Friday, November 28, 2014

Daniel 7:9–27. Adam-ondi-Ahman



9 I beheld till the athrones were bcast down, and the cAncient of days did sit, whose dgarment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: 
his throne was like the fiery flame, and his ewheels as burning fire.
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: athousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the bjudgment was set, and the cbooks were opened.
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the aSon of man came with the bclouds of heaven,
and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
14 And there was given him adominion, and glory, and a bkingdom, that all people, nations, and languages,
should serve him: his dominion is an ceverlasting dominion, which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
18 But the asaints of the most High shall take the kingdom, 
and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
22 Until the aAncient of days came, and bjudgment was given to the csaints of the most High;
and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
27 And the akingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven,
shall be bgiven to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an ceverlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

53 Three years previous to the death of Adam, he called Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch, and Methuselah, who were all ahigh priests, with the residue of his posterity who were righteous,
into the valley of bAdam-ondi-Ahman, and there bestowed upon them his last blessing.
 54 And the Lord appeared unto them, and they rose up and blessed aAdam,
and called him Michael, the prince, the archangel.
 55 And the Lord administered comfort unto Adam, and said unto him:
I have set thee to be at the head; a multitude of nations shall come of thee,
and thou art a aprince over them forever.
 56 And Adam stood up in the midst of the congregation; and, notwithstanding he was bowed down with age, being full of the Holy Ghost, apredicted whatsoever should befall his posterity unto the latest generation.
 57 These things were all written in the book of aEnoch, and are to be testified of in due time.


In Daniel 7 and D&C 107 we read of two similar events. One took place in the past while Adam was still alive and the other is to take place at some time still in the future. This chart shows the similarities in these two events.
Previous to
Adam’s Death
(D&C 107)
Adam and Faithful
Members of the Church
(Daniel 7)
·         Adam gathered his righteous posterity including the high priests.
·         They were gathered at Adam-ondi-Ahman
·         He gave them his last blessing
·         The Lord appeared to them and blessed Adam and called him Michael.
·         He gave Adam authority over the multitude of nations that would come of his posterity.
·         Adam prophesied the things that would befall his posterity through all the generations.  
·         The prophecies were written in a book.
·         The ancient of days (Adam) returned to earth and sat before multitudes of the righteous.
·         The books (history of the world) were opened.
·         The Son of Man (Christ) comes and meets with Adam
·         Adam gives an accounting and turns the authority back to Christ.
·         Christ will reign as King



 In an address to the Twelve Apostles, the Prophet Joseph Smith explained the name “Ancient of Days”: “Daniel in his seventh chapter speaks of the Ancient of Days; he means the oldest man, our Father Adam, Michael, he will call his children together and hold a council with them to prepare them for the coming of the Son of Man. He (Adam) is the father of the human family, and presides over the spirits of all men, and all that have had the keys must stand before him in this grand council. This may take place before some of us leave this stage of action. The Son of Man stands before him, and there is given him glory and dominion. Adam delivers up his stewardship to Christ, that which was delivered to him as holding the keys of the universe, but retains his standing as head of the human family.” (OTSM p.305)
President Joseph Fielding Smith explained these verses in Daniel a little more. This is to be a great priesthood gathering at Adam-ondi-Ahman (the place or land of God where Adam dwelt). A council will be held. Adam will sit in judgment. The righteous who have held keys (authority) will make their reports and hand over their keys and ministry. Then Christ will come and Adam will make his report and hand over the keys to Christ. “At this council Christ will be received and acknowledged as the rightful ruler of the earth. Satan will be replaced. Following this event every government in the world … will have to become part of the government of God. Then righteous rule will be established. The earth will be cleansed; the wicked will be destroyed; and the reign of peace will be ushered in.” (OTSM p.305)

Friday, November 21, 2014

Jeremiah 34, 52. Prophecies Fulfilled, Jerusalem Destroyed


Jeremiah prophesies the captivity of Zedekiah—The people of Judah will be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth.
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and aagainst all the cities thereof, saying,
2 Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of aBabylon, and he shall burn it with fire:
3 And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of aBabylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.

