Why Isaiah Is Hard to Understand
I, Nephi, want to talk about the words I have written. These are words that Isaiah spoke. Isaiah said many things that were hard for my people to understand. They don’t know how prophets speak among the Jews. I have not taught them much about the Jewish ways. This is because their works were dark. What they did was bad. So I write to my people. I write to everyone who will read this later. I want them to know about God’s judgments. God’s judgments come to all nations. This is what God has said.
So listen, my people of the House of Israel. Hear my words. Isaiah’s words are not easy for you to understand. But they are easy for people who are filled with the spirit of prophecy. I give you a prophecy. I follow the Spirit that is in me. I will tell you plainly. I have spoken this way since I left Jerusalem with my father. I love to speak plainly to my people. I want them to learn. I love Isaiah’s words. I came from Jerusalem. I have seen the things of the Jews. I know that the Jews understand what the prophets say. No other people understand these things like the Jews do. Only people who are taught the Jewish way can understand them. I have not taught my children the Jewish way. But I have lived in Jerusalem. So I know about the places around there. I have told my children about God’s judgments. These judgments came to the Jews. I have told them everything Isaiah spoke. But I do not write it all down.
I will tell you my own prophecy. I will speak plainly. No one can make a mistake about what I say. But one day Isaiah’s prophecies will come true. When that happens, people will know for sure that they are real. So these words will help people. If anyone thinks they won’t help, I will speak especially to them. I will keep the words for my own people. I know these words will be very helpful to them in the last days. In that day they will understand them. I have written them for their good.
The Jews Will Be Destroyed and Scattered
One generation of Jews was destroyed because they did bad things. This kept happening to them from one generation to another. They were destroyed because of their sin. But they were always warned first. God’s prophets told them it would happen. So they were told about the destruction that would come. This happened right after my father left Jerusalem. But they made their hearts hard. Just like I said would happen, they were destroyed. Only the people who were taken to Babylon were not destroyed.
I speak this because of the Spirit that is in me. Even though they were taken away, they will come back again. They will live in the land of Jerusalem. So they will be brought back to their own land. But they will have wars. They will hear about wars. When the day comes that the only Son of the Father shows himself to them in the flesh, they will reject him. They will reject him because of their sins. They will reject him because their hearts are hard and their necks are stiff.
Jesus Will Rise from the Dead
They will crucify him. After he is put in a tomb for three days, he will rise from the dead. He will bring healing with him. All people who believe in his name will be saved in God’s Kingdom. So I love to tell about him. I have seen his day. My heart praises his holy name.
After the Messiah rises from the dead, he will show himself to his people. He will show himself to everyone who will believe in his name. Then Jerusalem will be destroyed again. It will be bad for people who fight against God and his church. So the Jews will be scattered among all nations. Babylon will be destroyed too. So the Jews will be scattered by other nations.
The Jews Will Return to Christ
After they are scattered, the Lord God will punish them through other nations. This will happen for many generations. It will go on from one generation to another. Finally they will be led to believe in Christ. He is the Son of God. They will believe in the atonement. The atonement is for all people everywhere. When they believe in Christ, they will worship the Father in his name. They will worship with pure hearts and clean hands. They will stop looking for another Messiah. When that day comes, they should believe these things.
The Lord will reach out a second time to save his people from their lost and fallen state. He will do a great work. He will do a wonderful thing among the people. So he will bring his words to them. These words will judge them on the last day. These words are given to show them the true Messiah. They rejected him. The words will show them that they don’t need to look for another Messiah to come. No Messiah will come except false ones. False messiahs will trick the people. There is only one Messiah that the prophets spoke about. That Messiah is the one that the Jews rejected.
Jesus Christ Is the Only Way
The prophets said the Messiah would come six hundred years after my father left Jerusalem. The prophets and the angel of God said his name would be Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
My brothers and sisters, I have spoken plainly. You cannot make a mistake. As the Lord God lives, he is the one who brought Israel out of Egypt. He gave Moses power to heal the nations. This happened after they were bitten by poisonous snakes. They were healed if they looked at the bronze snake he lifted up. God also gave Moses power to hit the rock so water would come out. These things are true. As the Lord God lives, there is no other name under heaven where people can be saved. Only through Jesus Christ can people be saved.
Because of this, the Lord God has promised me that these things I write will be kept safe. They will be passed down to my children. They will go from one generation to the next. This is so God’s promise to Joseph will come true. His children will never die out as long as the earth stands. So these things will pass from one generation to another. They will last as long as the earth stands. They will go according to God’s will and pleasure. The nations that have them will be judged by them. They will be judged by the words that are written.
We Are Saved by Grace
We work hard to write these things. We want our children to believe in Christ. We want our brothers and sisters to be at peace with God. We know that God’s grace saves us. This happens after we do all we can do. Even though we believe in Christ, we keep the law of Moses. We look ahead to Christ. We will keep doing this until the law is finished. The law was given for this reason. So the law has become dead to us. We are made alive in Christ because of our faith. But we still keep the law because of the commandments. We talk about Christ. We are happy about Christ. We preach about Christ. We tell people what will happen with Christ. We write about our prophecies. We want our children to know where they can look to have their sins forgiven. So we talk about the law. We want our children to know that the law is dead. When they know the law is dead, they can look ahead to the life that is in Christ. They will know why the law was given. After the law is finished in Christ, they won’t need to make their hearts hard against him. This is when the law should be done away with.
Believe in Christ
My people, you are stubborn. So I have spoken plainly to you. You cannot misunderstand. The words I have spoken will stand as proof against you. They are enough to teach anyone the right way. The right way is to believe in Christ and not reject him. When you reject him, you also reject the prophets and the law. The right way is to believe in Christ and not reject him. Christ is the Holy One of Israel. So you must bow down before him. You must worship him with all your might, mind, and strength. You must worship him with your whole soul. If you do this, you will not be thrown out. You must keep doing what God wants you to do. You must keep the ordinances of God. Keep doing this until the law is finished. The law was given to Moses.