1 AND after Christ [ Segway from the previous chapter - so he continuing the train of thought. ] shall have risen from the dead he shall show himself unto you, my children, and my beloved brethren; and the words which he shall speak unto you shall be the law [ After Christs resurrection, he will show himself to the Nephites, and the law that he will give will supercede the Law of Moses. ] which ye shall do.

2 For behold, I say unto you that I have beheld that many generations shall pass away, and there shall be great wars and contentions among my people.

3 And after the Messiah shall come [ The Lord's birth in the Bethlehem. ] there shall be signs given unto my people of his birth, and also of his death and resurrection; and great and terrible shall that day be unto the wicked, for they shall perish; and they perish because they cast out the prophets, and the saints, and stone them, and slay them; wherefore the cry of the blood of the saints shall ascend up to God from the ground against them.

4 Wherefore, all those who are proud, and that do wickedly, the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of Hosts [ What exactly does “host” mean? The phrase “Lord of Hosts” is the same as the “Lord of Sabaoth.” “The Lord of Sabaoth was a title of Jehovah; the hosts were the armies of Israel (1 Sam. 17:45), but also included the angelic armies of heaven” (Bible Dictionary, “Sabaoth,”. ] , for they shall be as stubble. [ When the head of the grain or fruit is removed the (straw) stubble has lost its value to the world or in other-words - it is now in a very humble state, no way to improve, no more growth - no use to man (Humbled) the only choice is how fast and in what way it is left to decompose.

Looking at this from an Eternal perspective - The head of the grain has been removed there is no way for them to continue to grow, have posterity - they are stopped in their state eternally (hence the burning or yearning for eternal growth, posterity) ]

5 And they that kill the prophets, and the saints, the depths of the earth shall swallow them up, saith the Lord of Hosts; and mountains shall cover them, and whirlwinds shall carry them away, and buildings shall fall upon them and crush them to pieces and grind them to powder.

6 And they shall be visited with thunderings, and lightnings, and earthquakes, and all manner of destructions, for the fire of the anger of the Lord shall be kindled against them, and they shall be as stubble, and the day that cometh shall consume them, saith the Lord of Hosts.

7 O the pain, and the anguish of my soul [ Compare to 1 Ne. 15:4-5; Mormon 6:16-22 as both Nephi and Mormon had similar feelings. ] for the loss of the slain of my people! For I, Nephi, have seen it, and it well nigh consumeth me before the presence of the Lord; but I must cry unto my God: Thy ways are just.

8 But behold, the righteous that hearken [ Hebrew "Shema" is translated here as hearken which means to "listen" and "obey". ] unto the words of the prophets, and destroy them not, but look forward unto Christ with steadfastness for the signs which are given, notwithstanding all persecution—behold, they are they which shall not perish. [ Now just how is that all going to be accomplished, the righteous spared during such great commotion in the earth that the mountains are leveled...vs5&6 Yet the righteous will be spared. How much coordination and how much management and control are still wielded by the Lord and his angels to make all of this happen? The theological implications of such a simple statement are considerable, as it requires large scale cataclysm which very selectively avoids some fraction of the population. Whenever cataclysms such as this occur and the mechanisms are revealed, it is always angels going about meting out punishment (e.g., Gen. 19, Exod. 12, Rev. 7, Rev. 14). The destruction by the angels must be very well-coordinated and micro-managed in order for it
to avoid certain individuals. Maybe a more natural explanation to this would be the righteous are more likely to survive such a cataclysm
because they would be better prepared for it and more prone to band together and assist one another afterwards. Whereas the wicked would be more prone to act selfishly and fight amongst themselves, and therefore do themselves in afterwards. Overall, surviving the calamity was probably a combination of both factors, however the account of the destruction in 3 Ne 8-9 definitely forwards the former over the latter. Do we really need food storage?. ]

9 But the son of righteousness [ God the Father is called Righteousness,a term that describes his holy nature. Since Jesus possesses all of the atributes of his Father he is "the son of Righteousness". ] shall appear unto them; and he shall heal them, and they shall have peace with him, until three generations shall have passed away, and many of the fourth generation shall have passed away in righteousness.

