Some background
For the past few months, I’ve been searching the scriptures an awful lot, especially the prophecies concerning the last days and the fulness of times. In the last week (January 7-14), as I read the scriptures that dealt with the scattering and gathering of Israel, I was also listening to the news we’re getting of the conflict happening in Gaza and, both being in my mind, I began to hold up the State of Israel to prophetic scrutiny, meaning that I compared the State of Israel to the prophecies that were before me to see if it fulfilled them. The conclusion I came to was that its existence did not fulfill prophecy, both the prophecies concerning the scattering of the Jews, as well as the restoration (gathering) of the Jews to the lands of their inheritance.
As this realization dawned on me, a feeling came over me that the State of Israel would be broken up, and its inhabitants scattered and then later the real gathering of the Jews would take place. This feeling has persisted to this day. As it wasn’t a direct revelation from the Holy Ghost, with attendant manifestations, I filed it under miscellaneous and kept it to myself.
However, on Thursday, January 15, in preparation for some advertising I was doing for the silver bartering currency, I went to the LEAP/EUROPE2020 web site to print out their summer 2009 prediction, their September 2008 prediction (which came true), and their March 2009 prediction and I noticed that they had a new article published about Israel:
Upon seeing this, I thought, “Maybe there is something to this feeling, after all.” I called up what4anarchy to get his two cents and then decided to broach the subject on this blog.
Why the State of Israel does not fulfill prophecy
The main problem I have with the existence of the current State of Israel is that it does not appear that the Lord is the one who has gathered them. It looks like the hand of man (the nations of the earth) used their colonial powers to establish them in Palestine. Unlike the redemption of Zion, which will be redeemed by the power of the Lord, the gathering of Jews to Jerusalem appears to be the hand of man trying to force the fulfillment of prophecy.
Prophecies, when they are fulfilled are totally obvious to those who live during their fulfillment. There is no guess-work involved or straining to make a prophecy fit. Even the most enigmatic of prophecies become plain to those who live during their fulfillment. This is why Nephi says that the Lord “doeth nothing save it be plain unto the children of men” (2 Ne. 26: 33). The Lord aims to leave the children of men without the excuse of saying, “I couldn’t recognize the fulfillment of your prophecies.” All men who are aware of the prophecies and who live during their fulfillment will be able to recognize their literal fulfillment. That goes even for the prophecies of Isaiah, of which Nephi says, “in the days that the prophecies of Isaiah shall be fulfilled men shall know of a surety, at the times when they shall come to pass” (2 Ne. 25: 7).
Forcing the fulfillment of prophecy
As men, we are often guilty of super-imposing our current circumstances upon the ancient prophecies and if there is a resemblance, will often declare them fulfilled. Those who believe in the prophecies want to see them fulfilled every whit, as their belief and faith depends upon it. Unfulfilled or false prophecy is a great trial to faith while fulfilled prophecy confirms it. Besides, no one likes to be wrong by believing a lie (a false prophecy), so every effort is made to force interpretations that make the prophecy seem fulfilled.
This anxiousness on the part of preachers and religionists is unnecessary because, in their literal fulfillment, prophecies become plain to all men.
Forcing prophecies is also unwise because if the literal fulfillment is still future and you broadcast its fulfillment now, conditions may change which undo the supposed fulfillment, which may cause a loss of faith. Those putting forth the forced interpretations end up looking like jack-asses and those who otherwise might have believed the prophecies and gospel begin to doubt.
A prime example is section 87 of the Doctrine and Covenants, which prophesied the War Between the States and that it would be started “at the rebellion of South Carolina.” At the time that the prophecy was received, though, South Carolina was already in rebellion with its nullification convention and the smell of war was in the air. Many broadcast the prophecy far and wide, sure that its fulfillment was imminent. Then conditions changed and South Carolina backed down. Those taking the prophecy on their missionary journeys stopped showing it to people as proof that Joseph Smith was a prophet. Its literal fulfillment did not come until decades later when conditions changed again.
Unless all the conditions called for in a prophecy are exact, no one should force a fulfillment upon it, no matter how closely the conditions come to the actual conditions needed for its fulfillment.
Many Christians (and LDS) have done this with the State of Israel. Seemingly overnight the Jews went from a scattered state to a gathered one in Palestine (by the nations of the Gentiles.) “The hand of the Lord! Prophecy fulfilled!” So went, and still goes, the cry. (The religious right in particular is guilty of this.) All government programs which supported and aided and supplied Israel with arms and other things it needed to survive in the region have been lobbied by this group so that the apparent fulfillment of prophecy remains fulfilled. After all, the promise is that once the Jews are gathered by the Lord in the last days, they will never be scattered again. (See 1 Ne. 15: 20.)
