Old Testament Lesson 37 – “Thou Hast Done Wonderful Things”

 

Sunday School Manual

Isaiah 22:22. The Savior opens the door to Heavenly Father’s presence.

Isaiah 24:21–22. The Savior shows mercy for those in spirit prison.

Isaiah 25:1–4; 32:1–2. The Savior is a strength and a refuge.

Isaiah 25:6–9. The Savior will prepare a feast and destroy the “vail.”

Isaiah 25:8. The Savior wipes away our tears.

Isaiah 26:19. The Savior will bring the Resurrection.

Isaiah 28:16. The Savior is our sure foundation.

Isaiah 29:4, 9–14, 18, 24. The Savior will restore the gospel to the earth.

Isaiah 30:19–21. The Savior knows our trials and directs our paths.

How does the Savior “wipe away [our] tears”? (Isaiah 25:8).

Isaiah prophesied that when the Messiah would come, he would die and be resurrected (Isaiah 25:8). Who else will be resurrected? (SeeIsaiah 26:19; 1 Corinthians 15:20–22; Alma 11:43–44.) What does Isaiah 26:19 suggest about how we will feel when we are resurrected? (See also D&C 138:12–16, 50.)

Compare the following verses in Isaiah 29 with the corresponding passages to see how some of Isaiah’s prophecies have been fulfilled:

Isaiah 29:4               Moroni 10:27

Isaiah 29:9–10, 13   Joseph Smith—History 1:18–19

Isaiah 29:11–12      Joseph Smith—History 1:63–65

Isaiah 29:14           Doctrine and Covenants 4:1; 6:1

• •

  Isaiah told of people drawing near to the Lord with their mouths while their hearts are far from Him (Isaiah 29:13). How can we make sure that we are close to the Lord in our thoughts and actions as well as in our words?

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OT lesson 37 - Thou Hast Done Wonderful Things
Isaiah 22, 24-26, 28-30
Last week, we discussed the first 6 chapters of Isaiah, how the Lord condemned both Judah and Israel for their sins, but would ransom them. We also discussed Isaiah’s theophany, his vision of God on his throne and how it symbolized the premortal calling of Christ to be the Savior of mankind. This lesson will discuss many of the roles the Messiah played (or in Isaiah’s view, would play).

Tell Me When the Party is Over
Isaiah 22

The chapter begins with the Lord again chastising Jerusalem for its sins, crimes and debauchery. Yet, though the Lord has warned them many times through prophets, they will ignore him.

“ 12 And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:
13 And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.
14 And it was revealed in mine ears by the Lord of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord God of hosts.”

God expected them to humble themselves, and repent. Instead, the would choose to party and indulge. So wicked would they become that their view would be “eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die.” They did not fear God, nor what would become of them after death, if they could just sin now. And the Lord sadly realized that the only way to end the sinning would be to slay the whole lot of them. Just as with Sodom and Gomorrah, where the people thought themselves brave enough to force their sexual sins and other excesses upon visitors, Jerusalem would now fare no better.

This also applies in our day. God loves his children, and so he sends them warnings to repent and follow him. Yet, we seem to quickly forget him and return to lavish indulgences. Think back to the mood of the American nation on September 12, 2001 - a day after terrorists toppled the World Trade Center towers and damaged the Pentagon. People were offering up prayers for the dead, and repentance for the living. People of all religions gathered together, embracing one another in unity with God and each other.

Yet, less than a decade later, we see how many have forgotten the sack cloth days of 2001, and returned to great debauchery. People speculated on money, housing, and took huge risks that clearly were stupid on the face of it all. Yet no one thought about a huge crash in the economy. All were convinced they could “eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” Even now in the middle of the Great Recession, we find big bankers and other groups sidling up to the government trough, seeking to be bailed out for their excesses without showing any remorse or intent on making the real changes necessary to heal America.

Messianic Prophesies

Most of the lesson focuses on the prophesies concerning the coming Messiah. Symbolism is one of Isaiah’s strong points, and so many things represent events in his day, but also are a shadow of things to come.

So, in chapter 22, we see him prophesy of a man that lived in his day, but would represent the coming Messiah:

“20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:
21 And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.
22 And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
23 And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house.
24 And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father’s house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.
25 In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the Lord hath spoken it. “

The name Eliakim means: “Whom God shall raise up.” Here we see someone called of God to perform a great work. That the “key of the house of David” would rest upon him is a clear sign that we are really speaking of the Messiah to come. The government of not only Israel, but all the world, would be upon the Son of God. What he chooses to seal up would be sealed, and those things loosed by him would be loosed. He is the Judge and Mediator of Israel. Isaiah details the First Coming of Christ to the world.

Foreshadowing his death, we see that Isaiah predicts the crucifixion. Anciently, many people who were crucified by the Romans were nailed through the wrists or the carpal bones in the heel of the hand. It is noted by many medical professionals today that the struggling of those crucified in the palms of the hands would have torn through the palms. It is likely that Isaiah foresees the nails being hammered into the location of the hand/arm where they would not tear out.

It is also possible Christ was crucified with nails in both hands and wrists. Richard Lloyd Anderson notes concerning a recent find of the ossuary (bone box) of a crucified man named Jehohanon:

“This recent find has two other major dimensions, the first bearing on the question of where the nails were placed in the hands. The New Testament speaks of marks in Jesus' hands. Although hand is an inexact term in earlier Greek literature, it generally is as precise as the English hand in the New Testament period. Particularly in the New Testament itself, hand never refers to the lower arm or wrist in specific uses. Could there be additional nails? Dr. Haas observed that Jehohanan's right radius (the upper arm bone as the arms outstretch) had both a surface cut and a distinct wearing, which he reasoned was the initial slice of the nail and the later wearing action from the victim's writhing on the cross. This "scratch" on the bone was positioned between the two lower arm bones at a structurally more solid location to fix a nail. This evidence, coupled with a strict reading of the New Testament, indicates that both hand and wrist could have been pierced.”

The Earth is Utterly Emptied
Isaiah 24
The wicked have become so evil in his day that Isaiah foresaw the destruction of most of the nations and city/states in the Middle East. The world he knows is about to be destroyed, first by the Assyrians and then the Babylonians. Yet, he foretells the eventual destruction of the earth, and the Second Coming of Christ in glory.

“1 Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.
2 And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him.
3 The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.”

The Book of Revelation expands upon the things Isaiah foresees. John the Revelator foresaw the destruction of 1/3 the oceans, 1/3 of the forests, plagues, disease and war. In the battle of Armageddon, he saw an army of 200 million attack Israel, only to be destroyed by God’s hand. For any people on earth that become so desolate that they no longer fear God nor death, but insist on “eating and drinking” because death will eventually find them, the Lord will allow them to self destruct.

“21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.”

When the Lord returns to Zion and Jerusalem, the righteous will be blessed. However, the wicked will be destroyed. Alma foresaw them wishing the rocks would fall upon them on that day, to hide them from the Lord’s glory (Alma 12). The spiritual prison they shall be shut in will be the Spirit Prison where all the wicked await the final resurrection and judgment. They will be visited in that prison to see if they will repent and receive even a portion of Christ’s atonement and salvation (D&C 76, 128). In that day, the great lights in the skies will pale against the glory of Christ.
Among the righteous, there will be great hope, as we see in Isaiah chapter 25:8

“He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.”

And in chapter 26, Isaiah again foresees the victory of Christ’s resurrection:

“19 Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. “

Leviathan
Isaiah 27
Isaiah foresees the Millennial day, when all the righteous have peace, joy and hope. However, he begins his prophesy with a strange concept:

“1 In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea. “

I have written more extensively on this on my blog (see below in bibliography). Leviathan was a sea serpent or dragon that the Lord had to overcome in creating the world out of chaos, and that he would finally defeat in the end of the world. This is Satan, the dragon that John the Revelator saw cause war in heaven and would be bound for a thousand years during the Millennium. Chaos would be bound with Lucifer so that peace, love and order would reign supreme.

