Throughout my research during this project, I have often wondered why Joseph Smith fixated on various things. Thus far, we have seen the plagiarism of entire chapters of Isaiah. Theologically speaking, Isaiah is one of the most impactful and significant books of the Old Testament. It contains various Messianic prophecies, which is why it’s so important. However, it also contains many prophecies regarding Israel. We saw in my previous entry how Mormon apologists have tried to shoehorn meanings into Isaiah that simply aren’t there; namely, the turning of Messianic prophecy into prophecy regarding the house of Israel.
So, why the bizarre fixation? Well, it’s a rabbit hole that exceeds the scope of this post, but they believe they are literally and spiritually part of the house of Israel. For more information, see Why should we know that we are literally of the House of Israel? and Nineteenth-Century Mormons: The New Israel – Dialogue Journal. During a ceremony known as the Patriarchal Blessing, members are told what tribe of Israel to which they belong. They hold to the belief that while not all members may have literal Hebrew ancestors, once they receive a patriarchal blessing, they are considered descendants of Abraham (Patriarchal Blessings). As a result of these strange beliefs, they view all Biblical Scripture through the lens of being descendants of Abraham that will participate in the final gathering of Israel.
I told you it was a rabbit hole. I’m sure I’ll come across the opportunity to delve further into it when I write my critique of the Doctrine & Covenants and Pearl of Great Price. For now, we will be reviewing their understanding of Isaiah 51 through the lens of the Book of Mormon. As noted in my previous post, Joseph Smith clearly believed he knew better than Isaiah and altered what he wrote to fit his own narrative and interpretations. We will be seeing more of that here. I will be referencing a couple online Biblical commentaries (which I will cite at the end of this post), but I will also be utilizing John N. Oswalt’s commentary, “The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 40-66” from The New International Commentary on the Old Testament series. To understand the Mormon interpretations of this chapter, I will be using the popular LDS site “Gospel Doctrine.” Though it is very well-known and highly regarded in the LDS community, I must point out that it is run by church members and not the church itself.
2 Nephi Chapter 8
Jacob continues reading from Isaiah: In the last days, the Lord will comfort Zion and gather Israel—The redeemed will come to Zion amid great joy—Compare Isaiah 51 and 52:1–2. About 559–545 B.C.
To give you all a general idea of where the differences between Christians and LDS lie in regards to this chapter, allow me to point you to the popular LDS website “Gospel Doctrine” for their introduction to this chapter: “The Second Coming of Christ will usher in the great Millenium. During this blessed period, divine authority will be administered from two great cities: the New Jerusalem and the Old Jerusalem. This chapter tells the story of the redemption of these two great cities. Verses 1-16 speak in general of Zion, the New Jerusalem, that great city which is yet to be built upon the American continent. Verses 17-23 speak of the redemption of the Old Jerusalem.”
This ties in with former LDS president Joseph Fielding Smith’s comments on this passage: “Jerusalem of old, after the Jews have been cleansed and sanctified from all their sin, shall become a holy city where the Lord shall dwell and from whence he shall send forth his word unto all people. Likewise, on this continent, the city of Zion, New Jerusalem, shall be built and from it the law of God shall also go forth. There will be no conflict, for each city shall be headquarters for the Redeemer of the world, and from each he shall send forth his proclamations as occasion may require. Jerusalem shall be the gathering place of Judah and his fellows of the house of Israel, and Zion shall be the gathering place of Ephraim and his fellows, upon whose heads shall be conferred ‘the richer blessings.’…These two cities, one in the land of Zion and one in Palestine, are to become capitals for the kingdom of God during the millennium.” (Doctrines of Salvation, 3 vols., edited by Bruce R. McConkie [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1954-1956], 3: 69-71). I will be demonstrating throughout this article why this is a bogus idea that has no credibility.
1: “Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness. Look unto the rock from whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit from whence ye are digged.”
Isaiah 51:1 (KJV): “Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.”
In a literal sense, this is being addressed to the captives in Babylon, but there is a much broader theme here. The phrase “ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord” can also be applied to faithful believers in Christ. As Matthew Henry points out in his commentary, “This chapter is designed for the comfort and encouragement of those that fear God and keep his commandments, even when they walk in darkness and have no light. Whether it was intended primarily for the support of the captives in Babylon is not certain, probably it was; but comforts thus generally expressed ought not to be so confined.” The Broadman Bible Commentary echoes this sentiment: “The persons addressed in this paragraph are called Israelites; but it is obvious that only the “righteous remnant” are meant; and therefore the ultimate application of the passage extends to the Ideal Servant and his holy Church.”
The phrase “look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hold of the pit whence ye are digged” is instructing these captives seeking righteousness to look to their humble origins, which we see in the next verse.
2: “Look unto Abraham, your father, and unto Sarah, she that bare you; for I called him alone, and blessed him.”
“Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I called him alone, and blessed him, and increased him.” Smith left out this last bit about increasing. It could be that he thought he knew better than Isaiah and didn’t need to include that last part. Perhaps he assumed that blessing someone automatically means increasing. Whatever his reasons, altering the Word of God is a bad idea.
This verse is meant to emphasize the humble beginning of the nation of Israel. The captives of Babylon are being encouraged to look to Abraham and Sarah and consider their circumstances. As Oswalt puts it: “But for those who do believe God, who are seeking him, hope deferred can be a hard trial. To them God offers his comfort, a comfort rooted in the evidence of history. God had taken Abraham when he was one, alone, and along with Sarah had made them into a great people… God could do the same again. If he could make a great people out of barren Sarah, surely he could restore a great people to barren Zion, turning her from a wilderness into the garden of the Lord (see also Isaiah 4:2, 32:15, 35:1-2, 61:3-4, 65:21-22).” (p. 334).
