Spiritual or Temporal

I don’t know what just happened. If you read my last post, you know I was planning on talking to Dad about my concerns that he’s abandoned God and His people. After recounting to him the covenants that God established with our people, he didn’t seem to really get what I was talking about. I’ll give you his response to the covenants, and the rest of the conversation as best as I can recall.

Dad: Lemuel, Jerusalem is going to be destroyed, and after -

Me: How can you say that? Didn’t you understand the covenants I just read?

Dad: I’ve seen it, and the prophets foretold it.

Me: No, Jeremiah has foretold it. I know you think he’s a prophet, but why would the Lord call one of the random priests as the prophet to give direction to the high priest and to the people as a whole. It would create only confusion. God works through the leaders he’s chosen. David's last words confirmed that God's house is a house of order.

Dad: Not just Jeremiah, Isaiah has also prophesied that Jerusalem will be destroyed.

Me: Dad, I think you have a tendency to interpret spiritual things as temporal. The prophets love Isaiah the same as you do, but they see his true message—a spiritual message. You, me, Nephi…Israel represents everyone of us. Israel is God’s covenant people, and you and I are possessors of that same covenant. Isaiah is using Jerusalem to talk about what happens when any of us fall away from Jehovah. When that happens, we fall, and our righteousness is scattered. But Jehovah is merciful and provides the Day of Atonement where our righteousness is gathered back in, and we reconcile to God. This is what the prophets teach about Isaiah!

Dad: Oh Lemuel. You don’t see it do you? I’m glad you are likening the scriptures unto yourself, but you need to realize that Isaiah’s prophecies refer not just to things spiritual, but also things temporal. Jerusalem is going to be destroyed, and many Jews will be hauled off to Babylon. Eventually they’ll come back to Jerusalem, and 600 years after our family left the city, the Messiah will be born among the Jews. This Messiah is the Savior and Redeemer of the world, and He is the one who will provide the real atonement you spoke of. This atonement is what will save the whole world from its fallen state.

Dad: He will be preceded by a messenger who will cry from the wilderness saying “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, and make his paths straight; for there standeth one among you whom ye know not; and he is lighter than I, whose shoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.” This messenger will perform mikveh for the Messiah, and bear testimony that the Messiah is the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world through His atonement.

Dad: But the Jews will reject and kill the Messiah. And after they do so, he will rise from the dead, and He will begin a ministry to the Gentiles through the Holy Ghost. If you want to really understand what’s going on with our people and our family, “the Lord's people,” I suggest you study Zenos. Just as the branches of the old, corrupt tree needed to be broken off and scattered, so our Lord has broken off our family from the corrupt tree, and is sending us to a promised land. And after all Israel is scattered, then the wild branches (the Gentiles) have a shot at the gospel. Then after the Gentiles receive the fullness of the Gospel, then Israel will be gathered again and come to know the Messiah.

After that, we discussed a few of Isaiah’s prophecies, and I guess I can see where Dad is getting tripped up now. With Zenos, Isaiah, and the others, he and I just disagree on whether the message is spiritual or temporal. I stand with the prophets who teach that the message is spiritual; it’s an analogy to talk about the fall and redemption of the soul. Dad rejects the prophet’s teachings and thinks that Isaiah and Zenos are speaking of temporal things.

I’ll be honest, I’m still not persuaded by Dad’s take on it though. The more I think about it, the more it seems like his interpretation creates too many paradoxes in God’s word. He says we’ll possess the gates of our enemies, and that they’ll flee from before us. So how then can Isaiah’s words about our destruction be interpreted literally??? I think the prophets are right on this one, but I still don’t know how to help Dad understand my point. Again, if you guys have any ideas of things on how to resolve this, please share in the comments below. I think I’ll go talk to Laman and see if he has any ideas. I’d like to include Nephi in our discussion, but I saw him heading out of camp somewhere, so maybe when he gets back.