About the Birthplace of Christ

I'm terrible at consistency these days, I know, I'm sorry. Life has been VERY busy as of late, and continues to get busier...at least for the next couple of weeks until I go off-track again.

As I was studying the 132nd Section of the Doctrine and Covenants the other day, I was actually studying some material for one topic, and found myself learning a few things about an entirely different topic. I had actually been researching more about the verses referencing Abraham and Isaac (verses 34-36) and continued reading the next several verses to get more of a contextual understanding of the entire section. Verse 39 in this same section was the verse that inspired me to go on somewhat of a "scripture chase" which led me to find the information about the topic I'm discussing today.
It reads:

David's wives and concubines were given unto him of me, by the hand of Nathan, my servant, and others of the prophets who had the keys of this power; and in none of these things did he sin against me save in the case of Uriah and his wife; and therefore he had fallen from his exaltation and received his portion; and he shall not inherit them out of the world, for I gave them unto another, saith the Lord

(Doctrine and Covenants 132:39; emphasis added).

In any case, as I read this I found myself trying to acquire more knowledge about David and just exactly what he did and didn't do. During my examinations of the different verses, I came across the one in 2 Samuel 5:7 which reads "Nevertheless, David took the strong hold of Zion; the same is the city of David. (emphasis added).

There are a couple of connections that we have to that verse - through modern and ancient scripture alike. The first and most obvious one is the one we think of when reading the Christmas story - Luke 2:11 which reads "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." (emphasis added)

The second is the beginning the of the 10th Article of Faith which reads "We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes, that Zion, the newJerusalem will be built upon the American continent..."(emphasis added)

Those that know the geography of the Israeli territory know that the town of Bethlehem is just 10 miles south of the city of Jerusalem - or essentially a suburb of the city. (As additional information about Bethlehem - consider the following: The name "Bethlehem" originates from the Hebrew phrase "בֵּית לֶחֶם‎ " (Beit Lehem) which LITERALLY means "house of bread." I believe it is no small coincidence that the Savior himself was referred to as the "bread of life" - which could be directly traced back to his birthplace.)

What is interesting about all of this of course is the events that have and will surround this specific area of the globe:

1. After Christ was born, he was taken to Nazareth and was raised there, Nazareth being north of Jerusalem and concurrently Bethlehem.
2. The Garden of Gethsemane is located at the foot of the Mount of Olives - which is symbolic because it was at the lowest point of the mountain, or in other words symbolic of the atonement of sin before ascending up the mountain where God resides.
3. The Mount of Olives is located East of Jerusalem and the mountain just to the west of this range? Mount Sion or alternatively Mount Zion. Note the symbolism now when discussing the Garden of Gethsemane and its relation to Mount Sion.
4. The battle of Armageddon is believed to be taking place to the northeast of Jerusalem prior to the coming of Christ. Christ will then return upon the earth - at which point he will first appear on Mount Sion (Zion).

What does this all boil down to? The city of Bethlehem is a very sacred place. It was the place where the Bread of Life would originate and would be the same area where our Lord and Savior was crucified for the sins of the wold and additionally the same place where He will again return to sanctify and cleanse the world for all eternity.

I just thought that was a cool thing to think about, especially given the current holiday season and our celebration of the Birth of Christ during the upcoming Christmas holiday.

Was Isaac Really Spared?

Two blogs in one night - I know! Shocking!

As we concluded our study of Genesis 22 the other day, Bro. Baron raised a VERY interesting theory and after explaining it to us, I can say that I can accept his viewpoint and agree with it because of the evidence presented.

When studying a chapter of Scripture in the depth that we studied it, smaller nuances of the individual verses pop out more clearly. This was the case in our class studies - as it took us over 7 weeks to translate 9 verses...not that we translated every class nor did we spend our entire lives doing it, but it was stretched out over time for a reason. Bro. Baron in his infinite wisdom decided to hold his theory until we got to the end of the chapter as to not corrupt our outlook of the chapter.

We all know the "popular" story of Abraham and Issac - Abraham is commanded to take his son Issac to the mountains and place him on an altar and sacrifice him. Just as he's getting ready to do so, a messenger of the Lord speaks to Abraham and tells him not to sacrifice Issac, and because of his faithfulness he gets all these blessings and lives happily ever after. Is that really what happened though? Bro. Baron's theory (which has been supported by multiple people and sources - so its not just a Bro. Baron thing) suggests that it not only is not what happened, but that there is a "second" story within the verses that we overlook even though its so plain.

