Isaiah 52:9-12, Part 2

"The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." (Isaiah 52:10)

Isaiah's prophecy is looking at the aftermath of the Lord exposing his "holy arm" in a manner all nations will see and know it for what it is, or rather, who it is.

D&C 1 explains the same event in the future context as if the event is still in the future. See the post on May 19, ("arm of the Lord") for a detailed explanation of section 1, the "Moses Prophecy" and the "arm of the Lord." The Lord revealed to Joseph Smith the following:

"And the anger of the Lord is kindled, and his sword is bathed in heaven, and it shall fall upon the inhabitants of the earth. And the arm of the Lord shall be revealed; and the day cometh that they who will not hear the voice of the Lord, neither the voice of his servants, neither give heed to the words of the prophets and apostles, shall be cut off from among the people." (D&C 1:13-14)

The day the Lord becomes angry and unsheathes the sword of vengeance against the enemies of His people is the same time the Lord reveals "his arm." In the post on May 19 we reviewed the fulfillment of this prophecy in 3 Nephi 21:8-11. The "arm of the Lord" revealed is a servant of Christ who brings forward words of Christ that have not yet been revealed. Isaiah 52:10 tells us all nations will be aware of this momentous event. So what might this event be?

3 Nephi 21:11 tells us:

"Therefore it shall come to pass that whosoever will not believe in my words, who am Jesus Christ, which the Father shall cause him to bring forth unto the Gentiles, and shall give unto him power that he shall bring them forth unto the Gentiles, (it shall be as Moses said) they shall be cut off from among my people who are of the covenant."

The "all nations" mentioned in Isaiah 52 includes the Gentiles (non-covenant) people for who this person brings forward the words of Christ. What kindles the wrath of God on the people is their gross negligence of revelations given to them that are great and precious. The wrath of the Lord begins with the people of the Church for they should know better and show greater appreciation for all revelation the Lord seems fit to grant them:

"Behold, vengeance cometh speedily upon the inhabitants of the earth, a day of wrath, a day of burning, a day of desolation, of weeping, of mourning, and of lamentation; and as a whirlwind it shall come upon all the face of the earth, saith the Lord. And upon my house shall it begin, and from my house shall it go forth, saith the Lord. First among those among you, saith the Lord, who have professed to know my name and have not known me, and have blasphemed against me in the midst of my house." (D&C 112:24-26)

We reviewed the Lord's declaration of condemnation upon the Church and I shared with you earlier the reiteration of that condemnation by President Benson and Elder Oaks of the Twelve as recently as 1994. We also noted in a previous post the test in 3 Nephi 26:9 said the current edition the Book of Mormon would be a test for the Church to determine if they are worthy or not:

"And when they shall have received this, which is expedient that they should have first, to try their faith, and if it shall so be that they shall believe these things then shall the greater things be made manifest unto them. And if it so be that they will not believe these things, then shall the greater things be withheld from them, unto their condemnation." (3 Nephi 26:9-10)

Section 84 warned us that vanity, unbelief and treating lightly the scriptures we had been given would lead to condemnation of the Church and its people. When the "arm of the Lord" is revealed, he will bring forth the greater portions of the Book of Mormon that will prove to be a great blessing to those who humbly and graciously accept it. In contrast, those who will not receive it will be cursed and fall under condemnation for their unbelief and pride. That is when "all the ends of the earth shall see their salvation of our God." (Isaiah 52:10) It will also be the time the Lord's wrath is poured out upon the earth, beginning with His saints.