Oswalt also points out that the verb “look” in this verse is the same verb God used in Gen. 15:5 to tell Abraham to look at the night sky and count the stars. “Just as Abraham was called on there to look and believe for a numberless progeny to come from the womb of barren Sarah, Israel is here called to look at the faithfulness of God in the past and to believe that God could yet again keep his promises to people barren Zion with children from around the world.” (p. 335). This sets the overall theme of this chapter: comfort for God’s people.
Late Mormon apostle Orson Hyde inserted his own presuppositions into this verse, of course. Since Mormons erroneously believe this chapter entails the building of Zion on the American continent, his emphasis on this verse is that modern Mormons become the seed of Abraham through the blood of Christ. This idea can be seen in this quote: “How was it, then, with Abraham? He is said to be the father of the faithful, and the great head of the Church in the days of the Patriarchs, and the head of those who have been adopted into the covenant of Jehovah through the blood of His only begotten; for if we are Christ’s then we are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. If, by the virtue of the Savior’s blood, our sins are washed away, we are the children of Abraham; we hail him as our father, and Sarah as our mother; he is the father of the faithful, he is the father of many nations.”
As I’ve repeatedly pointed out in several other posts, the concept of church is purely a New Testament notion, strictly Christian in nature. Abraham had no idea what a church was, much less was the head of the Mormon one. I’m beginning to notice a disturbing pattern here. Their mandatory temple ordinances that supposedly promise one entrance to the Celestial Kingdom (the highest level of heaven), their belief that men are either of the Aaronic or Melchizedek priesthood, and the presence of a holy of holies in their Salt Lake City temple can only be explained by their absolute fixation on the Old Testament.
What’s disturbing is the belief that underlies all of this: that the blood of Jesus isn’t enough to atone for our sins. God doesn’t want a bunch of temple rituals. Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament law and therefore made them all a thing of the past. There is no Melchizedek priesthood, because Jesus served as both the ultimate sacrifice and the great high priest, the ultimate mediator between humanity and God the Father. The Holy of Holies no longer exists in any temple, because the curtain was torn asunder when Jesus died, symbolizing a universal offer of salvation. Joseph Smith did not restore the Gospel. All he “restored” were things that Jesus already fulfilled. The gospel that the Mormon church offers, then, is nothing but a false one littered with hollow rituals and empty promises of blessings that don’t exist.
3: “For the Lord shall comfort Zion, he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.”
“For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.”
This verse, of course, is a promise of comfort and restoration for these captives. Henry neatly ties this into a broader theme of comfort for believers as a whole when he writes, “The church of God on earth, even the gospel Zion, has sometimes had her deserts and waste places, many parts of the church, through either corruption or persecution, made like a wilderness, unfruitful to God or uncomfortable to the inhabitants; but God will find out a time and way to comfort Zion, not only by speaking comfortably to her, but by acting graciously for her. God has comforts in store even for the waste places of his church, for those parts of it that seem not regarded or valued…He will make them fruitful, and so give them cause to rejoice; her wildernesses shall put on a new face, and look pleasant as Eden, and abound in all good fruits, as the garden of the Lord. Note, It is the greatest comfort of the church to be made serviceable to the glory of God, and to be as his garden in which he delights.” While these verses might be literally directed towards the Babylonian captives, we as modern Christians can certainly apply these general themes to our own spiritual journey.
Mormons see themselves in this verse and believe it applies to them in a more literal sense. Because they believe they were commanded to build Zion in the United States (specifically Missouri), they view this promise of comfort and prosperity as direct promises to them. As author W. Cleon Skousen states in his book “Isaiah Speaks to Modern Times,”: “Since the organization of the church, the saints have been the object of persecution and public ridicule. While these difficulties may have lessened of late, the lot of the latter-day saint continues to be more persecution than adoration. Yet, all of these inequities, individually and collectively, will be wiped away. Those saints who were commanded to build Zion in the 1830’s (see DC 57 & 63) must have been horrified when they were mobbed and driven from their Jackson County homes. The promise is, and has always been, that the Lord does not expect his saints to suffer forever. “This verse (2 Ne. 8:3) was a great comfort to the Saints when they were driven out of Missouri and later out of Illinois. The Lord assured the Saints that eventually he would pour out comfort and blessings upon his people in America.”
Late apostle Rudger Clawson believed this promise of prosperity was fulfilled as evidenced by his Conference Report in April 1905: “This vast congregation are living witnesses of the literal fulfillment of these words of the prophet. Was not this land a veritable wilderness in the year 1847? Has it not been transformed into a garden like Eden? This land has become choice above all other lands. We want no better. And I am inclined to think that the Lord can lead us to no better land than we have at the present time, unless a special blessing is conferred upon the land beyond what we have received. And in this conference we have seen the joy of the people; we have witnessed their gladness. We have heard the voice of thanksgiving from this stand, from the lips of the Elders of Israel. Here in this choir we have heard the voice of melody. Isaiah must have had his eye upon these occasions; and in the great visions that were given to him he must have witnessed the gatherings of the people of the Lord. Oh, how our hearts have been made to rejoice upon this occasion!” So, he appeared to believe Isaiah saw them in his prophetic visions.
God makes no such promises to a group dedicated to twisting His word and propagating a false gospel. 2 Corinthians 11:12-15 (NASB) is quite clear: “But what I am doing, I will continue to do, that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. For such men are deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their deeds.” That is only one of numerous warnings about false prophets in the Bible.
It’s an interesting coincidence that Joseph Smith preached a sermon on May 26th, 1844 in which he read 2 Corinthians 11 then made the following outrageous statement: “I have more to boast of than ever any man had. I am the only man that has ever been able to keep a whole church together since the days of Adam… Neither Paul, John, Peter nor Jesus ever did it. I boast that no man ever did such work as I. The followers of Jesus ran away from him; but the Latter-day Saints never ran away from me yet.” About a month later, he was killed by an angry mob. You can read the entirety of his sermon here:26 May 1844 (Sunday Morning) | Religious Studies Center
4: “Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation; for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light for the people.”
“Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.”
Here, as Oswalt points out, the address becomes even more personal, with God identifying those who seek Him as “my people” and “my nation.” He writes, “No matter what is past, no matter how they have sinned, if they are truly seeking God, He calls them His own. All His promises are theirs.” It is a great comfort and encouragement for God to call us His. As Romans 8:31 says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” This theme will be echoed in later verses in this chapter.
We also see here that his promises are opening up to everyone and not just the Israelites. The law proceeding from Him spoken of here is speaking of God’s universal reign through the Gospel. Henry writes of this verse: “The gospel of Christ shall be preached and published to the world: A law shall proceed from me, an evangelical law, the law of Christ, the law of faith, ch. 2:3. This law is his judgment; for it is that law of liberty by which the world shall be governed and judged. This shall not only go forth, but shall continue and rest, it shall take firm footing and deep root in the world. It shall rest, not only for the benefit of the Jews, who had the first notice of it, but for a light of the people of other nations. It is this law, this judgment, that we are required to hearken and give ear to, at our peril; for how shall we escape if we neglect it and turn a deaf ear to it? When a law proceeds from God, he that has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Indeed, Oswalt agrees with this sentiment, writing, “Far from being some question about God’s ability and willingness to save his own people from their sin, what he is about to do will be the means of the tora instruction, that they have received from God now reaching out to all the peoples of the world, just as stated in ch. 2. Because of what God will do for the children of Abraham, all the world will come into His light, to experience His just rule.” (p. 335-336).
According to Scripture Central, another popular LDS site, Jacob was reading this portion of Isaiah to the Nephites to reemphasize God’s promises to those who left Jerusalem and to teach those who joined them when they reached the Americas. Now, absolutely nothing thus far in the Book of Mormon has given any indication that people were already on this continent before they got here, much less that they joined his group. I can only conclude this is an assumption on the part of Mormons in their understanding of this chapter in Nephi.
However, their understanding of this passage gets even more nonsensical. They don’t believe this is talking about the Gospel or God’s reign on Earth. They believe this is teaching that “the law” will be administered by the Zion on the American continent. They also then cite Isaiah 2:3 to attempt to back this up but only mention the very last phrase which is “For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” They conveniently leave out the first part of it, which is “And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways, and that we may walk in His paths…” This verse, as well as the first several verses of Isaiah 2, speak of a time when God will reign and people will travel to Jerusalem from all over the world to learn His ways (for a more detailed breakdown, see What does Isaiah 2:3 mean? | BibleRef.com).
Orson Pratt further distorted this meaning by speaking of what sounds like a theocracy run by the LDS church: “…There would then be persons ordained and set apart for various purposes, not to bestow any new Priesthood, for it is all included in the everlasting and eternal Priesthood, after the order of the Son of God; but to set apart persons already holding the Priesthood in the great organization; to receive divine laws; or, in other words, to regulate the nations, according to the laws of Zion; that they may understand her laws, and know what the divine government is, by which they are to be governed; in other words, ministers or plenipotentiaries are to be sent forth to transact business among all nations and peoples who willingly shall become subject to the laws of Zion.” In other words, forget God ruling all the nations. Forget God teaching His precepts. It’s all going to be up to the Mormons.
And what of people who oppose this? Well, they have to be destroyed, of course: “As to the rebellious nations, there will be none left alive. As it is written, ‘that nation or kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish.’ ‘Those nations shall be utterly wasted away;’ consequently, the nations left, who are not totally destroyed will be anxious to be governed by the laws of Zion. Hence there will be an organization before the winding-up scene that will control the nations politically, giving them the privilege of remaining in their own land if they choose to do so, but subject to the laws of Zion.” (Journal of Discourses, vol 19, May 20, 1877, p.14). So, seeing their neighbors get slaughtered will make other nations want to eagerly obey. There is absolutely nothing remotely resembling this in the Bible. In fact, Scripture is clear that it is God who will execute judgment, NOT a group of people running a theocratic dictatorship.
5: “My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arm shall judge the people. The isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.”
“My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust.”
Now we see that the deliverance God is promising is not limited to the captives in Babylon, but to future believers worldwide. As Oswalt writes: “Why should the islands (the ends of the earth) wait (cf. also 60:9) for that deliverance? Why should they hope for that? Nonetheless, if God is going to use His Servant to deliver the world from the clutches of sin, just as Cyrus was to deliver the Israelites from the clutches of Babylon, that is a salvation that does indeed have implications for the whole world.”(p. 336).
It is interesting to note here that God’s arms are both for judgment and trust. Those of us who love God actively hope for his strength and justice. As Oswalt later points out, “Interestingly, it is for the arm of the Lord that the world hopes, that is, His delivering power. We long for someone who is both strong enough and good enough to rule in justice.” (p. 336-337). Henry develops this idea further, stating, “This evangelical righteousness and salvation shall not be confined to the Jewish nation, but shall be extended to the Gentiles; My arms shall judge the people. Those that will not yield to the judgments of God’s mouth shall be crushed by the judgments of his hand. Some shall thus be judged by the gospel, for for judgment Christ came into this world; but others, and those of the isles, shall wait upon him, and bid his gospel, and the commands as well as the comforts of it, welcome. It was a comfort to God’s people, to his nation, that multitudes should be added to them, and the increase of their number should be the increase of their strength and beauty. It is added, And on my arm shall they trust, that arm of the Lord which is revealed in Christ, ch. 53:1. Observe, God’s arm shall judge the people that are impenitent, and yet on his arm shall others trust and be saved by it; for it is to us as we make it, a savior of life or of death.”
