THE SECOND BOOK OF NEPHI
CHAPTER 10
Jews shall crucify their God—They shall be scattered until they begin to believe in him—America shall be a land of liberty where no king shall rule—Be reconciled to God and gain salvation through his grace. [Between 559 and 545 B.C.]
[ Note the correalation between the blessing that Jacob received when his father Lehi died and the doctrine he is teaching here. ]
1 AND now I, Jacob, speak unto you again, [ Day 2 of his message. ] my beloved brethren, concerning this righteous branch of which I have spoken.
2 For behold, the promises which we have obtained [ The blessings of being born into the house of Israel. ] are promises unto us according to the flesh; [ Meaning these thing will happen to people here upon the earth. the conditions and laws that govern in mortality; he will us this phrase several times in the chapter. ] wherefore, as it has been shown unto me that many of our children shall perish in the flesh because of unbelief , [ Jacob has seen their future and prophesied that the Nephites’ descendants would “perish in the flesh because of unbelief”. ] nevertheless, God will be merciful unto many; and our children shall be restored, that they may come to that which will give them the true knowledge of their Redeemer.
3 Wherefore, as I said unto you, it must needs be expedient that Christ [ Christ becomes the predominate or favored title going forward in the Book Of Mormon replacing the title Messiah. Since Messiah means annointed and has more ambiguity associated with it than Chrsit who we know exactly whom we are talking about. ] —for in the last night the angel spake unto me that this should be his name—should come among the Jews, among those who are the more wicked part of the world; [ Of the three bodies of the House of Israel, The Lost Ten Tribes, Joseph and Judah, Judah has suffered the most, and this is the reason why. They brought it upon themselves. ] and they shall crucify him—for thus it behooveth our God, and there is none other nation on earth that would crucify their God. [ This is why Christ was born in Jerusalem. ]
[ Jacob now paraphrases 1 Ne. 13-14 on verses 3-22. ]
4 For should the mighty miracles be wrought among other nations they would repent, and know that he be their God.
5 But because of priestcrafts and iniquities, [ The qualities that were present in Jerusalem that made them crucify the Savior. So priestcrafts (not the masses) are the things that are done by the Priests themselves, so this says that it really was not all of the Jews that wanted Christ dead; but it most certainly was the Levite Priests that did as he was a threat to their way of life. "What will become of us?" ] they at Jerusalem will stiffen their necks against him, that he be crucified.
6 Wherefore, because of their iniquities, [ Punishments for not keeping their covenants include... ] destructions, famines, pestilences, and bloodshed shall come upon them; [ How many of these still linger with them today? ] and they who shall not be destroyed shall be scattered among all nations.
7 But behold, thus saith the Lord God: [ Hebrew - Yahweh ( or Jehovah which means "to become" or "to exist") translated as Lord; Elohim translated as God ("the Gods") which together the words mean "He will cause Gods to be". ] : When the day cometh that they shall believe in me, [ So we know what to look for. - when they begin to believe in Jesus Christ ] that I am Christ, then have I covenanted with their fathers that they [ The Lost Ten Tribes. ] shall be restored in the flesh, upon the earth, [ Jacob is very specific here in his details of how they will be restored, both in the flesh and on this earth. This is the covenant that God made with the House of Israel in Nehemiah 1:9. So with the specifics here why would they need to be restored to the earth if they were not already on the earth? The answer is that they wouldn't, so this restoration means that they will come from another place back to the earth. Footnote here says to see topical guide "Israel - Restoration". ] unto the lands of their inheritance. [ Compare with 2 Ne. 25:6-8. ]
8 And it shall come to pass that they shall be gathered in [ So in the previous verse we had those that would be restored and here we have those that will be gathered - two different groups, and how the Lord will treat each differently to bring them forward. ] from their long dispersion, from the isles of the sea, and from the four parts of the earth; and the nations of the Gentiles shall be great in the eyes of me, [ "the eyes of me" How could Joseph Smith have known? In Hebrew, a possessive pronoun is added to the end of the noun. Thus my book would be the book of me. This Hebraic usage is reflected here." (The Maxwell Institute - Hebrew Background of the Book Of Mormon; John A. Tvedtnes) ] saith God, in carrying them forth to the lands of their inheritance.
