| 13:1 And it
came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!
And I looked and beheld many nations and kingdoms. |
|
| 13:2 And the
angel said unto me: What beholdest thou? And I said: I
behold many nations and kingdoms. |
|
| 13:3 And he
said unto me: These are the nations and kingdoms of the
Gentiles. |
|
| 13:4 And it
came to pass that I saw among the nations of the Gentiles
the formation of a great 1church.
|
Topic: Anachronistic
Concepts
[1] The word "Church" is anachronistic.
Although the Old Testament introduced the concept of the
assembly (Exodus 12:6), this was strictly limited to the
nation of Israel; an ethnic congregation. The concept of
a body of people united by a common creed, which is what
the Book of Mormon refers to here, is a New Testament
concept. This is even more obvious when the Book of
Mormon speaks of splinter and rival churches ( I Nephi 22:23 ).  |
| 13:5 And the
angel said unto me: Behold the formation of a church which is most abominable above all
other churches, which slayeth the saints of God, yea, and
tortureth them and bindeth them down, and yoketh them
with a yoke of iron, and bringeth them down into
captivity. |
The description of the
abominable Church that follows is very similar to the
description of babylon the Great in Revelation 13. |
| 13:6 And it
came to pass that I beheld this great and abominable church; and I saw the devil
that he was the founder of it. |
|
| 13:7 And I
also saw 1gold,
and silver, and silks, and scarlets, and fine-twined
linen, and all manner of precious clothing; and I saw
many harlots. |
[1] Revelation 18:12:
The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones,
and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and
scarlet... |
| 13:8 And the
angel spake unto me, saying: Behold the gold, and the
silver, and the silks, and the scarlets, and the
fine-twined linen, and the precious clothing, and the
harlots, are the desires of this great and abominable church. |
|
| 13:9 And
also for the praise of the world do they 1destroy
the saints of God, and bring them down into captivity. |
[1] Revelation 17:6: And
I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints... |
| 13:10 And
it came to pass that I looked and beheld 1many
waters; and they divided the Gentiles from the seed of my
brethren. |
[1] Revelation 17:1:
...I will show unto thee the judgment of the great whore
that sitteth upon many waters: |
| 13:11 And
it came to pass that the angel said unto me: Behold the
wrath of God is upon the seed of thy brethren. |
|
| 13:12 And I
looked and beheld a man among the Gentiles, who was
separated from the seed of my brethren by the many
waters; and I beheld the Spirit of God, that it came down
and wrought upon the man; and he went forth upon the many
waters, even unto the seed of my brethren, who were in
the promised land. |
|
| 13:13 And
it came to pass that I beheld the Spirit of God, that it
wrought upon other Gentiles; and they went forth out of
captivity, upon the many waters. |
|
| 13:14 And
it came to pass that I beheld many multitudes of the
Gentiles upon the land of promise; and I beheld the wrath
of God, that it was upon the seed of my brethren; and
they were scattered before the Gentiles and were smitten.
|
|
| 13:15 And I
beheld the Spirit of the Lord, that it was upon the
Gentiles, and they did prosper and obtain the land for
their inheritance; and I beheld that they were white, and
exceedingly fair and beautiful, like unto my people
before they were slain. |
|
| 13:16 And
it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles
who had gone forth out of captivity did humble themselves
before the Lord; and the power of the Lord was with them.
|
|
| 13:17 And I
beheld that their mother Gentiles were gathered together
upon the waters, and upon the land also, to battle
against them. |
|
| 13:18 And I
beheld that the power of God was with them, and also that
the wrath of God was upon all those that were gathered
together against them to battle. |
|
| 13:19 And
I, Nephi, beheld that the Gentiles that had gone out of
captivity were delivered by the power of God out of the
hands of all other nations. |
|
| 13:20 And
it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld that they did
prosper in the land; and I beheld a book, and it was
carried forth among them. |
|
| 13:21 And
the angel said unto me: Knowest thou the meaning of the
book? |
|
| 13:22 And I
said unto him: I know not. |
|
| 13:23 And
he said: Behold it proceedeth out of the mouth of a Jew.