According to Gospel Doctrine, the “isles of the sea” refers to the American continent. Because everything refers to the American continent if you squint your eyes hard enough while reading Scripture and convince yourself that that’s what it means.
6: “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment; and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner. But my salvation shall be forever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.”
“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.”
Here, God is emphasizing the finite nature of his creation versus the eternal nature of salvation and righteousness. Oswalt makes the observation that the heavens and the earth are where the children of this world look to for guidance. But none can be found because the heavens are no more eternal than smoke that dissipates in the wind, and the earth is no more solid than a moth-eaten old garment. And we as humans are just as finite as these things. Someday, per end times prophecy, this world and everything in it will pass away. It is comforting to know, however, that we can rest upon the permanence of God’s righteousness and the salvation we have through Christ.
So, what does this all mean if we view it through and LDS lens? They believe the earth will be transformed twice: once from telestial (a word Joseph Smith made up) world to a terrestrial one (which is apparently better somehow), and then again from a terrestrial world to a celestial kingdom, which only those worthy enough can enter. For the sake of space, I’m not going to quote Joseph Fielding Smith’s meandering explanation of all of this. I will cite all my sources at the end of this post, and you can read it all there if you are so inclined. It should go without saying that absolutely none of this is supported by any Bible passage anywhere.
7: “Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart I have written my law, fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.”
“Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings.”
This is pretty self-explanatory. Those of us who follow God have nothing to fear from mortal men. This point is also made in Matthew 10:28 (NASB): “And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
While skimming over the explanation Gospel Doctrine provides, I did not see anything particularly noteworthy in regard to the interpretation. Then, I came across this gem: “The Lord always commands his prophets to write down his laws. In this instance, he is writing the law in the hearts of the righteous. This is exactly what happens when the saints attend the temple-they learn the law of the Lord. However, this law cannot be written down on parchments or stone tablets. Rather, through regular temple attendance and sheer repetition, it is written in the hearts of the temple patrons.” The law is written on our hearts by studying the Bible, not by attending meaningless temple ceremonies. What’s troubling, however, is the phrase “sheer repetition.” It’s true that repetition helps us remember things. It’s also a brainwashing technique. Be incredibly careful about what you repeat. Because if you do it long enough, you might start to believe it.
8: “For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool. But my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation.”
“For the moth shall eat them up like a garment, and the worm shall eat them like wool: but my righteousness shall be forever, and my salvation from generation to generation.”
This verse builds upon the previous one regarding creation’s mortal existence and God’s eternal nature. This also lays out the consequences of the refusal to submit to him: wasting away and death. As Oswalt puts it, “The believer need not be neutralized by the opposition of a passing world. Those who have made it and its gods ultimate have chosen the way of time: the moth and the insect. Those who have made God and his Servant ultimate have chosen the way of permanence, certainty, and joy.” Amen to that.
9: “Awake, awake! Put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the ancient days. Art thou not he that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?”
“Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon?”
This plea implies that God has not been acting on the people’s behalf for quite some time. This verse rings with a lament that contrasts with faith. Oswalt makes the argument that these two things are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to have faith that God can and may act in any given situation but be deeply saddened and troubled that He is not acting right now in the present. This is a call to God to act as he did “as in the ancient days.”
Surprisingly, the commentaries I’m using, including Gospel Doctrine, agree that “Rahab” is a term for Egypt (see Isaiah 30:7 and Psalm 87:4) and the dragon is a term for Pharoah (see Ezekiel 29:3). This makes sense in light of the plea for God to “awake, as in the ancient of days.” Oswalt points out that these terms may not be limited to these historical references: “As is known from Ugaritic studies, the twisting monster is a figure in the struggles of Baal with the god of the sea, Yam, as is “Leviathan,” which is equated with the monster in Isa. 27:1. Given these facts, and the evidence that the myth of the struggle of the gods with the sea monster was known in one form or another all over the ancient Near East, one has reason to believe that Isaiah is here, as in 27:1, utilizing this acquaintance among the people for his own purposes… just as a contemporary poet might allude to the Iliad or the Odyssey, utilizing imagery familiar to his hearers but that is hardly part of their belief system, so Isaiah uses the imagery of the well-known stories of creation to make his point.”
Scripture Central, however, has a different and bizarre take on both verses 9 and 10: “Verses 9 and 10 are references to very old Israelite stories of Yahweh taming the deep and Rahab, the monster of the deep. The stories are only referenced in the Bible here and in Psalm 89:11–13. Clearly those stories were known to Isaiah’s audience, but it is doubtful that they were among the teaching to the
New World, although they would have fit well with the New World mythology. The verses are to indicate Yahweh’s power over all the earth, and that is the intended message for Jacob’s audience, whether they understood the stories behind these verses or not.” Psalm 89:11-13 make absolutely no such reference. It’s verse 10 that makes mention of Rahab, but that is clearly another reference to Egypt. There is no indication whatsoever that it’s referring to anything other than Egypt, let alone a “monster of the deep.” I don’t know why this isn’t embarrassing for them. I think it should be.
10: “Art thou not he who hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?”
“Art thou not it which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over?”
In light of the previous verse and the references to Egypt and Pharoah, this is clearly talking about the parting of the Red Sea during the Exodus, when the Israelites were able to cross it on dry ground to escape Egypt’s powerful army. All commentaries agree on this, though it doesn’t take a Biblical scholar to know that’s what this verse is referencing.
Where the LDS sources differ from the Christian ones, however, is what is to be made of this verse. Gospel Doctrine has decided to tie it into their own scripture in Doctrine and Covenants and make it about them: “This famous scriptural event is symbolic in many ways. The Egyptian armies were the most powerful military force on the face of the earth at the time that Moses confronted them. Still, the power of the Lord was strong enough to destroy them and save his people. This event will be repeated in the redemption of Zion and Jerusalem. In that day, the power of the Lord will rest with the saints to such a degree that ‘it shall be said among the wicked; Let us not go up to battle against Zion, for the inhabitants of Zion are terrible; wherefore we cannot stand.’ (DC 45:70)…” Anytime an LDS source references “the saints,” they are referring to themselves.
