SON OF THE MORNING 3

 

In Clouds of Glory by Greg Collins

Chapters 13-23 of the book of Isaiah are known as the “burden” chapters. They contain gloomy pronouncements of judgment upon nations of Isaiah’s time, ancient Babylon in particular. Prophecies about Babylon are of a dualistic nature because ancient Babylon is a shadow and a type of present-day Babylon, or the world.

The burden of ancient Babylon was its curse to extinction. Under Nebuchadnezzar, Babylon became of the most remarkable cities of the ancient world. Isaiah predicted in Chapter 13 its total devastation and desolation (vs 19-22). While some ancient cities such as Jerusalem, Damascus, and Jericho, still exist today, Babylon steadily declined after the conquest by Cyrus and by the first century after Christ it lay deserted and in ruins and has remained so until this day. (see the Old Testament Student Manual Book 2 p 154)

Spiritual Babylon shall likewise become a waste and desolation when the Saviour returns and ushers in the Millennial reign (Revelation 18). Isaiah did not only predict this devastation but also the extinction of the Prince of this world, “Lucifer, Son of the Morning” (Isaiah 14:12-15).

Isaiah predicted that “Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees’ excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah” (13:19) and so it was. Nebuchadnezzar, its king,  was certainly buried in great splendour but there is no grave found for him today in the ruins of Babylon.

So likewise will, Satan, Son of the Morning, never have a grave , a tomb or monument of any kind though he is king and ruler of the great world-wise and history-wide empire  of spiritual Babylon. His demise will begin at the beginning of the Millenium when he will be bound and will not have power to tempt any man (D&C 101:28):

“We talk about Satan being bound. Satan will be bound by the power of God; but he will be bound also by the determination of the people of God not to listen to him, not to be governed by him. The Lord will not bind him and take his power from the earth while there are men and women willing to be governed by him. That is contrary to the plan of salvation. To deprive men of their agency is contrary to the purposes of our God….

“The time is not far distant when great judgments will be poured out upon the wicked inhabitants of the earth….and the wicked will be destroyed. Their destruction means the destruction of Satan’s power. The righteous will be left, and because of their righteousness the Lord will have mercy upon them; they, exercising their agency in the right direction, will bring down His blessings upon them to such an extent that Satan will be bound.”  (George Q. Cannon, Gospel Truth, 1:86-87; see also 2 Nephi 30:18; Ether 8:26)

When the thousand years of the Millenial reign are ended, and men again begin to harden their hearts and begin to deny God, Satan will be loosed briefly and will take that opportunity to deceive the nations and gather his forces right before the final battle with Michael and his armies when he will be permanently overcome   (Revelation 20:1-3,7,8; D&C 29:22; 88:111-116)

Isaiah described his fall from the lofty aspirations to be like the most High to being brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit, where all who see him devoid of his power  would marvel at his demise:

“They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof…..?

“All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, everyone in his own house; but thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet. Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people; the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.”   (Isaiah 14:14-20)

And Christ shall reign upon His throne forever…..a life well lived, the price willingly paid, a glorious victory at His feet laid.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

THE DOERS OF THE WORD

 

(Art: Daniel's Answer to the King by Briton Riviere 1890)

I don’t think we understand how important we are in making the Plan of Salvation work to everyone’s advantage. When we read scriptural prophecies we tend to think that God will miraculously make things happen or that someone else will suddenly appear to fulfil the promises God has made when in fact it is the ordinary people like us who are ‘the doers of the word’ that are instrumental in God’s hands of making marvellous things come to pass.

Daniel of the Old Testament is a good example of making things happen. Daniel lived in Babylonian captivity in service to heathen kings for most of his life. He was very much devoted to the God of Israel and had Israel's welfare at heart. He eagerly hung onto the Lord's promise that Israel's captivity would last only 70 years (Jeremiah 29:10).

I mentioned in my previous post on Cyrus that historians attribute Daniel with the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 44:28-45:1-5). Imagine this man who loved God, being so familiar with the scriptures and knowing of a man called Cyrus who would free the Jewish nation, see him walk through Babylon’s gates! How could he not use his position in government to tell him of the prophecy that contained his name?

When Cyrus sent the first wave of the Jews to Jerusalem and they began rebuilding the temple, they encountered bitter opposition from the Samaritans who reasoned that they should be involved in the project. Samaritans were Assyrians who intermarried with left-over Israelites in Samaria, following the conquest of the Ten Tribes. Because they were not pure Israelites and had practiced a variant religion of Jehovah worship heavily intermingled with pagan and other unauthorized religious practices, the Jews refused.

 

In retaliation the Samaritans influenced the Persian kings who succeeded Cyrus to halt the rebuilding project for 17 years. In steps Daniel again. In the first year of King Darius, Daniel again petitioned the Lord about Jeremiah's prophecy. Daniel 9:17-19 shows Daniel's prayerful concern for the unfinished temple and the city of Jerusalem. The Lord answered Daniel and raised two prophets in Jerusalem: Haggai and Zechariah.

 

You might wonder how prophets could finish construction of anything. You might wonder why God didn't send someone with political clout, negotiation expertise or even military power....but instead he sent two of his servants to finish the job....and finish they did....Haggai alone showed the Jews exactly why they were not able to finish the project. He taught them that all temporal problems arise out of spiritual weakness and that if they would put God first, they would extricate themselves from abject poverty they were in which was their main problem.  It makes for compelling reading.

 

These two prophets instructed the governor Zerubbabel, the high priest Jeshua and the Jewish people how to complete the temple in spite of persecution, poverty and governmental red tape (Haggai 1:1-5, 12-14; Zechariah 4:9, Ezra 6:14). Even though these two prophets got the job done, in reality, this began with Daniel, the doer of the word.

