This week in our review of the Book of Mormon we’ll look at chapters 22-27 of 3 Nephi. We saw last week God’s Endtime Servant possesses the spirit and power of Elijah, which we see also in chapter 26 where Yeshua quotes Malachi. But our focus will be on chapter 27 where Yeshua presents basic concepts on the Gospel and states that My Church is built on My Gospel – v.8-10. So then to identify His church, we must know His gospel. The Gospel essentially is the process to become like God. Some Believers have simplified the Gospel down to the point that very little is required for us to become like Him. But the Apostle John stated that we need to search the scriptures to have eternal life and hanging our hat on one or a few verse doesn’t meet this standard – John 5:39. Here in chapter 27, we are tempted to do just that when Yeshua sets out His gospel in a few verses, but what He is doing is providing a few general concepts and it is up to us to fill in the gaps.
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This week in our review of the Book of Mormon we’ll wrap-up with our look at chapter 21 of 3 Nephi when Yeshua prophesies of the Endtimes. The single most important event we see in Yeshua’s Endtime scenario is the arrival of His Servant. His arrival sets into motion a sequence of events that prepares this world for the return of the resurrected Messiah. Properly identifying this Servant then is paramount in our understanding of Endtime events. Central to understanding God’s Servant is the spirit and power of Elias/Elijah. This week in our review of the Book of Mormon we’ll continue with our look at chapter 21 of 3 Nephi when Yeshua prophesies of the Endtimes. Yeshua opens His prophecy of the Endtimes by declaring that a “great and marvelous work” is about to come forth – v.9. As an adherent of “restored” Christianity, I was led to believe that this “great and marvelous work” was the coming forth of the Book of Mormon and the founding of a latter-day church. Well, now I know that neither of these ideas are accurate. This week we’ll set the stage for this Endtime great and marvelous work by looking at three topics – the Abrahamic Covenant, the Anti-Christ and the Messianic Lineage. This week in our review of the Book of Mormon we’ll look at chapter 21 of 3 Nephi. This is probably the most important chapter in the Book of Mormon because it details an Endtime scenario spoken by Yeshua Himself. In Judaism, the Jews order their scriptures by the degree of inspiration or the order of importance – God’s Word to Man - Torah, God’s Word through Man – the Prophets and Man’s Word to God – the Writings. So everything set out in the scriptures must be in harmony with the with what God says directly to man – it takes precedence. Here in chapter 21 Yeshua set out a sequence of events that apply directly to the Times of the Gentiles – the Latter-Days and the Endtimes. This week we’ll look at this sequence of events, an overview of the Times of the Gentiles and finally what are the take-aways for our understanding of the Latter-Days. Next week in part 3, we’ll look at the Endtimes. This week in our review of the Book of Mormon we’ll look at Yeshua’s Endtime prophecy of the restoration of the fullness of the Gospel or the restoration of all things. One thing that we see consistently throughout the Book of Mormon is a warning to the Gentiles of rejecting the Lamb of God and here in this week’s review we see multiple warnings to the Gentiles of rejecting the fullness of the Gospel. The second aspect of this Endtime restoration is that the fullness of the Gospel is taken from the Gentiles and sent to the ethnic House of Israel. So this week we will review what the Fullness of the Gospel looks like, then we’ll look at the factors of why the Gentiles will reject the fullness of the Gospel, and the fullness of the Gospel being taken to the literal House of Israel. In this week's review of the Book of Mormon, we’ll expand our analysis of Yeshua's statement that He would fulfill the Law. We have already learned that the Greek word for fulfilled meant “to make full” – that Yeshua made the Law full (Matt 5:17) - but here in chapter 15 of 3 Nephi Yeshua states that “old things pass away and all things become new”. He also states that the “law in me is fulfilled and hath come to an end”. This week we’ll evaluate these statements in the context of the Melchizedek Priesthood, which is integral to a New and Everlasting Covenant. When Yehovah freedom Israel from Egyptian bondage, He stated that He was going to make Israel a kingdom of priests an holy nation – Ex 19.6. We see this same kind of statement at 1 Peter 2:9. We also see Yeshua obtain the Melchizedek Priesthood by the making of oath at Hebrews 7 since He was not qualified to receive the Levitical Priesthood because he was not descendent of Levi. All these references can be connected to the Melchizedek Priesthood. This week in our review of the Book of Mormon we’ll wrap-up our theme of sanctification and the fall holy days. Five days after Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement, Israel was commanded to gather, build temporary shelters, sacrifice and live in booths for eight days. This annual gathering is called Sukkot or the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles. However, in a messianic fulfillment this annual gathering symbolized the age when Yehovah/Yeshua would return and rule over the righteous for a thousand years – the Millennium. This week in our review of the Book of Mormon we’ll continue with our theme of sanctification and the fall holy days. Ten days after the Day of Trumpets, we observe the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. It is on this day that the High Priest prepared all of Israel through repentance and sacrifice to enter God’s presence. In a messianic context, it is a day to review the laws, covenants, and signs of the Messiah’s redemption and of sanctification. Believers at the Day of Atonement affirm and/or rededicate themselves to the covenants whereby they became Yehovah’s sanctified people having overcome universal and personal sin becoming His Zion. In the Book of Isaiah, these reached the spiritual category of Zion/Jerusalem! The Day of Atonement is observed this year on October 5. This week in our review of the Book of Mormon we’ll see how the Biblical Holy Days signify a developing relationship with Yehovah that goes hand in hand with our look at being sanctified. The Appointed Times that we see in the Torah shepherd us through a series of observances that provide us an overview of coming into a covenant relationship with God as His sanctified people. First, we’ll look at an overview of how these holy times illustrate this developing relationship with God within a Messianic context. Then we’ll consider the meaning of the Yom Teruah – the Day of Trumpets. And finally, we’ll consider how to observe the Day of Trumpets, which begins at sunset Sept. 25 to sunset on the 26. This week in the Book of Mormon we’ll review chapters 11 to 14 of 3 Nephi and continue with our theme of Sanctification. Last week, we reviewed the Doctrine of Messiah(Christ) and saw that it is the gate to sanctification or the overcoming of personal sin. This week we’ll evaluate the next stage of Sanctification or being Born of the Spirit. What we see in this second stage of Sanctification is the living of the Law/Commandments and receiving a fullness of the Law/Covenants through the Spirit. What we’ll see in this week’s review is a correct interpretation of the word “fulfill” at 3 Nephi 12:17 and Matt 5:17 to get a better understanding about how Yeshua fulfilled the Law. Then we’ll consider how the word “fulfill” is used elsewhere to mean something a little different. |
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January 2023
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