And I, Nephi, beheld it; and he said unto me: The book
that thou beholdest is a record of the Jews, which
contains the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made
unto the house of Israel; and it also containeth many of
the prophecies of the holy prophets; and it is a record
like unto the engravings which are upon the plates of
brass, save there are not so many; nevertheless, they
contain the covenants of the Lord, which he hath made
unto the house of Israel; wherefore, they are of great
worth unto the Gentiles. |
|
| 13:24 And
the angel of the Lord said unto me: Thou hast beheld that
the book proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew; and
when it proceeded forth from the mouth of a Jew it
contained the fulness of the gospel
of the Lord, of whom the 1twelve
apostles bear record; and they bear record according to
the truth which is in the Lamb of
God. |
[1] Revelation 21:14
...and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the
Lamb. |
| 13:25
Wherefore, these things go forth from the Jews in purity
unto the Gentiles, according to the truth which is in
God. |
|
| 13:26 And
after they go forth by the hand of the 1twelve
apostles of the Lamb, from the Jews unto the Gentiles,
thou seest the formation of a great and abominable church, which is most abominable above all
other churches; for behold, they have 2taken
away from the gospel of the
Lamb many parts which are plain and most precious; and
also many covenants of the Lord have they taken away. |
[1] Revelation 21:14
...and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the
Lamb. [2] A detailed study of the history of Biblical
texts will reveal that while most of them show only minor
variations over many centuries, some books do indeed
display signs of deliberate tampering. Among the Old
Testament, the books of Jeremiah and Samuel were
evidently heavily rewritten sometime shortly before the
start of the Christian era. The Dea Sea Scrolls bear
testimony to this fact. Among the New Testament, several
books appear to have been similarly rewritten, such as
Mark and John.
Contrary to the assertion in this verse of the Book of
Mormon, however, by far the vast majority of changes to
the Biblical text are additions, not deletions. For
example, most liberal scholars believe that the entire
last chapter of the gospel of John is an addition to the
original. Similarly, the last twelve verses of Mark were
evidently added at some later date (which did not appear
to prevent the Nephite prophets from quoting them).
Therefore, the Book of Mormon is probably correct in
asserting that the Bible has been tampered with, but is
quite wrong in stating that parts have been removed.
History tells us that the exact opposite has been the
case.
|
| 13:27 And
all this have they done that they might 1pervert
the right ways of the Lord, that they might 2blind the eyes and harden the hearts of the children
of men. |
[1] Acts 13:10: ...pervert
the right ways of the Lord...
[2] John 12:40: He
hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart... |
| 13:28
Wherefore, thou seest that after the book hath gone forth
through the hands of the great and abominable church, that there are many plain and
precious things taken away from the book, which is the
book of the Lamb of God. |
|
| 13:29 And
after these plain and precious things were taken away it
goeth forth unto all the nations of the Gentiles; and
after it goeth forth unto all the nations of the
Gentiles, yea, even across the many waters which thou
hast seen with the Gentiles which have gone forth out of
captivity, thou seest--because of the many plain and
precious things which have been taken out of the book,
which were plain unto the understanding of the children
of men, according to the plainness which is in the Lamb of God--because of these
things which are taken away out of the gospel of the Lamb, an
exceedingly great many do stumble, yea, insomuch that Satan
hath great power over them. |
|
| 13:30
Nevertheless, thou beholdest that the Gentiles who have
gone forth out of captivity, and have been lifted up by
the power of God above all other nations, upon the face
of the land which is choice above all other lands, which
is the land that the Lord God hath covenanted with thy
father that his seed should have for the land of their
inheritance; wherefore, thou seest that the Lord God will
not suffer that the Gentiles will utterly destroy the
mixture of thy seed, which are among thy brethren. |
|
| 13:31
Neither will he suffer that the Gentiles shall destroy
the seed of thy brethren. |
|
| 13:32
Neither will the Lord God suffer that the Gentiles shall
forever remain in that awful state of blindness, which
thou beholdest they are in, because of the plain and most
precious parts of the gospel
of the Lamb which have been kept back by that abominable church, whose formation thou hast seen. |