Restoration and the Book of Mormon
Isaiah 29
Before discussing this I would note that in the Book of Mormon, Nephi quotes extensively from Isaiah. Some call it plagiarism. However, plagiarism happens when someone copies another’s work without giving proper attribution. It is a modern concept. Still, Nephi clearly gives attribution to Isaiah as he quotes him. Why quote so extensively? First, because Nephi understood the law of witnesses, where one had to have 2-3 witnesses to establish the word. For Nephi, witnessing of Christ to his people meant he needed more than his own testimony, so he used the words of his br

other Jacob, and that of Isaiah, both of whom were eye witnesses of the Messiah.
Secondly, a common ancient practice is that of the Midrash or pesher. In these Hebrew practices, a writing (often from the books of the Old Testament) would be extensively quoted, and then explained in a way that applied the prophesy to the writer’s day. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, we get many examples of this, such as the Habakkuk Commentary or Pesher. Nephi was only doing what was common for Israelite prophets and scribes to do.
Nephi’s version of Isaiah 29  is very different, probably because he intermixed his commentary in the midst of Isaiah’s writing, or perhaps he gave us only the commentary on it.

Isaiah begins by telling us about the destruction of Ariel, a name for Jerusalem, meaning “Lion of God.” David was the Lion of God in his day, and now we see the final ruin of his great nation in Isaiah’s prophesy. Yet, Isaiah is possibly speaking also of another, similar group, as he mentions that the destructions and events to occur are even “as Ariel.”

Dictionary.com gives these two (of several) definitions for the word “as”:

1. Adverb. To the same degree, amount, or extent; similarly; equally: I don't think it's as hot and humid today as it was yesterday.

So, we can say that the destruction of some place will be “similar” or “to the same extent or degree” as with Ariel. Nephi tells us his pesher or commentary on Isaiah 29, explaining that for him it is all about his people in the last days. There will be an apostasy, where revelation ceases and light from heaven dims:

“3 And all the nations that fight against Zion, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision; yea, it shall be unto them, even as unto a hungry man which dreameth, and behold he eateth but he awaketh and his soul is empty; or like unto a thirsty man which dreameth, and behold he drinketh but he awaketh and behold he is faint, and his soul hath appetite; yea, even so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion.
4 For behold, all ye that doeth iniquity, stay yourselves and wonder, for ye shall cry out, and cry; yea, ye shall be drunken but not with wine, ye shall stagger but not with strong drink.
5 For behold, the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep. For behold, ye have closed your eyes, and ye have rejected the prophets; and your rulers, and the seers hath he covered because of your iniquity” (2 Nephi 27).

Nephi foresaw in Isaiah’s words what modern LDS call the Great Apostasy. After the death of the Lord and his apostles, Christians and others rejected continuing revelation and authority of God, and replaced the fullness of the gospel with a man-made version that had some truths apparent in the Bible, but lacking much that could only come through living prophets.

The two witnesses, Isaiah and Nephi, also see in the last days a “marvelous work and a wonder” come forth in the restoration”

“6 And it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall bring forth unto you the words of a book, and they shall be the words of them which have slumbered” (2 Nephi 27).

They both predict the coming forth of the “words of a book” to the world. This is not the book itself necessarily, but the words within it. This is a book that is sealed. Isaiah tells us that the book is brought to the learned man, who insists he cannot read a sealed book. Then it is brought to another, and he claims he is not learned. While Isaiah does not speak more about this second person, Nephi adds that the Lord will perform his work through such:

“15 But behold, it shall come to pass that the Lord God shall say unto him to whom he shall deliver the book: Take these words which are not sealed and deliver them to another, that he may show them unto the learned, saying: Read this, I pray thee. And the learned shall say: Bring hither the book, and I will read them.
16 And now, because of the glory of the world and to get gain will they say this, and not for the glory of God.
17 And the man shall say: I cannot bring the book, for it is sealed.
18 Then shall the learned say: I cannot read it.
19 Wherefore it shall come to pass, that the Lord God will deliver again the book and the words thereof to him that is not learned; and the man that is not learned shall say: I am not learned.
20 Then shall the Lord God say unto him: The learned shall not read them, for they have rejected them, and I am able to do mine own work; wherefore thou shalt read the words which I shall give unto thee” (2 Nephi 27).

This event is described in the History of the Church and in Joseph Smith’s History. Joseph Smith wrote down some of the characters on the plates with their English translation, and gave them to Martin Harris. Harris took the words of the book to some scholars to have them verified. One scholar was Professor Charles Anthon, who at first agreed the characters and translation were authentic, but then insisted on translating it himself. When Harris explained to him that some of the writings were sealed and could not be brought to him, Anthon replied, “I cannot read a sealed book.” Anthon later denied saying such things during his meeting with Harris, but Harris never recanted on his version of the story, even after leaving the Church. In Martin Harris’ view, Anthon had fulfilled Isaiah and Nephi’s prophesies.

Nephi then quotes closely the words from Isaiah:

“23 For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; and I will show unto the world that I am the same yesterday, today, and forever; and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith.
24 And again it shall come to pass that the Lord shall say unto him that shall read the words that shall be delivered him:
25 Forasmuch as this people draw near unto me with their mouth, and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their hearts far from me, and their fear towards me is taught by the precepts of men—
26 Therefore, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, yea, a marvelous work and a wonder, for the wisdom of their wise and learned shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent shall be hid.
27 And wo unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the Lord! And their works are in the dark; and they say: Who seeth us, and who knoweth us? And they also say: Surely, your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay. But behold, I will show unto them, saith the Lord of Hosts, that I know all their works. For shall the work say of him that made it, he made me not? Or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, he had no understanding?” (2 Nephi 27, Isaiah 29:13-16).

In a time when miracles were considered past; when God was thought to have finished his work with mankind; when men were to use reason and not faith; God would bring forth his “marvelous work and a wonder.” The Book of Mormon came forth, against all odds. Joseph Smith wrote the majority of it in a 60 day period of time, while being constantly attacked on many sides, going into hiding on several occasions, and having to keep people from forcibly stealing the gold plates from him. At the time, Joseph had had 3 years of formal education. His wife, Emma, noted to her son:

“Joseph Smith could neither write nor dictate a coherent and well-worded letter, let alone dictate a book like the Book of Mormon. And, though I was an active participant in the scenes that transpired, and was present during the translation of the plates, and had cognizance of things as they transpired, it is marvelous to me, "a marvel and a wonder," as much so as to anyone else.“

On another occasion she explained:

“When my husband was translating the Book of Mormon, I wrote a part of it, as he dictated each sentence, word for word, and when he came to proper names he could not pronounce, or long words, he spelled them out, and while I was writing them, if I made a mistake in spelling, he would stop me and correct my spelling, although it was impossible for him to see how I was writing them down at the time. When he stopped for any purpose at any time he would, when he commenced again, begin where he left off without any hesitation, and one time while he was translating he stopped suddenly, pale as a sheet, and said, "Emma, did Jerusalem have walls around it?" When I answered, "Yes," he replied, "Oh! I was afraid I had been deceived." He had such a limited knowledge of history at the time that he did not even know that Jerusalem was surrounded by walls.”

Isaiah and Nephi punctuate events in the time when the book would come forth, including Lebanon being a greener place than it had been in their time. History has shown that the area of Palestine has become greener and more productive than ever before, with periodic times of war as an exception.

“29 And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness” (2 Ne 27, Isaiah 29:18).

Here we find both literal and spiritual fulfillment, which could only occur in our day. This is a day when many deaf can now hear, thanks to medical technology, such as Cochlear ears. And many blind and near-blind can see with glasses, surgery or other technologies that are now being developed.

But the Book of Mormon also brings forth a testimony of Christ that is as powerful and perhaps more clarifying than in the Bible. Many who thought that God of the Bible was dead or non-existing now have a second witness to deal with. Just as Nephi required Isaiah as another witness of Christ and the prophesies of the last days, so the Book of Mormon becomes another testament of Jesus Christ, with the Bible. In speaking of his appreciation of Isaiah’s words and testimony, Nephi tells us:

“26 And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins” (2 Ne 25).

