(2 Nephi 9 (cont.))

(** 2 Nephi 28** )

48 Behold, if ye were holy

1 AND now, behold, my brethren,

I would speak unto you

I have spoken unto you,

of holiness;

according as the Spirit

but as ye are not holy,

hath constrained me; [strict charge (Alma 12:9)]

and ye look upon me

wherefore, I

as a teacher,

know

it must needs be expedient

that they must surely come to pass.

that I teach you

2 And the things which shall be written out of the book

[to know] the consequences of sin.

shall be of great worth unto the children of men,

49 Behold, my soul abhorreth sin,

and especially unto our seed,

and my heart delighteth in righteousness;

which is a remnant

and I will praise the holy name of my God.

of the house of Israel.

50 Come, my brethren,

3 For it shall come to pass in that day that the churches

every one [all tables are full of vomit (Isa. 28:8)]

which are built up,

that thirsteth,

and not unto the Lord,

come ye to the waters;

Behold, I, I am the Lord's;

and he that hath no money,

and the others

come buy and eat;

yea, come buy wine and milk

and thus shall every one say that hath built up churches,

without money and without price.

and not unto the Lord--

51 Wherefore, do not spend money for that which is of no worth,

4 And they shall contend one with another;

nor your labor for that which cannot satisfy.

and their priests shall contend one with another,

Hearken diligently

and they shall teach

unto me,

with their learning,

and remember

and deny

the words

the Holy Ghost,

which I have spoken;

which giveth utterance.

and come

5 And they deny the power of God,

unto the Holy One of Israel,

the Holy One of Israel;

and feast upon that

which perisheth not,

for behold there is no God today,

neither can be corrupted,

for the Lord and the Redeemer hath done his work,

and let your soul delight in fatness.

and he hath given his power unto men;

52 Behold, my beloved brethren,

6 Behold,

remember

hearken ye

a precept;

pray unto him continually

if they shall say there is a miracle wrought by the hand of the Lord, believe it not;

by day,

and give thanks unto his holy name by night.

he is not a God of miracles;

Let your hearts rejoice.

he hath done his work.

7 Yea, and there shall be many which shall say: Eat, drink, and be merry, [no restraint]

[in the millennium, we will finally lay claim to this gift]

and because of his greatness, [e.g. compassion]

and it shall be well with us. [liberal's lie]

and his grace

among many professing Christians]

and mercy,

he will justify in committing a little sin; [lie]

he has promised unto us [God's faithfulness]

yea, lie a little, [our unfaithfulness]

that our seed shall not utterly be destroyed, according to the flesh, [Abrahamic covenant]

take the advantage of one because of his words, [create false doctrine: predestination]

but that he would preserve them;

dig a pit

and in future generations

for thy neighbor;

["There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins" (Rom. 11:27)]

[a marvelous destiny awaits the Lord=s people if they will but align with His gospel, on His terms -- which if they do, they will indeed be subject to the grace and mercy of God; but if they do not, their lies will prove eternally harmful, temporally and spiritually]

54 And now, my brethren, I would speak unto you more;

and do all these things,

but on the morrow

for tomorrow we die;

I will declare unto you

and if it so be that we are guilty, [/]

a with a few

words. [for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord (Isa. 11:9)]

stripes, [He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth (Isa. 11:4)]

Amen.

we shall be saved in the kingdom of God.

(**2 Nephi 10**)

(2 Nephi 28 (cont.))

1 AND now I, Jacob,

9 Yea, and there shall be many

speak unto you again, my beloved brethren,

which shall teach

concerning

after this manner,

this righteous branch

false and vain and foolish doctrines,

[reject word of God because of their pride in their own learning]

2 For behold, the promises

and shall seek deep to hide their counsels

which we have obtained

from the Lord;

are promises unto us

and their works

according to the flesh;

shall be in the dark.

