In the past few years there has been much interest by many members of the Church to understand the signs of the times and to know the events that are to occur prior to the reappearance of the Savior to begin the Millennium. Joseph Smith and other early Church leaders warned of the tribulation that is coming and of the destructions to be poured out upon the world. At present, not much is being said officially about these things and there is a general prohibition about speaking of them. At this time the general feeling in the Church is that all is going well and the Church is growing and expanding and carrying out its destined purpose. But this has not dampened the desire among many of the members, albeit still a minority, to know about the signs of the last days and the major events that many feel are soon to occur. There are a couple of obstacles to this understanding, however. First, the scriptures relating these events are scattered throughout the religious canon and there is little chronological linkage. Secondly, speakers and authors in the Church have expressed widely differing opinions about last-days events leaving members confused and often with more questions than answers.
The danger with this perplexing situation is that people do not know what to watch for. The future is a hazy mixture of a lot of disconnected signs they have read or heard about from various sources including general authorities, which are merely opinions, mingled with outright erroneous ideas and myths. It is so confusing at times, that most people simply do not want to discuss it and few members are willing to make the commitment to study diligently enough to come to a fuller understanding. Today the general authorities will not discuss these things nor are they allowed to speak of last-days signs in any detail, and this is probably a good thing. An acquaintance who was called to the Seventy remarked that he had been told that there were several things he was not allowed to talk about at all. We termed this the general authority gag rule. Among the things that were forbidden are the Second Coming and the signs of the last days. This is most peculiar because what is more important than knowing the signs of the coming of the Savior? After all, did the Lord not say many times that we should be looking forward to his coming and seeking to understand the signs of his coming? Why did he give us so many prophecies if we are not to understand them? Perhaps they are prohibited from speaking about these things because they do not understand them either, and possibly to avoid any controversy, they refrain from even mentioning these great prophecies. Joseph Smith prophesied that “if our souls and our bodies are not looking forth for the coming of the Son of Man;…we shall be among those who are calling for the rocks to fall upon them.” (DHC 3:390).
We have been told since Joseph’s day that we are to prepare Zion for the coming of the Lord. How can we do it if we are kept in the dark about the great events of these last times? The Lord has given us books filled with prophecies detailing the events of the last days and their chronology so that we need not be ignorant of them, although they are sometimes hard to understand. In the Book of Mormon we are told at least 10 times to read one specific book. When the Savior visited the remnant of the Nephites after his resurrection he said,
Ye remember that I spake unto you, and said that when the words of Isaiah should be fulfilled—behold they are written, ye have them before you, therefore search them—And verily, I say unto you, that when they shall be fulfilled then is the fulfilling of the covenant which the Father hath made unto his people, O house of Israel. (3 Nephi 20:11-12)
He goes on,
And now, behold, I say unto you, that ye ought to search these things. Yea a commandment I give unto you that ye search these things diligently; for great are the words of Isaiah. For surely he spake as touching all things concerning my people which are of the house of Israel; therefore it must needs be that he must speak also to the Gentiles. And all things that he spake have been and shall be, even according to the words which he spake. (3 Nephi 23:1-3)
So we are commanded to “diligently” study these things, “all things” which are going to be pertaining to the house of Israel. It sounds as though the Lord expects us to become familiar with the things that are to take place in the very last days, which is our time right now. In addition, he says that Isaiah touches on all things concerning the house of Israel, which will be. With this very plain and solemn commandment from the lips of the Savior himself, we must ask why there is no effort or attempt on the part of the corporate Church to institute a study of these great prophecies? If the Church is trying to follow the commandments of the Savior, why do we not throw away the lesson manuals now in use and begin a Church-wide study of this magnificent book? Why are those who try to bring it to light censured and disfellowshipped? Why is the membership told not to read the unsealed Book of Isaiah? These are situations beyond our comprehension except that Isaiah explains that these very conditions would exist in Israel in the last days and he leaves it up to us individually to read and understand these prophecies. And those of understanding are teaching many others in the Church as Daniel said:
And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many:… (Dan 11:33)
Most people skip reading Isaiah both in the Old Testament and in the Book of Mormon because it is very difficult to understand. Nephi explained why Isaiah is so difficult to comprehend:
“…For behold Isaiah spake many things which were hard for many of my people to understand; for they know not concerning the manner of prophesying among the Jews….I know that the Jews do understand the things of the prophets, and there is none other people that understand the things which were spoken unto the Jews like unto them, save it be that they are taught after the manner of the things of the Jews. (2 Nephi 25:1, 5)
Nephi explains the problem. We cannot understand these important prophecies unless we are taught the manner of the prophesying of the Jews. This is a learned thing and not a revealed thing in the spiritual sense. The ancient Hebrew prophets spoke in a poetic language that is rich in symbolic meaning. They used many figurative devices and rhetorical methods to tell the stories. Isaiah particularly used types, which are events and figures from the past to describe what is going to happen in the last days. For this reason, many have thought he was only describing historical events that are not applicable to us in our time. As a result people tend to be bored with the stories of bygone times, kingdoms and people of whom they know nothing and couldn’t care less. But as he said, in order to understand this manner of prophesying we must learn it from the Jews.