11: “Therefore, the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy and holiness shall be upon their heads; and they shall obtain gladness and joy; sorrow and mourning shall flee away.”
“Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.”
This can be seen as a reference to both the Babylonian captives and to future believers in Christ. Henry aptly describes it as thus: “They plead promises (v. 11): And the redeemed of the Lord shall return, that is (as it may be supplied), thou hast said, They shall, referring to ch. 35:10, where we find this promise, that the redeemed of the Lord, when they are released out of their captivity in Babylon, shall come with singing unto Zion. Sinners, when they are brought out of the slavery of sin into the glorious liberty of God’s children, may come singing, as a bird got loose out of the cage. The souls of believers, when they are delivered out of the prison of the body, come to the heavenly Zion with singing.”
I think it is important to note here that the Christian sources make no division between Catholic, Orthodox, or Protestant Christians. We all affirm the core doctrines of Christianity and are therefore a worldwide body of believers. Mormon sources, however, make it clear that all end times prophecies concerning believers are exclusively about them. This is yet another reason why Mormons should not call themselves Christians. If they really were, and if they truly believed that, they would not exclusively reference “the saints” in all of their interpretations of the Bible. They want to deny central Christian doctrines, be separate from and even superior to Christians, but demand the same label. This is absurd at best and deliberately dishonest at worst.
Mormons see this verse as talking about the “New Jerusalem”… in America, of course. They then go on to twist it to make it jive with their own writings: “Verse 11 recounts the joy of the saints in the New Jerusalem of America. They will sing a new song (DC 84:98-102), they will rejoice to be in the presence of Jehovah, and they will welcome the returning city of Enoch, ‘and we will fall upon their necks, and they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other’ (Moses 7:63). Such will be the joy of the righteous.” There is not a single Biblical prophecy that has anything to do with America specifically. Anyone who says otherwise is out of their mind.
12: “I am he; yea, I am he that comforteth you. Behold, who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of man, who shall die, and of the son of man, who shall be made like unto grass?
“I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;”
Here the concept of mankind’s mortality is contrasted with God’s immortal and eternal nature. The questions in previous verses essentially and despairingly ask, “But aren’t you the same God that delivered us from Egypt and parted the Red Sea? Aren’t you going to save us?” God’s answer is strong and emphatic. He doesn’t just say, “Yes, I’m your comforter.” As Oswalt emphasizes, “Instead, he says, “I, I am he, your comforter.” “I am he” is the expression of self-existence that is repeatedly used of God in this part of the book. Thus the reality of God being able to comfort his people is predicated on a much greater reality: the uniqueness and incomparability of God.” (p. 345). What a mighty God we serve! But what is the description of man? A being that will die like grass. May our lives never be ruled by fear and instead be ruled by our hope in God.
Not surprisingly, the Mormon sources make something much different of this verse. They view it as another end times Messianic prophecy. None of the Christian sources I am using draw this conclusion. Gospel Doctrine states, “Verse 12 emphasizes the identity of the Redeemer at that day. Now the focus shifts to the Jews in Jerusalem, who will be saved in a dramatic fashion at the Second Coming. The Lord says ‘I am he,’ reminding us of another ominous declaration, ‘I am he who was lifted up. I am Jesus that was crucified. I am the Son of God’ (DC 45:52). At this point, the Lord reasons with the Jews about their relationship with him. They feared man rather than God (v. 12-13)…” This is not an issue of there simply being more than one way to read this verse. This is a deliberate distortion of the truth.
Former LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley took the opportunity to emphasize their works-based theology by citing the book “Commentaries on Isaiah in the Book of Mormon” by K. Douglas Bassett: “You will find comfort and strength as you lose yourself in…service. Your own troubles will be forgotten as you help others with theirs. Your burdens will become lighter as you lift the burdens of the downtrodden and the oppressed.” (Commentaries on Isaiah in the Book of Mormon, ed. by K. Douglas Bassett, [American Fork, UT: Covenant Publishing Co., 2003], 43). While this is certainly a nice sentiment, it isn’t going to save anyone. Good works are a result of our salvation. Comfort comes by trusting in Christ. We are saved and comforted because our hope is in the Lord, not because we volunteer at the soup kitchen.
13: “And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth, and hast feared continually every day, because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? And where is the fury of the oppressor?”
“And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?”
This is a call from God in the form of a question. “Have you forgotten me, the one who created everything you see? Have you really feared mortal men and what they can do?” If God is our creator, if we submit to His will, then we shouldn’t fear any oppressor, no matter what horrors they plan to inflict upon us. This is not meant to belittle or trivialize what harm humans can do to other humans. Rather, it is a call to live out the reality of our faith in God and to trust Him above all. As Job stated in 13:15, “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him.”
Oswalt aptly describes this radical faith in God in this way: “If the oppressor fills my horizon, then I have only one option: be ruled by fear and hatred. But if a larger reality fills my horizon, then where is the anger of the oppressor? If we know that it is God who holds our ultimate destiny, then the oppressor no longer holds power over us. Yes, oppressors may hurt us, even kill us, but they do not have the power to make us fear them or hate them. God is the ruler over all.” (p. 346).