 

“By small and simple things are great things brought to pass……[and] by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.”  (Alma 37:6,7)

 

We might be the small and simple things but He is the mighty one who fulfils……

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

CYRUS THE GREAT

 

“When we say God has a plan, He truly has a plan – not simply a grand scale, but for each of us as individuals, allocating some special talent to this dispensation and some to another. I regard God as the perfect personnel manager, even though He must work with and through all of us who are so imperfect.

“I assume, gladly, that in the allocation to America of remarkable leaders like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln, the Lord was just as careful. After all, if you’ve got only one AbrahamLincoln, you’d better put him in that part in history when he’s most needed – much as some of us might like to have him now.”

-          Neal A. Maxwell, Deposition of a Disciple, p 46

God uses people with talents and skills that He needs to accomplish His purposes and whom He can trust to do so, whether they be His followers or not: “God the father of us all, uses the men of the earth, especially good men, to accomplish his purposes. It has been true in the past, as it is true today, it will be true in the future.” (Elder Ezra Taft Benson, In Conference Report, April 1972, pp 48-49)

Cyrus, the King of Persia, who conquered Babylon in 539 B.C., and inherited the exiled Jews, whom the Saviour called ‘my shepherd’ and ‘my anointed’ was one such person whose destiny was planned by God of Israel himself and who has used him for His purpose. Cyrus was born between 580-590 B.C. The destruction of Solomon’s temple and the final wave of Judah’s exile into Babylon happened in 586 B.C. One hundred and forty years before the exile and before Cyrus was born, prophet Isaiah prophesied of his specific earthly mission for which God would raise him up, to liberate the captive Israel after 70 years of servitude (Isaiah 44:28-45:1-5).

“To trace the life of Cyrus from his birth to his death, whether he knew it or not, it looked as he lived by inspiration in all his movements. He began with that temperance and virtue which would sustain any Christian country or any Christian king….Many of these principles followed him, and I have thought many of them were worthy, in many respects, the attention of men who have the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” (Wilford Woodruff, Journal of Discourses, vol 22, p 207)

The military conquests of Cyrus were nothing short of remarkable. Empires virtually fell into his hands and by the time he reached Babylon, he was considered a liberator and not a conqueror. The citizens of Babylon welcomed him with open arms because of his intended reforms that would make life better and easier for the common man. Babylon that was a fortress to be reckoned with was overthrown in one night as the city opened its gates to him without a battle and this is why:

“Cyrus was a born ruler of men. He inaugurated a new policy in the treatment of conquered peoples. Instead of tyrannizing over them and holding them in subjection by brute force, he treated his subjects with consideration and won them as hie friends. He was particularly considerate of the religions of conquered peoples. The effect of this policy was to weld his subjects to him in a loyalty which made his reign an era of peace.” (Elmer W.K. Mould, Essentials of Bible History, pp 348-49)

Numerous commentators have denied that Isaiah named Cyrus as the liberator of the Jews so many years before he appeared. They have argued that his name was added to Isaiah’s prophecy after his conquest of Babylon and the help he gave to the Jewish nation. Josephus, the Jewish historian, recognized Isaiah’s prophecy to be valid by quoting letters from Cyrus confirming the prophet’s predictions (see Josephus, Antiquities, XI, 1,2).

Cyrus not only had respect for the people he governed but he had respect for God whom he acknowledged as the fountain of his success. The God of Israel worked with this man to ensure he fulfilled his purpose:

“…the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying: Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, the Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? His God be with him and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, HE IS THE GOD……”  (Ezra 1:2,3)

If only all of us were so willing to obey and to acknowledge God as the fountain of our blessings…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Cyrus the Great by Unknown)

THE COMFORT OF BONDAGE

 

 

It always amazes me how the Saviour never washes His hands of Israel no matter how unfaithful they have been. Even when they fall into captivity, He plans and puts into place the process of rescue well before it is supposed to take place. He is a God of order and success.  The return of the Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem 70 years after their captivity began, as predicted by Jeremiah in his book (25:11,12; 29:10) is the prime example of this.

Behind the fulfilment of this prophecy was a Persian king that Jehovah prepared who conquered Babylonians by the name of Cyrus. It is suggested by historians that when Cyrus conquered Babylon that he found Daniel there in his governmental capacity, and that Daniel pointed out to him the prophecy of Isaiah that was given 140 years before the fall of Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:28, 45). Adding seventy years after the fall, makes 210 years of prophecy before Cyrus even appeared in Babylon. Astonishing, isn’t it?

The prophecy states that the Lord would raise up a mighty king who would free the Jewish captives in Babylon and allow them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the holy city. Cyrus was so impressed with this prophecy about himself that he sent out the proclamation amongst the Jews in Babylon that ‘the Lord God of heaven had charged [him] to build him a house at Jerusalem’ (Ezra 1:2) and asked who among all of God’s people wanted to return. He actually offered freedom to anyone who wanted it.

Now this is the most astonishing bit. Approximately 50,000 people chose to return to Jerusalem while MOST chose not to return having been absorbed into the Babylonian way of life and the comfort of bondage. And this is why. In 605 BC King Nebuchadnezzar of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (now Iraq) was the beginning of Babylon’s greatness and glory. Using slaves from various areas of the empire, he inaugurated a massive building program to make Babylon the greatest city in the world. Opulence, greatness and glory was the object.

The grandeur of Babylon was incredibly impressive but with such opulence and wealth also came moral decay, wickedness and iniquity. Will Durant, a secular historian wrote that “even Alexander [the Great], who was not above dying of drinking was shocked by the morals of Babylon (Our Oriental Heritage, p 244).

Babylon became the antithesis of godliness. The very name of this city stood as the symbol for worldliness, spiritual wickedness and Satan’s kingdom. Scripturally it is known as: “the great whore” and “the mother of harlots and abominations (Rev 17:1; 5; D& C 133:14; 1:16; 1 Nephi 13:5-9; Babylonia and the Conquest of Judah, Old Testament Student Manual p 244).