To understand this theory we must examine several scriptures. First, we start with Genesis 22:5 which reads: "And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and [we will]] come again to you"

Now, quickly jump down to verse 19 of the same chapter that reads: "So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba." WHAT?!?! Where's Isaac? Let's just say that this theory here suggests that Issac didn't exactly "make it"...at least not initially.

Our first supporting scripture comes from this same chapter, which is the 16th verse which reads "And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and has not withheld thine only son;"

Okay, not convinced yet? Yes, its a fairly weak argument. But the next three scriptures will support this progressively more. Go over the Book of Mormon and turn the book of Jacob - Chapter 4, verse 5 which reads "Behold, they believed in Christ and worshiped the Father in his name, and also we worship the Father in his name. and for this intent we keep the law of Moses, it pointing our souls to him; and for this cause it is sanctified unto us for righteousness, even as it was accounted unto Abraham in the wilderness to be obedient unto the commands of God in offering up his son Isaac, which is a similitude of God and his Only Begotten Son" (Emphasis added).

Still not buying it? Fine, try this block of scripture here. Doctrine and Covenants 132: 34-36:

God commanded Abraham, and Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham to wife. And why did she do it? Because this was the law; and from Hagar sprang many people. this therefore was fulfilling, among other things, the promises.

Was Abraham, therefore, under condemnation? Verily I say unto you, Nay; for I, the Lord, commanded it.

Abraham was commanded to offer his son Isaac: nevertheless, it was written: Thou shalt not kill. Abraham, however, did not refuse, and it was accounted unto him for righteousness.

Warming up to the idea perhaps? Well, the next block of scripture should be the clincher here. Hebrews 11: 17-19:

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered p Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called:

Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

I don't know about anyone else, but that last one seems pretty black and white to me!

There is it though, straight from the scriptures - I'll leave you guys to say yea or nay on it!

Commentaries on "The Spirit of God"

Yes, I've been on an extended hiatus. I'm sorry to my readers - I've been hideously swamped as of late. Rest assured though, I've had many things running through my mind on which I will make comments on in the upcoming future.

For this post though, I wish to address something that's been running through my mind periodically for the last several months and has recently come to the forefront of my thought processes because of our study of Genesis 22, Genesis 28, and Deuteronomy 5 in my Hebrew class. We just finished translating Genesis 22, The first four verses of Genesis 28 were our midterm and we've just begun translating Deuteronomy 5.

As we studied these scriptures, there were particular discussions in class and phrases throughout these passages that brought my mind up to the remembrance of these lyrics. These lyrics are ones that I have previously thought in depth about, but had pushed aside for some time because of the relative incompleteness of my knowledge of certain things. As my knowledge has grown, so has my understanding of the lyrics of this sacred hymn. For those that are not familiar with the text, the lyrics are as follows:

1. The Spirit of God like a fire is burning;
The latter day glory begins to come forth;
The visions and blessings of old are returning;
The angels are coming to visit the earth.

2. The Lord is extending the saints' understanding—
Restoring their judges and all as at first;
The knowledge and power of God are expanding
The veil o'er the earth is beginning to burst.

3. We'll call in our solemn assemblies, in spirit,
To spread forth the kingdom of heaven abroad,
That we through our faith may begin to inherit
The visions, and blessings, and glories of God.

4. How blessed the day when the lamb and the lion
Shall lie down together without any ire;
And Ephraim be crown'd with his blessing in Zion,
As Jesus descends with his chariots of fire!

Chorus:
We'll sing and we'll shout with the armies of heaven:
Hosanna, hosanna to God and the Lamb!
Let glory to them in the highest be given,
Henceforth and forever: amen and amen!
LDS Hymns #2

Now, as I've considered the text of this hymn, I have often wondered if this is somewhat a "journey-like" hymn or at least one that is "progressive." Allow me to explain here.

As we are aware, the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints did not come about all at once, nor did it occur with great aplomb, but rather its seeds sprouted forth through the faith of a young fourteen year-old boy who saw God the Father, and His Son Jesus Christ in answer to a prayer of supplication to the two Heavenly Beings. Over time, specific truths were revealed and the power of God was gradually returned to the inhabitants of the earth until a fullness of the Gospel existed once again in the mortal realm.