The focus of Nephi’s writings and of those who followed him in authoring the Book of Mormon is that Christ is our Redeemer, the Son of God, the one who atoned for all of mankind’s sins, who is our personal Savior. This is the witness that Nephi also saw in Isaiah’s writings, which is why Isaiah and the Book of Mormon are both so very important for our daily worship of the Lord. We see in their testimonies the greatest of all works, the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. And it is this which brings about the importance of the restoration in the last days of such a book, as a second witness with the Bible that Christ lives today and that miracles and God’s power are still accessible to us as we prepare for the Second Coming of Christ in power and glory.

Bibliography
The Ancient Practice of Crucifixion by Richard Lloyd Anderson:http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/daily/holidays/easter/crusifixion.html
Crucifixion by Dr C. Truman Davis:http://www.ghaone.org/crucifix.htm
(on Leviathan) Order out of Chaos, by Gerald Smith:http://joelsmonastery.blogspot.com/2010/07/gospel-scholarship-order-out-of-chaos.html
Habakkuk Pesher:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habakkuk_Commentary
Definition of “as”: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/as
Emma Smith on Joseph Smith’s education:http://www.moroni10.com/witnesses/Emma_Smith.html
Emma on Jerusalem’s walls:http://en.fairmormon.org/Book_of_Mormon/Translation

Old Testament Lesson 36 – The Glory of Zion Will Be a Defense

 

Study Isaiah 1–6.

Isaiah prophesied many things about the earthly mission of the Savior, about the destruction that would follow Israel’s wickedness, and about the mission and destiny of latter-day Israel.

Many of Isaiah’s warnings and prophecies apply both to his time, which was a time of great wickedness, and to our time. How are the conditions described in Isaiah 1–5 evident in the world today?

What three holy places mentioned in Isaiah 4:5–6 offer safety from evil? What expressions are used in these verses to describe how these holy places will protect us?

Additional reading: 2 Nephi 11.

OT Gospel Doctrine lesson 36 - The Glory of Zion will be a Defense
Isaiah 1-6
Of all the writings in the Old Testament we’ve covered so far, these 6 chapters are perhaps packed with more doctrine and insight than most. As we cover Isaiah over the next few weeks, we’ll see just why Nephi and Christ considered Isaiah as such a great prophet.

Isaiah Foresees the Birth of Christ

Background
The name Isaiah means “Yahweh/Jehovah is Salvation.” Isaiah was born in Judah’s royal family. He was given a special mission to prophesy to both Judah and Israel. As a prophet, his ministry probably began at the end of King Uzziah’s reign (around 740 BC) when he was about 20 years old. He lived through Hezekiah’s reign as king, and probably knew Manasseh (who may have been co-regent with his father). Isaiah’s prophetic mission lasted about 44 years. Tradition has it that the wicked King Manasseh sought after Isaiah, who hid in the trunk of a tree. Still, Isaiah is found, and by the king. Manasseh ordered the tree, and therefore, Isaiah, sawed in half. He would have died around 680 BC.

Repent or be Destroyed
Isaiah 1
A common theme in Isaiah is how open and acceptable sin has become, and that the only recourse to stay destruction is repentance. The prophet explained that oxen recognize their masters, but Judah did not recognize God. They were sick with putrid sores and malignancies, yet refused to recognize they were in need of a doctor.

“5 Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint.
6 From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.”

Judah and Israel had become impure, spiritual lepers. They were unclean, and refused to be cleansed of their sickness. For decades, their enemies had chipped away at their lands. Assyria would soon carry off Israel, and by the time of Hezekiah would leave the land of Judah barely larger than the city of Jerusalem. Yet, for most of Isaiah’s ministry, they would reject God and pretend they were healthy and happy. The only thing that differentiated them from Sodom and Gomorrah is that the Lord would save a remnant of Judah and Israel (vs 9).

And so the Lord calls the lands of Israel and Judah, Sodom and Gomorrah, and insisted that the rulers were no better than the rulers of those long-ago destroyed cities on the plain. God is tired of burnt offerings that mean nothing. The people provide lip service to God, going to the festivals and offering up animals for the burnt sacrifices. Yet, they would then return to their homes and worship Baal and other gods, rely upon the arm of flesh for their protection and deliverance, and ignore the commandments of God. Instead, the Lord gives them the key to proper worship under the Mosaic Law:

“16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

The washing referred to the basin of the temple, where the priests and people would wash themselves in a ritual bath to cleanse themselves prior to offering sacrifice in the temple. Here, God is calling on them to spiritually make themselves clean, not just bathe the body.

Isaiah instructs them to focus on the important things: doing good to others, especially the downtrodden. One of his major complaints will be the rulers are involved in trampling the poor and the widows. The terms “scarlet” and “crimson” are reminiscent of the sacrificial blood spilt upon the altar of the temple. Here, Isaiah is showing Judah that they will become spiritually pure through repentance, and not just outwardly seem clean because they sacrificed a lamb.

“21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
22 Thy silver is become dross, thy wine mixed with water:
23 Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them.”

Isaiah compares Jerusalem to a harlot. In a previous lesson, Hosea’s prostitute wife was compared to the people. They were called to repent and return. Yet, Isaiah sees that they have left behind their true love for filthy lucre. Jerusalem was an attachment to the temple, and righteousness (or God’s holiness) dwelt there in the temple. Yet now murderers lodged within the city and its temple. Christ himself would condemn those who corrupted Jerusalem and its holy center, the temple, by stating they had turned his Father’s house into a “den of thieves.”

So corrupt were the people that one could not trust the purity of their silver or the quality of the wine. Everyone sought to get gain, including those who should have watched out for the orphans and widows: the princes and elders of the people. Isaiah saw nothing but destruction for them.

Restoration
Isaiah 2

“1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the Lord.”

Latter-day Saints view this as a prophesy that is now being fulfilled. The mountain of the Lord’s house, the temple, was literally established in the top of the Rocky Mountains of Utah. People from many nations have moved there in order to receive the blessings of the modern temples, and where the God of Jacob can teach them through living prophets and apostles.

Yet this will also be fulfilled by the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple in the last days. Both of these events are in anticipation of the Millennium, a time when the Lord will judge all nations, and when there will no longer be wars or rumors of wars.

But before that day, the Lord condemns Jacob for their apostasy. They have adopted the ways of the world: seeking soothsayers instead of prophets, collecting treasure and wealth beyond measure without caring for the poor and needy, “Their land also is full of idols; they worship the work of their own hands, that which their own fingers have made” (vs 8). Even today, we see how faith and materialism do not easily go hand in hand. In a world of excess, many are willing to allow others to suffer, or to give them crumbs in an effort to appease their guilt. Governments often dribble funds to the poor, while handing great wealth over to the rich. When corrupt banks too big to fail are bailed out with taxpayer money, while the poor watch their homes being foreclosed upon, we can easily see how Isaiah’s warning applies today during the current Great Recession.

Isaiah then shares a chiasmus, or inverted prose, to explain what will occur to the wicked on the day of the Lord’s Coming:

(a) 10 Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty.
(b) 11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
(c) 12 For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:
(c’) 13 And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan,
(d) 14 And upon all the high mountains, (d’) and upon all the hills that are lifted up,
(e) 15 And upon every high tower, and (e’) upon every fenced wall,
(f) 16 And upon all the ships of Tarshish, (f’) and upon all pleasant pictures.
(b’) 17 And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.
18 And the idols he shall utterly abolish.
(a’) 19 And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
20 In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;
21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Alma also explained that when the wicked stand before the Lord, they will wish the rocks could fall upon them, so they would not have to stand in his presence (Alma 12), and Mormon explained:

“1 And now, I speak also concerning those who do not believe in Christ.
2 Behold, will ye believe in the day of your visitation—behold, when the Lord shall come, yea, even that great day when the earth shall be rolled together as a scroll, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, yea, in that great day when ye shall be brought to stand before the Lamb of God—then will ye say that there is no God?
3 Then will ye longer deny the Christ, or can ye behold the Lamb of God? Do ye suppose that ye shall dwell with him under a consciousness of your guilt? Do ye suppose that ye could be happy to dwell with that holy Being, when your souls are racked with a consciousness of guilt that ye have ever abused his laws?
4 Behold, I say unto you that ye would be more miserable to dwell with a holy and just God, under a consciousness of your filthiness before him, than ye would to dwell with the damned souls in hell.
5 For behold, when ye shall be brought to see your nakedness before God, and also the glory of God, and the holiness of Jesus Christ, it will kindle a flame of unquenchable fire upon you” (Mormon 9:1-5).