Another reason for the difficulty in understanding Isaiah and the other prophets is the archaic language of the King James Version of the Bible. This language is very difficult to understand because in 500 years our language and manner of speaking have changed. There are many words that no longer mean the same as in Elizabethan times. The manner of stating things has changed as well. People have trouble understanding Shakespeare who was writing at the same time and Shakespeare was not trying to hide meanings in unknown symbols and mixed up chronology as the ancient prophets did. All of these factors combine to make Isaiah and the other books extremely difficult for people who are not even fluent in Modern English.
Both Nephi and Daniel stated that the words of the prophecies of Isaiah and of the other ancient prophets, would be understood by the people at the time they were about to be fulfilled. Today, the book of Isaiah has been translated into an accurate and understandable version by a noted LDS scholar, Avraham Gileadi. Using this version, which is quoted in this commentary, it is possible to overcome the language barrier imposed by the Elizabethan English of the King James Version. We can easily understand the words and when we are taught the manner of prophesying of the Jews, and when we diligently study and search the words with the spirit of prophecy, we can also understand the meaning.
The Savior said, “And all things that he spake have been and shall be, according to the words he spake” (3 Nephi 23:3). This tells us that the things he wrote happened in the past. He calls these events types. The types are chosen specifically to foretell last-days events. He did not write a history book as some have supposed. The Lord says further, “Who predicts what happens as I do, and is the equal of me in appointing a people from of old as types, foretelling things to come?” (Isa 44:7). He also cautions us to “Never mind the prophecies of bygone events; do not dwell on things of the past.” (Isa 43:18). We should be concerning ourselves with prophecies of our time; with events that are shortly to come to pass. Yet we see that most Church instruction does the very thing he warns us not to do. We tend to “dwell on things of the past” on prophecies that were fulfilled centuries or millennia ago.
So when we read the account of the Assyrians attempting to invade Jerusalem in Isaiah 36-38, it is not “useless historical detail” as a prolific late apostle termed these chapters. It is an event that will be repeated in the last days and demonstrates the proper comportment of a righteous king under the Davidic covenant. The Assyrians are types of a great warring nation who will come against the Lord’s people in our time. In the days of Isaiah, the Assyrian nation conquered the civilized world. In our day, there will be a great world power headed by an arch tyrant who will conquer the world and come against and take captive the Lord’s people. We have seen the drama enacted in the pages of Biblical and secular history. The Lord gives us the scenario to show what will happen in our own time. In other words, Assyria is a type of this warring nation in our day and the events he describes are soon to happen.
Isaiah also talks about the exile of the Lord’s people, whom he calls Israel, and of their gathering. The exile took place with the first invasion of the Assyrians and ended with the dispersion of Judah by the Romans. The gathering is a last-days event, however. Ephraim has been gathered and Judah is partially gathered in the modern state of Israel and in the United States, although many remain scattered throughout the world just as many of Ephraim remain in other lands. But most of Ephraim and Judah are now located and identified.
