I call Chapter 51 of
Isaiah ‘a call to Zion’. This chapter is specifically directed to ‘the redeemed’
of the last days as is thus addressed:
“Hearken
unto me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord… (v 1);
“Hearken
unto me, my people…..(v 4);
“Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law.. (v 7)
The ‘redeemed of the Lord’
are those who are of the Abrahamic covenant ‘as in the ancient days, in the
generations of old’ (v 1,9). They are called to ‘look unto Abraham your father
and unto Sarah that bare you, the rock from whence you are hewn” (v 1,2). Not
only is this a reference to our ancient parents of the covenant because they
were righteous and had set the path of example but because they provided the
path to the seeking of Zion which they themselves were devoted to :
“Abraham’s diligence in
seeking God is mentioned in the book of Abraham at the very point of his
departure from Haran when he will, a Hebrews say, go looking for the city with
foundations (Abraham 2:12). It is the same city, as scholars point out, that is
also referred to in the next chapter of Hebrews: “But ye are come unto mount
Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to
innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the
firstborn” (Heb 12:22-23).
“When similar language is
used in latter-day scripture, it describes the people of Enoch. Those attaining
celestial glory are said to “come unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the
living God, the heavenly place, the holiest of all. These are they who have
come to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of
Enoch, and of the Firstborn” (D&C 76:66-67). Clearly Abraham was seeking
Enoch’s city of Zion.” (Bruce R. McConkie, Mormon Doctrine, 805)
That we are to prepare to
live a terrestrial life of the Millenial reign is evident by Isaiah 51:11 where
he says that ‘sorrow and mourning shall flee away and everlasting joy shall be
upon our heads’ (Isaiah 51:11). These are the conditions of the Millenium. Right
now we are in a telestial world. The Millenium will be a terrestrial existence.
It will be a lifestyle that will prepare the most righteous for a celestial
life, a life with God the Father. I am more convinced of it when I look at the City
of Enoch and its ascension to God.
There is a pattern that
we will follow during the Millenium to prepare us for the celestial life with
the Father, Eternal God, and this is it.
The
golden age of the City of Enoch is the blueprint of New Jerusalem, the modern
day Millenial Zion upon the American continent. Enoch’s city had another name:
the City of Holiness (Moses 7:19). There is only one reason why this city was
called the City of Holiness and that’s because ‘the Lord came and dwelt with
his people’ and ‘dwelt in the midst of Zion
(Moses 7:16;69). It was He who was the embodiment of holiness and not
its people. Much like He will be in New Jerusalem during the Millenium.
When the Saviour comes and
resides in New Jerusalem, “the need will disappear for the sun and the moon to
give light to God’s covenant people. The Lord Himself will be an everlasting
light…and all the city will be lighted up by the glory of His presence….”
(Orson Pratt, in “Journal of Discourses”, 14:355-56; see also D&C
133:57-58)
Because the Saviour was there
with the people of Enoch, they ‘were of one heart and one mind and dwelt in
righteousness and there was no poor among them’ (v 18). This description tells
us one thing: because the citizens of Zion were true followers of Christ, they
were endowed with His pure love.
Without the pure love of Christ
we can never become citizens of Celestial Kingdom. A Zion life-style prepares
us for this eventuality. And here is something we need to know. This pure love
is unique only to Christ. It is solely His kind of love. We do not possess it
and neither are we capable of developing it. His pure love is an endowment to
those who love Him and follow Him (Moroni 7:48). That’s the good news.
It took Enoch’s city 365 years of
‘walking with the Saviour’ to reach the state of holiness which ‘lifted them
up, even into the bosom of the Father and of the Son of Man’ (Moses 7:24,69).
Much like 1,000 Millenial years will prepare us for the same.
When the Saviour returns, those
who are spared will be those who are only ‘more’ righteous than those who will
not be spared, like the Nephites of old when he appeared to them after His
resurrection (3 Nephi 9:13). There will be no perfect people on earth when He
comes. Perfection only comes in and through Him. The Saviour will live with His
saints upon this earth for a thousand years to perfect them through His grace
and endow them with His pure love in preparation for the celestial realm.
When the Saviour returns, Enoch’s
city will return with Him to live with Zion, the New Jerusalem (Moses 7:62).
This is us. They will meet us there and “we will fall upon their necks, and
they shall fall upon our necks, and we will kiss each other” (Moses 7:63)….it
will be a meeting of hearts knit together with the pure love of Christ. The
Saviour is at the door….the Millennium imminent.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
No comments:
Post a Comment