There is one thing that stands out to me regarding Israel who fell into bondage with Babylon. God himself was in charge of this catastrophe promising Israel that He would bring a nation against them  because of their sins and rejection of Him as their God (Jeremiah 25:7-9). So this is what stands out…..He did not give them into bondage to just any nation but the worst there was, Babylon, a nation so spiritually corroded that it stands out as an obvious product of Israel’s idol worship.

In other words, if they wanted to worship false idols and gods, this is what they got…..spiritual decay and spiritual bondage. This is a classical example of cause and effect. You want other gods? You get what other gods can give you!

The name “Babylon” is today synonymous with ‘the world’. In Section 133 of the Doctrine and Covenants, the saints are commanded to ‘come out of Babylon’ in preparation for the Second Coming (v 5,7). So powerful is its grip that ancient Israelites did not want to leave it.  I wonder how many of us will heed the call this time…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

IN BABYLON

 

“Go ye out of Babylon; gather ye out from among the nations, from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”  (D&C 133:7) This is the fourth step in our preparation for the Second Coming according to Section 133.  

The name “Babylon” is today synonymous with ‘the world’ but this is the history of the ancient city that earned such a reputation:

In 605 BC King Nebuchadnezzar of the Neo-Babylonian Empire (now Iraq) was the beginning of Babylon’s greatness and glory. Using slaves from various areas of the empire, he inaugurated a massive building program to make Babylon the greatest city in the world. Opulence, greatness and glory was the object.

The grandeur of Babylon was incredibly impressive but with such opulence and wealth also came moral decay, wickedness and iniquity. Will Durant, a secular historian wrote that “even Alexander [the Great], who was not above dying of drinking was shocked by the morals of Babylon (Our Oriental Heritage, p 244).

Babylon became the antithesis of godliness. The very name of this city stood as the symbol for worldliness, spiritual wickedness and Satan’s kingdom. Scripturally it is known as: “the great whore” and “the mother of harlots and abominations (Rev 17:1; 5; D& C 133:14; 1:16; 1 Nephi 13:5-9; Babylonia and the Conquest of Judah, Old Testament Student Manual p 244).

This is how powerful is the grip of worldliness: Seventy years after the Jews’ captivity in Babylon began, Cyrus, the Persian king who conquered Babylon, sent out the proclamation amongst the Jews in Babylon asking how many wanted to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. He actually offered freedom to anyone who wanted it. It is estimated approximately only 50,000 people chose to return to Jerusalem while MOST chose not to return having been absorbed into the Babylonian way of life. I love this story that we will learn more about next year.

When I think of the power of Babylon, I wonder how many of us are willing to turn our backs on it. Most of us are not living in opulence and in riches but how many of us are hankering after such a life? Here is the warning: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

God has saved for the final inning some of his strongest children. And that is where we come in, for we are the generation that must come out of Babylon and be prepared to meet our God. No other dispensation has faced such a glorious and momentous event.

Thou art our everlasting God

Jehovah, our King,

Hide us under the shadow of Thy wings

That we might never stray

And cause Thee sorrow;

And help us wait for Thee

In the dawning of tomorrow.

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: In the Shadow of Your Wings by Daniel Gerhartz)

WINDOWS OF HEAVEN

 

There is a principle of the Gospel that paved the way to my Church membership. I have had a very strong testimony of this principle ever since.

When I was looking into the Church I was only 17. I obtained information about it from my local library. Everything I read seared my soul and I knew I had to be a member of such an amazing community of saints. I knew the Church was true and longed to be a part of it.

One Sunday I arrived at the nearest chapel to see the Church for myself. What I saw was the saints coming in and out of the building and I longed to be one of them but presumed that I couldn’t because I wasn’t a member.

What came into my mind as I looked on longingly was the principle of tithing. I thought to myself, I would gladly give the Church my entire pay if I could just sit in that building. I was working full time by then and earning my own money. I was at the threshold of becoming my own person but it would seem what I wanted more was God and His Church.

At the time I didn’t realise the significance of this but now, years after obeying the law of tithing, I do. Money is a tangible symbol of the world we live in and on that fateful Sunday, God was calling me out of the world.

Besides opening the windows of heaven, our commitment to live this commandment, takes us out of Babylon. It is the beginning of our faith in God rather than the mortal world we are placed temporarily into. It is the deciding factor of our path to either God or Mammon (Matthew 6:24). Mammon being an Aramaic word for riches (Guide to the Scriptures, Gospel Library)

I am sure we are all familiar with the scripture that says: “He that is tithed shall not be burned at His coming” (D&C 64:23). This is how failure to pay tithing becomes a slippery slide to this demise: “This is what it means…when a man who ignores the express command of the Lord, by failing to pay his tithing, the Spirit of the Lord will withdraw from him; it means that the power of the priesthood will withdraw from that man…..He will drift away into darkness, gradually but surely, until finally he will lift up his eyes among the wicked.

“That is where he will finally land; and then when the destruction comes and when the burning comes he will be among the wicked and will be destroyed; while those who observe the law will be found among the righteous, and they will be preserved…..” (Elder Rudger Clawson, In CR Oct 1913, p 59, Doctrine and Covenants Student Manual p 138)

That we may know that our faithfulness is stronger than the cords of death (D&C 121:44), the Lord requires ‘the hearts of the children of men’ (D&C 64:22) because ‘where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’ (Matt 6:21; Luke 12:34). We cannot possibly love God and love the world at the same time. We either obey one or the other.

In all our earthly sojourn we are deciding between God and the world. One has the power to lift us to eternity, the other leads to corruption of both body and spirit: “….for I am the Lord of Hosts; and I will not spare any that remain in Babylon” (D&C 64:24)

The Saviour died that He might save us from the world. If we are of the world, we give the world more power than we give Him. This is a mockery of Him who descended into the pit of agony that He might rescue us from the clutches of evil and death. No such sacrifice has been offered by the God of Mammon.

