Chapter 27
Darkness and apostasy shall cover the earth in the last days—The Book of Mormon shall come forth—Three witnesses shall testify of the book—The learned man cannot read the sealed book—The Lord shall do a marvelous work and a wonder—Compare Isaiah 29. About 559–545 B.C.
1 BUT, behold, in the last days, or in the days of the Gentiles—yea, behold all the nations of the Gentiles and also the Jews, both those who shall come upon this land and those who shall be upon other lands, yea, even upon all the lands of the earth, behold, they will be drunken with iniquity and all manner of abominations— 2 And when that day shall come they shall be visited of the Lord of Hosts, with thunder and with earthquake, and with a great noise, and with storm, and with tempest, and with the flame of devouring fire.
2 Nephi 27:1-2 (Emphasis mine)
9 ¶ Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.
Isaiah 29:9 (Emphasis mine)
6 Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire.
Isaiah 29:6 (Emphasis mine)
Nephi(1) continues with his commentary on Isaiah 29 as we begin chapter 27.
He begins by telling us that the last days will be the “days of the Gentiles.” Both gentiles and Jews will come to this land. There will also be iniquity among the people. They will be visited with all manner of destruction in their land.
Hugh Nibley explains:
“The philosophy of Korihor, with its naturalism, materialism, and moral relativism, is the prevailing philosophy of our own day, as was foreseen in the Book of Mormon: ‘Yea . . . there shall be great pollutions upon the face of the earth . . . when there shall be many who will say, Do this, or do that, and it mattereth not, for the Lord will uphold such at the last day. But wo unto such, for they are in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity’ (Mormon 8:31). Enormously proud of their accomplishments, ‘the Gentiles are lifted up in the pride of their eyes, and have stumbled, because of the greatness of their stumbling block’ (2 Nephi 26:20). Their own expertise is the highest court of appeal, as they "preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and their own learning, that they may get gain and grind upon the faces of the poor’ (2 Nephi 26:20)…
“The whole world will be caught up in the great illusion when, ‘in the last days, or in the days of the Gentiles, . . . all the nations of the Gentiles and also the Jews, both . . . upon this land and . . . upon other lands . . . will be drunken with iniquity and all manner of abominations’ (2 Nephi 27:1; italics added in original).” [1] (Unless noted, emphasis mine)
3 And all the nations that fight against Zion, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision; yea, it shall be unto them, even as unto a hungry man which dreameth, and behold he eateth but he awaketh and his soul is empty; or like unto a thirsty man which dreameth, and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and behold he is faint, and his soul hath appetite; yea, even so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion. 4 For behold, all ye that doeth iniquity, stay yourselves and wonder, for ye shall cry out, and cry; yea, ye shall be drunken but not with wine, ye shall stagger but not with strong drink. 5 For behold, the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep. For behold, ye have closed your eyes, and ye have rejected the prophets; and your rulers, and the seers hath he covered because of your iniquity.
2 Nephi 27:3-5 (Emphasis mine)
7 ¶ And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel [Zion], even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision.
8 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: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.
10 For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
Isaiah 29:7-8, 10 (Emphasis mine)
We read about the ongoing war against Zion. They will believe they are winning, but theirs is a hollow victory.
While there is going to be physical war, the war will also be a spiritual one. Because of the iniquity of the people, they will not have spiritual guidance from the Lord. It will be like dreams. They will end up without what they need. They will not have guidance and direction from the Lord.
Garold Davis points out the importance of Nephi(1)’s commentary on Isaiah.
“It is also significant that the Book of Mormon makes a very important correction to the Isaiah text. As it stands in the Bible, Isaiah 29:10 reads: ‘For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.’ Here the Lord is represented as having closed the people's eyes. The Book of Mormon corrects this by making clear that ‘ye [the people] have closed your eyes, and ye have rejected the prophets.’ Consequently, the Lord has removed (‘covered’) their seers. Why? ‘Because of [Israel's] iniquity’ (2 Nephi 27:5).
In summary, the words of Nephi (and the Lord) from 2 Nephi 26 through 29 constitute what must be the most careful and specific commentary on Isaiah in the entire Book of Mormon.” [2] (Emphasis mine)
Richard Rust explains why the war chapters in the Book of Mormon are important to us today.
“If we understand that the Book of Mormon was written for our day, then we realize that the material in it regarding war is also for our day. From this perspective, we understand why certain things are emphasized and why some are not (such as the extensive battles mentioned above). Knowing that the book was designed for us, we are challenged to see why the Lord inspired Mormon to include the ‘war chapters’ as essential to our survival in the world today.
“Looking through time to our day, the prophet Nephi wrote concerning a war, possibly physical but even more so spiritual, facing saints in the latter days: ‘I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few; ... [and] the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.... And [the saints] were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory’ (1 Nephi 14:12-14). He also quotes Isaiah: ‘All the nations that fight against Zion, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision’ (2 Nephi 27:3).” [3] (Bold and italics emphasis mine)
[1] Prophecy in the Book of Mormon: The Three Periods, Hugh Nibley, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 1, 2012.
[2] Pattern and Purpose of the Isaiah Commentaries in the Book of Mormon, Garold N. Davis, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, January 1, 2012.
[3] Purpose of the War Chapters in the Book of Mormon, Richard Dilworth Rust, Provo, Utah: Maxwell Institute, accessed January 1, 2012.
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