9 Know ye not that if
ye will do these things, that the power of the redemption and the resurrection,
which is in Christ, will bring you to stand with shame and awful guilt before
the bar of God?
10 And according to
the power of justice, for justice cannot be denied, ye must go away into that
lake of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke
ascendeth up forever and ever, which lake of fire and brimstone is endless
torment.
11 O then, my beloved
brethren, repent ye, and enter in at the strait gate, and continue in the way
which is narrow, until ye shall obtain eternal life.
12 O be wise; what can
I say more?
13 Finally, I bid you
farewell, until I shall meet you before the pleasing bar of God, which bar
striketh the wicked with awful dread and fear.
Amen.
Jacob 6:9-13
After having reviewed the Allegory, Jacob discussed the
consequences of not following God’s commandments. He told them if they fail to keep this
commandment, “the resurrection, which is
in Christ,” means the day will come when the will “stand with shame and awful guilt” before God.
When preaching to King Noah and his priests, Abinadi told
them, “But behold, and fear, and tremble
before God, for ye ought to tremble; for the Lord redeemeth none such that
rebel against him and die in their sins; yea, even all those that have perished
in their sins ever since the world began, that have wilfully rebelled against
God, that have known the commandments of God, and would not keep them; these
are they that have no part in the first resurrection” (Mosiah 15:26).
Why will they face this torment? “[J]ustice
cannot be denied.” They will be sent
to “a lake of fire and brimstone, whose
flames are unquenchable … which lake of fire and brimstone is endless torment.”
This imagery is not uncommon in scriptures. John the Revelator wrote, “And the beast was taken, and with him the false
prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had
received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire
burning with brimstone” (Revelation 19:20).
Nephi would write, “Yea, they are grasped with death, and hell; and
death, and hell, and the devil, and all that have been seized therewith must
stand before the throne of God, and be judged according to their works, from
whence they must go into the place prepared for them, even a lake of fire and
brimstone, which is endless torment” (2 Nephi 28:23). King Benjamin would preach, “And their torment is as a lake of fire and
brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose smoke ascendeth up forever
and ever. Thus hath the Lord commanded
me. Amen” (Mosiah 3:27).
The last part of this verse
"endless torment" finds a parallel in Mosiah 2:39, "never-ending
torment." The description of "endless torment" as "fire and
brimstone" was also used by Jacob twice in 2 Ne. 9:19 and 26 and by Nephi
in 2 Ne. 28:23. In D&C 76:44 the phrase is "and the fire is not quenched,"
which is their torment. The idea of never-ending torment is also found in Rev.
14:10–11; 20:10; D&C 19:6. The curse of wrath and torment is also found in
1Q22 II, "[Be] very [careful], for your lives, [to keep them, lest] the
wrath [of your God] against you be enkindled and reach you, and it closes the
skies above, which make rain fall upon you, and [the water] from under[neath
the earth which gives you [the harv]est."[1]
We have seen that Jacob was influenced by the teachings of
his father, Lehi. We will see that
future Book of Mormon prophets and teachers will refer to Jacob.
Jacob taught, speaking of the
wicked, that "their torment is as a lake of fire and brimstone, whose
flame ascendeth up forever and ever and has no end" (2 Nephi
9:16).17 He
also wrote regarding unrepentant sinners, "according to the power of
justice, for justice cannot be denied, ye must go away into that lake
of fire and brimstone, whose flames are unquenchable, and whose
smoke ascendeth up forever and ever, which lake of fire and brimstone is
endless torment" (Jacob 6:10) … Jacob uses the concept of God's justice to
explain why the wicked will receive endless torment.18 Unlike
other instances in which King Benjamin uses Jacob's phrases in differing
contexts, in this case he employs them exactly as Jacob does (see Mosiah 3:26).
This demonstrates that King Benjamin was not simply trying to be creative in
his use of Jacob's material. Rather, he was willing to accept the content,
wording, and intent of Jacob's words. We, as readers, are thereby treated to an
interesting textual and doctrinal cohesion, even though these discourses are
separated by centuries.[2]
Jacob encourages his brethren to repent and “enter in at the strait gate, and continue
in the way which is narrow, until ye shall obtain eternal life.”
Jacob used similar language in an earlier sermon. “O
then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it
lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy
One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way
save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name”
(2 Nephi 9:41). Writing towards the end
of his life, Nephi would write, “And I
heard a voice from the Father, saying: Yea, the words of my Beloved are true
and faithful. He that endureth to the end,
the same shall be saved” (2 Nephi 31:15).
Jacob gives the Nephites basic advice. “O be
wise; what can I say more?”
Christ advised His disciples, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye
therefore wise as serpents, and harmless [GR guileless] as doves” (Matthew 10:16). Moroni2 advised us, “Be wise in the days of your probation;
strip yourselves of all uncleanness; ask not, that ye may consume it on your lusts,
but ask with a firmness unshaken, that ye will yield to no temptation, but that
ye will serve the true and living God” (Mormon 9:28).
It is a human temptation to despair
in the face of what seem overwhelming odds, in this case, when faced with the
sinfulness of the covenant people. Human despair is often exacerbated by our
demand for a clear and rational explanation of how such odds are to be overcome
and of our failure to find any answer to that demand. But Jacob reminds his
readers of the power of God (Jacob 4:9) and warns them, "Wherefore,
brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord" (Jacob 4:10). And, after giving
the parable, he says, "O be wise; what can I say more?" (Jacob 6:12).[3]
It seems Jacob intended Chapter 6 to be the end of his
book. Here he gives us his last
farewell; he will meet us “before the
pleasing bar of God, which bar striketh the wicked with awful dread and fear.” Talking to his son, Corianton, Alma2
told him about the state of the wicked. “Now this is the state of the souls of the wicked,
yea, in darkness, and a state of awful, fearful looking for the fiery indignation
of the wrath of God upon them; thus they remain in this state, as well as the
righteous in paradise, until the time of their resurrection” (Alma 40:14),
Jacob's words [of farewell] are no
less moving [than Nephi’s words of farewell,] but in a very different way.
Jacob, too, felt assured of personal salvation. He looked forward to meeting
the reader at the "pleasing" judgment bar of God (Jacob 6:13). But
his farewell seems much less optimistic about the salvation of others: "O
then, my beloved brethren, repent ye, and enter in at the strait gate, and
continue in the way which is narrow, until ye shall obtain eternal life. O be wise;
what can I say more? Finally, I bid you farewell, until I shall meet you before
the pleasing bar of God, which bar striketh the wicked with awful dread and
fear. Amen" (Jacob 6:11-13). No
other Book of Mormon author uses the term dread. No one else
uses lonesome, nor can I imagine any other Book of Mormon
author writing "our lives passed away like as it were unto us a
dream," or "we did mourn out our days." None is so open about
anxiety, none so poetic. No wonder Neal Maxwell called Jacob a prophet-poet.
Jacob is a poet whose voice I've learned to love and whom someday I hope to
meet.[4]
[1]
Appendix:
Complete Text of Benjamin's Speech with Notes and Comments, Maxwell
Institute, accessed May 4, 2014.
[2]
Jacob's
Textual Legacy, John Hilton III, Maxwell Institute, accessed May 4, 2014.
[3]
The
Olive Tree and the Work of God: Jacob 5 and Romans 11, James E. Faulconer,
Maxwell Institute, accessed May 4, 2014.
[4]
Jacob
and His Descendants as Authors, John S. Tanner, Maxwell Institute, accessed
May 4, 2014.
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