[find]

10 And the blood of the saints shall cry from the ground against them. [seek]

that many of our children

11 Yea, they have all

shall perish

gone out of the way;

in the flesh

they have become corrupted.

because of unbelief,

12 Because of pride,

nevertheless, God [the only sure foundation]

will be merciful unto many; [doctrine/church of Christ]

their churches

["come unto me;" Abrahamic covenant]

the launching point in the doctrine of Christ]

because of pride

which will give them the true knowledge of their Redeemer. [become as a child (3 Ne. 11:37,38)]

they are puffed up.

[I. They seek to take the kingdom of our God and his Christ. (D&C 76:28)]  [II. A sampling of sins against Zion (where all are equal in sight of God and all things are held in common):  1) exploitation of cheap/slave labor from communist/ dictatorial countries;  2) exploitation of animals & other resources with no thought for permission or gratitude for gift;  3) oppressing the poor rather than fostering the de-velopment of their gifts; 4) causing those whose gifts are in Amenial@ tasks to feel less important than others; 5) turning a meager hand to those who chose to devote service to God and have little upon which to subsist]

should come among the Jews,

because of their fine sanctuaries;

among those

they rob the poor

who are the more wicked part of the world;

[superficial/hypocritical appearances of piety]

and they shall crucify ["In that day when I came unto mine own, no man amon you received me, and you were driven out. When I called again there was none of you to answer." (D&C 133:66,67) Also 3 Ne. 21:10,11.]

and they persecute

["even so ye do it unto me"]

["insomuch as ye do it to the least of these"]

for thus it behooveth our God, [Romans 11:32: "God hath concluded them all {Jews first, Gentiles last} in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all."]

and the poor in heart, [pondering of Jesus on the cross and our own sinful nature helps breaks our heart; that God might give us a new heart: the mighty change.]

[At that time, the Jews were set up to be the light to the world -- the husbandmen of the Lord. In these, the latter days, the Gentiles have been given that commission.]

because in their pride [Remember what is prophesied of the Gentiles, that they "shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above

all the people of the whole earth" (3 Ne. 16:10)]that would crucify their God. ["My Father sent me that I might be lifted up upon the cross; that I might draw all men unto me." (3 Ne. 26:14)]

they are puffed up. [the high shall be made low; and the low shall be exalted.]

4 For should the mighty miracles

be wrought

among other nations

they have all

they would repent,

gone astray

and know

save it be a few, who are the humble

that he be their

followers

God.

of Christ;

5 But because of

nevertheless,

priestcrafts

they are led, [a common folly of the "fiathful" when they place more trust in the institutions of religion, run by man, than they place in God Himself.]

and iniquities,

that in many instances they do err

[and they of the modern, Western counterpart (SLC)]

because they

by the Gentiles when the Lord sets his hand "again the second time." See, for example: D&C 76:35(28-35); 3 Ne. 28:35(33-35); D&C 133:66,67; 2 Ne. 28:32]

[The essence of opposition to Christ is trusting in the arm of flesh, relying on the wisdom and brawn of man instead of God.]

15 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,

[that which you send out shall return unto you again]

a for a thing of naught

7 But behold, thus saith the Lord God: When the day cometh that they shall believe in me,

and revile against

that

that

I am

which is

Christ,

good,

then have I covenanted with their fathers

and say that it is of no worth!

that they shall be restored

For the day shall come that the Lord God will speedily visit

in the flesh,

the inhabitants

upon the earth,

of the earth;

unto

and in that day that they are fully ripe in iniquity

the lands of their inheritance. [vs.]

they shall perish.

8 And it shall come to pass that

17 But behold, if

they

be gathered in

shall repent

from their long dispersion,

of their wickedness and abominations

and from the four parts of the earth;

they shall not be destroyed, saith the Lord of Hosts.

and the nations of the Gentiles

18 But behold, that great and abominable church,

shall be great in the eyes of me,

the whore of all the earth,

saith God, in carrying them forth to the lands of their inheritance.