Remember what Jesus said about the rich young ruler who rejected Christ by choosing to hold onto his wealth: “….how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! With men that trust in riches, it is impossible but not impossible with men who trust in God and leave all for my sake for with such all these things are possible.” (Mark 10:17-24; JST 27a)

Tithing is one mortal journey worth taking. It's a journey that will in the end help you discover the real treasure…..

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: The Rich Young Ruler) 

SURVIVING BABYLON

 

Imagine if the Saviour and heavenly messengers appeared to you and greeted you like they greeted Daniel of old: “O Daniel, a man greatly beloved” (Daniel 9:23; 10:11,19). Why such an endearing greeting? Because Daniel’s righteousness was greater than the morally corroding influence of the city of Babylon in which he lived.

Daniel was only a youth when he was taken to Babylon during the first siege of Jerusalem in 605 B.C. He was trained there for service in King’s court. Because of his purity of faith which linked him closely to God, he rose to the status of incredible power becoming an Advisor to five kings and the Governor of all the Jews in Babylonia’s exile.

King Nebuchadnezzar was the beginning of Babylon’s greatness and glory. Using slaves from various areas of the empire, he inaugurated a massive building program to make Babylon the greatest city in the world.

From raising an artificial mountain and constructing hanging gardens with terraces, to walls surrounding the city that were so massive that one story houses were built on top of the walls on either side and even then there was space enough between the rows of houses that could permit four chariots to drive abreast (Samuel Fallows, ed., The Popular and Critical Bible Encyclopedia and Scriptural Dictionary, s.v. “Babylon”, pp 208-9; 204-5)

The grandeur of Babylon was incredibly impressive but with such opulence and wealth also came moral decay, wickedness and iniquity. Will Durant, a secular historian wrote that “even Alexander [the Great], who was not above dying of drinking was shocked by the morals of Babylon (Our Oriental Heritage, p 244).

Babylon became the antithesis of godliness. The very name of this city became the symbol for worldliness, spiritual wickedness and Satan’s kingdom. Scripturally it is known as: “the great whore” and “the mother of harlots and abominations (Rev 17:1; 5; D& C 133:14; 1:16; 1 Nephi 13:5-9; Babylonia and the Conquest of Judah, Old Testament Student Manual p 244).

We, of the last dispensation live in ‘spiritual Babylon’. Satan has increased his influence in great strides seeking to destroy us.

Joseph Smith prophesied that he saw in our day “men hunting the lives of their own sons, and brother murdering brother, women killing their own daughters, and daughters seeking the lives of their mothers….(History of the Church, 3:391). Are we there yet???

President Ezra Taft Benson said in 1979 that our generation “will be comparable in wickedness to the days of Noah…but there is a major difference this time. It is that God has saved for the final inning some of his strongest children, who will help bear off the Kingdom triumphantly. And that is where you come in, for you are the generation that must be prepared to meet your God…..

“We follow a perfect leader – not just one who tells us to do what He thinks we should do, but the only one who can say that we should be as He is in everything…..” (In His Steps, BYU Speeches, 4 March 1979)

May we rise to become like the ‘perfect leader’ we follow to survive our Babylon and to be of such righteous influence whilst in it that those around us will call us “servants of the living God”, even as King Darius called the beloved Daniel (Daniel 6:20). And may we who center ourselves on Christ receive His approbation and hear Him say to us, even as He said to Daniel of old: “thou art greatly beloved”……

- CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: Daniel: Prophet of God, Companion of Kings)

DANIEL IN BABYLON

 

Never before has Daniel’s life touched me to the core. As I finished my study of his life this year, I wept when I read of the Saviour’s appearance to him who greeted him thus: “O Daniel, a man greatly beloved” (Daniel 10:11). And not only Christ but also Michael who greeted him: “Oh man greatly beloved” (Daniel 10:19 and Gabriel who came to teach him and who told him: “I am come…for thou art greatly beloved” (Daniel 9:23).

 

When we talk of Daniel we almost always focus on his survival in the lions’ den. Daniel was only a youth when he was taken to Babylon in 605 B.C., during the first siege of Jerusalem.  He was trained there for service in the king’s court. Through his righteous influence he rose to the status of incredible power becoming an advisor to five kings and the governor of all the Jews in Babylonia’s exile. He was a prophet of God and a companion of kings. 

 

At the beginning of this year I read extensively about ancient Babylon and I was amazed at its grandeur and its corruption. I wondered how it was possible for a stalwart Israelite to live in such an environment and stay true to one’s faith. This is what Daniel taught me…..it is possible to survive Babylon…..and to even rise above it, if you have a connection with the God of Heaven. Consider just a few words of his worshipful prayer that testifies of this: “I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might……blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his….he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding……” (Daniel 2:20-23). Is it any wonder that the Saviour told him he was beloved; that He gave Him wisdom to interpret dreams; that He showed Him visions to the end of times; that He sent him angels to teach him? This connection with heaven was how Daniel survived Babylon the Great…..

 

We are living in spiritual Babylon today. We, members of Christ’s Church, are Israel, the royal priesthood, a peculiar treasure of the living God (1 Peter 2:9; Exodus 19:5). We are Israel, the chosen, not because of our superiority, but because of our willingness to believe in the Son of God. We are, therefore, harnessed with Him in the work of the redemptive power of salvation. We can survive Babylon and we can be of such righteous influence whilst in it that those around us will call us “servants of the living God”, even as King Darius called the beloved Daniel (6:20). And may we who center ourselves on Christ receive His approbation and hear Him say to us, even as He said to Daniel of old: “thou art greatly beloved”……

 

ODE TO DANIEL

Your spirit bears me up

On wings of faith and

I stand as a witness of

Thy holy name.

I fear not the height

Nor the depth

As I sail dangerous seas

Never mindful of the waves

That in the end bring me to Thee.