With this gradualness in mind, it offers a somewhat deeper understanding of the lyrics of this song. In the first verse we read that the latter-day glory is beginning to come forth and that angels are coming to visit the earth. This has been fulfilled through the conference of the Priesthood keys upon Joseph Smith - through the hands of John the Baptist and the disciples of Christ - Peter, James and John. The Prophet also received visitations from the angel Moroni in his own bedroom as well as the prophet Elijah - who restored the sealing powers to the earth. Additionally, there are documented visitations of several other angelic beings in the 128th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants - these beings including but not limited to Michael the archangel (Adam), Gabriel (Noah?), Raphael and "of divers angels, from Michael or Adam down to the present time" (Doctrine and Covenants 128:21)

Continue on to the second verse where it clearly notes that the knowledge-base of the Latter-Day Saints is expanding and that the veil over the earth is beginning to burst - which young Joseph demonstrated with his opposition in the Sacred Grove to the power of the adversary and continuing to the spreading of the knowledge of an Eternal Father and a living Christ who performed the action of the Atonement on the behalf of mankind, and the understanding of our divine relationships to both beings.

In verse three is where it gets most interesting. Note the presence of the first line of the verse that states that "we'll call in our solemn assemblies in spirit." This is in direct reference likely to the scripture in Genesis 28:3 which reads "And God Almighty bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and mulitply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people. If one were to translate this verse from is original Hebraic form, they would find that the scripture does not prescribe a "multitude of people" but rather refers to a "large, solemn assembly." Further this with the recognition that in the modern-day - at the passing of the current prophet, the new one is presented to the body of the Church through a solemn assembly - one where the Prophet is sustained by groups, first as a Priesthood body, and eventually embodying the entire Church.

What are the promises of the third first following the first line? That we through our faith may begin to inherit -- or in other words through our support of the Brethren of the Church, including the Lord's Prophet himself, the visions, blessings, and glories of God. In a previous blog I've discussed that the "glory of God" is intelligence or in other words light and truth. (Doctrine and Covenants 93:36)

As Bro. Baron pointed out the other day in class, when we sustain a Prophet of the Lord, we sustain him as not only a Prophet, but also as a Seer, and a Revelator. He then explained that a Prophet speaks of existing truths, a seer sees things not visibile to the natural eye, and a revealator speaks of truths to come. That sure sounds like the "visions, blessings, and glories of God" to me!

Now, the forth verse is one that I find most intriguing. The phrase "How blessed the day when the lamb and the lion shall lie down together without any ire" is the focal point of my thoughts on this verse. This verse is based on the scripture in Isaiah, verse 6 which reads "the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lied down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion, and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them."

My thoughts on this are purely speculative, but I believe that the verse should perhaps read: "How blessed the day when the Lamb and the Lion shall lie down together without any ire." The untrained eye may claim that I have made no change in the phrase, but I have - the capitalization of two letters which I believe further annunciates the perhaps intended meaning of this verse.

We don't know much of the Tribes of Israel in their detail - their specific inheritances as they relate the modern-day, their symbols, or really anything. We do know some though. Of the many things that we do know, we know that the tribe of Judah is represented by the symbol of a lion. Jews from birth are of the tribe of Judah - which is where the term Jew came from. Interestingly though, they are still awaiting the coming of Christ - no, not the second one, the FIRST one. We know that one of the many symbols of Christ is the Lamb.

Several modern prophecies and commentaries by the Brethren state that in the Last Days there will be a time of the Genitle and a time of the Jew (the last shall be the first and the first shall be the last; to the Jew first and also to the Greek.) At the time of the jews, the missionary work of the Church will shift its focus on to the Jews across the sea and their eventual acceptance of Christ. When this happens, this will be very soon before the Second Coming and will also perhaps be in fulfillment of the prophetic hymn text that says that the "Lamb and the Lion will lie down together without any ire" or in other words the Jewish nation finally accepting Christ (who is one of their own, but they don't realize that).

In any case, whether my speculations are correct, I gain a great strengthening of my testimony when I hear this song, and wish that more members of the Church would treat this song with the sacredness that it deserves, rather than passively singing this song and nearly every Church occasion that arises.

Those are my thoughts, take them or the leave them!