10 And when these things have passed away a speedy destruction [ While the physical destruction lasted Nephi foresaw is one that spanned Mormon's natural lifetime, from about 322 to 385 AD, although Nephi might have been more specifically foretelling the events from 375 to 385 AD (cf. Mormon 4:16-18). Even so, that is still some 10 years, which to us today seems a long time for the annihilation of an entire race. I suppose that the spiritual destruction was quite obviously almost immediately - we see it all the time it only takes a few months of staying away from the commandments and lives can harden quickly. So here we can see both a physical destruction in a period of years and a spiritual one in a speedy time - I suppose it is all speedy to the Lord as well. ] cometh unto my people; for, notwithstanding the pains of my soul, I have seen it; wherefore, I know that it shall come to pass; and they sell themselves for naught; [ A major difference between the Lamanites and the Nephites. The Lamanites are just lazy and slothful, and persist in a manner that does not require rules to live by they don't want to be bothered. The Nephites on the other hand make a willing decision, they take action and sell - which means to to transfer (goods) to or render (services) for another in exchange for money; dispose of to a purchaser for a price. ] for, for the reward of their pride and their foolishness they shall reap destruction; for because they yield unto the devil and choose works of darkness rather than light, therefore they must go down to hell.

11 For the Spirit of the Lord will not always strive with man. [ Why will the Spirit of the Lord not always strive with men? Short answer, because they have their agency. God will not violate their agency. Therefore after they go down the road away from God for so long they will not be able to find him, or even care about finding him. As that happens his spirit will be less a part of their life, until it no long is any part of their life. Interesting to note that this is the same message that the Lord delivered to Noah just before the flood. Gen 6:3 see as well Mormon 5:16 & Ether 2:15. ] And when the Spirit ceaseth to strive with man then cometh speedy destruction, and this grieveth my soul.

12 And as I spake concerning the convincing of the Jews, [ Nephi now turns his attention away from natural Israel, the subject of the preceding 25:1-26:11, and addresses the Gentiles, which will become the main topic to the end of ch. 30. ] that Jesus is the very Christ, it must needs be that the Gentiles be convinced also that Jesus is the Christ, [ The fulfillment of the blessing to Abraham that he would become the father of all nations Gen 15. ] the Eternal God;

13 And that he manifesteth himself unto all those who believe in him, by the power of the Holy Ghost; yea, unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, working mighty miracles, signs, and wonders, among the children of men according to their faith.

[ Verses 14-18 consist of Nephi's selective quotation of Isa. 29. What Nephi does is liken Isa. 29:3-5 to the Nephites here in v. 14-18, and then he likens Isa. 29:6-24 to the Gentiles in ch. 27. As the original context of Isa. 29 is that of natural Israel, Nephi has to explain his contextual usage, and that is what v. 19-33 is doing. ]

14 But behold, I prophesy unto you concerning the last days; [ Nephi is speaking concerning the last days(For Nephi here prophetically, the last days are the days when the Book of Mormon has been brought forth. He will redefine the last days in 2 Ne. 27:1 by saying that they are the times of the gentiles.), which is the time when these writing will be brought forth. The time frame is the same as that described in 1 Ne. 13. ] concerning the days when the Lord God shall bring these things forth unto the children of men.

15  After my seed and the seed of my brethren shall have dwindled in unbelief, [ Nephi is further defining what the last days are to him, when the Book Of Mormon comes forth. It is after the period when his people have dwindled in unbelief for some time(generations). ] and shall have been smitten by the Gentiles; [ Here he will liken the abuse the Lehites will suffer at the hands of the Gentiles to Isa. 29:3 where it says the Lord will besiege Jerusalem. With the final prophecy that the Lehites will be humbled down to the dust similar to what is stated in Isa. 29:4. He takes a couple of verses from Isaiah 29:3 & 4, and he reworks them. In Isaiah 29, they're about Jerusalem facing down Gentile armies. Here, it's about Nephites getting destroyed, and then Lamanites being left behind, Nephites speaking out of the dust and so on. So, he's likening. ] yea, after the Lord God shall have camped against them round about, and shall have laid siege against them with a mount, and raised forts against them; and after they shall have been brought down low in the dust, even that they are not, [ They have been annihilated and no longer exist. ] yet the words of the righteous shall be written, and the prayers of the faithful shall be heard, [ The word of the righteous will go out to the remnant of the Lehites because of the prayers of the faithful. ] and all those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not be forgotten.

16 For those who shall be destroyed shall speak unto them out of the ground, [ Nephi then paraphrases Isa. 29:5, and states the words of the ancient ancestors will go forth to the remnant. ] and their speech shall be low out of the dust, [ Shall be buried for a long time in the ground. ] and their voice shall be as one that hath a familiar spirit; [ Well why would it not be familiar, it is the ancient gospel before the scribes got their hands on the text, and drop parts out, and altered parts such that they were neither plain nor precious any longer. I am coming to the conclusion that this is speaking of the apocryphal texts some which we may already have. There are a lot of these texts that are coming to light and as they do they paint portions of the old testament in a different light as they identify the Messiah, his gospel and other things that are not strictly in a jewish setting - LIke the full story of Jacob and Joseph when he was sold into Egypt (Gen. 37:33) ] for 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". ] will give unto him power, that he may whisper concerning them, even as it were out of the ground; and their speech shall whisper out of the dust.

