1 Nephi 22

1 Nephi 22:3

           

            “Wherefore, the things of which I have read are things pertaining to things both temporal and spiritual; for it appears that the house of Israel, sooner or later, will be scattered upon all the face of the earth, and also among all nations.”

            In the preceding chapters, Nephi reads the words of Isaiah to his brothers. In this verse he explains that those things that Isaiah said, though Isaiah received the message in spirit (because spiritual things are spiritually discerned [New Testament]) the message regards “temporal” events as well as spiritual.

            The problem I have with this verse and any other reference to a distinction between physical and spiritual worlds is that I am not even sure that this distinction existed in Israelite culture before they met the Greeks. There are a lot of references to Greek (New Testament) concepts in this pre-Christian (pre-Greek) text, and this is very problematic for me.

Written 8-23-14

Verse: 13-14
"And the blood of that great and abominable church, which is the whore of all the earth, shall turn upon their own heads; for they shall war among themselves, and the sword of their own hands shall fall upon their own heads, and they shall be drunken with their own blood. 14) And every nation which shall war against thee, O house of Israel, shall be turned one against another, and they shall fall into the pit which they digged to ensnare the people of the Lord. And all that fight against Zion shall be destroyed , and that great whore, who hath perverted the right ways of the Lord, yea, that great and abominable church, shall tumble to the dust and great shall be the fall of it."
(Refer to note on 1 Nephi 14:3)

1 Nephi 22:17

            “Wherefore, he will preserve the righteous by his power, even if it so be that the fulness of his wrath must come, and the righteous be preserved, even unto the destruction of their enemies by fire. Wherefore, the righteous need not fear; for thus saith the prophet, they shall be saved, even if it so be as by fire.”

            I really like the last part of this verse that says that the righteous will inevitably be saved even if they have to go through hell. It says that God will save his people, even if he has to put them through hell. This is my approach to life, if the pain is worth the gain I would like someone to push me through it when I am no longer able to walk into it myself. This verse shows that God does whatever it takes; God already put his son through hell to save you and he will put you through hell as well if he has too. I really hope he is willing to take those measures for me. I pray that God puts me through hell if it means that I will be with him in the end.

Written 8-24-2014