 

 - CATHRYNE ALLEN 

(Art: God of Heaven and Earth by Annie Henrie Nader)

BABYLON THE GREAT

 

I was so eager to once again start studying the return of the Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem 70 years after their captivity began, as predicted by Jeremiah in his book, 25:11,12; 29:10. I got as far as the first chapter of Ezra before I was overcome with emotion. 

 

Behind the fulfilment of this prophecy was a Persian king that Jehovah prepared who conquered Babylonians by the name of Cyrus. It is suggested by historians that when Cyrus conquered Babylon that he found Daniel there in his governmental capacity,  and that Daniel  pointed out to him the prophecy of Isaiah that was given 140 years before the fall of Jerusalem, that the Lord would raise up a mighty king who would free the Jewish captives in Babylon and allow them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the holy city. Isaiah even named Cyrus by name.....210 years before he even appeared in Babylon. Astonishing isn't it? It certainly was to Cyrus because he sent out the proclamation amongst the Jews in Babylon that ‘the Lord God of heaven….had charged [him] to build him a house at Jerusalem’ (Ezra 1:2) and asked who among all of God’s people wanted to return. He actually offered freedom to anyone who wanted it.

 

Now this is the most astonishing bit. Approximately 50,000 people chose to return to Jerusalem while MOST chose not to return having been absorbed into the Babylonian way of life. It tells you where their heart was, does it not? Scripturally, Babylon is a symbol of worldly wickedness. The opulence and extravagance and decadence of this ancient city at the peak of its grandeur is hard to describe. A historian, Will Durant, wrote that ‘even Alexander the Great who was not above dying of drinking, was shocked by the morals of Babylon’ (Our Oriental Heritage, The Story of Civilization, vol 1, p 244). Enrichment G in the Old Testament Student Manual will give you an overview of this city that will amaze you. 

 

As I read this first chapter of Ezra, I couldn’t help but think how easy it is to become caught in the world’s web of wickedness. It reminded me of Alma who said: “Come ye out from the wicked, be ye separate, and touch not their unclean things” (Alma 5:57). It made me reflect on how much of the world is in me and to what extent am I entangled in its’ web. If I was in Babylon at the time of Cyrus, I hope that I would have been one of the returned eager to re-build His temple that I might worship Him, the one and only true and living God, the God of Israel, the God of my heart.  

 

I lift, I lift,

Above the reach of the world below;

To Thee in praise I sing,

My God that I adore. 

 

 

 - CATHRYNE ALLEN

(Art: Guiding Them Home by Yongsung Kim)

A CALL TO PREPARE

 

 

 

I have loved Jeremiah for more years than I can remember and have written about him many times. I guess you can say he is the prophet of my heart. Jeremiah lived amongst the people that were ripe for destruction, much like Mormon. And he witnessed that destruction as the kingdom of Judah was devoured before his eyes by Babylon, in 587 B.C. Jeremiah was persecuted to such an extent that he wished he wasn't born (Jeremiah 20:14-18). The wickedness around him was indescribable but people prospered and there was peace, until Jehovah saw fit to send Babylon....

 

What caught my eye this morning as I was studying is this: Jeremiah became so oppressed by wickedness around him that he complained to the Lord and asked how much longer will he allow this wickedness to persist and the unrighteous to prosper (Jeremiah 12:1-4). Many of us have asked the same question because the present day world seems unbearable to us. And here is where the similarity between Jeremiah's world and ours lies....the Lord replied to Jeremiah's impatience by asking him if he can't bear it whilst there was relative peace, how will he ever survive when things get worse (Jeremiah 12:1-4)? Like Jeremiah's world, our world will get worse....until He comes.

it is now time to become people of valour so that we can endure whatever more is to come....and more will come as the prophecies attest that the world will get more wicked. Now more than ever we need to strengthen our faith in God to be able to endure the oppression, the persecution, the lack of freedoms. We all know what we have to do. 

 

In answer to Jeremiah's lament about the situation of his day, the Lord has clearly shown how long-suffering He is in the midst of human corruption. It would seem He allows us to get to the utmost worst until the day of reckoning to give as many as possible the chance to repent and turn to Him. I am in awe of His unfathomable mercy; His never ending tolerance and patience; and His self-restraint amidst His immeasurable power. 

 

 

There is none like Thee

My Saviour and my King

With power and glory in His wings;

There is none like Thee

Showing mercy and kindness

To sinners like me;

Who can compare

And who can equal Thee

In Thy unfailing care of me;

Let me worship Thee

With my lips and my heart

And let me be steadfast

From Thy favour never to part.

- Cathryne Allen

(Art by Yongsung Kim)

IT IS UP TO US

Jeremiah lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem

by Rembrandt

The biggest heroes of the scriptures are the ones that make things happen. They are workers who understand that God's will is up to His children to put into effect. When we read scriptural prophecies we tend to think that God will miraculously make things happen or that someone else will suddenly appear to fulfil the promises God has made.

Daniel of the Old Testament is a good example of making things happen. As we know he lived in Babylonian captivity in service to heathen kings for most of his life. He was very much devoted to the God of Israel and had Israel's welfare at heart. He eagerly hung onto the Lord's promise that Israel's captivity would last only 70 years (Jeremiah 29:10). It is suggested by historians that when Cyrus, the king of Persia, conquered Babylon that he found Daniel there in his governmental capacity,  and that Daniel  pointed out to him the prophecy of Isaiah that was given 140 years before the fall of Jerusalem, that the Lord would raise up a mighty king who would free the Jewish captives in Babylon and allow them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the holy city. Isaiah even named Cyrus by name.....210 years before he even appeared in Babylon. Astonishing isn't it? It certainly was to Cyrus because he freed the Jews and allowed 50,000 of them to return to Jerusalem. The rest chose to stay until Ezra's second party of 17,000 some years later after the construction project was completed. It is significant here to note that Daniel who so loved his homeland and his heritage did not choose to return to Jerusalem but chose to remain in Babylon to continue to serve God in a foreign land. The point is this. Daniel in all likelihood played a huge part in this historical event. This theory can be supported by another example of Daniel's doing.