9 Yea, the kings of the Gentiles shall be nursing fathers unto them, [ See 1 Ne 21:6 because they have the light. Even the King of Kings who is Christ as recognized by the gentiles; and will later be understood by the Jews. ] and their queens shall become nursing mothers; wherefore, the promises of the Lord are great unto the Gentiles, for he hath spoken it, and who can dispute?
10 But behold, this land, said God, shall be a land of thine inheritance, and the Gentiles shall be blessed upon the land.
11 And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, and there shall be no kings upon the land, [ This condition was associated with righteousiness 2 Ne. 1:7, Ether 2:12; 6:22-23, D&C 38:21. And why are there no Kings upon this land? See D&C 101:78, 89. "every man may act in doctrine and principle pertaining to futurity, according to the moral agency which I have given unto him, that every man may be accountable for his own sins in the day of judgment." We have freedom so that the sins that are committed are out sins, we cannot blame anyone else, we cannot blame our king. ] who shall raise up unto the Gentiles.
14 For he that raiseth up a king against me shall perish, for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, and I will be a light unto them forever, [ See 1 Ne 21:6 also see vs 9. ] that hear my words.
15 Wherefore, for this cause, [ This is the reason why. So that I can fulfill my covenants with the House Of Israel. ] that my covenants may be fulfilled which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh, I must needs destroy the secret works of darkness, and of murders, and of abominations. [ A promise yet to be fulfilled. So just as in the days of the flood again the only ways to destroy the works of darkness is to destroy all of the wicked. Every last one, no exceptions. ]
16 Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion, [ So we have an inclusive declaration of who are those who belong to the church of the devil. They are those who fight against Zion, those who are not with him are against him, no middle ground. ] both Jew and Gentile, both bond and free, both male and female, shall perish; for they are they who are the whore of all the earth; [ See 1 Ne. 14: 10 The purpose of the whore is defined in 1 Ne. 13:5-8 ] for they who are not for me are against me, saith our God.
17 For I will fulfil my promises which I have made unto the children of men, that I will do unto them while they are in the flesh—
18 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, thus saith our God: I will afflict thy seed by the hand of the Gentiles; [ referring to the covenant curses meted out in Lev. 26 and Deut. 28 where Israel was told if they did not keep His word the Lord would afflict them with Gentiles invaders.] nevertheless, I will soften the hearts of the Gentiles, that they shall be like unto a father to them; wherefore, the Gentiles shall be blessed and numbered among the house of Israel. [ referring to the Gentiles assiting in the salvation of Israel by bringing the gospel to them and being adopted into Israel per the promise to Abraham to be a father to all nations, cf. Gen. 17:4-5. ]
19 Wherefore, I will consecrate [ To separate, bless or make sacred ] this land unto thy seed, and them who shall be numbered among thy seed, forever, for the land of their inheritance; for it is a choice land, saith God unto me, above all other lands, wherefore I will have all men that dwell thereon [ On or in the land of promise (the americas). ] that they shall worship me, saith God. [ Are held responsible to worship God. This is the reason why we enjoy the freedoms that we have. It is a place where God can bring forth his kingdom, it was set up for this reason. And if they do not see Ether 2:9-10. ]
20 And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him, [ How
do we remember him? Prayer, humility, obedience to his commands ] and lay aside our sins, [ repent ] and not hang down our heads, [ don't get discouraged Why would they have felt discouraged? because they were being taught by some that they had lost their covenant blessings. This was taught because they were experiencing war with the Lamanites - just what Lehi had promised would happen if they were not faithful. And when they felt like they had lost the blessings they began to say why bother now. ] for we are not cast off; [ Here is the answer to the question that they were asking! we have not lost the blessings promised us under the covenant ] nevertheless, we have been driven out of the land of our inheritance; [ While we were taken from the land of our inheritance it is true; but why were we taken? ] but we have been led to a better land, [ So that the Lord can give us better opportunities to serve and know him. How did the struggles of Lehis family make them stronger in the Lord than if they would have remained in Jerusalem? ] for the Lord has made the sea our path, and we are upon an isle of the sea. [ See Isaiah 11:11; It seems strange to have Nephi call the American continent an island. But the Hebrew word generally translated isle in the Bible has a wider range of meaning than just island. It most often refers to coastal lands. (The Maxwell Institute - Hebrew Background of the Book Of Mormon - http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=72&chapid=862) ]
21 But great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the isles of the sea; [ The Hebrews considered any place where you had to cross the ocean as an isle of the sea. ] wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren. [ There are additional remnants of Israel scattered on other isles, cp. v. 8. We see later that the Nephites run into the Mulekites, and also cp. 1 Ne. 22:4, 2 Ne. 1:5-6, 3 Ne. 20:20-21, 3 Ne. 21:26. ]
22 For behold, the Lord God [ Hebrew - Yahweh ( or Jehovah which means "to become" or "to exist") translated as Lord; Elohim translated as God ("the Gods") which together the words mean "He will cause Gods to be". ] has led away from time to time from the house of Israel, according to his will and pleasure. And now behold, the Lord remembereth all them who have been broken off, wherefore he remembereth us also.
