Nephi's Last Day Prophecies Part 1   The Book of Mormon Lecture 07 by Hyrum Andrus
Channel: Light and Truth
Date: 2016-06-04

Hyrum L Andrus
All rights reserved August 10-12, 1989
Lecture – 7 NEPHI'S PROPHECY OF THE LAST DAYS -- Part 1
The great prophetic picture of the Book of Mormon is far, far more significant than most of us have realized. But even at that, I hesitate at times to talk about it because it comes so close to home at times. And it's not easy to talk about those things in relation to judgments on this land and things that are not too far distant in the future. But as I've wrestled with this situation, struggled over it, ruminated on it and all those other adjectives, my conclusion is, or my feeling is that we need to have an educated body of Saints in order to best handle the circumstances. So I'm going to give you both barrels, right from the shoulder. And we'll spend 9 hours tonight and tomorrow night and Saturday night talking about the prophetic picture.
To begin with, let me just say that the major prophetic theme of the Book of Mormon concerning the latter-days concerns an era of warfare against Zion. You take a look at the Book of Mormon and you say, "What are the prophetic themes?" There's one concerning the birth of Christ. There's another concerning the judgments and the miniature millennial era at his crucifixion and resurrection. Those are past, and those are fulfilled within the record itself. The one we're talking about is the one that Nephi gives us initial insight on and the one that Jesus amplifies during his ministry. I hope you catch the significance of this presentation my wife gave this afternoon. It is vital and important in the sense that as you read the Book of Mormon, some of us take a chronological view from 1 Nephi--"I, Nephi, born of goodly parents...." to Moroni 10. And we look at it from that standpoint.
As you see the message of the Book of Mormon, the message blossoms in Nephi. And then you see another tremendous amplification of it by the Savior. In one manner of speaking the revelations given to Nephi constitute the key, the original, the initial key of insight to the whole thing. As it relates to our day, the Book of Mormon, the major prophetic theme of that sacred volume, concerns an era of warfare against Zion, in which era Zion will be sanctified and rise to be the full standard that the Lord designs the Saints to be. Then that program that's established among them will eventually be extended to Jerusalem in the great winding-up scene preliminary to the second coming and associated with the second coming.
In the warfare against Zion, the great prophetic theme of the Book of Mormon, there are two divisions to it. First of all there is the era of warfare against the Latter-day Saints, or Zion. That's the initial thrust. The second division is the shifting of military tactics from Zion to Jerusalem and the consummating scene in Jerusalem.
For example, and this is a key not just in the Book of Mormon, but it's a key to the whole Biblical prophecy. You read the 2nd chapter of Joel about the great northern army, and we'll say a little more about it tonight. The 2nd chapter of Joel deals with Zion, the warfare against Zion. Chapter 3 in the book of Joel focuses on the Jerusalem phase of it. So Joel in his revelation gives us first of all a prophetic message concerning Zion, and then his prophetic message concerning Jerusalem. So this whole era of warfare that finally consummates in the second coming of Christ, his appearance on the Mount of Olives and his grand world appearance in glory subsequently, shortly after that, then it has these two major divisions, the era of warfare against Zion and the era of warfare against Jerusalem. Are we clear on that?
The Book of Mormon gives us that orientation, sets the mold and helps us to understand. And it's a part of Nephi's vision, and it's one of Nephi's "Looks," for those of you here this afternoon, where the angel says, "Look," and reveals things to him. Let me turn with you now to 1 Nephi 14. Let's start right from the beginning.
"And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles," and note the little word "if"--"If the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks-- And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father;" and that is Lehi. "Yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever." That's a great promise.
"They shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded. And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls… Get the full transcription from www.hyrumandrus.com!