Not all Jews agree with the forced establishment of the State of Israel. Over the years, I have come across Jews and Jewish organizations that say that the Jews are to remain scattered until the Lord, and the Lord alone, gathers them, and that this forced gathering is a false gathering and does not fulfill scripture. For example, consider the following quote by one such organization:
“God-fearing Jews believe that the ultimate Redemption of the Jewish Nation will come about only through the Hands of God, and that at the time of the Redemption, peace will reign in the entire world. Any other type of forced redemption is but a sinful transgression, condemned by God and His Holy Torah.” (Taken from The Torah Position on the Current Conflict in Gaza article found on the JewsAgainstZionism.com web site.)
My study of the prophecies bears this assessment out.
If, or when, the State of Israel ceases to exist and the Jews are scattered again, what will become of the religious right? Will they lose credibility in the eyes of the people? If our own LDS people have bought their faulty arguments concerning the fulfillment of prophecy, will our own people lose faith? According to LEAP/EUROPE2020’s analysis, Israel can cease to exist in a matter of weeks. Conditions can change that rapidly. Can our confidence in prophecy change to doubt as quickly?
The LDS are prophetic morons
Sadly, we LDS tend to skip over prophecy and just focus on the doctrines of Christ when reading the scriptures. We rely on the chapter headings, institute and church manuals and general conference addresses to interpret prophecy and tell us what it all means. When those sources only go so far, we then rely on the Christians’ analysis of prophecy. In other words, we haven’t done our prophetic homework and obtained the spirit of prophecy and revelation so that we can understand these sayings. There are few prophets left in the church. The rest of us are led by blind guides (the Christians) who are even more in the dark concerning prophecy than we are, having less prophetic writings than we do.
So, if you are among the membership that believes the State of Israel was established by God and fulfills prophecy, I invite you to take up your scriptures alone and to leave aside the Christian and LDS commentaries. Let nothing but the Spirit and the scriptures guide you and see if you still come to the same conclusion.
To help you in that end, let me list some Book of Mormon prophecies that deal with the scattering and gathering of the Jews. You may start to see an emerging pattern once you take a look.
The prophecy of Lehi in 1 Ne. 10
1. Messiah slain (1 Ne. 10: 11) 2. Jews scattered (1 Ne. 10: 12-13) 3. Jews gathered/come to knowledge of true Messiah (1 Ne. 10: 14)
The prophecy of Nephi in 1 Ne. 11-15
1. Messiah slain (1 Ne. 11: 33) 2. Jews fight apostles (1 Ne. 11: 35) 3. Jews broken up, destroyed (1 Ne. 11: 36) and scattered (1 Ne. 15: 12-18) 4. Jews believe in Redeemer (1 Ne. 15: 13-16) 5. Jews restored (1 Ne. 15: 19) 6. Jews never to be scattered again (1 Ne. 15: 20)
The prophecy of Zenos in 1 Ne. 19
1. Messiah slain (1 Ne. 19: 10) 2. Jews reject Christ (1 Ne. 19: 13) 3. Jews scourged and scattered (1 Ne. 19: 13-14) 4. Jews believe in Christ (1 Ne. 19: 15) 5. Jews gathered by the Lord (1 Ne. 19: 16)
The prophecy of Nephi in 1 Ne. 22
1. Jews reject Christ (1 Ne. 22: 5) 2. Jews scattered (1 Ne. 22: 3-5) 3. Lord does marvelous work among Gentiles (1 Ne. 22: 8) 4. Jews believe in Christ [through new records] (1 Ne. 22: 9-12) 5. Jews gathered by Christ (1 Ne. 22: 12, 25)
The prophecy of Jacob in 2 Ne. 6
1. Messiah slain (2 Ne. 6: 9) 2. Jews reject Christ (2 Ne. 6: 10) 3. Jews scattered (2 Ne. 6: 11) 4. Jews believe in Christ (2 Ne. 6: 11) 5. Jews gathered by Lord (2 Ne. 6: 11, 14)
The prophecy of Jacob in 2 Ne. 10
1. Messiah slain (2 Ne. 10: 3, 5) 2. Jews reject Christ (2 Ne. 10: 5) 3. Jews scattered (2 Ne. 10: 6) 4. Jews believe in Christ (2 Ne. 10: 7) 5. Jews gathered (2 Ne. 10: 7-8)
The prophecy of Nephi in 2 Ne. 25-30
1. Jews reject Christ (2 Ne. 25: 12) 2. Messiah slain and resurrected (2 Ne. 25: 13-14) 3. Jews fight against church of God (2 Ne. 25: 14) 4. Jews destroyed, scattered (2 Ne. 25: 14-15) and scourged for many generations (2 Ne. 25: 16) 5. Jews believe in Christ (2 Ne. 25: 16; 2 Ne. 30: 7) 6. The Lord “sets his hand again the second time to restore” Jews (2 Ne. 25: 17; 2 Ne. 27: 26) 7. Jews receive new records that will judge them (2 Ne. 25: 18; 2 Ne. 29: 11-13) 8. Both Jews and records gathered in one (2 Ne. 29: 14; 2 Ne. 30: 7)
The prophecy of Jacob in Jacob 4: 15 – 6: 4
1. Jews reject Christ (Jacob 4: 15) 2. Jews scattered (Jacob 5) 3. The Lord sets “his hand again the second time to recover” Jews (Jacob 6: 2) 4. Servants of the Lord go forth for the last time to nourish and prune vineyard (Jacob 6: 2)
