HOPE OF ISRAEL

 

“He was not an ordinary man. He was the great Creator housed in a tabernacle of clay. He was the Eternal Jehovah ministering among men. He was God’s Almighty Son doing the things his Father sent him to do. He inherited from the Father of his mortal body the powers and characteristics of his Perfect Parent. He was placed in a position to excel all men. He was the God of Israel taking his place and receiving his lot and inheritance among that chosen people.”

-       Bruce R. McConkie, “The Mortal Messiah Book 1” p 30

The Saviour made it clear during His ministry that He was sent to ‘the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (Matthew 15:24). The Kingdom of Judah had lost its way and by 70 AD it would be scattered throughout the world. The Ten Tribes of the Northern Kingdom had already been lost. The House of Israel had one hope and that was the arrival of the Messiah.

And so the Messiah was sent to save the spiritual fabric of the chosen people of God who rejected Him. On all accounts it seemed as it was all lost except for one thing. The Saviour had sworn He will never forget His covenant with Israel (Deut 4:31; Lev 26:44,46; Isaiah 49:15,16; 2 Kings 13:23).

What the Saviour accomplished during His earthly ministry, by organizing His Church, propelled the chosen generation of royal priesthood to take the purity of His Gospel to the nations of the earth in fulfilment of the Abrahamic covenant (Matthew 28:19,20). And thus nothing was lost but everything gained. The sacrifice exacted, the Gospel given to the world for their adoption into the favoured House of Israel, the promise to Father Abraham kept.

By virtue of our discipleship, we are privileged to join in the Saviour’s role as the Hope of Israel. Consider President Nelson’s explanation of our significant role within this Hope after he quoted Nephi saying the Abrahamic covenant will be fulfilled in the latter days by all of the House of Israel (1 Nephi 15:18):

“When we know who we are and what God expects of us, we are filled with hope and made aware of our significant role in His great plan of happiness. The day in which we now live was foreseen even before Jesus Christ was born…These are the latter days. We are the ones foredetermined and foreordained to fulfill that promise.

“We are, in fact, the hope of Israel. We are God’s treasure, reserved for our particular place and time.”   (Quotes from President Russell M. Nelson, “Daily Joy”)

 

 Hope of Israel

Who would not see us lost,

Who rescued our souls

Never counting the cost. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: All Is Calm by Gabriel Heaton)

THE FINAL HARVEST

 

 

“Therefore, when ye shall receive this record ye may know that the work of the Father has commenced upon all the face of the land.”  (Ether 4:17)

Chapter 23 of Leviticus contains a series of holy days that the Lord commanded all Israel to observe. Three of the most important are: 1. The Feast of Trumpets; 2. The Day of the Atonement and; 3. The Feast of the Tabernacles. The Feast of Trumpets in particular signifies: 1. The beginning of Israel’s final harvest; 2. The day God had set to remember His ancient promises to regather Israel; 3. A time for new revelation that would lead to a new covenant with Israel and; 4. A time to prepare for the Millenium.

I am in awe of the fact that we hold in our hands the very book which began the final harvest for on 22 September 1827, the very day Israel celebrated the Feast of Trumpets, Moroni gave the golden plates to the Prophet Joseph Smith. The timing of its deliverance was not coincidental. This was a carefully orchestrated and rehearsed event for four years prior. It sends shivers up my spine to picture Joseph receiving the golden plates from Moroni whilst trumpets blew in Israel. The God of Israel responded and He began His ‘marvelous work and a wonder’ for He remembers His promises to His people Israel. (see The Golden Plates and the Feast of Trumpets by Lenet Hadley Read, Ensign 2000)

We know that many truths have been lost and taken away from the Bible, but none more significant that the prophecies of the restoration of the gospel in the latter days missing from Isaiah 29 and which Nephi quoted in its completion in 2 Nephi 27 as were contained on the brass plates: 1. Letter-day context of the prophecy (2 Nephi 27:1); 2. A ‘book’ that Isaiah prophesied would come forth in the last days (verse 6); 3. The book would be ‘sealed’ (verses 7-8); 4. Roles of Moroni and Joseph Smith in bringing forth the Book of Mormon (verses 9-10); 5. ‘Three witnesses’ who would behold the ‘book’ and testify ‘to the truth of the things therein’ (verses 12-13)

Is it hard to see the importance of the Book of Mormon when we consider that these prophecies of the coming Restoration were removed from the Bible??? I stand in awe of God who orchestrates His work with such perfect precision to fulfil His purposes which cannot fail. The adversary might be working hard to ‘pervert the right ways of the Lord that he might blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children of men’ (1 Nephi 13:27) but he cannot win. God’s plan for our salvation runs like clock-work with every step put into place long before its’ reality. So ordered are the events that will transpire upon this earth that they cannot possibly fail, because ‘God created all things spiritually before they were naturally upon the face of the earth’ (Moses 3:5). Everything was designed, proven and tested before it came into being. Does this not give us ability to trust that God has us in the palm of His hand???

The Final Harvest has begun. The Book of Mormon is its’ proof. The sacredness of it leaves me in awe. 

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Preserved by the Hand of God by Simon Dewey)