No one will deny that Jesus is the Christ on the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord. Alma the elder explained:

“Yea, every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess before him. Yea, even at the last day, when all men shall stand to be judged of him, then shall they confess that he is God; then shall they confess, who live without God in the world, that the judgment of an everlasting punishment is just upon them; and they shall quake, and tremble, and shrink beneath the glance of his all-searching eye” (Mosiah 27:31).

Daughters of Zion in Ruins
Isaiah 3

“1 For, behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts, doth take away from Jerusalem and from Judah the stay and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water“

Jesus is the Bread of Life (John 6) and the Living Waters (John 4). Without God, Judah is both physically and spiritually starving and thirsting to death. They have gone without true nourishment for such a long time that they are starving and do not realize it. And when the final destructions come, suddenly no one among the wicked wishes to take responsibility for the desolation that remained:

“4 And I will give children to be their princes, and babes shall rule over them.
5 And the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable.
6 When a man shall take hold of his brother of the house of his father, saying, Thou hast clothing, be thou our ruler, and let this ruin be under thy hand:
7 In that day shall he swear, saying, I will not be an healer; for in my house is neither bread nor clothing: make me not a ruler of the people.
8 For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory.”

Amazingly, in good times, all wicked people wish to rule. They impose themselves upon their families, neighborhoods, cities and nations. As long as they can get gain and get away with their ill gotten gains, the wicked wish to oppress. Only when absolute destruction occurs do the wicked refuse to lead. As before, they seek to hide out in the caves and under rocks, rather than take responsibility for the ruin. When governments and people use coercion and bribery to get gain, and then kick the financial can down the road for future generations to deal with, eventually it catches up to everyone. And while the wicked may not wish to be accused of the destruction, they will find that when you pick up one end of the stick, you pick up both ends. They will still have to stand before God in that day of ruination and confess before Him.

“14 The Lord will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
15 What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord God of hosts.”

The Lord will first judge the rulers. The ancients (elders) of the people and the powerful will be judged. They have caused the desolation by squandering the good of the land. They have taken from the poor and given it to themselves, thinking they do a good work by parsing out a little bread to the poor on occasion. Yet, in truth, they trample on the poor.

In Isaiah 5, the prophet adds this condemnation to Judah’s sister, Israel:

“8 Woe unto them that join house to house, that lay field to field, till there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the earth!“

Previously, we read where Israel’s King Ahab had desired a piece of land next to his palace in Jezreel, belonging to the man Naboth. Since Naboth would not sell his inheritance, Jezebel killed him and told her husband to seize the land for a garden. Isaiah seems to suggest that such wicked activities were becoming more and more common, as the wealthy sought greater power and wealth by owning large parcels of land.

“16 Moreover the Lord saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet:
17 Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will discover their secret parts.”

Isaiah compared the daughters of Zion (not the daughters of the heathens) to the type of women who went around dressed in fine attire and looked down upon the little people. Often, women dressed like this were harlots. Others were the high fashioned wealthy women, who sought to stand apart from the common and poor people. We could say that while not all women are harlots, those who dress as Isaiah describes, are acting as harlots. The Book of Mormon notes frequently that one of the first signs of apostasy is the wearing of costly clothing. In fact, Nephi contributes their dress as a key reason why they persecuted others: “They rob the poor because of their fine sanctuaries; they rob the poor because of their fine clothing; and they persecute the meek and the poor in heart, because in their pride they are puffed up” (2 Nephi 28:13).

Rich and costly clothing represents pride. In the case of Jerusalem and the daughters of Zion, they are flirting with other gods, other material things, and worshiping at another altar. While they look spectacular on the outside with their tinkling ornaments, headbands, earrings, vails and multiple changes of clothing, they are putrid and rotting on the inside. In Hebrew belief, the feet represent the lowest part of the body, and therefore is considered the basest body part. Here, the daughters of Zion are making their feet tinkle and glitter so as to not seem debased. Yet while they are prettying up their feet, the Lord puts leprous scabs on their heads.

“24 And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth; and burning instead of beauty.
25 Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war.
26 And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.”

The Lord will replace their pride and outer appearance for what is truly inside. They shall spiritually stink. Instead of true beauty that comes from within, there shall be burnt flesh. She will be desolate and have nothing left. The ground involved the dust, which was below one’s feet. It was filled with fleas and filth. Only one who had nothing, the truly humbled, would sit directly upon the ground.

The Millennial Day
Isaiah 4

“1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. “

While some suggest this means polygamy will one day be restored, it really is a metaphor. The daughters of Zion have been left desolate and sitting on the ground alone. Zion will do anything it possibly can in order to redeem itself. In ancient days, it was better for a woman to be married than single. Even if only marrying for the name alone, a woman would be better off and viewed by others as acceptable.

So with Israel and all people today. If they wish to have their reproach taken from them, they must take hold of one man, even Jesus Christ, and take upon them his name. Today we do this through developing faith in Christ, repenting of our sins, receiving the ordinance of baptism by immersion for the remission of sins, and then receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost as an internal sign that we are Christ’s people.

Israel’s Demise
Isaiah 5
In chapter 5, Isaiah focuses on the northern nation of Israel. He begins with an allegory of the tame and wild grape vines. This compares well with Zenos’ Allegory of the Tame and Wild Olive Trees that Jacob expounded upon (Jacob 5). Here we see that the Lord has created a vineyard with the hopes of a good harvest. However, instead of providing rich and luscious grapes, the vines brought forth shriveled wild grapes. In both allegories, the Lord sadly asks, “What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? (Is 5:4)”

All that God can do is gather in the few good fruit, and destroy the rest. God will take away the hedge and wall, which protect the vineyard from intruders and weeds from the outside. He will allow the place to become desolate. Crops will not grow. They will have their feasts, but because they do them in order to become drunk, rather than worship God, they are ruined.

“13 Therefore my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge: and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up with thirst.“

Isaiah describes their sins in a poetic way:

“18 Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as it were with a cart rope....
20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!
22 Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink:
23 Which justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!”

They drag their sins along with them as a thing of vanity. Just as wicked people today think it cool to display their evil methods on television shows, Facebook or Twitter, the people of Israel displayed their evils in public. Today as then, many call “evil good and good evil” in order to justify their lifestyles.In his epic book, “1984”, George Orwell called it “Newspeak.” Today we can see politicians and regular people all using special terminology to make their ideas and lifestyles seem not only acceptable, but laudable. People do not commit fornication or adultery today, instead they live together. It is okay to cheat, steal or plunder as long as it helps you to get ahead.

In explaining Isaiah’s condemnations of Israel, Nephi commented: “And there shall also be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry; nevertheless, fear God—he will justify in committing a little sin; yea, lie a little, take the advantage of one because of his words, dig a pit for thy neighbor; there is no harm in this; and do all these things, for tomorrow we die; and if it so be that we are guilty, God will beat us with a few stripes, and at last we shall be saved in the kingdom of God” (2 Nephi 28:8).

But in the last days there would be a trumpet sound to call people back to the true God:

“26 And he will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly:
27 None shall be weary nor stumble among them; none shall slumber nor sleep; neither shall the girdle of their loins be loosed, nor the latchet of their shoes be broken:
28 Whose arrows are sharp, and all their bows bent, their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint, and their wheels like a whirlwind:
29 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.
30 And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.”

The ensign is the latter day Restored Gospel and its standards of righteousness. Its message will “hiss” or move throughout the earth, and the humble and elect shall hear the call and gather to Zion. They shall travel eagerly, almost as if without ever sleeping, in order to arrive. Verse 28 seems to describe modern transportation, as cars and trains both seem to have hoofs of “flint, and wheels like the whirlwind.” This standard will shine in a world of darkness and sorrow, inviting all to repent and come unto God.