Isaiah describes an exodus of a righteous remnant of his people from Egypt in the last days. How can this be? There is none of Israel in modern Egypt. In Isaiah, Egypt, again, is a type of a last-days nation. According to Isaiah and other prophetic books, namely Revelation and Luke, it will be more miraculous and spectacular than the original exodus. The righteous will be taken in a prodigious manner from captivity to freedom in the wilderness.
These are to be the most exciting and wondrous times since the world was created. The miracles of the past that we have read about, will be accounted minor in comparison to the signs and wonders which will happen in the last seven years of this era before the coming of the Savior. What a thrilling prospect to contemplate and ultimately experience. The outlook is truly wondrous for the righteous and fulfillment of these things is about to burst upon us. They will happen suddenly and swiftly. This is what the Savior meant when he said that his day was coming quickly. Many thought it meant soon but he meant that it would come suddenly and fast when the time came. When it happens, the time of preparation will be past. Those who are prepared will be led into the wilderness to be taught there by a great latter-day prophet and also by the Lord himself. There they will be sanctified and translated having their call and election made sure. The realization of these things is at the door.
But what is the attitude of the Latter-day Saints at the moment? They are awaiting the fulfillment of signs which they believe will come to pass before they need to start worrying about anything. They are not going to be concerned about future problems until they see certain things happen or until the Brethren tell them it is time to begin the preparations.
There is a variety of predictions we have heard over the years, mostly opinions of speakers at conference. Some opinions over time become accepted as fact since no authoritative statement contradicts them. For example, it is commonly believed that before anything important happens, the missionaries will be called home, the Jews will all gather to Jerusalem and missionaries will be sent there to convert them. It is believed that the temple will be rebuilt and the Dead Sea healed. Another common belief is that a large group of people will be called to make the trek back to Jackson County to begin construction of New Jerusalem. In fact, many people have moved their families there in order to ensure they will be in place when the construction begins. These people, thus lulled into a sense of false security, use the rationale that they do not need to make any special preparations until they see particular signs begin to happen. There is no need to be hasty, they reason, because there is still much time particularly as far as storing our year’s supply of food is concerned.
The fallacy of this thinking is twofold. First the above signs for the most part will not happen. There will be no work group called to go to Jackson County to build New Jerusalem. The Jews who are going to gather to Israel are already there for the most part and very few are going there now. US Jews will never migrate there in great numbers. A recent news article dealt with the question of why US Jews no longer go to Israel (Keinon, “Why Us Jews Have Stopped Coming,” Jerusalem Post, Feb 25, 2000 p. 3). In the past few years, three out of four Jews who have emigrated to Israel, have returned to this country within five years. Most Jews in this country enjoy a very high standard of living. When they go to Israel, there are many sacrifices to be made, including a greatly reduced standard of living coupled with the constant threat of terrorism. There are some other factors covered in the article as well.
There will be no temple built in Jerusalem until some other things happen. The prophecies of the temple building in Jerusalem say it will be rebuilt in troublous times. LDS missionaries will never be sent to Israel to convert the Jews. We are told how this will happen and it happens very differently from the popularly conceived ideas current in the Church.
Before the temple is built or the missionaries come home, the tribulation begins. In Matthew 24 and Luke 17, the Savior said that the coming of the tribulation would be like the days of Noah when people were going about their normal affairs until the day that Noah entered the ark. Then the rains came and killed everyone. So will it be in the last days as we will see in these great prophetic books.
Isaiah makes it plain that the tribulation comes upon us as lightening catching everyone by surprise. It involves famine, which brings us to our knees. At the same time a powerful tyrant rises to power, unites many nations in a great empire and then invades the United States where he makes war on the Church particularly. He is the antichrist or king of Assyria as Isaiah calls him.