When the Jews returned to Jerusalem and began rebuilding the temple, they encountered bitter opposition from Samaritans who reasoned that they should be involved in the project. Because Samaritans were not pure Israelites and had practised a variant religion of Jehovah worship heavily intermingled with pagan and other unauthorised religious practices, the Jews refused. In retaliation the Samaritans influenced the Persian kings who succeeded Cyrus to halt the rebuilding project for 17 years. In steps Daniel again. In the first year of King Darius, Daniel again petitioned the Lord about Jeremiah's prophecy. Daniel 9:17-19 shows Daniel's prayerful concern for the unfinished temple and the city of Jerusalem. The Lord answered Daniel and raised two prophets in Jerusalem: Haggai and Zechariah. You might wonder how prophets could finish construction of anything, right?? You might wonder why God didn't send someone with political clout, negotiation expertise or even military power....but instead he sent two of his servants to finish the job....and finish they did....Haggai alone showed the Jews exactly why they were not able to finish the project. He taught them that all temporal problems arise out of spiritual weakness and that if they would put God first, they would extricate themselves from abject poverty they were in which was their main problem.  It makes for compelling reading. These two prophets instructed the governor Zerubbabel, the high priest Jeshua and the Jewish people how to complete the temple in spite of persecution, poverty and governmental red tape (Haggai 1:1-5, 12-14; Zechariah 4:9, Ezra 6:14). Even though these two prophets got the job done, in reality, this began with Daniel and was his doing.

President Kimball prayed and petitioned the Lord repeatedly regarding the priesthood for the black members of the Church. I am sure President Nelson did the same regarding the many changes he has brought in since his calling. They didn't sit back and think things will happen out of thin air. The state of Christ's Kingdom when we present it to Him upon His coming will depend on us. The Church as an administrative body takes care of the physical entity of the Kingdom but we, its' member body take care of its spiritual condition. We must consider this our responsibility because we will be the ones to usher in the Millenium. The scriptures state that at the beginning of the Millenium Satan will be bound and will have no power for 1,000 years. This loss of power will not be because God will bind him in chains and throw him in a dungeon but because we, God's saints and disciples of Christ, will be so spiritually strong that he will simply have no power over us and will therefore no longer have a role to play. We will simply make him irrelevant.

When the Jews returned to Jerusalem to rebuild, the first thing they built was the altar of the temple, even before the foundation of the temple was laid (Ezra 3:1-6). They knew that the altar was the heart of the temple and the temple was the heart of the Jewish religious life.  Our temples today dot the earth, and all without much sacrifice from us. Our temples set us apart from other religions, they make us a 'peculiar people' to the world and a 'peculiar treasure' to the Lord (Exodus 19:5). They provide us with spiritual backbone through our obedience to its covenants. It is in the temples of our God that we will be armed with His power to bind Satan and to become a holy people (D&C 109:22); and it is in the temples that we will find refuge from the storm that is yet to come upon the saints of God in the last days. Consider Elder Featherstone's words:

"Before the Saviour comes the world will darken. There will come a period of time where even the elect will lose hope if they do not come to the temples. The world will be so filled with evil that the righteous will only feel secure within its walls. The saints will come here not only to do vicarious work but to find a haven of peace. The covenants and ordinances will fill us with faith as a living fire. In a day of desolating sickness, scorched earth, barren wastes, sickening plagues, disease, destruction and death, we as a people will rest in the shade of trees, we will drink from the cooling fountains. We will abide in places of refuge from the storm; we will mount up as on eagles' wings; we will be lifted out of an insane and evil world. We will be as fair as the sun ad clear as the moon. When the Saviour comes He will honour His people. Those who are spared and prepared will be a temple-loving people. They will know Him. Our children will bow down at His feet and worship Him as the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. They will bathe His feet with their tears and He will weep, and bless them for having suffered through the greatest trials known to man. Let us prepare them with the faith to surmount every trial and every condition. We will do it in these holy, sacred temples." (Elder Vaughn J. Featherstone, Manti Temple, April 1987)

May we worship the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in our hearts, in our homes and in our temples that we may possess God's power and ever remember that "we have a labour to perform whilst in this tabernacle of clay to conquor the enemy of all righteousness." (Moroni 9:6)

IN THE HEART OF WILDERNESS

There lived on the fringes of Jerusalem in 600 BC a rich, bold and resourceful merchant, a God fearing man by the name of Lehi. This man, under God's direction prophesied of Jerusalem's demise and destruction, a city whose wickedness was so great that God did not only send one prophet to call them to repentance, but as many as seven, Lehi being among them as well as Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Nahum, Habukkuk, Zephaniah and Zechariah.

Lehi's prophetic calling came in 600 B.C., a time in history when Jerusalem was flourishing not only in prosperity but also in idolatry, immorality and corruption. And simmering below the pulse of the industrious and prosperous Jerusalem lay political unrest which would ultimately punish Israel and enslave those who stoned the prophets. In 600 B.C. Jerusalem was under Babylonian domination. Sitting on Judah's throne was Zedekiah, an appointed puppet king, who unwisely with most of Judah's leadership, formed an alliance with Egypt with plans to overthrow the Babylonian rule. Jeremiah warned against this alliance knowing full well that Egyptians could not back their show of power with physical resources but Zedekiah refused to listen. When Lehi brought his message of doom prophesying that Jerusalem will be destroyed and its inhabitants carried away to Babylon (1 Nephi 1:13,18), the people were outraged and considered him along with Jeremiah and other prophets unpatriotic and guilty of treason. Their solution to this offence was that Lehi had to die (1 Nephi 1:20).