[Jacob begins the summary of his message]
23 Therefore, cheer up your hearts, [ there is no reason to feel sad, Christ has taken care of both forms of death. ] and remember that ye are free to act for yourselves—to choose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.
[ Since the vision of the prophets looking ahead is 20/20 then we need
to follow them and we will find ultimate success. The third element of
agency: is the freedom to make choices. Freedom of choice is the
freedom to obey or disobey existing laws—not the freedom to alter their
consequences. Law, as mentioned earlier, exists as a foundational
element of moral agency with fixed outcomes that do not vary according
to our opinions or preferences” (Christofferson, June 2009 Ensign)]
24 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, reconcile , [ First one must be reconciled to God and then grace may save the individual. The word "reconcile" has its roots in the Latin:reconciliare which most literally translates "to unite". To be seen again with God. The english usage means to cause to be friendly again or a removal of inconsistencies or disharmony. Thus, another statement that we are saved by grace through belief and acceptance without works necessarily being implicated. Also note that salvation from physical death (i.e. resurrection) is again presented as unconditional but salvation from spiritual, or everlasting, death is conditional in that we "may be recieved...through grace divine." One could argue that the reconciliation process requires works, and to a degree this is true. But, it is not within the mortal capacity to achieve complete reconciliation to God apart from His assitance as a result of the Fall. So the undeserved and unmerited gift of Grace is necessarily invoked.
] yourselves to the will of God, [ How does one reconcile ourselves to God?
The next line in this verse gives us a clue when it suggests "will". We
reconcile ourselves to God when we make our will subject to Gods will.
After all is that not what the Savior did? You will be required to do
this at some time; either in death, so why not now? ] and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the grace of God that ye are saved. [ Then after we have reconciled our will to Gods will we can be saved by his grace. ]
25 Wherefore, may God raise you from death by the power of the resurrection, [ The sacrament represents the power of the resurrection of the body symbolically with the bread. ] and also from everlasting death by the power of the atonement [ Russell M. Nelson said: “In the English language, the components are at-one-meant, suggesting that a person is at one with another. Other languages employ words that connote either expiation or reconciliation. Expiation means ‘to atone for.’ Reconciliation comes from Latin roots re, meaning ‘again’; con, meaning ‘with’; and sella, meaning ‘seat.’ Reconciliation, therefore, literally means ‘to sit again with.’…In Hebrew, the basic word for atonement is kaphar, a verb that means ‘to cover’ or ‘to forgive.’ Closely related is the Aramaic and Arabic word kafat, meaning ‘a close embrace’—no doubt related to the Egyptian ritual embrace….While the words atone or atonement, in any of their forms, appear only once in the King James translation of the New Testament, they appear 35 times in the Book of Mormon. As another testament of Jesus Christ, it sheds precious light on His Atonement.” (Ensign, Nov. 1996, pp.34-5 as taken from Latter-day Commentary on the Book of Mormon compiled by K. Douglas Bassett, p. 85)) ] , [ The water in the sacrament represents the blood and the power of the atonement. So in essence it is your choice, you have to be baptised, accept him, ask to be forgiven; he will not violate the law of agency] that ye may be received into the eternal kingdom of God, that ye may praise him through grace divine. Amen. [And he makes these statements 550 years before the birth of Jesus - they knew then the gospel in its entirity.]