Isaiah and the Divine Council
Isaiah 6

Isaiah’s lips are cleansed

“1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.
3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.”

Isaiah had a theophany, or a vision of God on his throne. This is a common event among the ancient prophets, as discussed in previous lessons. In his theophany, Isaiah sees God and his divine council of seraphim, high ordered angels. It is possible these were the archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Metatron and others. While Isaiah describes their wings, the term for wing can also mean “covering” or “veil.” So here we have angels covered in veils, which represented their power and authority.

Why would the seraph state that the “whole world is full with his (the Lord’s) glory, when Isaiah could see that his world was on the verge of destruction for its evils? Because Isaiah is viewing himself as part of the premortal divine council. The seraph has seen the world, which was just created, is holy and beautiful, indeed.

“5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
6 Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:
7 And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.”

Isaiah realized that he dwelt among a sinful people. The fact that he stood in the holiest place in the universe caused him to realize he was not worthy to stand on such holy ground, or to see God, the Lord of the hosts, or armies/councils of heaven. It is possible that the seraph that brought the coal from the altar, taking away Isaiah’s sins, was Jesus Christ. Anciently, Jehovah was known as the chief son of God Almighty (El Elyon/Elohim) and was given Israel as his kingdom. It is Christ’s responsibility as Savior and Mediator to purge mankind of their sins. It is Christ who has the power to take away iniquity, because of his great sacrifice upon the heavenly altar.

“8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.”

This event directly ties into the story of the premortal council found in Abraham 3:

“22 Now the Lord had shown unto me, Abraham, the intelligences that were organized before the world was; and among all these there were many of the noble and great ones;
23 And God saw these souls that they were good, and he stood in the midst of them, and he said: These I will make my rulers; for he stood among those that were spirits, and he saw that they were good; and he said unto me: Abraham, thou art one of them; thou wast chosen before thou wast born.
24 And there stood one among them that was like unto God, and he said unto those who were with him: We will go down, for there is space there, and we will take of these materials, and we will make an earth whereon these may dwell;
25 And we will prove them herewith, to see if they will do all things whatsoever the Lord their God shall command them;
26 And they who keep their first estate shall be added upon; and they who keep not their first estate shall not have glory in the same kingdom with those who keep their first estate; and they who keep their second estate shall have glory added upon their heads for ever and ever.
27 And the Lord said: Whom shall I send? And one answered like unto the Son of Man: Here am I, send me. And another answered and said: Here am I, send me. And the Lord said: I will send the first.
28 And the second was angry, and kept not his first estate; and, at that day, many followed after him.”

In both Isaiah and Abraham’s accounts, God Almighty oversaw the development of the world by the divine council. In both, God must decide who to send as his authorized representative. In Abraham’s story, Christ was chosen to be the Savior of the world. In Isaiah’s version, he was called to be a Christ-like being to go among the people and call them to repentance and faith in God.

Today, the key purpose of the LDS temples is to prepare mankind to enter into the presence of God, to have their own theophany. Temple ordinances prepare people and are a sign of them becoming holy, even as Isaiah was made holy in God’s heavenly temple. The temple endowment’s main purpose is to prepare us to enter into God’s kingdom and be in his presence. It is a practice of the actual upcoming event in each of our lives. In fact, it has been the goal of prophets since early on. Moses sought to take the children of Israel upon Mt Sinai in order to see God (D&C 84:19-26). Paul explained that Abraham continually sought after the heavenly city, so he could also see God’s face once more (Hebrews 11:8-16). This should be the standard for every Christian: to seek the face of God, even while dwelling in a strange land.

Ascension of Isaiah
The ancient text, “Ascension of Isaiah” has two key parts to it. The first part (chapters 1-5) discusses his martyrdom at the hands of Manasseh (as discussed above). The second part (chapters 6-11) includes a remarkable vision of the heavens. Most scholars believe it was originally a Jewish work, but was updated later by Christians.

In studying Isaiah’s ascension into heaven (chapters 6-11), I’ve noted some key parallels to the theophany that Lehi received in 1 Nephi 1 and in the Vision of the Tree of Life that Lehi and Nephi both received (1 Ne 8-11). It also has direct ties to LDS temple themes, such as ascending through the heavens to the throne of God, being clothed in a garment of holiness, and the importance of tokens or passwords to enter the heavens.

Isaiah is in the presence of King Hezekiah and other righteous men, when he has a vision. An angel from the seventh heaven comes to him. Ancient Jews believed there were anywhere from three to forty levels of heaven, with ten being very common. Many Christians claim that the early Jews and Christians were only focusing on heavenly bodies (planets, constellations, etc) however we will see from Isaiah that they are literally levels of heaven.

Isaiah asked the angel who he was, as he had never seen such a glorious being before. “And he said unto me: "When I have raised thee on high [through the (various) degrees] and made thee see the vision, on account of which I have been sent, then thou wilt understand who I am: but my name thou dost not know” (ch 7:4).
An angelic being’s name was often secret, because the name held the powers of the being. Here we see that the angel was to take Isaiah up through the various levels or degrees of heaven. The angel first showed him the earth, where he saw Sammael (Satan) and his beings causing war upon the earth. Then they ascended up to the first heaven (vs 13), showing that earth was not considered a part of the heavens. While in the first, or lowest heaven, Isaiah tells us:

“14 And there I saw a throne in the midst, and on his right and on his left were angels.
15. And (the angels on the left were) not like unto the angels who stood on the right, but those who stood on the right had the greater glory, and they all praised with one voice, and there was a throne in the midst, and those who were out he left gave praise after them; but their voice was not such as the voice of those on the right, nor their praise like the praise of those.
16. And I asked the angel who conducted me, and I said unto him: "To whom is this praise sent?"
17. And he said unto me: "(it is sent) to the praise of (Him who sitteth in) the seventh heaven: to Him who rests in the holy world, and to His Beloved, whence I have been sent to thee. [Thither is it sent.]."

Even in the lowest heaven there is a throne for its ruler. Yet those who praise extend their grattitude to God in the seventh heaven. Yet, even in this heaven, there is a division between those who barely squeaked into the heaven and those with greater glory.
The angel that conducts Isaiah is a very common theme in theophanies. Lehi and Nephi have angels (or the Holy Spirit) guide them in their Vision of the Tree of Life, which includes a theophany. John the Revelator had angelic guidance through his great Apocalypse. And in the Apocalypse of Paul, the Holy Spirit as a small child, guided him through the ten levels of heaven. Having a guide clearly is an important thing in such a theophany, as we also learn from modern temples.

“27. And I wished to learn how it is know, and he answered me saying: "When I have raised thee to the seventh heaven whence I was sent, to that which is above these, then thou shalt know that there is nothing hidden from the thrones and from those who dwell in the heavens and from the angels. And the praise wherewith they praised and glory of him who sat on the throne was great, and the glory of the angels on the right hand and on the left was beyond that of the heaven which was below them.”

As Isaiah and his guide ascend through the layers of heaven, he sees that the glory of the people is greater. In most of the lower levels, they are divided on the right and left hands of the one sitting in the throne for that level of heaven. However, we find in chapter 8, upon arriving to the sixth level, he sees they are now of the same glory and righteousness, and are guided by the throne in the seventh heaven.

Isaiah sees that the angels are but fellow servants of his. As he rises through the heavens, he is given power and glory to be equal with them, and is able to give praise and glory as they can.

In chapter 9, Isaiah ascends in the air of the seventh heaven, where his garment awaits him. The garment is a special white clothing that symbolizes the person’s purity, glory and power.

“1 AND he took me into the air of the seventh heaven, and moreover I heard a voice saying: "How far will he ascend that dwelleth in the flesh?" And I feared and trembled.
2. And when I trembled, behold, I heard from hence another voice being sent forth, and saying: "It is permitted to the holy Isaiah to ascend hither; for here is his garment."
3. And I asked the angel who was with me and said: "Who is he who forbade me and who is he who permitted me to ascend?"
4. And he said unto me: "He who forbade thee, is he who is over the praise-giving of the sixth heaven.
5. And He who permitted thee, this is thy Lord God, the Lord Christ, who will be called "Jesus" in the world, but His name thou canst not hear till thou hast ascended out of thy body."
6. And he raised me up into the seventh heaven, and I saw there a wonderful light and angels innumerable.”

