God’s Plan of Salvation By Richard Rupe

Chapter 18 Isaiah: A Voice of Warning Part 1a Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

Yea, a commandment I give unto you, that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah (3 Nephi 10:27/23:1). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

Introduction Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Covers pages 225-240 • Introduction to Isaiah’s importance • Jonathan Cahn and The Harbinger • Avraham Gileadi • Seven Parts of Isaiah • Types • America’s Covenant Blessings • God’s Covenant Lawsuit • Voice of Warning Isaiah: A Voice of Warning Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

Questions raised to the fore included whether America is really mentioned in the Bible; and, if so, was 9/11 an act of God’s judgment upon America? The story centers around an obscure Bible verse (Isaiah 9:10), that seemingly would have very little meaning, even to those who are scripturally literate. And yet, when the subtleties of this verse are unraveled and its true prophetic import revealed, it would seem to say that there are no throwaway verses in Isaiah. The ultimate compliment was paid to Isaiah in 3 Nephi when our Savior said, “Great are the words of Isaiah,” and gave all assembled there a commandment to search his words (GPS, pg 225). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• The main question of The Harbinger is, “What does America have to do with ?” • This is a question answered by Restoration scripture Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

And for this purpose have I established the constitution of this land, by the hands of wise men whom I raised up unto this very purpose, and redeemed the land by the shedding of blood (D&C 98:10h/101:80). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

And now we can behold the decrees of God concerning this land, that it is a land of promise, and whatsoever nation shall possess it, shall serve God, or they shall be swept off when the fullness of his wrath shall come upon them. And the fullness of his wrath cometh upon them when they are ripened in iniquity; for behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God, or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God (Ether 1:31-32/2:9-10). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• The Harbinger described the people of Israel as having forgotten their purpose (calling). • They confused idols for their God and then openly replaced him with idols • Rejected a long line of prophets • Sacrificed their children to idols • Character asked why Israel punished when so many other nations around them were worse • To whom much is given, much is required. Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• The main character of the book asks about America • It has done many good things • Many nations are far worse than she is • The answer was • No nation has been as blessed as America • To whom much is given, much is required • But they don’t sacrifice children to idols • Answer was they have done worse sacrificing millions of unborn children …

Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• While somewhat controversial, I found its theology to be consistent with what I interpret Isaiah’s to be; and also consistent with Restoration concepts. • I believe it to be inspired of God • I would highly recommend it. • Remainder of this chapter will expand upon some of these themes discussed thus far in The Harbinger • Discuss the totality of God’s plan as revealed by Isaiah. Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Isaiah warns America and all the nations of the world. • We are all involved in the end-time drama of the restoration of the house of Israel. • While total destruction is predicted for the wicked, there are equally great promises and blessings made for those who turn to God with all their heart. • God holds out the possibility of repentance and forgiveness until the very end.

Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• said the words of Isaiah are great • Seem to be all-encompassing • Israel • Gentile • Important for all people • Using terms contemporary to himself, Isaiah wrote of Christ and the latter days • Spoke of “all things that hath been and shall be Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel; therefore it must needs be that he must speak also to the Gentiles. And all things that he spake, hath been, and shall be, even according to the words which he spake (3 Nephi 10:28-29/ 23:2-3). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• “Much of the interpretation of the content of Isaiah following is derived from several of the works of Dr. Avraham Gileadi” (Rupe, GPS, pg 227). • Introduced in Lesson 17 • Biography info on pg 227 • Well respected by non-LDS scholars • See pg 227 • Trained in Jewish scholarship and the

Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Gileadi favors a single author of Isaiah • Important because the Book of Mormon quotes from Isaiah some say was by another “Isaiah” • Isaiah 44-60 • See chart on next slide • Nephi quotes parts of Isaiah some critics say were not written until after Lehi left

Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

1 Nephi 6(20)-Isaiah 48 (D) 2 Nephi 9(22)-Isaiah 12 (P) 1 Nephi 6(21)-Isaiah 49 (D) 2 Nephi 10(23)-Isaiah 13 (P) 2 Nephi 5(7)-Isaiah 50 (D) 2 Nephi 10(24)-Isaiah 14 (P) 2 Nephi 5(8)-Isaiah 51 (D) Mosiah 7(12)-Isaiah 52 (D) 2 Nephi 8(12)-Isaiah 2 (P) Mosiah 8(14,15)-Isaiah 53 (D) 2 Nephi 8(13)-Isaiah 3 (P) 3 Nephi 8:20-22(17:18-20) Isaiah 2 Nephi 8(14)-Isaiah 4 (P) 52:8-10 (D) 2 Nephi 8(15)-Isaiah 5 (P) 2 Nephi 9(16)-Isaiah 6 (P) 2 Nephi 9(17)-Isaiah 7 (P) 2 Nephi 9(18)-Isaiah 8 (P) 2 Nephi 9(19)-Isaiah 9 (P) 2 Nephi 9(20)-Isaiah 10 (P) 2 Nephi 9(21)-Isaiah 11 (P) Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Book of Mormon seems to settle the Isaiah authorship question • Or, Deutero-Isaiah in the Book of Mormon shows J Smith simply copied KJV text • Appearance is an anachronism • Gileadi identified a consistent structure through Isaiah which supports a single author • Structures are multi-layered and adapts Near Eastern literary structures Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• The story of Sinhue (a three-part model) • Trouble at home • Exile • Awakening and return • Isaiah relates this to Isaiah • Chapters 1-39 (trouble at home) • Chapters 40-54 (exile) • Chapters 55-66 (glorious homecoming) Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Four-fold structure of Ugaritic myth of Baal and Anath • Apostasy • Judgment • Restoration • Salvation • Isaiah shows this four-fold pattern • Israel’s apostasy (1-9) • Judgment (10-34) • Restoration (35-59) • Salvation (60-66) Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

