The Word of God on Jesus Christ -- 2 Nephi Huge Parallel
My final statement at the "Keyster" list unless J.J. specifically
invites further comment from me.
The bottom line in the disagreement between myself and J.J.
along with others on his list is how we view the role of Jesus Christ. Is he
just an example for us to emulate, to "become even as he is," or is
there something in particular about him that bears not just special attention
but an actual power of deliverance to which we should pay heed and for which
the word "worship" is appropriate?
Previously, as I have cited various scripture verses which contradict
important premises in the teachings of J.J., the argument has come back that
the Bible is at best a tampered-with volume of questionable translation and
that we must be willing to accept new truths for truth's sake (presuming they
are indeed truths) even though they might appear to conflict with these
traditional references of past beliefs. Surprisingly, the most adamant
promoters of this injunction include several who formerly were devout
Christians and Mormons. It is to you that I hope to reach in particular, for
you have the most accountability for what you have turned from. May the things
I present here strike a resonant chord within your soul, that you might be
brought to a favorable remembrance of what you once knew.
I would like to present for your consideration a validation that none of
you including J.J. have ever considered before. It is a passage of scripture
that has an unmistakable internal witness of its truthfulness from God. The
text from which it comes is remarkable enough. I cited it in my post
yesterday. However, the way in which it is presented in this case is nothing
short of a miracle. Though it came through their instrumentality, it cannot be
ascribed to Joseph Smith; Isaiah; or to Nephi, a key Book of Mormon prophet;
nor to Jacob, his brother; or Lehi their father; who all beheld God.
In procreation, we marvel at how two separate sets of DNA from two parent
sources can combine together harmoniously to form a new child. In this case
what we have is two separate strands of text that match up over a great
length, with one idea after another pairing up as if intended for each other
all along. The first half of the Book of Second Nephi lines up with the second
half like a DNA double helix. A verse is opened up to its base components of
ideas to match with the base component ideas of a verse several chapters
distant.
A short series like this would be a marvel. For a whole book to be aligned
like this is beyond a marvel. It is a miracle -- nothing short.
Minus this match up, reading along in the regular text, the skeptic mind
might tend to thinking that perhaps Joseph Smith just made this up,
plagiarizing the Bible, or even thinking that the book was inspired of a dark
source. However, when you see one point after another after another line up,
from chapters half a book away, the plausibility that Joseph might have done
this on purpose becomes moot. The most brilliant of mortal minds could not
have conjured this up had they spent a lifetime devoted to doing just that.
Only a divine source can be credited with this outcome.
When the Lord led me to this discovery more than two years ago, it took
half a year to extract what I have done so far, and digging this out is
infinitely easier than it would have been to put it in there in the first
place. It is like the difference between the paleontologist who unearths a set
of dinosaur bones and pieces them together for display, compared to the divine
creator who created the dinosaur in the first place. I still haven't finished
the task, as it is still unfolding in both directions, like a zipper coming
together.
So far I have finished 18 chapters with some 1700 consecutive parallels
between them, which include ten entire chapters of Isaiah which are quoted in
the book of Second Nephi. What is amazing about the match-up is that in just
about any given place, the words of Isaiah are paralleled in one column with
the words of Nephi or Jacob or Lehi in the other column, bringing clarity to
both and witness to both.
I will not say that reading these parallels is an easy task. At the same
time, though it is an advanced tool, it is not beyond the capability of a
spiritually and intellectually hungry junior high school student, for example.
I am not expecting you to read and ponder the entire document, which at
this point is over 100 pages long, though I hope that you might eventually
find it a resource worth your time. The portion of interest to the topic at
hand is a brief portion of about eight pages, with a fair amount of white
space because of the way the document is typeset in two columns, the
comparison sets rarely having equal amount of text to fill both columns.
The brief excerpt I hope for you to peruse is the portion in which II Nephi
6 is parallel with II Nephi 25. It was an exceptionally strong correlation of
wording between these two chapters that clued me in to the parallel in the
first place. Chapter six comes prior to the beginning of a two-chapter
citation of Isaiah. It is an introduction to that citation. Chapter 25 is the
follow-up chapter after a twelve-chapter citation of Isaiah, commenting in
retrospect on what was just cited.