As usual, Gospel Doctrine completely and wholly misses the mark in every conceivable way. They carry their end-times theme over from the previous verse. They believe God is asking where the fury of the oppressor is because He has destroyed their enemies. I’ll let them explain it in their own words: “The Jews had forgotten the Lord and they had ‘feared continually every day, because of the fury of the oppressor’ (likely referring to the army prophesied to come against Jerusalem just prior to the Second Coming). The Lord asks, ‘And where is the fury of the oppressor?’ (The fury is gone because the Lord has just destroyed the opposing forces and redeemed Jerusalem). The Lord reminds them that if they had been faithful to him, they would have had no need to worry themselves about the wrath of their enemies, but of course, they did not.” This interpretation requires expert levels of mental gymnastics. It is completely at odds with the overarching themes of this chapter, which is, at the literal level, about the captives in Babylon. More broadly, these themes can absolutely apply to believers as a whole to give us similar hope in the Lord. What this chapter is not is end-times prophecy.
14: “The captive exile hasteneth, that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.”
“The captive exile hasteneth that he may be loosed, and that he should not die in the pit, nor that his bread should fail.”
This is a promise from God that He will not allow His people to perish in a spiritual sense. It can’t mean in a physical sense for either the Babylonian captives or for Christians. Many Israelites died in captivity, and everyone dies physically. As has been previously emphasized, no oppressor can overcome God’s people in the end. While there can be temporal hope in deliverance from enemies in this life, our ultimate hope is eternal in nature.
15: “But I am the Lord thy God, whose waves roared; the Lord of Hosts is my name.”
“But I am the Lord thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The Lord of hosts is his name.”
This verse makes the promises in the previous verses sure because of who God is. On page 348 of his commentary, Oswalt writes, “If the God of Israel is ‘the Lord,’ the great ‘I am he,’ then all of existence is different from what it would be otherwise. One must view everything that is in the light of that truth… The earth is the Lord’s (cf. 6:3), and its effects are the result of his causes. If the waves of the ocean roar, it is neither because of the power of a chaos monster nor because of inexorable, impersonal, eternal natural laws. It is because of God, Israel’s God, at whose command all the hosts of heaven rush to obey. Thus Isaiah asks of his own people and of people still unborn the great question of all the ages, first framed by Pharoah (Exod. 5:2), ‘Who is the Lord?’ Our whole lives depend upon how we answer that question.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.
16: “And I have put my words in thy mouth, and have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion: Behold, thou art my people.”
“And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.”
This is an abrupt change in who is being addressed. This verse appears to now address the Servant (Christ). It can’t be addressed to Israel, because Israel cannot say to Zion “Thou art my people.” It can’t be addressed to Isaiah, because he cannot plant a new heaven and form a new earth. Oswalt describes this sudden shift in the addressee as another step in a logical sequence. Previous verses appeal to God’s might and authority in his work in creation and redemption. Following this is an assurance that it is possible to live without fear. The end of this segment is the final state of creation, including the people God has made. As he sums up on p. 349, “…for the cosmos is to be remade (65:17), and the people of whom it was said “not my people” shall be called “my people” (Hos. 2:23, Isa. 65:19). How is this to happen? It is to happen through the word of the Servant/Messiah.”
17: “Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury—thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling wrung out–“
“Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out.”
In verse 9, the appeal to God was to “awake.” Now God is telling Israel to “awake.” This demonstrates that it isn’t actually God that needs to awaken, but Israel itself to faith. Oswalt points out here that the reflexive nature of this verb, which means “wake yourself,” is significant because it is calling on Israel to start noticing its own condition, which is likened to a drunken stupor. This potent liquor that rendered them helpless, is the punishment they earned from God in the form of defeat by their enemies and subsequent captivity. But now, He demands they wake up.
Matthew Henry expounds upon this concept: “It is a call to awake not so much out of the sleep of sin (though that also is necessary in order to their being ready for deliverance) as out of the stupor of despair. When the inhabitants of Jerusalem were in captivity they, as well as those who remained upon the spot, were so overwhelmed with the sense of their troubles that they had no heart or spirit to mind any thing that tended to their comfort or relief… Nay, it is a call to awake, not only from sleep, but from death, like that to the dry bones to live, Eze. 37:9.
The LDS commentary on this verse is confusing because it has nothing to do with anything that is being said here. They oddly link it to their perception that there are two main events in Scripture in which the Jews are forced to “drink the dregs of the cup of trembling.” They then fixate on Daniel 11:31, which says, “And forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation” (NASB). They also hop over to Dan. 12:11: “And from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.”
According to Bruce McConkie, “…These conditions of desolation, born of abomination and wickedness, were to occur twice in fulfilment of Daniel’s words. The first was to be when the Roman legions under Titus, in 70 A.D., laid siege to Jerusalem, destroying and scattering the people, leaving not one stone upon another in the desecrated temple, and spreading such terror and devastation as has seldom if ever been equaled on earth.”
Of this supposed second event, he states: “Then, speaking of the last days, of the days following the restoration of the gospel and its declaration ‘for a witness unto all nations,’ our Lord said: ‘And again shall the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, be fulfilled.’ (Jos. Smith 1:31-32.) That is: Jerusalem again will be under siege (‘For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle’); again the severity of the siege and the extremities of brutal conflict, born of wickedness and abomination, will lead to great devastation and desolation (‘and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity’). (Zech. 14.) It will be during this siege that Christ will come, the wicked will be destroyed, and the millennial era commenced.” (Mormon Doctrine, p. 12).”
I understand perfectly that Daniel contains sometimes cryptic end-times prophecy. I understand some of these prophecies are concerning the Israelites in the last days. What I don’t understand is what any of this has to do with these passages in Isaiah. What Gospel Doctrine appears to have done is take the imagery in this verse in Isaiah and apply it to prophesies that aren’t addressed here. Verse 17 is not an end-times prophecy. It is being addressed to Israel in the midst of their captivity.
18: “And none to guide her among all the sons she hath brought forth; neither that taketh her by the hand, of all the sons she hath brought up.”
“There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up.”