A third such governing structure consists of the associated ideas of destruction of the wicked (1-36) and deliverance of the righteous (40-66) at the presence of a righteous Davidic king (37-38) (GPS, pg 228). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

A fourth governing structure divides the into two broad categories. These reflect respective curses and blessings pertaining to the Lord’s covenant with Israel. As the Lord’s covenant people, Israel inevitably experiences either blessings or curses, depending on the people’s loyalty to their divine King. Moses formulated the Sinai Covenant in which Moses enumerates the blessings and then the curses (Deut. 28). Isaiah emphasizes first the curses (covenantal malediction – chapters 1-39) and then the blessings (covenantal benediction – chapters 40-66) (GPS, pg 228). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

The Seven-Part Division of the Book of Isaiah Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Gileadi’s seven-part structure of Isaiah is introduced beginning on page 229 of GPS. • Background of theory is discussed. • There is a bifid structure, each with seven parts • Each half repeats the same themes Isaiah: A Voice of Warning Isaiah: A Voice of Warning Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

You will notice that the seven pairs of opposite themes prominent in Isaiah 1-33 are also the themes of Isaiah 34-66 – the book’s two halves parallel each other. The only difference between them is that Isaiah develops ideas from the first half to the second. For example, Isaiah 1-5 (1a) establishes the concepts of “ruin and rebirth,” which are developed further in Isaiah 34-35 (1b). They, in turn, become a starting point for Isaiah 6-8 (2a), which, in addition, establishes its own concepts of “rebellion and compliance” that are developed further in Isaiah 36-40 (2b); and so forth, until all ends in Isaiah 60-66 (7b) (Gileadi, GPS, pgs 229-230; emphasis added). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Rupe addresses the question of “the manner of the Jews” as necessary for understanding Isaiah • Isaiah wrote using the “manner of the Jews” • Nephi said one way to understand Isaiah is to understand “the manner of the Jews.” • This writing method must be learned from the Jews • They have taught and handed it down through time • Isaiah was able to see Israel of his day and the Israel of the last days and describe it in one prophecy Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Isaiah is able to speak about things past, present, and future that concern the house of Israel (pg 230) • “Who predicts what happens as do I, and is the equal of me in appointing a people from of old as types, foretelling things to come?” (Isaiah 44:7). • Only the Lord is able to do this (Isaiah 45:21) • The Lord “foretells the end from the beginning, from ancient times things not yet done” (46:10). • His words encapsulate Israel’s future in her past. Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Jews recognized a double fulfillment of prophecy • Traditional way to interpret prophecy • Step 1: Apply the prophecy to the prophet’s own time and events of the that day • What was going on that stimulated the prophets to seek the Lord • What answer(s) did the Lord give [the revelation] • Step 2: Recognize the transcendent nature of revelations • It points to the latter days also Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Isaiah uses history as a model for understanding the future • Knowing history is important • Isaiah selectively employs history • Uses what helps him • Employs types or examples • See the same thing in the Book of Mormon • How Mormon and Moroni employ history • Selected certain events to teach larger lessons Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Isaiah uses types carefully and purposefully • Uses kingdoms known in his day • Become symbols of rulers/kingdoms in latter days • Assyria/Babylon represent kingdoms • Idolaters • Worldly political leaders • Wickedness • Book of Mormon prophets understood that style Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• On page 231 speaks of America • Presumably the United States of America • “In an end-time or prophetic sense, therefore, when Isaiah refers to “Israel,” we can just as easily read “America.” America, too, is God’s People. America, more than any other nation on the earth, qualifies as the modern counterpart of ancient Israel” (Gileadi, GPS, pg 231). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• America lived by laws based on the Ten Commandments • Abandonment of that moral law will bring calamities as it did for Israel of old • Isaiah spells out the specifics • “end-time” Assyria rises to power as God’s people decline into a state of spiritual decay. • Moses described the blessings and curses of the Sinai Covenant in Deuteronomy 28 (28-30). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

