall minister to the Nephites—Nephi foresees the destruction of his people—They shall speak from the dust—The gentiles shall build up false churches and secret combinations—The Lord forbids men to practice priestcrafts. About 559–545 B.C.
1 AND after Christ shall have risen from the dead he shall show himself unto you, my children, and my beloved brethren; and the words which he shall speak unto you shall be the law which ye shall do. 2 For behold, I say unto you that I have beheld that many generations shall pass away, and there shall be great wars and contentions among my people. 3 And after the Messiah shall come there shall be signs given unto my people of his birth, and also of his death and resurrection; and great and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked, for they shall perish; and they perish because they cast out the prophets, and the saints, and stone them, and slay them; wherefore the cry of the blood of the saints shall ascend up to God from the ground against them.
2 Nephi 26:1-3 (Emphasis mine)
Nephi(1) continues his prophecies in Chapter 26. After Christ’s death, he will visit the Nephites. They will receive signs of both his birth and death. That day will be great and terrible for the wicked. They will perish because of their sins. They have cast out the prophets and saints; they have stoned and slayed them and their blood will cry out against them.
14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
John 10:14-16 (Emphasis mine)
We have been studying Nephi(1)’s prophecies. His prophecies are an important part of Mormon’s abridgement. Steven Olsen observes:
“In addition to using Nephi's prophecies as a model to structure his historical abridgment, Mormon seems also to have used Nephi's prophecies to define the corpus of Nephite prophecy for his abridgment. Of the hundreds of individual prophecies included in the Book of Mormon, nearly all find their initial expression in Nephi's small plates. Nephi's prophecies are further reiterated, refined, enlarged, and detailed in Mormon's and Moroni's subsequent narratives. Not surprisingly, the prophecies anticipating Christ's ministry, which find greatest attention in Nephi's record, are those that are most often repeated in Mormon's abridgment.” [1] (Emphasis mine)
4 Wherefore, all those who are proud, and that do wickedly, the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts, for they shall be as stubble. 5 And they that kill the prophets, and the saints, the depths of the earth shall swallow them up, saith the Lord of Hosts; and mountains shall cover them, and whirlwinds shall carry them away, and buildings shall fall upon them and crush them to pieces and grind them to powder. 6 And they shall be visited with thunderings, and lightnings, and earthquakes, and all manner of destructions, for the fire of the anger of the Lord shall be kindled against them, and they shall be as stubble, and the day that cometh shall consume them, saith the Lord of Hosts.
2 Nephi 26:4-6 (Emphasis mine)
Nephi(1) continues to prophesy of what will happen when Christ appears to the Nephites. The wicked will suffer for what they have done. Some things that will occur:
- Shall be swallowed by the Earth.
- Mountains shall cover them.
- Whirlwinds shall carry them away.
- There will be thunder and lightning.
- There will be earthquakes.
- There will be all manner of destruction.
If you read 3 Nephi 8, you learn that all these things occurred and the wicked suffered for their sins.
7 O the pain, and the anguish of my soul for the loss of the slain of my people! For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord; but I must cry unto my God: Thy ways are just. 8 But behold, the righteous that hearken unto the words of the prophets, and destroy them not, but look forward unto Christ with steadfastness for the signs which are given, notwithstanding all persecution—behold, they are they which shall not perish. 9 But the Son of righteousness shall appear unto them; and he shall heal them, and they shall have peace with him, until three generations shall have passed away, and many of the fourth generation shall have passed away in righteousness.
2 Nephi 26:7-9 (Emphasis mine)
Nephi(1) suffers because of the loss of his people; even so, he cries to the Lord, “They ways are just.” While the wicked suffer, the righteous will be spared. They followed the prophets, accepted and looked forward to the mission of Christ, and withstood the persecution.
Hugh Nibley comments on the wicked being burned as stubble.
“It's interesting that every time it mentions this being consumed as stubble, [the righteous are mentioned]. That means by fire and completely—overburn. That's what it is. After the field has been cut, then you burn it over. That's the great overburn of the stubble. But the righteous are told they shall not perish. We are not told how; we have to leave that up to the Lord. The only concern with you is to be righteous; this is the point. Verse 9: ‘But the Son of righteousness shall appear unto them; and he shall heal them, and they shall have peace with him, until three generations shall have passed away.’ “ [2] (Emphasis mine)
After Christ appears to them, and heals them, they will have almost four generations of peace and righteousness.
Stephen Ricks wrote about the expectation the Nephites had concerning the coming of Christ.
“The Book of Mormon, too, reveals an intense expectation of the coming of their Messiah (usually referred to in the Book of Mormon as Christ). The Nephites ‘look forward unto Christ [i.e., the Messiah] with steadfastness for the signs which are given’ (2 Nephi 26:8). Indeed, the prophets of the Book of Mormon even prophesy the year of Christ's birth: Nephi prophesies that Christ will be born ‘six hundred years from the time that my father left Jerusalem’ (1 Nephi 10:4), while the mysterious Samuel the Lamanite tells the Nephites that he would be born in five years (Helaman 14:2).” [3] (Emphasis mine)
[1] Prophecy and History: Structuring the Abridgment of the Nephite Records, Steven L. Olsen, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 27, 2011.
[2] Lecture 21: 2 Nephi 25-28, Hugh W. Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 27, 2011.
[3] The Book of Mormon and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Stephen D. Ricks, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 27, 2011.
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