This speaks of the utter helplessness of the people of God as a result of his wrath. Israel here is likened to a drunken woman whose sons are either gone or are too helpless themselves to provide her with assistance home. According to Oswalt, “The Ugaritic ‘Tale of Aqht’ suggests that one of the specific duties of a child in the ancient Near East was to assist a drunken parent home.” (p. 352). In this analogy, the drunken woman has absolutely no one. She is helpless and covered in terrible shame. However, this sets up what must come next: God’s deliverance. It is by God’s power and His alone that she will be delivered from her current state.
So, what does Gospel Doctrine make of this? Well, I’ll let you read it in their words: “This is an accurate description of the spiritual leadership of today’s Jews. The author once asked a faithful Jew why they no longer build temples. Her reply was that there was no Jewish prophet who had been given a commandment to build one. Indeed, there is ‘none to guide her among all the sons she hath brought forth.’ While modern Israel lacks nothing in political or military leadership, her spiritual leadership is lacking and will continue to be until two prophets cry in her streets.” Yeah…. ok.
19: “These two sons are come unto thee, who shall be sorry for thee—thy desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword—and by whom shall I comfort thee?”
“These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?”
It’s not completely understood what “these two things” are. This could be an allusion to Isa. 47:9, where “these two things” are widowhood and childlessness. It’s possible widowhood is implied in verse 18 along with the explicit mention of having no sons to help. This idea is further supported by the continuation of the discussion of childlessness in verse 20.
Oswalt points out that some commentators believe the four things listed here (desolation, destruction, famine, and the sword) are combined into two groups. The first pair (desolation and destruction) refers to calamities falling upon the land, and the second pair (famine and the sword) speaks of things befalling the people. The problem with this is that the Hebrew has conjunctions between all four of these listed things, so it doesn’t support the notion they can be grouped into two things. He further writes, “The structure of the verse suggests that the second bicolon expresses a step beyond the first, thus ‘Widowhood and childlessness have come to you, who will sympathize with you? But beyond all that, all these calamities have befallen you, who can strengthen and encourage (comfort) you?’” (p. 353). There are other theories about what “these two things” are, but those can be read about in the commentaries I cite at the end. No matter how you view “these two things,” the main point of this verse is to emphasize Israel’s hopeless and helpless state.
I am unsure of why Joseph Smith saw fit to change the word “things” to “sons,” but I’m assuming he must have thought he was carrying on the imagery of verse 18 to continue onto verse 20. He was wrong, of course. As has been soundly demonstrated, the “sons” that aren’t around represent the fact that no one is there to help Isreal. The two “things” are calamities that have befallen here, so the word “sons” makes absolutely no sense.
20: “Thy sons have fainted, save these two; they lie at the head of all the streets; as a wild bull in a net, they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of thy God.”
“Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of thy God.”
This is a further emphasis on Isreal’s helplessness. Her children are every bit as helpless as she is. This, again, is a result of God’s just wrath for their disobedience. The magnitude of this disaster cannot be overstated. Henry describes it as “That those who should have been her comforters were their own tormentors (v. 20): They have fainted, as quite dispirited and driven to despair; they have no patience in which to keep possession of their own souls and the enjoyment of themselves, nor any confidence in God’s promise, by which to keep possession of the comfort of that. They throw themselves upon the ground, in vexation at their troubles, and there they lie at the head of all the streets, complaining to all that pass by (Lam. 1:12), pining away for want of necessary food; there they lie like a wild bull in a net, fretting and raging, struggling and pulling, to help themselves, but entangling themselves so much the more, and making their condition the worse by their own passions and discontents.”
Joseph Smith’s addition of the phrase “save these two” after “Thy sons have fainted” turns this verse on its head and fits in with the LDS religion’s fixation on the “latter days.” They view the two sons that Joseph Smith added as two prophets that will preach to Jerusalem for 3.5 years during the “Second Abomination of Desolation” as they call it. They then go on to reference the two witnesses described in Revelation 11, which has nothing at all to do with this passage in Isaiah. If it hasn’t been clear before how badly they twist Scripture, it should be abundantly clear now.
21: “Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, and not with wine:”
“Therefore hear now this, thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine:”
The word “therefore” indicates the transition from judgement to promises of deliverance, as indicated in subsequent verses. God’s immediate command to “hear now this,” means this isn’t some casual communication. The address to “thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine” is God demonstrating his understanding of their current lowly and destitute state.
22: “Thus saith thy Lord, the Lord and thy God pleadeth the cause of his people; behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again.”
“Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again:”
This verse is a clear and bold promise of deliverance. The same God who delivered them into the hands of Babylon as a demonstration of his wrath will now rescue them. As Oswalt explains, “God is the one who takes up the case for his people. If he has been their prosecutor, that is not his final intention. Finally, he intends to be their defender from every charge that might be brought against them (see also 1:17; 34:8; 41:11; 50:8). He does not intend that they will continue to drink the cup of staggering forever. What he wants for them is to drink from the river of life (Rev. 22:1).” (p. 356).
The Mormons, as is typical, view this again as an end-times prophecy: “After the ministry of these two great prophets, the Lord will come to fight the battles for the Jews. He will take the cup out of their hands and make their enemies drink it. As the book of Revelation explains, as soon as the prophets are brought back to life, destructions begin to destroy the wicked, ‘And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.’ (Rev 11:13).”
23: “But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; who have said to thy soul: Bow down, that we may go over—and thou hast laid thy body as the ground and as the street to them that went over.”
“But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.”
This verse represents the final event in the prophetic sequence: 1) Israel will be punished unless they repent, 2) God’s punishment will be in the form of captivity by surrounding nations, 3) God will restore the remnant after this punishment, and 4) the nations that arrogantly believed they had conquered Israel by their own strength will be punished by God. While God used wicked nations as an instrument of his wrath to discipline Israel, this doesn’t mean these wicked nations will escape punishment themselves. Indeed, the cup that Israel drank from will now be passed onto their oppressors.
