3 Nephi Chapter 16 Critique
Setting: Jesus will visit
others of the lost sheep of Israel—In the latter days the gospel will
go to the Gentiles and then to the house of Israel—The Lord’s people
will see eye to eye when He brings again Zion. About A.D. 34.
Verses 1-3: And verily, verily,
I say unto you that I have other sheep, which are not of this land,
neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land
round about whither I have been to minister. For they of whom I speak
are they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time
manifested myself unto them. But I have received a commandment of the
Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice,
and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and
one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them.
Note: Sheep did not exist in pagan Pre-Columbian America.
The first domestic sheep in North America—most likely of the Churra
breed—arrived with Christopher Columbus' second voyage in 1493. The
next transatlantic shipment to arrive was with Hernán Cortés in 1519,
landing in Mexico. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Verse 4: And I command you that
ye shall write these sayings after I am gone, that if it so be that my
people at Jerusalem, they who have seen me and been with me in my
ministry, do not ask the Father in my name, that they may receive a
knowledge of you by the Holy Ghost, and also of the other tribes whom
they know not of, that 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.
Note: Jesus Christ was unknown in Pre-Columbian paganism.
The Maya gods included Kukulkán (also known by the K'iche' name
Gukumatz and the Aztec name Quetzalcoatl) and Tepeu. The two were
referred to as the Creators, the Forefathers or the Makers. According
to the story, the two gods decided to preserve their legacy by creating
an Earth-bound species looking like them. The first attempt was man
made from mud, but Tepeu and Kukulkán found that the mud crumbled. The
two gods summoned the other gods, and together they decided to make man
from wood. However, since these men had no soul and soon lost loyalty
to the creators, the gods destroyed them by rain. Finally, man was
constructed from maize, the Mayans staple and sacred food. The deity
Itzamna is credited as being the creator of the calendar along with
creating writing. Wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Verse 5: 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.
Note: Sidney Rigdon plagiarized the Holy Bible.
He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts
of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four
corners of the earth. Isaiah 11:12.
Verses 6-7: And blessed are the
Gentiles, because of their belief in me, in and of the Holy Ghost,
which witnesses unto them of me and of the Father. Behold, because of
their belief in me, saith the Father, and because of the unbelief of
you, O house of Israel, in the latter day shall the truth come unto the
Gentiles, that the fulness of these things shall be made known unto
them.
Note: It did not take until the latter days for Gentiles to believe.
But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to
bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I
will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Acts
9:15-16.
Verses 8-10: But wo, saith the
Father, unto the unbelieving of the Gentiles—for notwithstanding they
have come forth upon the face of this land, and have scattered my
people who are of the house of Israel; and my people who are of the
house of Israel have been cast out from among them, and have been
trodden under feet by them; And because of the mercies of the Father
unto the Gentiles, and also the judgments of the Father upon my people
who are of the house of Israel, verily, verily, I say unto you, that
after all this, and I have caused my people who are of the house of
Israel to be smitten, and to be afflicted, and to be slain, and to be
cast out from among them, and to become hated by them, and to become a
hiss and a byword among them— And thus commandeth the Father that I
should say unto you: 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.
Note: The fullness of the Christian Gospel was preached long ago.
Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to
you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you
are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless
you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I
also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third
day according to the Scriptures, 5and that He was seen by Cephas, then
by the twelve. 1 Corinthians 15:1-5.
Verses 11-12: 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 I will show unto
thee, O house of Israel, that the Gentiles shall not have power over
you; but I will remember my covenant unto you, O house of Israel, and
ye shall come unto the knowledge of the fulness of my gospel.
Note: The Jewish blindness to the Gospel will be lifted after the church age.
For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this
mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in
part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come
in. Romans 11:25.
Verses 13-15: But if the
Gentiles will repent and return unto me, saith the Father, behold they
shall be numbered among my people, O house of Israel. And I will not
suffer my people, who are of the house of Israel, to go through among
them, and tread them down, saith the Father. But if they will not turn
unto me, and hearken unto my voice, I will suffer them, yea, I will
suffer my people, O house of Israel, that they shall go through among
them, and shall tread them down, and they shall be as salt that hath
lost its savor, which is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast
out, and to be trodden under foot of my people, O house of Israel.
Note: Jesus Christ never taught His people tread upon others.
“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who
hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully
use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also.
And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic
either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away
your goods do not ask them back. And just as you want men to do to you,
you also do to them likewise.” Luke 6:27-31.
Verses 16-20: Verily, verily, I
say unto you, thus hath the Father commanded me—that I should give unto
this people this land for their inheritance. 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. The Lord hath made
bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of
the earth shall see the salvation of God.
Note: The salvation of God appeared in the Middle East not America.
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation,
lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah
9:9.
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