The prophecy of Zenos in Jacob 5
1. Jews scattered (Jacob 5) 2. Servant and Lord bring forth new records (Jacob 5: 55-56) 3. Servant, Lord and other servants bring forth new records (Jacob 5: 61-69) 4. Servant, Lord and other servants labor for last time (Jacob 5: 70-73) 5. Both Jews and records gathered in one body (Jacob 5: 74)
The prophecy of Mormon in 3 Ne. 5
1. Jews scattered, then gathered by Lord (3 Ne. 5: 24) 2. Jews to receive new records of Christ (3 Ne. 5: 25-26) 3. Jews then to be gathered after they believe in Christ (3 Ne. 5: 26)
The prophecy of the Lord in 3 Ne. 16
1. Jews scattered (3 Ne. 16: 4) 2. Gentiles take new records to Jews (3 Ne. 16: 4) 3. Jews believe in Christ (3 Ne. 16: 4) 4. Jews gathered (3 Ne. 16: 5)
The prophecy of the Lord in 3 Ne. 20
1. Covenant of Father to Israel fulfilled when Isaiah’s words fulfilled (3 Ne. 20: 11-12) 2. Jews scattered (3 Ne. 20: 13) 3. Gentiles scatter Jews (3 Ne. 20: 15) and scourge them (3 Ne. 20: 28) 4. Jews receive new records (3 Ne. 20: 13, 30) 5. Jews believe in Christ (3 Ne. 20: 30) 6. Jews gathered by the Lord (3 Ne. 20: 13, 18, 21, 29, 33, 46)
The prophecy of the Lord in 3 Ne. 21
1. The sign that Israel is about to be gathered and Zion is about to be established (3 Ne. 21: 1) is when the record of the ministry of the Savior to the Nephites goes to the Gentiles (2 Ne. 21: 2) and from the Gentiles to the remnant of Israel (3 Ne. 21: 3. See 3 Ne. 21: 1-7) 2. In that day kings will shut their mouths (3 Ne. 21: 8) 3. In that day Father will perform great and marvelous work (3 Ne. 21: 9)
—I will expound 3 Ne. 21: 11. “Therefore it shall come to pass that whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, which the Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles, (it shall be done even as Moses said) they shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant.”
—”My words” in the phrase “whosoever will not believe my words” means the record of the ministry of the Savior to the Nephites (not the abridgment made by Mormon.) Remember, Mormon was about to write the full account of the ministry contained on the large plates of Nephi, because these words were prophesied to come forth, as these were the words meant by the Savior in this verse, and these are the words that would implement the “cut off” clause of the prophecy, but the Lord forbade it (3 Ne. 26: 11).
—”Him.” Can you guess who “him” is in the phrases “the Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles”? (See 3 Ne. 21: 9-10.) This “him” man will bring forth the record of the Savior’s ministry. Again, this is not speaking of the abridgment.
—”Cut off.” The prophecy of Moses says, “A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul who will not hear that prophet shall be cut off from among the people.” This prophet is Christ. The fulfillment of this prophecy happens when the record of the Savior’s ministry to the Nephites (not the abridgment) comes forth. Then, everyone who reads the record will be left without excuse. Either they believe the words of Christ and become numbered with the house of Israel, or they disbelieve them and cut themselves off. In other words, Moses had view of this last record coming forth when he spoke his prophecy.
—What this all means: At some point a “healed” servant of the Lord will appear and will bring forth the record of the Savior’s ministry (the full account) as well as other records. These “last records” will show that the first records (including the Book of Mormon) are true and will convince everyone that Jesus is the Christ, leaving no one with an excuse. They will go first to the Gentiles and then to the Jews, which will turn them both to the Lord and into bona fide Israelites. Then the Lord will gather with power those who have accepted these last records to the lands of their inheritance. Everyone else will be cut off and gathered into bundles to be burned. The “last records” will cause a great division among the people (2 Ne. 30: 10). This latter work, in which this “healed” servant comes forth and produces the “last records,” first to the Gentiles and then to the Jews, after which everyone is gathered, is known as the marvelous work and a wonder, the great and marvelous work, the second time the Lord will set his hand again to restore his people, etc.
That is all I will say about this chapter.
The prophecy of Mormon in Morm. 5: 14
1. Scattered Jews receive new records, believe in Christ and are restored (Mormon 5: 14)
The prophecy of Ether in Ether 13
1. Jerusalem destroyed (Ether 13: 5) 2. Jews scattered (Ether 13: 11) 3. Jerusalem to be built up again (Ether 13: 5) 4. Jerusalem to be a holy city of the Lord (Ether 13: 5) 5. Jews to be clean “washed in the blood of the Lamb” (Ether 13: 11. See also 2 Ne. 25: 16 “with pure hearts and clean hands.”)
LDS Anarchy 