Nephi again turns to the words of Isaiah.
The day the Lord will come is nigh, [a]nd righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins and faithfulness
the girdle of his reins.
In that day, the wolf and the lamb will eat side-by-side (“The wolf and the lamb shall feed together,
and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's
meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in
all my holy mountain, saith the LORD” Isaiah 65:25.)
Peace will reign throughout the world. The leopard will lie with the kid; the calf,
young lion, and fatling will be lead be a child. This will extend to mankind. Nations that fought against each other they
will lie down their arms and make peace.
They will be led by the righteous.
Hugh Nibley writes:
After the great burning comes a
great peace, "and all the nations that fight against Zion ... shall be as a dream of a night
vision" (2 Nephi 27:3). It shall not be a peace of death but a millennial
peace, when "the Holy One of Israel must reign ... And he gathereth his children ... and there shall be one fold and one
shepherd ... And because of the
righteousness of his people, Satan has no power; wherefore, he cannot be loosed
for the space of many years" (1 Nephi 22:24—26). If there shall still be
nations during this period of peace, they must be all united: "But behold,
all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people shall dwell safely in the Holy One
of Israel if it so be that they will repent" (1 Nephi 22:28). As soon as
the wicked are destroyed by fire (2 Nephi 30:10), "then shall
the wolf dwell with the lamb" (2 Nephi 30:12; italics added), "and
Satan shall have power over the hearts of the children of men no more, for a
long time" (2 Nephi 30:18).[1]
The Earth will be filled with “the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (2 Nephi
30:15). Joel wrote, “BLOW ye the trumpet [HEB shofar, or ram's horn] in Zion, and sound an
alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the
day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand” (Joel 2:1).
We are assured by the Lord that “all things shall be made known unto the children of men” (2 Nephi
30:16).
The Lord, speaking to Joseph Smith, expanded upon these
words.
Yea,
verily I say unto you, in that day when the Lord shall come, he shall reveal
all things—
Things
which have passed, and hidden things which no man knew, things of the earth, by
which it was made, and the purpose and the end thereof—
Things
most precious, things that are above, and things that are beneath, things that
are in the earth, and upon the earth, and in heaven.
And
all they who suffer persecution for my name, and endure in faith, though they
are called to lay down their lives for my sake yet shall they partake of all
this glory.
D&C 101:32-35
God
shall give unto you knowledge by his Holy Spirit, yea, by the unspeakable gift
of the Holy Ghost, that has not been revealed since the world was until now;
Which
our forefathers have awaited with anxious expectation to be revealed in the
last times, which their minds were pointed to by the angels, as held in reserve
for the fulness of their glory;
A
time to come in the which nothing shall be withheld, whether there be one God
or many gods, they shall be manifest.
All
thrones and dominions, principalities and powers, shall be revealed and set
forth upon all who have endured valiantly for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And
also, if there be bounds set to the heavens or to the seas, or to the dry land,
or to the sun, moon, or stars—
All
the times of their revolutions, all the appointed days, months, and years, and
all the days of their days, months, and years, and all their glories, laws, and
set times, shall be revealed in the days of the dispensation of the fulness of
times—
According
to that which was ordained in the midst of the Council of the Eternal God of
all other gods before this world was, that should be reserved unto the
finishing and the end thereof, when every man shall enter into his eternal presence
and into his immortal rest.
D&C 121:26-32
As a science teacher and someone who is full of questions,
the Lord’s promise is very exciting.
That someday I will be able to learn all things, as nothing shall be
withheld from us, is thrilling beyond measure.
[1]
Prophecy
in the Book of Mormon: The Three Periods, Hugh Nibley, accessed January 10,
2014.
No comments:
Post a Comment