9 And as one generation hath been destroyed among the
Jews because of iniquity, even so have they been destroyed from generation to
generation according to their iniquities; and never hath any of them been
destroyed save it were foretold them by the prophets of the Lord.
10 Wherefore, it hath been told them concerning the
destruction which should come upon them, immediately after my father left
Jerusalem; nevertheless, they hardened their hearts; and according to my
prophecy they have been destroyed, save it be those which are carried away
captive into Babylon.
11 And now this I speak because of the spirit which is in
me. And notwithstanding they have been carried away they shall return again,
and possess the land of Jerusalem; wherefore, they shall be restored again to
the land of their inheritance.
12 But, behold, they shall have wars, and rumors of wars;
and when the day cometh that the Only Begotten of the Father, yea, even the
Father of heaven and of earth, shall manifest himself unto them in the flesh,
behold, they will reject him, because of their iniquities, and the hardness of
their hearts, and the stiffness of their necks.
13 Behold, they will crucify him; and after he is laid in
a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with
healing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall be
saved in the kingdom of God. Wherefore, my soul delighteth to prophesy
concerning him, for I have seen his day, and my heart doth magnify his holy
name.
14 And behold it shall come to pass that after the
Messiah hath risen from the dead, and hath manifested himself unto his people,
unto as many as will believe on his name, behold, Jerusalem shall be destroyed
again; for wo unto them that fight against God and the people of his church.
Nephi tells us that more than one generation of the Jews has
been destroyed because of their iniquities.
Shortly before His crucifixion, the Savior said, “O Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto
thee, how often would I have gathered [GR have I desired to gather] thy
children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye
would not!” (Matthew 23:37).
Hugh Nibley explains further.
“When the Chosen People do wickedly, according to a doctrine
often stated in the Talmud, all nature suffers, and to save the world and
restore the balance of good and evil, God destroys the old generation and
raises up a new people in righteousness. Lehi's people were neither the first
nor the last to be led into the wilderness to escape the wrath to come.”[1]
Lehi’s party left Jerusalem, having been warned by the Lord
to flee because it was to be destroyed.
The Lord had revealed to Lehi that Jerusalem had been destroyed shortly
before his death. The people of Nephi
were reminded of this. For example,
shortly after the family separated, Jacob reminded them that “the Lord has
shown me that those who were at Jerusalem, from whence we came, have been slain
and carried away captive” (2 Nephi 6:8).
Nearly 600 hundred years late, Nephi2 would
remind the Nephites:
“And behold, also
Zenock, and also Ezias, and also Isaiah, and Jeremiah, (Jeremiah being that
same prophet who testified of the destruction of Jerusalem) and now we know
that Jerusalem was destroyed according to the words of Jeremiah. O then why not the Son of God come, according
to his prophecy?
“And now will you
dispute that Jerusalem was destroyed?
Will ye say that the sons of Zedekiah were not slain, all except it were
Mulek? Yea, and do ye not behold that
the seed of Zedekiah are with us, and they were driven out of the land of
Jerusalem” (Helaman 8:20-21).
Even though Jerusalem had been destroyed and the Jews
carried away a captive, the Lord will again return them to the land of their
inheritance. After prophesying of their
destruction, Jeremiah had prophesied of their return.
“Thus saith the
LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that
are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the
land of the Chaldeans for their good.
“For I will set
mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I
will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck
them up.
“And I will give
them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and
I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart” (Jeremiah
24:5–7).
Nephi continues prophesying about the Jews. After their return from the Babylonian
Captivity, they will have wars and problems.
The day will come when “the Only Begotten of the Father … shall manifest
himself unto them in the flesh, behold, they will reject him” (2 Nephi
25:12). They reject Christ because they
have become a wicked, hard-hearted, and stiff-necked people.
After the Jews reject Christ, he will be crucified and laid
in a sepulcher. Nephi1 wrote
early in his record “the God of Jacob, yieldeth himself, according to the words
of the angel, as a man, into the hands of wicked men, to be lifted up,
according to the words of Zenock, and to be crucified, according to the words
of Neum, and to be buried in a sepulchre, according to the words of Zenos…” (1
Nephi 19:10).
John’s Gospel tells us, “Now in the place where he was
crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was
never man yet laid. There laid they
Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation day; for the sepulchre was
nigh at hand.” (John 19:41-42).
After three days, Christ will rise from the dead. King Benjamin emphasized this point is his
great sermon. “And he sha1l rise the
third day from the dead; and behold, he standeth to judge the world; and
behold, all these things are done that a righteous judgment might come upon the
children of men” (Mosiah 3:10).
Malachi prophesied, “But unto you that fear my name shall
the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go
forth, and grow up as calves of the stall”
(Malachi 4:2).
Nephi reminds us that he saw this day. “And it came to pass that the angel spake
unto me again, saying: Look! And I looked and beheld the Lamb of God, that he
was taken by the people; yea, the Son of the everlasting God was judged of the
world; and I saw and bear record. And I,
Nephi, saw that he was lifted up upon the cross and slain for the sins of the
world” (1 Nephi 11:32-33).
“The Savior is personified by the tree … He, like the
branches of the tree of life which encompass the entire earth, protects and
gives life to every living thing. A
further reminder is that Christ was crucified and lay three days in a
sepulchre. It appeared to all that he was dead, but at the end of the three
days he rose ‘from the dead, with healing in his wings’ (2 Nephi 25:13). The
imagery suggests that even without its leaves, the tree is endless.”[2]
After Christ’s resurrection, Jerusalem shall again be
destroyed. Christ’s words would be
recorded in the New Testament.
“AND Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his
disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
“And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be
left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matthew
24:1-2).
“And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then
know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
“Then let them which are in Judæa flee to the mountains; and
let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in
the countries [GR districts or regions] enter thereinto.
“For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which
are written may be fulfilled.
“But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that
give suck, in those days! for there
shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
“And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be
led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the
Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled
“Now these things
he spake unto them, concerning the destruction of Jerusalem...” (JST
Luke 21:20–24).
John Tvedtnes comments:
“Like Jacob, [Nephi1] refers to the scattering
and gathering of the Jews (2 Nephi 25:9-11), then goes on to add that there
will be wars and speaks of the coming of Christ among the Jews (2 Nephi
25:12-14). He notes that the Jews will be scattered and gathered a second time
after Christ's appearance among them (2 Nephi 25:14-17) and that they must
ultimately come to believe in the Messiah (2 Nephi 25:18-20).”[3]
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