Isaiah 40:9-11 (cont.)

"Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him."

Hands and arms are appendages or extensions of the Lord. Hands and arms are the part of the human body that carry out the majority of work. In the scriptures the Lord uses his hands and arms to do his work. In most instances they refer to servants of God who are called and prepared to do the Lord's will.

The first section of the Doctrine & Covenants carries on this pattern and specifically relates to the fulfillment of this prophecy in our day:

"And verily I say unto you, that they who go forth, bearing these tidings unto the inhabitants of the earth, to them is power given to seal both on earth and in heaven, the unbelieving and rebellious; Yea, verily, to seal them up unto the day when the wrath of God shall be poured out upon the wicked without measure- Unto the day when the Lord shall come to recompense unto every man according to his work, and measure to every man according to the measure which he has measured to his fellow man. Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear: Prepare ye, prepare ye for that which is to come, for the Lord is nigh; 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 1:8-14)

The Lord then concludes this section with the revelation: "..., my word shall not pass away, but shall all be fulfilled, whether by mine own voice or by the voice of my servants, it is the same." (D&C 1:38)

To begin with, who are "they" (the servants) "who go forth bearing these tidings (a word we have seen before)unto the inhabitants of the earth"? Several clues lead us to the identity of the servants. I say servants (plural) because the word "they" implies more than one or multiple servants. The key to identifying them is the clue that the servants have the sealing power for and apply it to sealing the "unbelieving and rebellious." The identity of these individuals is found in the 77th section of the Doctrine & Covenants:

"Q. What are we to understand by the four angels, spoken of in the 7th chapter and 1st verse of Revelation?
A. We are to understand that they are four angels sent forth from God, to whom is given power over the four parts of the earth, to save life and to destroy; these are they who have the everlasting gospel to commit to every nation, kindred, tongue and people; having power to shut up the heavens, to seal up unto life, or to cast down to the regions of darkness." (D&C 77:8)

The four angels spoken of who hold the sealing power and power to commit to every nation, kindred, tongue and people the gospel are angels of God who hold the power of Elijah (sealing power) and like that prophet, have the ability to bridge the gap between heaven and earth. The point they are ministering angels who minister to "heir's of salvation"on earth is bolstered by the fact these four angels are directed by another translated being we know to be a ministering angel, John the Revelator mentioned in subsequent verses. (verses 9 & 14 in this section and D&C 7:6 confirms John's role as a ministering angel.)

What is occurring in this prophecy is a collaboration between heaven and earth. Translated beings, (acting in the capacity of ministering angels) work together with mortals who qualify as "heirs of salvation" (D&C 7:6) to carry out the work of fulfilling the Lord's covenants. In essence we are seeing the recreation of the example of Elisha and the Syrian army when the servant of Elisha learns appearances do not always reveal all that is going on:

"And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? And he answered, fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." (2 Kings 6:15-17)

Mortal servants of God will collaborate with and be assisted by angels who hold the sealing power and determine who lives and dies (the rebellious and unbelieving.) In the story of Elisha it should be of particular interest that the enemies are not killed but blinded and led to Samaria (the land of Ephraim) where their sight is restored and they are fed, (a metaphor for receiving "glad tidings") and allowed to safely return to Syria.

John engages in sealing "the servants of our God in their foreheads" while the angels over the four parts of the earth oversee the preaching of the Gospel of Christ to every nation, kindred, tongue and people. Destruction of the wicked occurs in two ways, first, the judgments of God can take life because of disobedience and rebellion or, second, the wicked and rebellious can repent and become righteous. Ether method destroys wickedness.

In tandem with the work of these translated beings acting in the capacity of ministering angels is the work of mortal men who through repentance and works of righteousness become "heirs of salvation." They are mortal servants of God who receive instruction from ministering angels and act as messengers to those who are not "heirs of salvation" in mortality.

The Lord's wrath will be poured out on the wicked when the Lord decides to reveal His arm. (D&C 1:14) We will pick it up there tomorrow.