10 And when these things have passed away a speedy destruction cometh unto my people; for, notwithstanding the pains of my soul, I have seen it; wherefore, I know that it shall come to pass; and they sell themselves for naught; for, for the reward of their pride and their foolishness they shall reap destruction; for because they yield unto the devil and choose works of darkness rather than light, therefore they must go down to hell. 11 For the Spirit of the Lord will not always strive with man. And when the Spirit ceaseth to strive with man then cometh speedy destruction, and this grieveth my soul.
2 Nephi 26:10-11 (Emphasis mine)
Nephi(1) prophesies the destruction of his people in these two verses. Their destruction comes because they choose to serve the devil. Their works become works of darkness. For these choices, they will end up in hell.
In verse 11, Nephi(1) gives us an important gospel truth. He teaches that “when the Spirit ceaseth to strive with man then cometh speedy destruction.” We learn that the Spirit is an essential part of righteousness. The Spirit resides with the righteous. It is there to help us live and righteous life, serving the Lord. Loss of the Spirit, or the Spirit ceasing to work with us, means we are headed to destruction. It may not come in this life, but we will certainly suffer when we are cutoff from the Lord because of our wicked choices.
19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
John 3:19 (Emphasis mine)
Richard Draper explains that divine judgment comes, not because of divine action, but divine inaction.
“…God's curse does not consist of divine action but rather of divine inaction. When a people sin to the point that judgment must come, destruction results; but it comes because of the removal of God's Spirit, prophets, and restraining hand. Thus it is by the wicked, unrestrained in their wickedness, that the wicked are destroyed (Mormon 4:5).
“The Book of Mormon testifies clearly of this point. Nephi affirmed that he has seen the destruction of his people and, therefore, knew why they would be destroyed: ‘for the reward of their pride [hubris] and their foolishness [ate] they shall reap destruction. . . . For the Spirit of the Lord will not always strive with man. And when the Spirit ceaseth to strive with man then cometh speedy destruction’ (2 Nephi 26:10—11). Such destruction is ultimately spiritual, though it often expresses itself first in the physical reality of temporal ruin.” [1] (Emphasis mine)
12 And as I spake concerning the convincing of the Jews, that Jesus is the very Christ, it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God; 13 And that he manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith.
2 Nephi 26:12-13 (Emphasis mine)
Nephi(1) adds that not only the Jews but also the gentiles must be convinced that “Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.” All must know that Jesus is the savior of the world.
Nephi(1) has an interesting choice of words in verse 12. Richard Dilworth Rust points out that, when talking about the Jews, Nephi(1) writes that “Jesus is the very Christ.” The emphasis of this phrase is on Jesus. Then, he writes that the gentiles must be convinced that “Jesus is the Christ.” Here the emphasis in on Christ. The first the emphasis is on the person. The second the emphasis is on the title. Each group has a different emphasis. (Emphasis on Jesus and Christ are Richard Rust’s.)
David Sloan identifies the significance of the formatting of Nephi(1)’s words.
“The next two instances of Christ highlight Nephi's desire to convince and are found in a simple alternate parallelism in 2 Nephi 26:12:
a And as I spake concerning the convincing of the Jews,
b that Jesus is the very Christ,
a it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also
b that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God.
“According to Elder Maxwell, The ‘convincing’ of the Jews concerning Jesus' Messiahship is surely one of the Lord's priority purposes in the latter days. (See 2 Nephi 26:12.) Those who have given us the Book of Mormon never lost sight of this central purpose of convincing—nor should we. Moreover, the repeated use of that same, specific word is clearly not accidental…
“As proclaimed by Nephi in 2 Nephi 26:12 and by Moroni on the title page, the Book of Mormon is intended to convince both Jew and gentile that Jesus is the Christ. The plainness of Nephi's testimony of Christ may be sufficient to attract the gentiles, but it will probably require the preciousness and beauty of his poetic writings to convince the Jews, who should recognize that he wrote according to the ‘learning of the Jews’ (1 Nephi 1:2) and after ‘the manner of prophesying among the Jews’ (2 Nephi 25:1).” [2] (Emphasis mine)
[1] Hubris and Ate: A Latter-day Warning from the Book of Mormon, Richard D. Draper, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 28, 2011.
[2] Nephi's Convincing of Christ through Chiasmus: Plain and Precious Persuading from a Prophet of God, David E. Sloan, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed December 28, 2011.
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