The Gentiles End Up the Way of the Nephites and Jaredites
Having established that the Book of Mormon identifies Latter-day Saints as “the Gentiles”—a category of Gentile peoples who receive the gospel of Jesus Christ—it becomes important to consider what things are prophesied of us lest we mistake the end-time role God has assigned us.
We should also keep in mind that these Gentiles consist largely of descendants of Ephraim who assimilated into and intermarried with non-Israelite peoples. That may account for the fact that in the end they go one of two ways: a majority apostatizes and a minority assumes a savior role.
The Gentiles are defined as wild branches the Lord of the vineyard grafted into the olive tree when its natural branches became corrupt. In the end, however, when they bring forth wild fruit, they are cut off and cast into the fire, making room for the natural branches to be grafted back in.
That end-time scenario—of God’s ultimately rejecting the Gentiles who apostatize and restoring the house of Israel—forms the essence of Isaiah’s and Book of Mormon prophets’ prophecies. Applying them to ourselves for our own profit and learning, therefore, may save some of us.
3 Nephi 20:11–13
Ye remember that I spake unto you, and said that when the words of Isaiah should be fulfilled—behold they are written, ye have them before you, therefore search them—And verily, verily, I say unto you, that when they shall be fulfilled then is the fulfilling of the covenant which the Father hath made unto his people, O house of Israel. And then shall the remnants, which shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the earth, be gathered in from the east and from the west, and from the south and from the north; and they shall be brought to the knowledge of the Lord their God, who hath redeemed them.
That restoration of “remnants” of the house of Israel—in fulfillment of the words of Isaiah—occurs on the heels of mass attrition by the Gentiles who by that time had long received the gospel. After scattering the house of Israel until the very end-time, they now lose their power.
3 Nephi 20:15–17
I say unto you, that if the Gentiles do not repent after the blessing which they shall receive, after they have scattered my people—Then shall ye, who are a remnant of the house of Jacob, go forth among them; and ye shall be in the midst of them who shall be many; and ye shall be among them as a lion among the beasts of the forest, and as a young lion among the flocks of sheep, who, if he goeth through both treadeth down and teareth in pieces, and none can deliver. Thy hand shall be lifted up upon thine adversaries, and all thine enemies shall be cut off.
The Gentiles’ sinning against the gospel they have received—with an entire litany of evils and abominations, seen and unseen—results in the gospel’s being taken from them and given back to the house of Israel. With that transfer of the gospel go all its covenant blessings once enjoyed.
3 Nephi 16:10
At that day when the Gentiles shall sin against my gospel, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, and shall be lifted up in the pride of their hearts above all nations, and above all the people of the whole earth, and shall be filled with all manner of lyings, and of deceits, and of mischiefs, and all manner of hypocrisy, and murders, and priestcrafts, and whoredoms, and of secret abominations; and if they shall do all those things, and shall reject the fulness of my gospel, behold, saith the Father, I will bring the fulness of my gospel from among them.
The gospel’s turning back to the house of Israel—the Jews, Ten Tribes, and Lamanites—fulfills God’s covenants with them and their ancestors. Up to that point, although there may have been foreshadowings of the words of Isaiah’s coming to pass, only then are they truly fulfilled.
3 Nephi 16:11, 17–19; Isaiah 52:8–10
And then will I remember my covenant which I have made unto my people, O house of Israel, and I will bring my gospel unto them. . . . And then the words of the prophet Isaiah shall be fulfilled, which say: Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye when the Lord shall bring again Zion. Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem; for the Lord hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
As for the Gentiles of that day, the great reversal of circumstances between them and the house of Israel results in God’s judgments coming not only on the Gentiles but on all nations. The Gentiles’ rejection of the fulness of the gospel is the catalyst for the entire world to be damned.
3 Nephi 20:20–22
And it shall come to pass, saith the Father, that the sword of my justice shall hang over them at that day; and except they repent it shall fall upon them, saith the Father, yea, even upon all the nations of the Gentiles. And it shall come to pass that I will establish my people, O house of Israel. And behold, this people will I establish in this land, unto the fulfilling of the covenant which I made with your father Jacob; and it shall be a New Jerusalem. And the powers of heaven shall be in the midst of this people; yea, even I will be in the midst of you.
When the last holdouts of righteousness in the world themselves capitulate to wickedness, there exists no more reason for God not to bring on his worldwide Day of Judgment. The Gentiles’ only saving grace is that some of them accomplish the task of restoring the house of Israel.
3 Nephi 16:4–5
These sayings which ye shall write shall be kept and shall be manifested unto the Gentiles, that through the fulness of the Gentiles, the remnant of their seed, who shall be scattered forth upon the face of the earth because of their unbelief, may be brought in, or may be brought to a knowledge of me, their Redeemer. And then will I gather them in from the four quarters of the earth; and then will I fulfil the covenant which the Father hath made unto all the people of the house of Israel.
The main manifestation of the Gentiles’ wickedness is their failure to serve God. Instead, they serve themselves and acquiesce to world powers’ evil policies. As they ripen in iniquity, and the rising generation is brought up in worldliness, God makes a full end of their civilization.
Ether 2:10–11
Behold, this is a land which is choice above all other lands; wherefore he that doth possess it shall serve God or shall be swept off; for it is the everlasting decree of God. And it is not until the fulness of iniquity among the children of the land, that they are swept off. And this cometh unto you, O ye Gentiles, that ye may know the decrees of God—that ye may repent, and not continue in your iniquities until the fulness come, that ye may not bring down the fulness of the wrath of God upon you as the inhabitants of the land have hitherto done.
Just as the Jaredites and Nephites became subject to secret and murderous combinations, so do the Gentiles. Having seen to the end of time and viewed the Gentiles’ destruction, Book of Mormon prophets feel obliged to warn them. Failure to repent makes their demise inevitable.
Ether 8:23
Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain—and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be.
When ecclesiastical policies conform with the political agenda of evil world powers—under compulsion or under auspices of the law of the land—integrity is lost and its leaders have made a “Covenant with Death” (Isaiah 28:14–22). God’s people must then seek personal revelation.
Not believing in secret combinations because they aren’t visible to the naked eye compounds their sins of omission—of not fighting for the truth or standing for true principles. Such pious do-nothings will not escape the coming “utter destruction upon the whole earth” (Isaiah 28:22).
Ether 8:24–25
Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up. For it cometh to pass that whoso buildeth it up seeketh to overthrow the freedom of all lands, nations, and countries; and it bringeth to pass the destruction of all people.
Still, all is not lost for the house of Israel or for the Gentiles who restore them. As remnants of Jaredites and Nephites lived to tell the tale, so do some Gentiles. As the one assimilated into the other, so are the remaining Gentiles “numbered among the house of Israel” (3 Nephi 21:6).
Nephi’s assertion, “Because of the words which have been spoken ye need not suppose that the Gentiles are utterly destroyed” (2 Nephi 30:2), indeed tells us they will be mostly destroyed. Not acting as saviors of men, they became as salt that lost its savor (Doctrine & Covenants 103:10).
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Avraham Gileadi, Modern Idolatry and the End of the World. A vivid expose for Judeo-Christian readers of twelve ancient forms of idolatry prevalent in the world today. Hebraeus Press, 2018: 57 pages. Softcover $9.95; E-Book $5.95; MP3 $5.95.
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