17 For 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". ] : They shall write the things which shall be done among them, and they shall be written and sealed up in a book, and those who have dwindled in unbelief shall not have them, for they seek to destroy the things of God. [ Nephi's intent on quoting this and likening it to the Lehites is to set up the subsequent likening of Isa. 29:6-24 to the latter-day Gentiles. As it is the latter-day Gentiles in the New World who have "camped against them round about" (v. 15) and who's sealed book (v. 17) is to come forth through them, Nephi wants to identify who it is the Gentiles are harassing and who's sealed book they are rejecting. ]

18 Wherefore, as those who have been destroyed have been destroyed speedily; and the multitude of their terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away—yea, thus saith the Lord God: [ How could Joseph Smith have known? Nephi's use of Isa. 29:5 here agrees with the Dead Sea Scrolls version of Isaiah (1QIsa) as opposed to the Masoretic, or the traditional rabbinical Hebrew, version. Nephi, by likening the text to his people, is saying the Lehites are the ones being destroyed, which would parallel the 1QIsa version which states it the multitude of haughty men, meaning the arrogant at Jerusalem, who are punished. The Masorah, which the KJV is based upon, says it is the multitude of strangers who are punished, which would suggest the multitudes of Gentiles brought up to Jerusalem to besiege her are ultimately punished. ] It shall be at an instant, suddenly—

19 And it shall come to pass, that those who have dwindled in unbelief shall be smitten by the hand of the Gentiles. [ the Gentiles will be the ones who smitten Nephi's people ]

20 And the Gentiles are lifted up in the pride of their eyes, [ This is the reason for their stumbling. ] and have stumbled, because of the greatness of their stumbling block, [ Or because they are so darn proud. ] that they have built up many churches; [ Why do they need so many churches? He has answered it here; because they are so proud that they are always right and if someone teaches something that they think is wrong then they just go start a new church because they are right in doing so, and the others are wrong. And so it continues as is outlined further in this verse because of their own wisdom.] nevertheless, they put down the power and miracles of God, and preach up unto themselves their own wisdom and their own learning, [ The reason why they started the new church in the first place. ] [1] that they may get gain [ This gain can be money as well as power. ] and grind upon the face [ Throughout all. ] of the poor. [ Nephi addresses much the same subject in 1 Ne 14 but was more ideological in it's treatment. Here he points out exactly what and why these church do what they do. ]

21 And there are many churches built up which cause envyings, and strifes, and malice.

22 And there are also [2]secret combinations, even as in times of old, according to the combinations of the devil, for he is the founder of all these things; yea, the founder of murder, and works of darkness; yea, and he leadeth them by the neck with a flaxen cord, [ He does not start of with chains, of course. In the beginning, “he [led] them by the neck with a flaxen cord, until he [bound] them with his strong cords [his chains] forever.” (2Nephi 26:22) This approach works very well because no one fears a flaxen thread. If an enemy approached with an extensive chain forged with great links, even the bravest among us would run like an antelope. But when we see that he is only carrying a small, fragile, nearly invisible thread made of weakest of all natural fibers, we hold our place and trust in our strength. We can break a flaxen thread anytime we want to. With such insignificant restraint he will never be able to take us any place we do not want to go. Flax fibre is extracted from the bast or skin of the stem of flax plant. Flax fibre is soft, lustrous and flexible. It is stronger than cotton fibre but less elastic. The best grades are used for linen fabrics such as damasks, lace and sheeting. Coarser grades are used for the manufacturing of twine and rope. ] until he bindeth them with his strong cords forever. [ Or what are know as the chains of hell. It is then a process that we become bound by the chains of hell. ]

23 For behold, my beloved brethren, I say unto you that the Lord God worketh not in darkness. [ The Lord works in just the opposite - he works in light. 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". ]

24 He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world; [ God's love is beyond the conception of love we have. God cannot, by virtue of who He is and what He knows, do anything that would not be for our spiritual benefit. He just can't do it. We call that love, but that is His character. He possesses a fulness of light and truth; He has developed a character that cannot do anything unless it is for our spiritual benefit. The difference between God's church and the church of man. God does things for everyone, the church of the devil does things for the gain of men. God cannot (because He is God), and would not (because He is God), do anything that was not for the benefit of our exaltation. ] for he loveth the world, [ Let's look at this in a little different way. To be exalted, or to have the character of an exalted being, you cannot love a child you had here on earth to a greater extent than any other child born anywhere else in the world or in any other time period. If you do, you are not worthy to be in the celestial kingdom. See? I'm trying to bring it home to each of us. When we read in John 13:34 that Jesus gave a “new” commandment, “that ye love one another as I have loved you,” we think: how did God love us more than anyone else? If we're going to be in the celestial kingdom, we cannot love our own children any more than we love any other child born anywhere else or in any other time. I realize this is a concept that is sometimes hard to swallow.] even that he layeth down his own life that he may draw all men unto him. Wherefore, he commandeth none that they shall not partake of his salvation.