When the call came to leave Jerusalem and establish a colony of higher moral standards than the apostate Jerusalem, Lehi, not needing time to prepare, did not hasitate. The Lord had been preparing him his whole life for such an experience, both temporally and spiritually. According to His foresight, the Lord had strategically placed Lehi in the tribe of Manasseh, which of all tribes lived the farthest out in the desert, on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Lehi, therefore became familiar with the dessert and as a merchant came to know the Egyptian culture. He had even given two of his sons Egyptian names and taught them to write in reformed Egyptian. Lehi was also spiritually sound. He knew full well what the God of Israel had done for his people and the wilderness they had to traverse to get to the promised land and he taught this to his children. Nephi often recounted Israel's wilderness experience to his brethren to bring them to the remembrance of their roots and to give them courage. : "Nephi consciously understood that his family was re-enacting a spiritual pattern....[and reminded his brethren of it frequently].....The Mormon pioneers, crossing the American wilderness, called themselves the Camp of Israel and were also aware they were following a pattern laid down before them....In spiritual history, the place of refuge is the wilderness, idealized by Israel as the place to commune with God. Certain profound lessons are learned in the wilderness, especially our complete dependence on God for it is a trackless, difficult place where our own resources prove not to be enough. The wilderness experiences in scripture are for cleansing and clarifying, and it is only after a people has experienced the marrow-deep challenges of the wilderness that they are ready to inherit a promised land" (Maurine Proctor, All Things According to His Will, Meridian Magazine).

Even though Lehi and his family were favoured of God and spared Jerusalem's destruction, they needed the experience of the wilderness to establish a righteous branch of Israel in another land. For this reason Lehi and his family travelled by the banks of the Red Sea for nine whole years before Nephi received instruction to build a ship. If the wilderness is a spiritual oasis where one finds God, this had to be true of this band of followers who had to be taught by what power they were inheriting the promised land. And they did find God in many ways but in one most extraordinary way. They found him in a tree.

Approximately a year before the command to build a ship, Lehi, had a very memorable dream in which he beheld an even more memorable tree, the tree of life. When Nephi, being the dutiful son that he was, inquired of God the meaning of the tree of life that his father had seen, an angel appeared to him to tutor him.  When the angel asked Nephi if he knew what the tree represented,  Nephi answered that it is the love of God, most desirable above all (2 Nephi 11:22,23). Immediately following his answer he was shown a vision of the Savior during his mortal ministry. It becomes very clear through Nephi's vision that the love of God is manifest to his children through the gift of His only begotten Son thus the tree becomes the symbol of Jesus Christ. Why a tree? Because a tree bears fruit and fruit is something you eat and something you eat becomes a part of you. In other words, you are what you eat. It transforms your very system. What we eat spiritually also transforms us, even to the point of rebirth. This rebirth places us on the path to eternal life. Alma claims that if we plant the word, which is compared to a seed, into our hearts and nurture it, it "shall take root; and behold it shall be a tree spring up into everlasting life" (Alma 32:41).

The symbol of the tree "converges all the meaning of the gospel. It was the tree of life that stood in the Garden of Eden and nourished Adam and Eve. This was a place of unity with each other and with the Lord. After they fell, eating the fruit of a forbidden tree, they came into a world of duality, division, separation from God. The only way to be at-one again with the Lord comes from the events that took place on another tree - the cross, through Christ's atonement and resurrection. Some legends even claim the cross was constructed from a branch of the tree of life. Symbolically, at least, this is true" ("The Vision of the Tree of Life, Meridian Magazine, December 14, 2015)

So it is with us. We all need a wilderness if we are to truly know God. The Lord wants us to find Him in the rough terrain, in the scorching desert, in the endless roads that we might know by whose hand we are led to 'the goodly land'. As prepared as Lehi was, his capacities were not enough. Hence the Liahona to point the way to the most fertile parts of the land where they could hunt for their survival (1 Nephi 16:14-30). It is good to be equipped with a bow but it is the hunt that the Lord provides that makes the hunter.

Every true disciple of Jesus Christ will experience 'a wilderness' before they get to their promised land. What promised land?: "Your promised land. Your new Jerusalem. Your own little acre flowing with milk and honey. Your future. Your dreams. Your destiny. I believe that in our own individual ways, God takes us to the grove or the mountain or the temple and there shows us the wonder of what His plan is for us" (Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence, Ensign March 2000, p 10). We do not need to travel the rocky path to the land of milk and honey alone for the Lord has promised "....mine angels shall go up before you, and also my presence, and in time ye shall possess the goodly land" (D&C 103:17, 19-20). The barren landscape of our wilderness will serve as a testing ground that will refine us, change us and enoble us if all the lessons are learnt and all obstacles overcome with the help of Him who desires to see the journey completed to the end. And when the moments of doubt and uncertainty would question the worthiness of that journey, we must be like that faithful, bold and resourceful merchant from the outskirts of Jerusalem who stood on the banks of the Red Sea, with no ship in sight, proclaiming: "I have obtained a land of promise" (1 Nephi 5:5).

IF I PERISH, I PERISH

This week's Sunday School lesson is about three valiant Jewish exiles who lived in Babylon during the 70 years of Jewish captivity. We are all familiar with their stories of courage which landed them in a fiery furnace and a lion's den. When Judah was about to be sacked by the Babylonians, Jehovah promised to Jeremiah He would spare them if any righteous could be found in all of Jerusalem but such was not the case. Judah had sinned and broken her covenants with God. Out of this sinful and idolatrous nation, King Nebuchadnezzar carried off into Babylon (about 605 BC) the choicest Jewish youths to be trained for service in the king's court. Four such youths among them were Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. It is not clear whether these youths were disposed towards the God of Israel before their arrived in Babylon or whether they learnt from the sins of their fathers and turned their hearts toward Him once they found themselves in a strange land where with others of their nation they became zealous about the God they once worshipped. Because of their righteousness and commitment to the covenants which they made with the God of their fathers, they were endowed with spiritual and temporal gifts and were given miraculous protection from their enemies.