4 For it came to pass in the commencement of the afirst year of the reign of bZedekiah, king of Judah, (my father, Lehi, having dwelt at cJerusalem in all his days); and in that same year there came many dprophets, prophesying unto the people that they must erepent, or the great city fJerusalem must be destroyed.
We find out at the beginning of the Book of Mormon that Lehi and his family left at the time of Zedekiah and Jeremiah. Nephi begins his record in the first year of the reign of Zedekiah. Nephi explains what was happening in Jerusalem at this time. There were many prophets amongst the people prophesying that they needed to repent or Jerusalem would be destroyed. Jeremiah was commanded to go to Zedekiah and tell him these words:
“Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of aBabylon, and he shall burn it with fire: And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of aBabylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon.”
 Chapter 52
4 ¶And it came to pass in the aninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, 
that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem,
and pitched against it, and built bforts against it round about.
5 So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
6 And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the afamine was sore in the city,
so that there was no bbread for the people of the land.
7 Then the acity was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night
by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden;
(now the Chaldeans were by the city round about:) and they went by the way of the plain.
8 ¶But the army of the Chaldeans apursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho;
and all his army was scattered from him.
9 Then they took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah
in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him.
10 And the king of Babylon slew the asons of Zedekiah before his eyes:
he bslew also all the princes of Judah in Riblah.
11 Then he put out the aeyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in chains,
and bcarried him to cBabylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.
12 ¶Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year
of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, 
which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem,
13 And aburned the house of the Lord, and the king’s house; and all the houses of Jerusalem,
and all the houses of the great men, bburned he with fire:

 In Chapter 52  of Jeremiah, we find out a little more about Zedekiah and learn of the fulfillment of the prophecy of Jeremiah to him. Zedekiah was put in as King after his brother and his nephew were killed because of their rebellion against the King of Babylon. He was 21 at the time he became king. He followed in the ways of those before him and sought ways to break free of the yoke of the King of Babylon even though Jeremiah the prophet was warning him not to rebel against Babylon. In the 9th year of Zedekiah’s reign, the King of Babylon brought his army and surrounded Jerusalem. By the 11th year, the famine was very great within the city. The city was in ruin. The men of the city along with the king fled out of the city through a gate in the wall. The armies pursued them and caught and killed them. They killed Zedekiah’s sons in front of him and they bound Zedekiah and took him to the king of Babylon. His eyes were put out, he was bound in chains and put in prison. Then Jerusalem was burned to the ground.

We learn in some of the other chapters how Zedekiah could have escaped this outcome by following the words of the prophet Jeremiah. 

King Zedekiah sent for the prophet Jeremiah and this was their conversation:

Zedekiah: I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.
Jeremiah: If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?
Zedekiah: As the Lord liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.
Jeremiah: Thus saith the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon’s princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.
Zedekiah: I am afraid of the Jews that aare fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they bmock me.
Jeremiah: They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live. But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the Lord hath shewed me: And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah’s house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back. So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy achildren to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.
Zedekiah: Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die. But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee: Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there.

All the princes came to Jeremiah and he told them what the King had commanded. The princes did not know what had been told the King. Jeremiah was left in the court of the prison and was there when Jerusalem was taken.

In Jeremiah 39: we learn more detail of the capture of Zedekiah and what happened to Jeremiah
  
3 And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle agate,
4 ¶And it came to pass, that when aZedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war,
then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden,
by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain.
5 But the Chaldeans’ army pursued after them, and overtook aZedekiah in the bplains of Jericho:
 and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah
in the land of Hamath, where he cgave judgment upon him.
6 Then the king of Babylon aslew the bsons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes:
also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah.
7 Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s aeyes, and bound bhim with chains, to carry him to Babylon.

11 ¶Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah
to Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard, saying,
 12 Take him, and alook well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee.
 14 Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison,
and committed him unto aGedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan,
that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people.

Zedekiah caused the death of his sons and the destruction of his people and his city because of his fear and his refusal to listen to the prophet’s voice. Jerusalem was under siege at the time Zedekiah came to Jeremiah for advice. When Jeremiah counseled him to surrender, it was not the counsel the King wanted to hear. Jeremiah was viewed as a traitor. Zedekiah feared he would be killed if he surrendered. Because he was too afraid and untrusting to listen to Jeremiah the prophet, he suffered a far worse fate. He lived in miserable conditions with the regret of what he caused his family, his people, and his city.
This is a good lesson to all of us. Let us not let the fear of what men might do to us cause us to turn away from the words of the prophet. The prophet will always lead us in what will be in our best interest over the long run.
We can trust the words of the prophet and apostles to be the word of the Lord. I love how this video explains how the Spirit of the Lord works to bring these strong opinionated men into a unity of thought and how they will not act until they are all in complete agreement.


