Monday, July 6, 2020

Jacob 6:9-13


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). 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. 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.
[2] Jacob’s Textual Legacy, John Hilton III, Maxwell Institute.
[3] The Olive Tree and the Work of God: Jacob 5 and Romans 11, James E. Faulconer, Maxwell Institute.
[4]  Jacob and His Descendants as Authors, John S. Tanner, Maxwell Institute.

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