9 Yea, the kings

19 For the kingdom

of the Gentiles

of the devil

shall be nursing fathers unto them,

must shake,

and their queens

and they which belong to it

shall become

must needs be stirred up

nursing mothers;

unto repentance,

wherefore, the promises of the Lord

or the devil

are great

will grasp

unto the Gentiles,

them

for he hath spoken it,

[reject word of God until they know nothing]

and who

and they

can dispute?

be stirred up to anger, and perish;

10 But behold,

20 For behold,

this land, said God, [prophecy context: place]

at that day [prophecy context: time]

shall be a land of thine inheritance, [possession]

shall he rage in the hearts [possession]and the Gentiles [prophecy context: subject]

of the children of men,

shall be blessed [nevertheless...÷]

and stir them up to anger

upon the land. ["choice above all other lands"]

against that which is good.

11 And this land shall be a land of liberty unto the Gentiles, [freedoms taken for granted]

21 And others will he pacify,

and there shall be no kings upon the land, who shall raise up unto the Gentiles.

and lull them away into carnal security,

has indeed shown favorably on this nation. However, that Favor is contingent on a people humbly worshiping the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ. As that condition crumbles, so will the Divine Favor.]

of pious security invites the very evil against which the people are supposedly guarded. It is like saying: 'Everyone must beware of pride except me.']

this land against all other nations.

in Zion;

[The kingdom of the devil is being built up on earth in opposition to kingdom of God. The United States is the primary target as it has been the primary bastion of freedom -- a freedom which has rapidly been eroding for many years by covert design of those who are committed to the establishment of a world government. Many of the "more righteous" have been seduced to participate in the success of the kingdom of the devil; largely because they are unaware of its form and scope.]

destructive sentiments that has been key in allowing the seduction of even the more righteous has been their mistaken belief that this people and this land are immune to danger because they are God's people in God's country, enjoying unfettered the blessings of heaven.]

shall perish, saith God. [reality]

all is well-- [sentiment]

14 For he that raiseth up a king against me

and thus the devil [author of secred combinations]

shall perish,

cheateth their souls,

for I, the Lord, the king of heaven, will be their king, [destiny]

and [the devil] leadeth them away carefully down to hell. [current reality]

and I [the Lord]

will be a light unto them forever ["My sheep hear my voice." (John 10:27) "Wherefore, hearken to the voice of the Good Shepherd" (Alma 5:37,38)]

flattereth away, ["Wherefore, if ye are not the sheep of the Good Shepherd; of what fold are ye? Behold, I say unto you, the devil is your shepherd, and ye are of his fold." (Alma 5:39)]

[The kingdom of God, as epitomized in heaven, will be established on earth; overturning the kingdom of the devil which has been set up as the usurper. Hence, the nutshell message or mission statement of the Lord, as reitterated in key contexts in the scriptures, is, "Repent, for the kindgom of heaven is nigh at hand." (e.g. Matt. 4:17; Alma 9:25)]

15 Wherefore, for this cause,

and thus

that my covenants ["I will make a new covenant, ...and write it in their hearts (Jer. 31:33)"]

he whispereth in their ears,

may be fulfilled [fulness]

until he grasps them [fulness]

[i.e. literal deliverance; and establishment of the kingdom of God on earth.]

[parallel application: "Except this people repent and turn unto the Lord their God, they shall be brought into bondage; and none shall deliver them, except it be the Lord the Almighty God." (Msh. 11:23.)]

I must needs destroy

23 Yea, they are grasped

the secret works

with death,

of darkness,

and hell;

and of murders,

and death,

and of abominations.

and hell,

16 Wherefore, he that fighteth against Zion,

and the devil,

and all that have been seized therewith

shall perish;

for they are they [accusative]

and be judged according to their works,

who are [state of being]

from whence they must go into the place prepared for them, [because of their choices]

the whore of all the earth;

which is endless torment.

for

24 Therefore,

17 For I will fulfil my promises which I have made unto the children of men,

26 Yea, wo be unto him that hearkeneth unto the precepts of men,

that I will do unto them

and denieth

while they are in the flesh-- [physical wonders]

the power

18 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, thus saith our God:

I will afflict thy seed by the hand of the Gentiles;

of God,

nevertheless, I will soften the hearts of the Gentiles,

and the gift

that they shall be like unto a father to them;

of the Holy Ghost!

wherefore, the Gentiles

27 Yea, wo be unto him that saith:

shall be blessed

We have received,

and numbered among the house of Israel.

and we need no more!