Thursday, November 13, 2014

Jeremiah 29-30. Hope for Those in Sin


Jeremiah prophesied about the captivity of the house of Israel, but he also talks about the mercy of the Lord and the promises for the future when the house of Israel is brought out of captivity and returns to the Lord. In these words is a message of hope for all who were once captive by sin and choose to turn their hearts back to the Lord.
Jeremiah tells the Jews in Babylon to prepare for seventy years of captivity—Those remaining in Jerusalem will yet be scattered—Shemaiah prophesies falsely and is cursed.
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord,
thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected aend.
12 Then shall ye acall upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will bhearken unto you.
13 And ye shall aseek me, and find me, when ye shall bsearch for me with all your cheart.
14 And I will be found of you, saith the Lord: and I will turn away your captivity,
and I will agather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you,
saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
29 But if from thence thou shalt aseek the Lord thy God, thou shalt bfind him, 
if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
30 When thou art in atribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the blatter days,
if thou cturn to the Lord thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
31 (For the Lord thy God is a amerciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee,
nor forget the bcovenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.
The Lord loves us, He wants for the best for us and will help us get it if we will turn our hearts back to him. If we pray to Him, He will hearken to us. If we seek Him, we will find Him. He will bring us out of the bondage of sin and back to our homes and families. We need to seek Him with all our hearts. When we are in tribulation, if we will turn to the Lord and be obedient to His voice to us, then He will be merciful and give us the promises of the covenant.
The following verses tell us that in some future time Israel will not “want” (lack or need) a man to sit and rule on David’s throne, nor will they “want” men to perform sacrifices. 
In the last days, Judah and Israel will be gathered to their own lands—
David, their king (the Messiah), will reign over them.
But they shall serve the Lord their God, and aDavid their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
Judah and Israel will be gathered—The Branch of Righteousness (the Messiah) is promised—
The Seed of David (the Messiah) will reign forever.
15 ¶In those days, and at that time, will I cause the aBranch of righteousness to grow up unto bDavid;
and he shall cexecute judgment and righteousness in the dland.
16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely:
and this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The Lord our righteousness.
17 ¶For thus saith the Lord; David shall never awant a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;
18 Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings,
and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.

They will not need a king, priest, or sacrifices because those needs will be fulfilled by Christ. We find out how Christ has fulfilled those roles in these verses:
4 And I will set up ashepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more,
nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.
5 ¶Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto aDavid a righteous bBranch,
and a cKing shall dreign and prosper, and shall execute ejudgment and fjustice in the earth.
6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell asafely:
and this is his name whereby he shall be called, 
THE LORD OURBRIGHTEOUSNESS.

32 He shall be great, and shall be called the aSon of the Highest:
and the Lord God shall give unto him the bthrone of his fathercDavid:
 33 And he shall areign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no bend.

36 Jesus answered, My akingdom is not of this bworld: if my kingdom were of this world,
then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.
 37 aPilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a bking then?
Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a cking. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world,
that I should bear witness unto the dtruth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

 19 And ye shall offer up unto me ano more the shedding of blood;
yea, your sacrifices and your burnt offerings shall be done away,
for I will accept none of your sacrifices and your burnt offerings.
 20 And ye shall offer for a asacrifice unto me a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
And whoso cometh unto me with a broken heart and a contrite spirit,
him will I bbaptize with fire and with the Holy Ghost,
even as the Lamanites, because of their faith in me at the time of their conversion,
were baptized with fire and with the Holy Ghost, and they knew it not.


Christ was of the lineage of David and will reign as King of Righteousness. He will execute perfect justice. The Law of Moses used sacrifices to symbolize what Christ would do for us. When Christ came he fulfilled that law and it was no longer needed. He went as a lamb to the slaughter. We now offer a sacrifice of our humble and willing hearts. In the Law of Moses, the priests stood in as proxy for Christ as they sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice on their garments symbolizing His atoning blood that was shed for us.