1 And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth.

10 And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of the Lord; and they shall be afraid of thee.

13 And the Lord shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them (Deuteronomy 28: 1, 10, 13; emphasis added). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Israel as the head: Kings David and Solomon • A Golden Age • A type of the future millennium • Israel as tail: When Israel rejected the Lord • Assyrians, Babylonians and Romans took turns as head • America is currently head of the nations • Began as “one nation under God.” • Has a prosperity linked to God’s covenant with his people Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Gileadi says two end time powers identified by Isaiah are Assyria and Egypt • They are political opposites • Egypt was once the greatest military power in the world • Nation most aptly described as the Egypt of Isaiah is the United States (America). • America is a composite entity: Israel and Egypt Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Babylon: a materialistic and idolatrous empire • In Isaiah, Babylon equals what Nephi called the “great and abominable church.” • Everything that is not of the Lord’s church • see 1 Nephi 3:140-144, 206-208, 219-237; 7:26-31/13:5- 9, 14:3, 9-17; 22:13-14 • Universal symbol of wickedness; to be destroyed by fire • Zion and Jerusalem are Isaiah’s code names for something new – represent latter-day entities • A particular kind of righteousness • A place for the Lord’s people, a refuge Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

And all the people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart … The bricks are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones; the sycamores are cut down, but we will change them into cedars (Isaiah 9:9-10; emphasis added). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Discussion of Isaiah 9:9 • Shows that Isaiah 9:10 is directed to Ephraim and Samaria • Ephraim is synonymous with Israel (principal tribe) and birthright holder • Ephraim migrated to Europe and then to New World and is the heritage of Joseph Smith Jr., restorer of the church • Samaria was capital of ancient Israel (northern nation known as Israel). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon • Isaiah is said to have prophesied “all things” concerning the house of Israel. • Book of Mormon repeats, expands and confirms Isaiah’s message • From this perspective detractors are at serious fault for attacking the Book of Mormon. • Should focus on the message, not the messenger or the media.

Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

God’s Plan of Salvation hinges on the great eternal sacrifice of His Son; which was planned before the foundation of the earth; and, upon God’s special relationship with the house of Israel, a people of His choosing and creation. Jesus told the Canaanite woman that “he was not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). Thus, Jesus’ primary mission is to save God’s people of the house of Israel. It is in the process of this mission that the Gentiles receive the blessings of the covenants God made with Israel. We become guests in their house; it is not the other way around (Rupe, GPS, pg 233). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

“The most succinct description of God’s plan I (Rupe) know is given by Nephi:”

And the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all nations, both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles; and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the last shall be first, and the first shall be last (1 Nephi 3:198-200/13:42). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Gentile unbelief will lead to rejection of the “words of Christ” • Means at least the Book of Mormon • The “fullness of the gospel” will be taken from Gentiles and given to house of Israel/Jews • Will see this in the study of Isaiah • Book of Mormon echoes and clarifies this Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

It may seem foreign to our westernized, scientific world; but God’s currency is the faith of a little child and our willingness to accept His word as paramount in all things. God’s path is straight and one eternal round and He does not change. God is willing to explain His word to us and to give us the witness of the Holy Spirit; but it all depends upon the desire of our hearts and our willingness to accept His word. Otherwise, God will not give us a witness as it would only turn to our condemnation. The question on the table is this: Do we desire His will or our own? (Richard Rupe, GPS, pg 233). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Prophetic ministry: • Must recognize God’s sovereignty • No need to follow political correctness protocols • God’s path is straight, one eternal round and without change • A prophet (of God) must speak what he is told to say, not what audience wants him to say • Scriptures are prophetic and likewise bold, true and constant Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Many people do not love (or even like) the truth • Respond with anger, hatred and murder • Loving darkness more than light leads to skewed beliefs, improper recognition of reality and false worship. • Tradition says Isaiah was sawn in half by King Manasseh. • He offended the king with his prophecies • He continues to offend many today Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Isaiah was told his messages would not be received by those who heard them • The Lord told him right after he volunteered to speak for the Lord

Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed (Isaiah 6:9-10). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• The Lord’s words to Isaiah are similar to Jesus’s words to his disciples • Part of his explanation of the Parable of the Sower • Disciples asked why he spoke in parables. Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand (Matthew 13:9-12 {11-13}; emphasis added). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• Jesus quotes the prophecy of Isaiah (6) saying: “Now God’s going to judge you, you wouldn’t hear and you wouldn’t see and now you can’t hear and you can’t see. You wouldn’t be converted and you wouldn’t be healed, and now you can’t be healed or converted.” • Isaiah then cries out to the Lord saying, “How long, O Lord, how long?” The Lord replies:

Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste; and the Lord removes his people far away (Isaiah 6:11-12). Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

• After the death of Jesus, the Jews were scattered and set as wanderers in the world for the next 2,000 years. • 2 Thessalonians 2 Paul speaks of an apostasy in the latter days • Many will perish because they do not love the truth • God will send a “strong delusion” (2 Thessalonians 2:11) Isaiah: A Voice of Warning

Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! (Isaiah 5:20).