Book of Second Nephi -- Huge Parallel

by Isaiah, Nephi, Lehi, Jacob AND God

Page Contents:
Introductory Comment • Experiment • 2 Ne. Huge Parallel Index • Downloading and Printing • Parallel Commentary Index • Other Chiasms & Parallels from 2 Nephi

  Introductory Comment

(The first half of the book of Second Nephi parallels the second half.)

I've not completed digging this one out, but so far there are 100 printed, single-space pages of consecutive parallels one after another, beginning in II Nephi 2. What this layout does is juxtapose the words of Book of Mormon prophets with the words of Isaiah. Sometimes Isaiah is in the left hand column, sometimes he's in the right-hand column.

There are several very powerful messages contained in that parallel set, including that the statement spoken of the Jews, that (paraphrasing) "there was none other nation so wicked that they would crucify their Messiah," now applies in our day to the Gentiles, specifically the Mormon Gentile husbandmen who are supposed to prepare for the second advent of the Lord.

Another very power message that comes through in this parallel is that Heavenly Father and Mother, who came as Adam and Eve at the beginning of time, now come again among the children of men, veiled in the flesh, to bring the family of man back into the paradisiacal state. This constitutes the second advent of Messiah, and they come primarily to the Mormon Gentiles, who reject and spurn their work -- but like with the first advent, this will work to the glory of God and to the redemption of mankind, this time on a temporal level.

In line with this, as the parallel highlights in a powerful way, you can see why the admonition to the Jews regarding the Messiah is that they should 'look no more for another Messiah to come,' for the crucial message for them to acknowledge is that they crucified the Messiah at his first coming.  Meanwhile, the admonition to the Gentiles (including and especially the Mormons) is that "the people of the Lord are they who wait for him, for they still wait for the coming of the Messiah."  This is not a contradiction when you realize that the one chapter is addressing the Jews and the other is addressing the Gentiles.  It has to do with the Davidic Servant ministry which is targeted primarily at the Mormons -- God's chosen people in these latter-days, who are rejecting his work among them as the Jews did at his first coming.  An important part of that vigilance, as mentioned in the same verse, is to not build up secret combinations (e.g. the New World Order, which is a global socialistic government).

Another contribution that this parallel makes is that it shows unequivocally that the famous verse, "we are saved by grace after all we can do," is not intended to mean that "first we have to do everything we can and then God steps in" but rather, it means that "no matter what we may try to do, it is by grace, from beginning to end, that we are saved."  What is strongly ironic about this is that it is at the root of the gospel or doctrine of Christ, of which the Mormons profess to be premier custodians.  This singular verse has been the darling verse by which the LDS world supports their "works, then faith" dogma.  The 2 Nephi huge parallel reverses their interpretation, setting it in order and in line, not only with the Bible but with the Book of Mormon and Doctrine and Covenants, which likewise preach the gospel of Christ with a strong emphasis on the element of grace by which good works are possible in the first place.

The Jews focused anciently on what amounts to the second coming government of God, and missed the gospel -- and yet today they also miss the government royally, being among the most socialistic as a body of any religious group.  Likewise, the Mormons are focusing on the first coming gospel while reneging on their responsibility to build the government of God, and yet today they are missing one of the key points of the gospel -- grace; the mighty change of heart as a gift; the indwelling as a gift; the good works as a gift -- not something that must be earned, which is their approach.  The only 'earning' that takes place is in offering a broken heart and contrite spirit that realizes we don't deserve these gifts.

Though some of the correlations may at first seem obscure, it is often the obscure ones that contain the most meaning when contemplated, and their meaning finally becomes apparent. Some of the match-ups are immediately obvious. Some are humorous. Some are downright sobering.

All in all, it bespeaks an amazing God behind the writing and the encoding of scripture.  It also contains tons of prophetic insight that is extremely relevant to our day.  The very process of reading and pondering the parallels evokes a spirit of revelation, for it is only in reading 'between the lines' that understanding is acquired -- and the 'between the lines' part is where God speaks personally.  By their very nature, the parallels both require and invite personal revelation to be understood and applied.

I discovered this particular parallel by first lining up the very similar "set his hand again the second time" prophecies in the regions surrounding II Nephi 6:14 and II Nephi 25:17.  I then worked forward and backward from there.  Thus far, going backward, I've gone as back to 2 Nephi 2:22 in the left-hand column corresponding to 2 Nephi 18:13 in the right-hand column; and I can see that the parallel continues prior to that, with commentary about secret combinations; and going forward, I've gone to 2 Nephi 10:18 in the left-hand column corresponding to 22 Nephi 28:27 in the right-hand column, ending with the statement, "and we need no more" in the right hand column, followed by the comment, "more;" for surely the parallel continues, with yet more light and knowledge for those who will seek it.

Although it has been available on the internet for three years, so far this huge parallel has gone essentially unnoticed and unappreciated (including by those who profess to have great love and zeal for the writings of Isaiah), probably because it takes more than casual effort to comprehend. It is no spoon-feeding job. Perhaps years will yet go by before it 'catches on' -- probably after the lessons have been learned the hard way, rather than people repenting like they could if they would if they would learn the lessons by precept, which is what they could do if they hearkened to warnings such as the ones presented in this huge parallel.

Sincerely,

Sterling D. Allan
June 17, 2001 (Father's Day)
www.greaterthings.com

  Experiment on the Word

Challenge to take a parallel excerpt for which commentary has been written and ponder for insight prior to reading the commentary.

  2 Ne. Huge Parallel -- Index

  Downloading and Printing

You may download the entire document either in PDF (1.10MB) or as a WordPerfect 6-8.0 zip file (182KB)

Also, the II Nephi 6 = 25 portion from which the discovery of this parallel was first made may be downloaded in PDF (96KB) or WP6-8.zip (55KB) or viewed online.

click here to get a free PDF reader

  Commentaries on 2 Nephi Huge Parallel Excerpts

  Other Chiasms & Parallels from II Nephi

Page last updated on March 13, 2005
 visits since January 17, 2003