24: “Awake, awake, put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.”
Isaiah 52:1 (KJV): “Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean.”
This call echoes the same one made in Isa. 51:9. God is again demonstrating that the problem is with them, not Him. He has always been ready to deliver them, but they needed to trust in Him. They needed to awaken to their own terrible state and exercise faith in Him. As Oswalt aptly describes it, “If Zion is to be restored to her God, then she must move from blaming him for her separation from him, and from believing that the situation is hopeless, to the kind of joyous faith and anticipation that will allow his power to be unleashed. While she has no strength to deliver herself, she does have strength to lay hold of God’s promises and must exercise that strength if deliverance is to be realized.” (p. 360).
This verse also paints a wonderful picture of how God actually sees His people: not as filth, but as beautiful. This verse points to a restored Zion, the Holy City. This call can also apply to us as Christians. As Oswalt wonderfully states further down the page, “The challenge for defeated human beings is to dare to make that vision their own. This is where the call to put on strength comes to the fore. It takes a particular strength of faith to believe that God can give holiness for filth and beauty for ashes. But that is precisely what he wants to do for us. When we recognize that, we will be shaken out of our apathy and despair.”
The promise that “henceforth there shall be no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean” is a continuation of Isa. 4:2-6. The greatest hope for Zion, and any of us really, is that we will share the character of God. As we see in the New Testament, uncleanness is really a spiritual matter and not a physical one. Thus, the “uncircumcised and unclean” here can also mean those who lack faith in God, including some Israelites themselves. “If they are to be the people of God, living in the holy city, something must happen to cure them of their rebellion and their uncleanness (Rev. 21:27).” (Oswalt, p. 361).
Elias Higbee asked Joseph Smith what this verse meant and recorded both his own question and Smith’s response: “‘Questions by Elias Higbee: What is meant by the command in Isaiah, 52d chapter, 1st verse, which saith: Put on thy strength, O Zion-and what people had Isaiah reference to?
Joseph Smith: ‘He had reference to those whom God should call in the last days, who should hold the power of priesthood to bring again Zion, and the redemption of Israel; and to put on her strength is to put on the authority of the priesthood, which she, Zion, has a right to by lineage; also to return to that power which she had lost.’”
We really need to remember that this was primarily addressed to Babylonian captives. Yes, it has been demonstrated that these passages can have other meanings in a broader sense, but those broader senses are not specific to other people or times. For example, Isa. 52:1 can be a lovely reminder to Christians that God can give us holiness and deliverance just as he gave Israel, but that doesn’t mean that verse was written specifically for us. Not only is Smith’s version of the priesthood diametrically opposed to everything Jesus accomplished in the New Testament (I’m sure I’ll get to delve into that mess later), but we have zero reason at all to believe Isaiah wrote this with future people in America in mind. That’s delusional.
25: “Shake thyself from the dust; arise, sit down, O Jerusalem; loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.”
“Shake thyself from the dust; arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.”
This is God telling them to prepare themselves for freedom that He will give them. They are being instructed to rise up from the dust. The command to “sit down” implies the image of someone who is lying down in the dust. God commands them to not only rise up, but shake off all that dust, and take a seat. He commands Isreal to also loose the bands from around her neck. This is a clear indication that while God is the one who will deliver them, they aren’t simply passive recipients to this deliverance. He expects them to reach out in faith and participate in this. Anyone God calls must exercise their own free will in response to what He has done for them (sorry, Calvinists). God breaks our chains, but we have to step out of them.
I particularly like Henry’s description of this process: “Let them prepare for liberty: ‘Shake thyself from the dust in which thou hast lain, and into which thy proud oppressors have trodden thee (ch. 51:23), or into which thou hast in thy extreme sorrow rolled thyself.’ Arise, and set up; so it may be read. ‘O Jerusalem! prepare to get clear of all the marks of servitude thou hast been under and to shift thy quarters: Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck; be inspired with generous principles and resolutions to assert thy own liberty.’ The gospel proclaims liberty to those who were bound with fears and makes it their duty to take hold of their liberty. Let those who have been weary and heavily laden under the burden of sin, finding relief in Christ, shake themselves from the dust of their doubts and fears and loose themselves from those bands; for, if the Son make them free, they shall be free indeed.“
Joseph Smith, naturally, also believes this to be an end-times prophecy: “We are to understand that the scattered remnants are exhorted to return to the Lord from whence they have fallen; which if they do, the promise of the Lord is that he will speak to them, or give them revelation. See the 6th, 7th, and 8th verses. The bands of her neck are the curses of God upon her, or the remnants of Israel in their scattered condition among the Gentiles.’ (DC 113:7-10).” There is no indication that verses 6, 7, and 8 are talking about being given revelation. Rather, this is a hymn celebrating good news and those who bring it. I think it important to note here that Mormons believe in modern revelation and prophets. They don’t believe in a closed canon of Scripture, so to them, God continues to reveal new truths to their prophets and apostles. In light of this, what Smith is saying is that this passage is talking about God providing new, modern revelation, which doesn’t actually happen. A discussion of why the canon of Scripture is closed is well outside the scope of this current discussion, so I’ll just post this link if you’re curious: The Canon Is Closed: The Cessation of Special Revelation | SHARPER IRON.
As promised, here are my online sources that I cited here: Isaiah 51 – Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible – Bible Commentaries – StudyLight.org, Commentary on Isaiah 51 by Matthew Henry, Commentary on Isaiah 52 by Matthew Henry, 2 Nephi 8 | ScriptureCentral, 2 Nephi 8 | Gospel Doctrine.
If you’ve read all of this, thank you. This was easily my longest post to date, and it was not quickly written. I hope that you found this helpful and useful. My brain is tired. I think I need ice cream. Till next time, ladies and gents!
The Inquisitive Christian 