Isaiah learns that the person on the throne of a heaven is a sentinel (see the Apocalypse of Paul), who guards the way to the higher levels of heaven. Only those permitted can bypass the sentinel and ascend further. On the seventh heaven, Isaiah sees Abel, Enoch and many others of the righteous.

“9. And there I saw Enoch and all who were with him, stript of the garments of the flesh, and I saw them in their garments of the upper world, and they were like angels, standing there in great glory.
10. But they sat not on their thrones, nor were their crowns of glory on them.
11. And I asked the angel who was with me: "How is it that they have received the garments, but have not the thrones and the crowns?"
12. And he said unto me: "Crowns and thrones of glory they do not receive, till the Beloved will descent in the form in which you will see Him descent [will descent, I say] into the world in the last days the Lord, who will be called Christ.”

The holy prophets and righteous people have been stripped of their mortal flesh and clothed in holy garments. They have yet to obtain their thrones and crowns, as Christ has yet to fulfill his mission. As John the Revelator would note, Christ will make us “kings and priests unto God and his Father” (Revelation 1:5-6). The angel explained the earthly mission of Christ to defeat Satan, and when Christ returned to the heavens, they would receive their thrones.

Isaiah wished to know where this information was kept, and was shown a book. This is similar to the book that Lehi received and read (1 Ne 1). Upon reading the book, both Lehi and Isaiah speak marvelous things and praise God for the prophesy within the book.
Isaiah then sees both God the Father, Christ, and the Holy Ghost. And with the righteous, praise them both. Isaiah was then given the opportunity to see Christ descend to the earth for his mortal ministry. He descended through each of the levels of heaven. As he arrived in a level of heaven, he emptied himself of glory, so that the angels on that level could stand in his presence. Because he did not show forth his glory, he seemed like another angel to them, and so did not praise or worship him.

“27. And again I saw when He descended into the first heaven, and there also He gave the password to those who kept the gate, and He made Himself like unto the form of the angels who were on the left of that throne, and they neither praised nor lauded Him; for His form was like unto their form.
28. But as for me no one asked me on account of the angel who conducted me.
29. And again He descended into the firmament where dwelleth the ruler of this world, and He gave the password to those on the left, and His form was like theirs, and they did not praise Him there; but they were envying one another and fighting; for here there is a power of evil and envying about trifles.
30. And I saw when He descended and made Himself like unto the angels of the air, and He was like one of them.
31. And He gave no password; for one was plundering and doing violence to another.”

Here we see that passwords were required to go between the heavens, and even to enter earth. The sentinel of the heaven no doubt would receive the password, as we learn in the Apocalypse of Paul. Now on earth, the angel showed Isaiah the birth of Christ, and told him that he would be born of a virgin Mary. Nephi had a similar explanation given to him as he saw Mary with child in his vision (1 Nephi 11).

Isaiah then saw the life of Christ, his crucifixion and ascending back into the heavens, until he reached the seventh heaven. Nephi also saw the life of Christ, the crucifixion, and the resurrection of the Son of God. No wonder Nephi loved the words of Isaiah so much, as it seemed they both received very similar visions and experiences.

Bibliography
Isaiah - wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaiah
Isaiah - Catholic New Advent:http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08179b.htm
Isaiah - Jewish Virtual Library:http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Isaiah.html
Newspeak - wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newspeak
Head Coverings - Dr Alan Ingalls:http://www.bbc.edu/journal/volume4_2/Head_Coverings-ingalls.pdf
Ascension of Isaiah:http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/ascension.html
Apocalypse of Paul: http://www.gnosis.org/naghamm/ascp.html
Ascension in Ancient Documents by David Larsen:http://davidjlarsen.wordpress.com/tag/isaiah/
Ascension of Isaiah by David Larsen:http://davidjlarsen.wordpress.com/2008/06/09/isaiahs-heavenly-ascent-to-see-the-father-son-and-holy-spirit/

Old Testament Lesson 35 – God Reveals His Secrets to His Prophets

 

Amos 3:6–7. Amos teaches that the Lord reveals his secrets to the prophets.

Amos 7:10–17; 8:11–13; 9:8–15. Amos is called of God to be a prophet (7:10–15). He prophesies of the captivity and scattering of Israel (7:16–17; 9:8–10). He prophesies that there will be a famine of hearing the word of the Lord (8:11–13). He prophesies that in the last days Israel will be a great and prosperous people (9:11–15).

Joel 2; 3:16–17. Joel prophesies of the wars and calamities of the last days (2:1–11). He calls on the people to repent (2:12–14; note that theJoseph Smith Translation of verses 13 and 14 explains that the people, not the Lord, were to repent). Joel prophesies that God will bless his people in the latter days and pour out his Spirit upon them (2:15–32;3:16–17).

Amos ministered to the people of the kingdom of Israel from about 800 to 750 B.C. Most of these people were in apostasy. As Amos confronted the people with their sins, he prophesied dire penalties. Nevertheless, he emphasized that God was eager to cleanse anyone who would repent. Amos also prophesied about the latter days.

Joel ministered to the people of the kingdom of Judah. Many of Joel’s prophecies were about the latter days.

What did the prophet Amos teach about the importance of prophets? (See Amos 3:7.) What does Doctrine and Covenants 1:37–38 teach about the respect we should have for the messages of the prophets?

What did Amos prophesy would be the result if Israel rejected or ignored prophets’ messages? (See 8:11–13.) In what ways can the absence of the word of the Lord be compared to a famine? How can having the blessings of the restored gospel be compared to a feast?

Review Joel 2:12–32 and 3:16–17 and look for answers to the following questions: What invitations has the Lord given to those living in the latter days? What blessings has the Lord promised to those who follow him in the latter days?

Additional reading: Joseph Smith—History 1:41; Doctrine and Covenants 1:14–28, 37–38.

(End Study Guide)

 

OT Gospel Doctrine Lesson 35 - God Reveals His Secrets to His Prophets
Amos 3; 7-9, Joel 2-3

Prophet Amos

The Book of Joel
Joel is a combination of the names Jehovah and Elohim, and means “Jehovah is God.” In the Masoretic text (the King James Bible is based on this), the book of Joel is divided into 3 chapters, while in the Septuagint and Vulgate (Catholic Bible) it is divided in 4 chapters with chapters 2-3 equaling chapter 2 of the Masoretic text.

In the actual order of books in the Old Testament, Joel (Judah) comes right before Amos (Israel), although in the SS lesson plan, they choose to talk about Amos first (I’m saying this just in case you went looking for the book of Joel after Amos!). 

But because the lesson emphasizes prophecy, the writers of the curriculum likely chose to start the lesson with Amos to emphasize the above quoted passage, Amos 3:7. 

The book of Joel (preaching to Judah) is broken into two main portions.

First, the prophesies of destruction that are soon to come upon the people of Judah and Israel.

Second, the forthcoming restoration and blessings to be brought again to a repentant and righteous nation. Chapter one discusses in depth the scourges to fall upon Israel. We are told they will have a series of insect infestations that will destroy the crops.

Joel 1: ¹ The word of the Lord that came to Joel the son of Pethuel.

² Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers?

³ Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation.

⁴ That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten.

The pestilences will be so severe and consuming of all vegetation that there will be nothing left for an appropriate sacrificial offering in the temple. Instead, the priests can do nothing but mourn and proclaim a fast. We then find that the rivers are completely dried up, and wild fires have destroyed the forests and grass lands needed for the animals to graze. They are in abject poverty and starving to death. And yet, in chapter 2, we find that things get even worse.

The Greatest Army in the World Invades
Joel 2
Even after all the plagues, famine and pestilence, Israel did not repent. The Lord then sends forth his great army, in this sense it is the Assyrian army, ready to lay waste to anything that moves:

“Blow ye the trumpet 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;
2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
4 The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run.

5 Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array.
6 Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
7 They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:
8 Neither shall one thrust (push) another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded.
9 They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief.
10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining” (Joel 2:1-10).

