Christ continues to discuss the house of Israel.
The remnant of Jacob will be among the Gentiles. They will
be in the midst of them like a lion among the flocks of sheep. “Their roaring
shall be like a lion, they shall roar like young lions: yea, they shall roar,
and lay hold of the prey, and shall carry it away safe, and none shall deliver
it” (Isaiah 5:29).
“And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes
under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of
hosts” (Malachi 4:3).
“Then shall ye, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, go
forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many; and
ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young
lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both treadeth down and
teareth in pieces, and none can deliver” (3 Nephi 20:16).
The will face their adversaries and their enemies will be
cut off.
Things will not be well for the Gentiles lest they repent. “That
the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise
in Christ by the gospel” (Ephesians 3:6).
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, thus saith our God: I will
afflict thy seed by the hand of the Gentiles; nevertheless, I will soften the
hearts of the Gentiles, that they shall be like unto a father to them; wherefore,
the Gentiles shall be blessed and numbered among the house of Israel” (2 Nephi
10:18).
“I also have charity for the Gentiles. But behold, for none
of these can I hope except they shall be reconciled unto Christ, and enter into
the narrow gate, and walk in the strait path which leads to life, and continue
in the path until the end of the day of probation” (2 Nephi 33:9).
The day will come when He “will cut off [their] horses out
of the midst of thee, and [Christ] will destroy [their] chariots” (3 Nephi 21:14).
“And if ye walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto
me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
“I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you
of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your
high ways shall be desolate” (Leviticus 26:21-22).
“The Savior's reference to horses in 3 Nephi 21:14 is a
prophecy of the latter days and need not be interpreted as referring to Nephite
horses. In the Book of Mormon, horses are never mentioned after the time of
Christ.”[1]
Who are the Gentiles to whom Christ refers? “[I]n modern
scripture, the people referred to as gentiles are the members of the apostate
Christian churches, who believe in the God of the Bible, but who do not
correctly understand the gospel, their understanding having been corrupted by
heathen philosophies (see 3 Nephi 21:14–23; D&C 90:6–10).”[2]
He will cut off cities and destroy their strongholds.
He will end superstitions and have no more mystics. “At the
very outset of Mormon Christianity, the reality of ultimate good and ultimate
evil was reportedly manifest. Joseph Smith's challenge became one of leading
people to God and away from evil, magic, and false traditions. This happened
before the publication of the Book of Mormon, the revelations from Jesus Christ
to Joseph Smith in the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price,
each of which condemns magic arts and places God as the greatest power and true
authority.”[3]
Thy graven images I will also cut off, and thy standing
images out of the midst of thee, and thou shalt no more worship the works of
thy hands;
He will destroy graven images. They are commanded to “worship the works of
thy hands” (3 Nephi 21:17). This has been a commandment from the earliest times. The Lord told Moses, “Thou shalt not make
unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven
above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth”
(Exodus 20:4).
Isaiah warned the Jews, “Behold, they are all vanity; their
works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion” (Isaiah 41:29).
Abinadi warned King Noah and his wicked priests, “Behold,
they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and
confusion” (Mosiah 13:12).
In this dispensation, the Lord told Joseph Smith, “They seek
not the Lord to establish his righteousness, but every man walketh in his own
way, and after the image of his own god, whose image is in the likeness of the
world, and whose substance is that of an idol, which waxeth old and shall
perish in Babylon, even Babylon the great, which shall fall” (D&C 1:16).
He will destroy both groves and
cities.
“And he reared up an altar for
Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.
“And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the
Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him” (1
Kings 16:32-33).
In that day, lyings, deceivings, envyings, strifes, priestcrafts,
and whoredoms will be done away from among the people.
Mormon told the Gentiles, “Turn, all ye Gentiles, from your
wicked ways; and repent of your evil doings, of your lyings and deceivings, and
of your whoredoms, and of your secret abominations, and your idolatries, and of
your murders, and your priestcrafts, and your envyings, and your strifes, and
from all your wickedness and abominations, and come unto me, and be baptized in
my name, that ye may receive a remission of your sins, and be filled with the
Holy Ghost, that ye may be numbered with my people who are of the house of
Israel” (3 Nephi 30:2).
In our generation, we have been warned, “And that all their
works may be brought to naught, and be swept away by the hail, and by the
judgments which thou wilt send upon them in thine anger, that there may be an
end to lyings and slanders against thy people” (D&C 109:30).
[1] Horses
in the Book of Mormon, Maxwell Institute Website.
[2] Pondering
the Word, Dennis Packard and Sandra Packard, Maxwell Institute.
[3] Writing
History Must Not Be an Act of “Magic,” Rhett S. James, Maxwell Institute
website.
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