During the 70 years of Jewish captivity in Babylon, Daniel served 5 kings remaining in Babylon even after most of his countrymen had returned to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple and nation. It would seem strange that a devout Jew such as Daniel would choose to remain in a foreign land and not return to Jerusalem but I believe there was a purpose for this for "......he was raised to positions that enabled him to spend his life in service to the kings of the land. He became the Lord's minister to those rulers. He was made chief of the wise men, chancellor of the equivalent of a national university, ruler of all the Hebrew captives, and as governor of the province of Babylon, one of the chief rulers in both the Babylonian and Persian Empires" (Old Testament Student Manual, 1 Kings-Malachi, p. 297). So honourable and righteous was Daniel in his personal and professional life that he endeared himself to King Darius to such an extent that the King preferred him above all the presidents and princes and he 'thought to set him over the whole realm' (Daniel 6:3). This attachment to the King ignited a lot of jelousy among the presidents and princes who sought to discredit Daniel in some way by hoping to 'dig up some dirt' on him. When they could find no fault in him they devised a plan by which they knew they could trap him and put him away for good. From their observation of Daniel, they knew that he was so committed to the worship of his God that he would not break that commitment under any circumstances. In other words, he was true to his covenants in every way. The trap which they set was to get the King to pass a decree that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days save King Darius, shall be cast into the den of lions. They then ensured that once the King signed the decree that he also signed a document stating that this law could not be changed. The trap was set and the victim caught. Daniel, as was his usual habit, continued to pray to Jehovah three times a day, facing Jerusalem, with his window open for all to see. Daniel was arrested for breaking the law and King Darius was devastated. The scriptures record that 'he laboured till the going down of the sun' to deliver him (Daniel 6:14), fasting and spending a sleepless night and when the morning came he went to the lion's den with haste to test his own belief that Daniel's God would deliver him (Daniel 6:16). Addressing Daniel as a 'servant of the living God' (Daniel 6:20) Darius called to him to come forth and was 'exceeding glad' (Daniel 6:23) to find him alive and unharmed. What can we learn from this? The usual lesson is that the Lord protects those who are loyal to Him and this truly is so but a further lesson lies herein. Looking at Daniel's life one cannot help but see that he was sent to Babylon and used by God to be his advocate with kings who presided over exiled Judah. This was Daniel's mission and God's purpose. Was Daniel successful in this? King Darius was certainly convinced enough to proclaim Daniel's God 'the living God' an made a decree that in every dominion of his kingdom 'men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God and steadfast for ever....' (Daniel 6:26,27). Daniel's story proves to us that God has a plan for each of us: "When we say God has a plan, he truly has a plan - not simply a grand scale, but for each of us as individuals, allocating some special talent to this dispensation and some to another. I regard God as the perfect personnel manager, even though he must work with and through all of us who are so imperfect. I assume, gladly, that in the allocation to America of remarkable leaders like Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln, the Lord was just as careful. After all, if you've got only one Abraham Lincoln, you'd better put him in that part in history when he's most needed - much as some of us might like to have him now" (Neal A Maxwell, Deposition of a Disciple, p. 46). We find another valid example of this concept in Queen Esther who had to marry King Ahasuerus of Persia in order to avert annihilation of all Jews in Persia and Media (Esther 1-10). Her story of intrigue and suspense reads like a modern day action drama series.

We can learn something about keeping covenants from Daniel's companions, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They too had risen to prominent positions within the governing body of Babylon and as such inspired jelousy amongst the other rulers of the provinces and in particular the Chaldeans (Daniel 3:8). When King Nebuchadnezzar erected a massive golden image for his people to worship, his three Jewish rulers were not found among the worshippers. The Chaldeans thought it their duty to report this to the King who summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and promptly reminded them that if they do not worship the designated image with his people they will be basically fried in a fiery furnace. He went further to assert his power by saying: "...and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?" (Daniel 3:15). Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego were not perturbed. With boldness and daring they answered: "O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter" (Daniel 3:16). In other words, we are not going to weigh our words hoping not to offend you for we don't care if we do! They then made it known to the King that they would never worship his golden image and serve any of his gods even if they stood to perish. Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego had learnt something valuable in exile, that the covenant which their fathers had made with the God of Israel that they would have no other gods before Him is not to be broken. They knew this is what led them into exile and servitude to other nations. They therefore chose to perish rather than break the covenants which they made to worship Jehovah. Their spiritual resilience paid off. King Nebuchadnezzar, seeing the three Jewish rulers come out of the fiery furnace unharmed, acknowledged the God of Israel as 'the most high God' (Daniel 3:26) and made a decree that whoever should speak against the God of Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego should be put to death.

God is a keeper of covenants. We find proof throughout the scriptures that He keeps His promises. Whereas the House of Israel had forsaken Him as their God, He has not forsaken the House of Israel. He will never break the covenant which He has made with Abraham that through his seed all nations of the earth will be blessed. This promise includes gathering the scattered Israelites who He longs to bring back. In the Book of Mormon we read: "Yeah, and ye need not any longer hiss, nor spurn, nor make game of the Jews, nor any of the remnant of the house of Israel; for behold, the Lord remembereth his covenant unto them, and he will do unto them according to that which he hath sworn" (3 Nephi 29:8). The question begs to be asked: if God always keeps his covenants with us, are we prepared to keep our covenants with Him? Even at the point of death? Would we gladly step into a fiery furnace before we would break the laws of obedience, sacrifice, chastity and consecration that we have covenanted we would keep? Is there a Daniel among us or maybe an occasional Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego?  These men could not be turned out of the path defined by their covenants or by their sense of right and wrong. We too can be like them and face the fiery furnace saying like Queen Esther did with all her daring: "If I perish I perish" (Esther 4:16).