Here we see that this army is not just any old army. They are bullet proof. They fall on their swords and are not injured. They leap across the mountains, as if they were running across a meadow in the Garden of Eden. Yet, their destructive ways would leave even the Garden of Eden desolate. Nothing can stand in their way. Nothing can move them, as they do not break ranks. Israel’s puny army is less than mosquitoes against this army of destruction.

So terrifying are they that the very heavenly lights do fear them. Given that many in the ancient world worshiped the Sun, moon and stars, we can surmise that the gods of the nations feared the Assryians.

The only salvation is to turn to God, repent with “fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.”

Israel is commanded to

“rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God?” (Joel 2:12-14).

Israel has been wicked for so long that there is no guarantee that God will save them from this great army of the north. But it is their only hope. And if God does return to save them, he can also bring back rains and prosperity, so that Israel can once again offer a sacrifice to God again.

These prophesies suddenly hold a futurific vision, as Joel describes things that have not happened yet. He will foresee the literal darkening of the sun, moon and stars prior to the great and dreadful day of the Lord (the Second Coming). When modern Jews and Christians forget God and turn to the worship of other gods (materialism and narcissism usually are what we worship today), they lose his protective grace.

Wickedness brings about consequences, some natural, which can devastate a nation or group of nations. Because of greed and lust on Wall Street, Main Street, and Capitol Hill, we have felt the effects of a prolonged economic downturn caused by that greed and lust. Only repenting and turning back to righteous and sound principles can protect us from another huge crash like this, but it seems that few have truly learned the lesson, and so the Great Recession of 2008 seems likely to continue on.

History has shown even global leaders have collapsed over internal affairs, becoming third world nations and often never recovering. The once mighty Soviet Union destroyed its economy and in the early 1990s broke up into many smaller nations. Many of those smaller nations still struggle economically, due to corruption and inept policies. It is not so far off to think that such a thing couldn’t happen to even the United States, if it does not get its economic house in order.

Yet, something like the Great Recession does not compare to the abject poverty brought upon the people. We do not have the majority of the people struggling to find a blade of grass to eat. Nor do we currently have the great and devastating army at our doorstep. But that army is eventually coming. Ezekiel describes it as Gog and Magog (Ezek 38-39), and the apostle John saw that the desolating army at Armageddon would be 200 million strong and would slay 1/3 of the men on earth (Rev 9:16-21).

My Spirit Shall Be Poured Out
Joel 2:28-32
During the period of great duress and trials, the Lord will not only judge the wicked, but he will pour out his spirit upon all the righteous.

28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.
32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call.

Many Christians and others no longer believe in miracles, inspiration, or revelation. Many believe that all such things ended with the apostles. Yet, we see that during the times when the world and heavens will be in commotion, as even the sun will be darkened, the children of God will prophesy and see visions. This is partially fulfilled by the spiritual movements in many churches that seek to restore such ancient gifts of the Spirit. As they seek the Lord’s inspiration, he will give it to them at the capacity they are ready to receive (Alma 29:8).

This prophesy was partially fulfilled on the original day of Pentecost, when Peter quotes Joel to explain why the spirit had been poured out on so many that could understand him in their own languages. Yet, it was not fulfilled at that time, as the wonders in the heavens had not happened yet. This is completely fulfilled in the restoration of of the ancient Church in these latter-days, as we prepare for the Second Coming of Christ. Joel foresaw Armageddon and the great destructions of our day, and saw that in the times of trials, the Lord would not abandon the righteous and faithful believers of Christ. Instead, he has sent angels and the Holy Spirit to restore ancient gifts, powers and blessings, so that men in these last days may turn to God, and be blessed so as to avoid much of the disasters and destructions awaiting the world.

The Valley of Jehoshaphat

Joel 3
In chapter 3, Joel foresaw that all nations would be at war. When Assyria thrashed the nations around it, it must have seemed like a world war. Yet he foresaw that this would again happen in the last days. It will be during this period that God will plead for Israel, which is still scattered among the nations.

God is angry with the cities of Tyre and Sidon, which belonged to the Philistines and Phoenicians, Sea People that were originally from the Greek Isles (This area is now in Lebanon and Syria). The Lord demands recompense (and does so again in Amos), for they have previously desecrated the temple, and ransacked it for its gold and silver. If they do not repent and turn to him, he shall ransack them with the desolating armies of Gog and Magog.

The heathen nations of the Gentiles are called forth to a great war, centered on the valley of Jehoshaphat, or the “valley of decision.” The valley, now known as the Kidron Valley, runs through the right side of the city of Jerusalem, near the Mount of Olives. It is here that King Jehoshaphat massacred the armies of Moab, Ammon and Edom/Esau. The name Jehoshaphat or Josaphat means, “Yahweh/Jehovah Judges.”

It will be in this valley where the great King of Israel, Jehovah/Jesus Christ will return in power and glory, then judge the armies of the Gentiles and find them wanting, during the last battle of Armageddon. Christ will come at the time when the Gentile armies will have taken half of the city. He will step down upon the Mount of Olives, rending a new valley from it, or perhaps enlarging the Kidron Valley. The Jews will flee into this valley for safety. It will be here that they will see the wounds in his hands and feet, and understand they have slain the Lamb of God (D&C 45:47-54, Zech 12:9-10).

So, in our own time, we need to give heed to the warnings of Joel, as they definitely apply to us.

Living prophets and apostles give guidance and warnings to help us, if we will but listen. In the October Conference of 1998, President Gordon B. Hinckley gave a very power economic lesson to the priesthood brethren.

Those that paid heed to his warnings had a decade to prepare for a Great Recession. Latter-day Saints that listened to a living prophet’s voice, had paid down their debts, had money tucked away, and had their food storage in place, would come through much better.  .

For those who did not give heed, many saw their homes being foreclosed, and declaring bankruptcy. Things they had worked hard for for years, are now being carted off by creditors. Some are having to move in with parents or children, just to get by. As with the Israelites in Joel’s vision, it seems as if the palmerworms and caterpillars have eaten up all they’ve possessed. And as in Pharaoh’s dreams, the years of plenty have quickly been swallowed up by the economic famine.

Study the scriptures. Listen to the living prophets. Be prepared for the days of good and evil.

The Book of Amos
Amos was born in Judah and prophesied in Israel (10 northern kingdoms) approximately

Unlike Isaiah and other prophets that were actually wealthy and a part of the royal family, Amos was a plain shepherd. Before his call as prophet to Israel, we have no evidence of his ever going forth to preach. As a shepherd, he probably would not have been literate nor had any status of any sort.

The Old Testament prophets were adept at luring hostile audiences into listening to their judgment speeches. In 1 Kings 20:35-43 a prophet tricked Ahab into pronouncing his own guilt and punishment. And Nathan tricked David into declaring his own guilt by the artful use of a parable (2 Sam. 12).

Amos 1-2 contains a great example of this technique, and recognizing what Amos is doing here really helps us to understand what is being said and what is the theme of the book.

Amos 1 ² And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

They are used to hearing the 23rd Psalm, the Lord is my shepherd, now we have this lion imagery, very dramatic…

Now starts this technique of 3/4.  It builds up much like a song builds up.  The fourth is going to be the most dramatic pronouncement and the people who are listening, remember most heard these, didn’t read them, it would be much like a song.

³ Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:

“For three transgressions . . . and for four, I will not turn away the punishment.” It is a way of saying that those nations were full to overflowing with sin.

Three symbolizes fulness.

Four, excess.

Follow how Amos builds the sequence of 3/4.  First was Damascus vs 3

Judgment against Nations.  Damascus fell to Assyrians in 732 BC.  

vs 6 For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment…

⁷ But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof: ⁸ And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord God.

All of these are cities in Philstia.  The Philistines were famous for capturing whole villages and selling them into slavery to Edom (and from there throughout the world) Joel 3:4-8 talks more about the slave trade and mentions the city of Tyre. 

So next up is Tyre…

Amos 1 ⁹ Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:

Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Then Edom is the 4th city mentioned then, capping this 3/4 formula.  This is the buildup, and those listening likely think this is the end of the sequence. 