As you know, Isaiah is the most oft-quoted prophet in the scriptures. Jesus
cited his words more frequently than any others during his ministry among the
Jews. When he appeared in the Americas following his resurrection, he told the
people, "A commandment I give unto you that ye search these things
diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah. For surely he spake as touching
all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel; therefore it
must needs be that he must speak also to the Gentiles. An all things that he
spake have been and shall be, even according to the words which he
spake." (III Ne. 23:1-3; compare Isaiah 40:21; 41:22; 42:9; 43:9; 44:7,8;
45:11,21; 46:9,10; 47:7; 48:5.)
One of the beauties of the cryptic manner in which Isaiah spoke is that his
text has been able to be transmitted down through the millennia with but
minute alterations, for scheming and even well-meaning scribes couldn't have
understand it to change it.
But with tools like this one I am now describing, his words are opened to
us in this, the fullness of times.
The topic of these two chapter is the Messiah, both his first coming among
the Jews as well as the advent we anticipate in our day among the Gentiles.
To the Gentiles, the scripture says, "The people of the Lord are they
who wait for him, for they still wait for the coming of the Messiah." (II
Ne. 6:12.) In the paralleling text, to the Jews, the scripture says,
"They shall believe in Christ, and worship the Father in his name, with
pure hearts and clean hands, and look not forward any more for another
Messiah." (II Nephi 25:16.)
A little further down in the parallel, the text in the left-hand column
says, "And they shall know that the Lord is God, the Holy One of
Israel." (II Ne. 6:15.) The matching text in the right hand column
addressed to the Jews leaves absolutely no room for fudging as to the identity
of the Messiah in his first coming, "For they [the words you are now
reading] shall be given them for the purpose of convincing them of the true
Messiah, who was rejected by them; and unto the convincing them that they need
not look forward any more for a Messiah to come, for there should not any
come, save it should be a false Messiah which should deceive the people; for
there is save one Messiah spoken of by the prophets, and that Messiah is he
who should be rejected of the Jews. For according to the words of the
prophets, the Messiah cometh in six hundred years from the time that my father
left Jerusalem [600 B.C.]; and according to the words of the prophet, and also
the word of the angel of God, his name shall be Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
And now, my brethren, I have spoken plainly that ye cannot err." (II Ne.
25:18.)
The final parallel of the two chapters is with the following phrase in the
left hand column, "And all flesh shall know that I the Lord am thy Savior
and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob." (II Ne. 6:17.) The matching
idea in the right hand column is, "Behold I say unto you, that as these
things are true, and as the Lord God liveth, there is none other name given
under heaven save it be this Jesus Christ OF WHICH I HAVE SPOKEN, whereby man
can be saved." (II Nephi 25:20.)
There are many other such witnesses embedded throughout this parallel text,
along with many other glorious insights that go beyond what might be obtained
by reading the primary texts alone.
Though this parallel has been available on my web site in HTML for over a
year; inspired by the current debate, which I would not have fathomed even a
year ago could ever be an issue among those of my associates; I am today
making it available for the first time as a PDF
downloadable file as well as a WordPerfect
6-8 zip file.
The index for the entire study as well as a link to the "II Nephi 6 =
25 portion" may be found by clicking HERE.
If for some reason that does not work, go to http://www.greaterthings.com
> Parallels > Hybrids > Second Nephi Huge Parallel
Those of you that wish to get on with your class with J.J., go ahead. But
those for whom this recently discovered witness resonates, I would invite you
to consider carefully the direction this list is taking you, and whether or
not it is in harmony with the word of God as witnessed by the miraculous hand
of God.
Sincerely,
Sterling D. Allan
The II Nephi 6 = 25 portion may be downloaded in PDF
(96KB)
or WP6-8.zip (55KB)
or viewed
online.
J.J.'s Reply