|
| 13:33
Wherefore saith the Lamb of God: I will be merciful unto
the Gentiles, unto the visiting of the remnant of the
house of Israel in great judgment. |
|
| 13:34 And
it came to pass that the angel of the Lord spake unto me,
saying: Behold, saith the Lamb of
God, after I have visited the remnant of the house of
Israel--and this remnant of whom I speak is the seed of
thy father--wherefore, after I have visited them in
judgment, and smitten them by the hand of the Gentiles,
and after the Gentiles do stumble exceedingly, because of
the most plain and precious parts of the gospel of the Lamb which have
been kept back by that abominable church,
1which is the
mother of harlots, saith the Lamb--I will be merciful
unto the Gentiles in that day, insomuch that I will bring
forth unto them, in mine own power, much of my gospel,
which shall be plain and precious, saith the Lamb. |
[1] Revelation 17:5:
...the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. |
| 13:35 For,
behold, saith the Lamb: I will
manifest myself unto thy seed, that they shall write many
things which I shall minister unto them, which shall be
plain and precious; and after thy seed shall be
destroyed, and dwindle in unbelief, and also the seed of
thy brethren, behold, these things shall be hid up, to
come forth unto the Gentiles, by the gift and power of
the Lamb. |
|
| 13:36 And
in them shall be written my gospel,
saith the Lamb, and my rock and my salvation. |
|
| 13:37 And
blessed are they who shall seek to bring forth my Zion at
that day, for they shall have the gift and the power of
the Holy Ghost; and 1if
they endure unto the end they shall be 2lifted
up at the last day, and shall be saved in the 3everlasting kingdom of
the Lamb; and whoso shall publish peace, yea, 4tidings of great joy,
how 5beautiful
upon the mountains shall they be. |
[1] Matthew 10:22:
...but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
[2] John 6:40 ...I
will raise him up at the last day.
[3] I Peter 1:11:
...for so an entrance...into the everlasting kingdom of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
[4] Luke 2:10: ...I
bring you good tidings of great joy...
[5] Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the
feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth
peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that
publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God
reigneth! Isaiah 52 was not written until about 536
BC, about fifty years after Lehi left Jerusalem. See I Nephi 20:1.
|
| 13:38 And
it came to pass that I beheld the remnant of the seed of
my brethren, and also the book of the Lamb of God, which had
proceeded forth from the mouth of the Jew, that it came
forth from the Gentiles unto the remnant of the seed of
my brethren. |
|
| 13:39 And
after it had come forth unto them I beheld other books,
which came forth by the power of the Lamb, from the Gentiles unto
them, unto the convincing of the Gentiles and the remnant
of the seed of my brethren, and also the Jews who were
scattered upon all the face of the earth, that the
records of the prophets and of the 1twelve
apostles of the Lamb are true. |
[1] Revelation 21:14
...and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the
Lamb. |
| 13:40 And
the angel spake unto me, saying: These last records,
which thou hast seen among the Gentiles, shall establish
the truth of the first, which are of the 1twelve
apostles of the Lamb, and shall make known the plain and
precious things which have been taken away from them; and
shall make known to all 2kindreds,
tongues, and people, that 3the
Lamb of God is the Son of the
Eternal Father, and the Savior of the world; and that all
men must come unto him, or they cannot be saved. |
[1] Revelation 21:14
...and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the
Lamb.
[2] Revelation 7:9:
...all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues...Topic:
Textual Changes
[3] 1830 version:
...the Lamb of God is the Eternal Father...
|
| 13:41 And
they must come according to the words which shall be
established by the mouth of the Lamb;
and the words of the Lamb shall be made known in the
records of thy seed, as well as in the records of the 1twelve apostles of the
Lamb; wherefore they both shall be established in one;
for there is one God and one Shepherd over all the earth.
|
[1] Revelation 21:14
...and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the
Lamb. |
| 13:42 And
the time cometh that he shall manifest himself unto all
nations, both unto the Jews and also unto the Gentiles;
and after he has manifested himself unto the Jews and
also unto the Gentiles, then he shall manifest himself
unto the Gentiles and also unto the Jews, and the 1last shall be first,
and the first shall be last. |
[1] Matthew 19:30: But
many that are first shall be last; and the last shall
be first. |