Amos 1 ¹¹ Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever: ¹² But I will send a fire upon Teman (an ancient edomite clan), which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah (capital of Edom).

to compare…here is vs 11 in the Complete Jewish Bible

Here is what Adonai says:

“For Edom’s three crimes,
no, four — I will not reverse it —
because with sword he pursued his kinsman
and threw aside all pity,
constantly nursing his anger,
forever fomenting his fury;

This may have seemed like the end of these pronouncements to the people.  Using the 3/4 formula and capping things off with Edom, they felt the series would end.   But these are all describing the same sin, a sin of nations, the selling and enslavement of man…

Amos 1  ¹³ Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border: ¹⁴ But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind: ¹⁵ And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the Lord.

The sequence started again…building up to…?

This is certainly a gross sin. Ancient armies would sometimes do this to terrorize the enemy. And certainly committing this atrocity against defenseless women and children showed how immoral they had become. But again, I think there is just one conceptual sin listed. It says they ripped open the pregnant women in order to expand their borders. So it is their cruel imperialistic expansion that is in view.

Amos 2  Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime: ² But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kirioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:

Ammon and Moab (the 1st two in this second sequence) were daughters of Lot. The sin is Burning the Bones of the king of Edom.  Much importance was placed anciently on a dead man being peacefully placed.  Remember they moved Joseph’s bones to the promised land very carefully.

And now we have the culmination of 7 transgressions.

Amos 2 ⁴ Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked: ⁵ But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

Kingdom of Israel is taken within a few years but Judah is spared from the Assyrians in 701, but is burned by Nebuchadnessar in 586 b.c.

So City/Countries: 1. Damascus, 2. Gaza, 3. Tyre, 4. Edom then

5. Children of Ammon (killing women to expand), 6. Moab (burning bones) and the 7. Judah has despised the law. Rejected the law and followed false gods. 

They feel the sequence building again, gross crimes for the first 7. 

Notice the progression. He starts off with foreign nations and gets closer to home as he lists relatives and finally, Judah.  But who is he preaching to?  Israel.  The northern kingdoms... so finally 8. Israel, but with Israel he lists NUMEROUS sins… maybe even 8 of them for Israel alone…

Amos 2 ⁶ Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; ⁷ That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: ⁸ And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

Those with the gospel are held to a higher standard.

¹⁰ Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.

And then finishes the list of sins:

¹¹ And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the Lord. ¹² But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

We essentially have 4 categories of sin for Israel

1. Oppresses innocent and poor – (sold the righteous, sold the poor) (2:6b-7a)

2. Engaging in pagan ritual practice – temple prostitutes (2:7b)

3. Abusing system of pledges and fines (2:8)

4. Showing lack of respect for Gods special servants (2:12)

Two things stand out.  First, he lists 4 categories of sins for Israel, 8 total, but they don’t look nearly as bad as the other countries. And that brings us to the theme of Amos.

THEME: God requires more from those to whom He has given more. Where much is given, much is expected.  Are we held to the same standard as those without the gospel?  How about those without temple covenants?  Or are our requirement more stringent?

The Lord continues in…

Amos 3 ² You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. ³ Can two walk together, except they be agreed? ⁴ Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?

Then we get the most famous of Amos’s scriptures…

⁵ Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all? ⁶ Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it? ⁷ Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. ⁸ The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

And continues in Amos chapters 4 and 5 and 6

In chapter 7 he prophesies to the detriment of Amaziah a “priest”

Amos 7 ¹⁰ Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words. ¹¹ For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land. ¹² Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there: ¹³ But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court.

(It sounds very much like King Noah in the Book of Mormon receiving a report on Alma from his court)

How does a prophet respond to this type of attack?  In response, Amos declares his call as a prophet, citing authority greater than the king. 

Amos 7  ¹⁴ Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit: ¹⁵ And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.

So Amos went to Bethel, which was functioning as the capitol of Israel. The king, Jeroboam II, lived there. Bethel had special significance in Israel's history.

In Genesis 28: we see that Bethel is where Jacob had his dream about the angels descending on the ladder and his wrestling with God. But now it had become the center for idol worship in the Northern Kingdom. Jeroboam set up golden calves in Bethel and Dan for the Israelites to worship, because he didn't want the people worshipping God in Jerusalem and reuniting the kingdom.

Amos was called of God in a way similar to many of the other prophets:

Amos 9 ¹ I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.

Seeing God on his throne, or upon the altar, which often represented his throne, was a common way in which prophets received their call (see Isaiah 6, Gen 28:10-18). His challenge for the Israelites was to listen to and obey the prophets of Jehovah, even if they were but shepherds.

Amos lets them know that it is the Lord that gives the warning against all Israelites. He states in various ways that the Lord has given them many warnings to follow him, but they have still chosen another path. He then explains the pattern that God has always used to warn and protect Israel: “Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).

This is a pattern that continued after Amos, and is found again in the restored Church of Jesus Christ. It is very easy for us to be like the ancient Israelites, taking the living prophets for granted, because we have the dead ones to fall back on, who do not specifically attack us for our current lifestyles.

David Larsen explains on his Heavenly Ascents blog that the “secret” that Amos refers to (in Amos 3:7) is the “sod”, a secret kept by the divine council in heaven.

This divine assembly was understood to be presided over by Yahweh, accompanied by the lesser divine beings (later termed “angels”).  Entrance to this assembly was very exclusive — it could be deemed a “secret” council.  The relationship of this divine council to prophesy was in the sense that prophets were understood to receive their message while being present in the heavenly court (often via a heavenly ascent).

The only way that mankind could know or understand the mind of God, and the decisions made in the holy and divine council, was through the living prophet.  That prophet had received his “secret” or “prophecy” while attending that council. 

In Amos’ warning, we see a very big danger that is common among nations ready to be destroyed: the rich and powerful take unrighteous advantage of the poor. When the rich use violence to take away from the poor, the nation is ready for destruction.

When King David stole Bathsheba from her husband, the prophet told him he would suffer for his actions, and his nation was temporarily overtaken. The Zoramites were chastised for how they mistreated the poor, and it led to their destruction in the book of Alma. Amos, Isaiah and many other prophets will condemn the Israelites and Jews for such actions. Even Jesus maintained that the powerful Jews of his day would forcibly keep others from entering heaven.

Famine
Amos 8-9
Joel insisted that the famines and pestilence of Israel were due to their rejecting the Lord God. Amos also foresaw another, just as insidious, type of famine that came upon the wicked.

Amos 8 ¹¹ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: ¹² And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.

Amos saw the famine coming in his day, as it would in any period where people rejected the prophets. Eventually, God pulls his Spirit and prophets away from the people, and allows them to get what they deserve. When drought and pestilence destroys the crops, people starve. They wander from place to place hoping to find enough sustenance to stay alive. When the knowledge of the wisest people is not enough, people will search for answers.

Today, people seek happiness in: drugs, sex, overeating, video games, and expensive stuff. While it may work for a short time, it cannot make them truly happy. And they again seek for happiness where they think they can find it.

Yet they never look to God for the happiness and joy that he offers. It seems to simple an answer, or is a stupid idea that God can act in our lives. Many do not believe in the gifts of the Spirit, or that God can reach them if they but reach to him. They seek happiness in temporary things, which never is enough. They become desensitized to drugs, and need more. They get bored with their partner or video game, and seek a quick thrill somewhere else. They fill a rush in buying new things and filling their stomachs. But eventually their stomachs will be empty again, and they will again seek.

Christ taught the Samaritan woman that he offered living waters:

“Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this (well) water shall thirst again:
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 11:13-14). Again, Christ is the Bread of Life: “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst” (John 6:33-51).”

It is in following Christ and his living prophets that we receive the secrets of heaven, the water and bread of life.

Bibliography
Joel, wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_%28prophet%29
Valley of Jehoshaphat - wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley_of_Josaphat
Joel - New Advent (Catholic Encyclopedia):http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08419a.htm
Gordon B. Hinckley, “To the Boys and the Men”:http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-22-20,00.htmlhttp://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-22-20,00.html
David Larsen’s Heavenly Ascents Blog on Lesson 35:http://www.heavenlyascents.com/2010/09/10/god-reveals-his-secrets-to-his-prophets-ot-lesson-35/