Two Fundamental Prophecies:
3 Nephi 20 & Isaiah 52
Above, we compared a study of prophecy to studying the gospel. We cited Christ's brief outline of the gospel, set forth in 3 Nephi 27. It is perhaps the best example of the fundamental principles of individual salvation being laid out plainly for us. Third Nephi 20 serves much the same purpose, only in the realm of prophecy concerning the temporal/political realm of God's kingdom.
We will not explore the prophecy contained in that chapter at this point. This has already been done to a large extent in the previous text.(1) Let's look instead at why 3 Nephi 20 is so important.
Similar to what He did in summarizing the gospel in 3 Nephi 27, in 3 Nephi 20 Christ began and ended his treatise by drawing our attention to the Abrahamic covenant. He also tied the covenant to the words of Isaiah, showing that Isaiah's writings are central in understanding the fulfilling of the covenant. He began, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that when [the words of Isaiah] shall be fulfilled then is the fulfilling of the covenant which the Father hath made unto his people, O house of Israel." (20:12.) He ended the chapter the same way. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, all these things shall surely come...." (20:46.) Note that he is referring to the things of which he has just spoken in this chapter. He concluded, "Then shall this covenant which the Father hath covenanted with his people be fulfilled...." (Ibid.) Third Nephi 20 can therefore be considered a fundamental source for gaining an understanding of the Abrahamic covenant from the perspective that the Lord desired us to have.
In this chapter, Christ quoted Isaiah 52 in its entirety, minus two verses. Isaiah is the most oft-quoted prophet in the standard works, and the 52nd chapter of Isaiah is the most oft-quoted chapter. It includes such common phrases such as, "Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion...", "Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from hence...," "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings...," "The Lord hat made bar his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations...." (Isa. 52:1,10,11,7.)
Not only did Jesus quote this chapter, but he did it in a unique way. Elsewhere in the Book of Mormon, when the prophets quote Isaiah, they quote the verses in the order in which they occur in Isaiah's text. Third Nephi 20 is the exception. Christ quoted it as follows:
3 Ne. 20 . . . . . . . . Isa. 52
32-35 . . . . . . . . . . . 8-10
36-38 . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
39-40 . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
41-45 . . . . . . . . . . . 11-15
omit . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
By quoting Isaiah in this unusual fashion, the Lord further draws our attention to this most important chapter of Isaiah. Why did Jesus rearrange the Isaiah verses when he quoted them? Why did he omit verses 4,5? Pursuing these questions leads to some remarkable findings.
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Endnotes:
1. See "Again the Second Time" Chapter (7).
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