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| 14:1 And it shall come to pass, that 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-- | |
| 14:2 And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father; yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded. | |
| 14:3 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 of men down to 1hell--yea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end. | Topic: Anachronistic
Concepts [1] Hell as the final destination of the wicked is a concept that did not yet exist when the Lehites left Jerusalem. The early Jewish religion was concerned very much with day-to-day living, and the idea of life after death was simply not important enough to be considered. As a consequence, the Old Testament provides sparse and conflicting information about survival after death in general, and Hell in particular. When the word Hell does appear in the Old Testament, it is more often than not a translation of the Hebrew word Sheol, which is simply a metaphor for the grave. On other occasions, the word may indicate a belief in an underworld of departed spirits, similar to the concept of Hades, the Greek abode of all the dead. The Old Testament does speak of Hell as the destination of the wicked (Psalms 9:17), but does not limit it to the degenerate. For example, in Genesis 37:35, the Patriarch Jacob uses the same word to describe his own destination. Thus, Psalms 9:17 and other passages express the author's wish for retribution by destruction of his enemies. The idea of Hell as the final destination of the godless did not evolve until well into the second temple period, long after the Lehites left Jerusalem. It was this concept that the New Testament writers, and the Book of Mormon, refer to. |
| 14:4 For behold, this is according to the captivity of the devil, and also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work wickedness and abomination before him. | |
| 14:5 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, Nephi, saying: Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be well with them; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord unto the house of Israel; and thou also hast heard that whoso repenteth not must perish. | |
| 14:6 Therefore, wo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God. | |
| 14:7 For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other--either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken. | |
| 14:8 And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken these words, he said unto me: Rememberest thou the covenants of the Father unto the house of Israel? I said unto him, Yea. | |
| 14:9 And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose founder is the devil. | |
| 14:10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the 1mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth. | [1] Revelation 17:5: ...the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. |
| 14:11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she 1sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, 2among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people. | [1] Revelation 17:1:
...the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: [2] Revelation 17:15: ...The waters which thou sawest...are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. |
| 14:12 And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw. | |
| 14:13 And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to 1fight against the Lamb of God. | [1] Revelation 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them... |
| 14:14 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory. | |
| 14:15 And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were 1wars and rumors of wars among 2all the nations and kindreds of the earth. | [1] Matthew 24:6
...wars and rumours of wars... [2] Revelation 7:9: ...all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues... |
| 14:16 And as there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots; and behold, thou seest all these things-- | |
| 14:17 And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil, then, at that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel. | |
| 14:18 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look! | |
| 14:19 And I looked and beheld a man, and he was dressed in a white robe. | |
| 14:20 And the angel said unto me: Behold one of the 1twelve apostles of the Lamb. | [1] Revelation 21:14 ...and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. |
| 14:21 Behold, he shall see and write the remainder of these things; yea, and also many things which have been. | |
| 14:22 And he shall also write concerning the end of the world. | It appears that the Book of Mormon is here stating that John the Apostle was the author of both the Gospel that bears his name, as well as the book of Revelation. This is the conservative Christian view, but it is generally rejected by New Testament scholars, who note that the two books differ in both style and theology. |
| 14:23 Wherefore, the things which he shall write are just and true; and behold they are written in the book which thou beheld proceeding out of the mouth of the Jew; and at the time they proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, or, at the time the book proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, the things which were written were plain and pure, and most precious and easy to the understanding of all men. | |
| 14:24 And behold, the things which this 1apostle of the Lamb shall write are many things which thou hast seen; and behold, the remainder shalt thou see. | [1] Revelation 21:14 ...and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. |
| 14:25 But the things which thou shalt see hereafter thou shalt not write; for the Lord God hath ordained the 1apostle of the Lamb of God that he should write them. | [1] Revelation 21:14 ...and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. |
| 14:26 And also others who have been, to them hath he shown all things, and they have written them; and they are sealed up to come forth in their purity, according to the truth which is in the Lamb, in the own due time of the Lord, unto the house of Israel. | |
| 14:27 And I, Nephi, heard and bear record, that the name of the apostle of the Lamb was John, according to the word of the angel. | [1] Revelation 21:14 ...and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. |
| 14:28 And behold, I, Nephi, am forbidden that I should write the remainder of the things which I saw and heard; wherefore the things which I have written sufficeth me; and I have written but a small part of the things which I saw. | |
| 14:29 And I bear record that I saw the things which my father saw, and the angel of the Lord did make them known unto me. | |
| 14:30 And now I make an end of speaking concerning the things which I saw while I was carried away in the spirit; and if all the things which I saw are not written, the things which I have written are true. And thus it is. Amen. |
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