At the same time, a mighty and strong prophet will appear. He is the one spoken of who is a descendant of Jesse and to whom “rightly belong the keys of the kingdom” according to Joseph Smith (D&C 113:6). These two powerful individuals, the last-days David and Goliath, will come onto the scene at the same time. When these two events take place, the last-days clock begins to run. (See the Last-Days Chart at the front of the book.) All other major last-days events are subsequent to their coming except for a few conditions and events that are explained in this commentary. By the time this happens it will be too late to prepare. The arch tyrant invades the world and all food and water supply are cut off, according to Isaiah (Isa 3:1). Then will the prophecy in Rev 13 be fulfilled. There will be no warning from the Brethren nor from anyone else except such warning as you are now reading. At that time the parable of the Ten Virgins will be fulfilled as well. But that is the story that will be unfolded in these marvelous books of prophecy and illuminated by the accompanying commentary.
In the meantime, most members of the Church, Ephraim, will go about their daily pursuits thinking everything will be just the same tomorrow, only better. The general feeling in the Church is that all is well, Zion prospers and what can go wrong? Nephi spoke of our day and said that such an attitude was the devil cheating our souls and leading us carefully down to hell (2 Nephi 28:21).
For this very reason the Book of Isaiah, which has been sealed for 2700 years, has now been unsealed as Nephi said it would be at the time the prophecies therein were about to be fulfilled (2 Nephi 25). With the unsealing of this most important prophetic book of the last days, the other prophetic books have also been unsealed. How can this be? It is done because the same devices have been used in other prophetic books such as Revelation, Daniel, Jeremiah, Hosea, Amos, Zechariah, Malachi and others. They all supply parts of the last-days puzzle. The three most important books pertaining to the last days are Isaiah as the Lord indicated, Revelation and Daniel. These books are contained in this commentary. The prophecies are augmented by last-days revelation from the Book of Mormon and the Doctrine and Covenants, which help to explain some things.
The prophecies of these books are true and will surely happen. Not only are the major events described, but their time line is given as well. The only thing we do not know is precisely when it will begin but once it begins with the rise of the arch tyrant and the Davidic prophet, the clock begins to run and we have all the times after that.
We cannot leave or escape the tribulation entirely. We cannot prevent its coming except by a complete repentance of Ephraim to a man, which is most unlikely. The Lord has provided an escape for those who comply with certain provisions, however. Isaiah spells out what we are doing wrong and what we need to do to escape from the tribulation. That is the message of his book. Daniel and Revelation fill in many details and graphic scenes along with giving us the time line for the last days. It is a fascinating, albeit terrible, story and should be of interest to every member of the Church or modern Ephraim because it is our survival handbook. The judgments coming upon the world begin upon us, the house of Israel or the Church. As they “go forth” from us, they increase in fierceness and horror until in the end all of mankind, except for a few righteous people, are eliminated from the face of the earth. In spite of this dire outlook, there is the accompanying message of hope and consolation for the Lord’s few righteous followers.
So let us begin our examination of these surprising books. Be prepared to learn things you may not have imagined, and that at first may be hard for you to accept. Be prepared to see the final seven years of this dispensation, the last three-and-one-half years of the sixth seal and the first three-and-one-half years of the seventh seal, unfolded before your eyes. These prophecies will dispel many of the myths and false ideas that have been around the Church for decades and will show the real things that are going to take place including the times and sequence of the various actions. The events described in Isaiah are not chronological which has also made them difficult to put together. This commentary together with The Last Days Chart at the beginning of the book show the relationship of the events on the time line. A shorter work by this author, The Last Days Unsealed, is available in print, which is a summary of last-days events in time-line order.All this and more are outlined in these prophetic books written centuries ago for our time.
In the original edition of Scriptures of the Last Days, the scriptures and commentary were printed in parallel columns. Since this edition is greatly enlarged and to save space, the scriptural quotation is listed first with the commentary following.
May this work bring you some consolation and inspire you to make the necessary changes in your life so that you and yours can be with the Eagles, the righteous remnant, when they are called out to gather in the wilderness.
-Robert Smith
To read Robert Smith’s complete commentary on the Book of Isaiah click on the link below.
Last Days Unsealed 