25 Behold, doth he cry unto any, saying: Depart from me? Behold, I say unto you, Nay; but he saith: Come unto me all ye ends of the earth, buy milk and honey, without money and without price. [ Nephi paraphrases Isa. 55:1 to show how far off the Gentile churches have diverged from the Lord's way of doing things.]

26 Behold, hath he commanded any that they should depart out of the synagogues, or out of the houses of worship? Behold, I say unto you, Nay.

27 Hath he commanded any that they should not partake of his salvation? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but he hath given it free for all men; and he hath commanded his people that they should persuade all men to repentance.

28 Behold, hath the Lord commanded any that they should not partake of his goodness? Behold I say unto you, Nay; but all men are privileged the one like unto the other, and none are forbidden.

29 He commandeth that there shall be no priestcrafts; for, behold, [3]priestcrafts [ Priestcraft: The stratagems and frauds of priests; fraud or imposition in religious concerns; management of selfish and ambitious priests to gain wealth and power, or to impose on the credulity of others. – Websters 1828 Dictionary There is a difference between priestcraft and priesthood. Priestcraft builds up itself, it is not authorized of God. Priestcraft oppresses the people; but the priesthood of God emancipates men. – George Q. Cannon, Journal of Discourses, 13:55. ] are that men preach and set themselves up for a light unto the world, that they may get gain and praise of the world; but they seek not the welfare of Zion.

30 Behold, the Lord hath forbidden this thing; wherefore, 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". ] hath given a commandment that all men should have charity, [ True power from God is safeguarded by one attribute alone and that is charity. This is one of the foremost attribues of Heavenly Father and His son Jesus Christ. So when we talk about charity what God is saying is in order to wield my power I need to know that you have an eye single to the glory of God - the immortality and eternal life of man. ] which charity is love. And except they should have charity they were nothing. Wherefore, if they should have charity they would not suffer the laborer in Zion to perish.

31 But the [5]laborer in Zion shall labor for Zion; [ The purpose for labors in God's church is to forward his work and there is no other gain provided (not for money, not for power). ] for if they labor for money they shall perish. [ If they are laboring for money or power they are not Gods, and shall perish before him. ]

32 And again, 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". ] hath commanded that men should not murder; that they should not lie; that they should not steal; that they should not take the name of the Lord their God in vain; that they should not envy; that they should not have malice; that they should not contend one with another; that they should not commit whoredoms; and that they should do none of these things; for whoso doeth them shall perish.

33 For none of these iniquities come of the Lord; for he doeth that which is good among the children of men; and he doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men; and he inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen; and all are alike unto God, both Jew and Gentile. [ This would have been a major slap in the face to the Jewish community if they were to catch wind of this doctrine being pronounced, and yet Nephi comes right out and states it as doctrine as he reads from the plates of brass. Well why do you suppose that we might not have this language recorded in the Old Testament? Would this have sit well with the Jes, the chosen people, God's only anointed ones? No way! So where would Nephi have come up with this idea? Well we find in the Ethiopian Book Of Enoch on the brass plates, Nephi would have read, "Our Lord is true in all His works, and in His judgements and His justice, and His judgements have no respect of persons."(1 Enoch 63:8) Nephi actually goes on to one-up Peter in his letter to Galatia(Gal. 3:28) "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." and then to the Romans(Rom.2:11) "For there is no respect of persons with God." and then Pauls writing on this subject (Acts 10:34) "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:" each one specifically continuing on this Enochian theme. In the verses that follow, Nephi foretells of "the last days," when "the nations ... fight against Zion." The "rulers" have been "covered because of your iniquity."(2 Ne. 26:5) The Ethiopian Enoch also trumpets the idea that God does not "respect persons" in connection with "the mighty and the kings who possess the earth," who will say, "Our souls are full of unrighteous gain, but it does not prevent us from descending from the midst thereof into the burden of Sheol." (1 Enoch 63:10) Joseph translates "sheol" as "hell" in Nephi's prophecy: "O the wise, and the learned, and the rich, that are puffed up in the pride of their hearts, and all those who preach false doctrines, and all those who commit whoredoms, and pervert the right way of the Lord... " (2 Ne.28:15) ]